The result of the US election might not be known until nine days after the polls shut after the Supreme Court ruled in favour of allowing counting to continue after election day.
Despite attempts by Republicans to block late postal ballots, Democrats won the right for delayed postal votes to be counted for nine days after the polls close in the marginal state of North Carolina, and for three days in Pennsylvania, a state seen by both sides as pivotal to victory.
Only three of the six key swing states that will most likely determine the election - Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona - are “in a good place to count most of their votes on election night or soon afterward”, Vox reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It is a different story in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, the states that clinched Donald Trump’s victory in 2016, where it could take days to “come even close” to finishing their counts, the site adds.
All 50 states have their own rules for vote counting, with half allowing postal votes that are postmarked by the close of polls on Tuesday. Only eight states expect to have fully counted their votes by noon on Wednesday.
In other words, Vox says, observers should “settle in for a long few days” beacuse the all important count “is going to take a while”.
There are fears of serious unrest as votes are counted, with pundits expecting rival claims of victory to inflame supporters. There could also be legal tussles. And should the vote be too close to call, “the two campaigns have big teams of lawyers ready to pounce”, The Times adds.
-
The party bringing Trump-style populism to JapanUnder The Radar Far-right party is ‘Rise of Sanseito is ‘shattering’ the belief that Japan is ‘immune’ to populism’ the belief that Japan is ‘immune’ to populism
-
Can Trump bully Netanyahu into Gaza peace?Today's Big Question The Israeli leader was ‘strong-armed’ into new peace deal
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to ChicagoSpeed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
The GOP: Merging flag and crossFeature Donald Trump has launched a task force to pursue “anti-Christian policies”
-
Five key questions about the Gaza peace dealThe Explainer Many ‘unresolved hurdles’ remain before Donald Trump’s 20-point plan can get the go-ahead
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in OregonSpeed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartelsspeed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
