We may not know the presidential winner until at least Friday


If President Trump had lost Florida, the 2020 presidential race would essentially be over. But Trump appears to have won Florida, and now the electoral map is a patchwork of hanging swing states. And it looks like we may not know who won the decisive states — especially Pennsylvania — for a few days.
"As you plan your sleep schedule for the rest of the week," Nathaniel Rakich writes at FiveThirtyEight: "We should have near-complete unofficial results from Wisconsin early tomorrow morning, as Milwaukee is expected to finish counting around 6 a.m. Eastern. Michigan originally said it would take until Friday to count all of its votes, but officials have revised that estimate to say they’ll be done tomorrow as well. Finally, Pennsylvania results probably won't be known until Friday." Georgia's largest county, Fulton, also called it a night and won't continue counting until Wednesday morning.
So we could know at least the projected winner of every key state except for Pennsylvania by sometime Wednesday morning, but Pennsylvania may also end up being the determinative 20 Electoral College votes. And President Trump and his Republican allies have promised legal challenges attempting to throw out mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania if they arrive Wednesday or later.
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.
At the same time, "just speaking hypothetically," FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver notes, Biden doesn't absolutely need to win Pennsylvania. "If Trump wins Florida, North Carolina, and Ohio, but Biden wins Arizona, Biden is an 85 percent favorite in our scenario generator," he notes. "There’s a 6 percent chance of an Electoral College tie, though." Before Election Day, FiveThirtyEight had Trump's chances of winning the Electoral College at 10 percent. So sleep well, everyone.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Taking the low road: why the SNP is still standing strong
Talking Point Party is on track for a fifth consecutive victory in May’s Holyrood election, despite controversies and plummeting support
-
Has the Gaza deal saved Netanyahu?
Today's Big Question With elections looming, Israel’s longest serving PM will ‘try to carry out political alchemy, converting the deal into political gold’
-
French finances: what’s behind country’s debt problem?
The Explainer Political paralysis has led to higher borrowing costs and blocked urgent deficit-reducing reforms to social protection
-
Trump DOJ indicts New York AG Letitia James
Speed Read New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted as Trump’s Justice Department pursues charges against his political opponents
-
Judge blocks Trump’s Guard deployment in Chicago
Speed Read The president is temporarily blocked from federalizing the Illinois National Guard or deploying any Guard units in the state
-
Trump urges jail for Illinois, Chicago leaders
Speed Read The Texas National Guard begin operations in the Chicago area
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats