By the time Election Day concludes, approximately 160 million Americans will have cast their ballots to select a president, members of Congress, and thousands of state and local officials, including state lawmakers, city council members, attorneys general, and secretaries of state.
This year’s election takes place at a pivotal moment in U.S. history, with a highly polarized electorate.
Here are the five important things to know about this election.
Election Day Versus the Last Day
Election Day in the United States, defined as the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, was established in 1875 under 2 U.S. Code § 7 for the election of “Representatives and Delegates to the Congress” in all U.S. states and territories.
Originally intended as a single day for in-person voting, its significance has evolved in modern elections.
Today, Election Day is seen as the culmination of the general election process. It is often viewed as the final opportunity for voters to participate, with many having already voted through early voting or by mail.
In some states, mail-in ballots must be received by Election Day to be counted, while in others, as long as the ballots are postmarked by this date, they can be counted if they arrive later.
Pennsylvania: The Kingmaker?
Out of 538 electoral votes from the 50 states and the District of Columbia, this year’s election will hinge on seven key battleground states: Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, often regarded as the crucial “final boss.”
Pennsylvania has played a pivotal role in recent elections.
Eight years ago, it was the last state called for Republican candidate Donald Trump before his victory was sealed with Wisconsin in the early hours after Election Day. Four years later, Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s narrow win in Pennsylvania—by about 80,000 votes out of more than 6.8 million cast—was decisive, occurring four days after the polls closed.
Winning Pennsylvania provides a crucial advantage, making it a central focus in campaign strategies.
Paper Ballots and Machine Counting
Nearly all of the approximately 160 million ballots cast in this year’s U.S. election will be paper-based, and the vast majority will be tallied using machines.
Election officials stress the importance of these machines, noting that without them, hand-counting such a large volume of ballots would be much more time-consuming, significantly more expensive for taxpayers, and prone to human error, which would require additional time and resources to correct.
Despite this, the desire for human oversight remains strong. In Georgia, for instance, a recent directive from the state’s election board sparked controversy by requiring poll workers to hand-count the total number of ballots. This ongoing debate underscores the tension between the efficiency of machines and the public’s desire for human involvement in maintaining election integrity.
Recounts
Election recounts can be triggered by law, requested by a candidate, or ordered by a court, but they rarely alter the final result. According to Deb Otis from the nonpartisan organization Fair Vote, “Recounts typically shift only a very small number of votes.”
On average, recounts change the vote margin by just 0.03 percentage points, with the largest shift—0.11 points—occurring in a 2006 Vermont state auditor race. In that case, a 137-vote lead for Republican Randy Brock flipped to a 102-vote win for Democrat Thomas Salmon after a recount.
When We’ll Know the Result
It has become increasingly uncommon to know the results of a presidential election on Election Day itself—particularly on the East Coast. The extended counting process became more widespread following the contested 2000 presidential election, which took 36 days to resolve George W. Bush’s victory in Florida through a Supreme Court ruling.
In 2016, Trump wasn’t declared the winner until 2:29 a.m. ET the day after Election Day. In 2020, Joe Biden’s victory wasn’t confirmed until the Saturday after Election Day, when he secured the necessary 270 electoral votes by winning Pennsylvania.
This delay extends beyond presidential races. The large number of U.S. representatives from California—where mail-in ballots can be counted for weeks after Election Day—often prolongs the wait to determine which party will control the House of Representatives.
As voting methods have changed, with more people opting for mail-in or early voting, waiting for final results has become the norm in U.S. elections, especially in close contests.
The Associated Press contributed to this report