Donald Trump on the cusp of historic win: Why he is not the ‘official’ 47th US president yet

The United States presidential election results have started to trickle in. All eyes are on the seven swing states which will decide who – Kamala Harris or Donald Trump – has won the race to the White House.

While vote counting is underway, it is not certain that the winner will be officially declared today (November 6). Experts say it is likely to take days to count the votes, which is not a sign of “malfeasance”.

But why is the counting process so slow? We will explain.

US election results: What’s going on?

Trump is leading the race to the White House but it may take time for the official announcement.

In a setback for Harris, the former US president has won the swing or battleground state of Georgia, which had voted for Democrats four years ago. He has also won the important swing state of Pennsylvania, according to Associated Press (AP). 

With his victory in North Carolina, another key swing state, the contest has tilted in favour of Trump, who has to reach the 270 electoral votes needed to become president. The three battleground states voting for the Republican leader have significantly narrowed Harris’ path to victory.

Besides the presidency, the Democrats and Republicans are also vying for control of the US Congress — House of Representatives and Senate.

The Republicans have secured control of the Senate, ending two years of Democratic rule.

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All 435 seats of the House of Representatives are up for grabs. The Republicans currently have a narrow lead over the Democrats.

Why vote counting takes time

Vote counting takes time in the US as states have their own rules about how and when ballots are counted.

In swing states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, mail-in or absentee ballots cannot be processed before Election Day. This includes opening envelopes, verifying the information of voters and scanning them before the counting can be started. The process can delay the final results.

In battleground states like Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina, mail-in or absentee ballots can be processed but not counted before Election Day.

“Others get a head start by starting the counting process earlier during the early voting period,” Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a professor of law at Stetson University College of Law in Florida, told Al Jazeera. “And states have vastly different population sizes. Wyoming has a tiny population while California has more people living in it than Canada. The bigger the population of voters, the longer it takes to count their ballots, which can number in the millions.”

Catch all updates on US presidential election in our live coverage here.

The states will also have to process provisional ballots, which are cast by people whose voter registration status has to be confirmed first before their vote is counted.

Some states allow absentee ballots to be counted 10 days after Election Day. Nevada accepts mail-in ballots up till the Saturday after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked by November 5, as per The Guardian.

Due to these different rules, some states could take days to tabulate results.

“There are a variety of things that have to be done because there are these safeguards in place to try and minimise the possibility of fraud. And so in states that have those rules, it takes a while in order to process all the ballots,” Mitchell Brown, a professor of political science at Auburn University, told ABC News.

Experts emphasise that it could take hours or even days to know the results but that does not mean there is any foul play. “Just because it takes a populous state a few days to count millions of votes is not evidence of fraud,” Torres-Spelliscy was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

In 2020, Trump had declared victory prematurely even though vote counting was on. At the time, Joe Biden was announced the winner four days after Election Day.

When the results will be declared also depends on how close the race is. Polls have shown Trump and Harris are engaged in a knife-edge race.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the voting rights project at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said, “Just like in 2020, it’s entirely normal for vote counting to take several days.” This is particularly true “in closely contested states where things are going to be scrutinised and you’re going to have to count a lot of votes before you’re going to have a sense of who’s going to win those states”.

The US news organisations often project a winner based on their own methods and after analysing the vote count, known as the “election call”. However, results are not official until states certify them.

As per the Election Assistance Commission, these certification deadlines vary for states, ven extending into December for some, reported ABC News.

Results could also be prolonged if there are legal challenges over which ballots should be counted. Over 100 lawsuits were already filed before the US election, mostly by Republicans challenging voter eligibility and voter roll management, reported BBC.

Recounts may also hold up final results in case of narrow victories.

The phenomenon of “ red mirage” and “blue shift” could influence initial results. It means a Republican candidate has an early lead only to disappear after more votes (mail-in ballots) are counted.

All we now need is patience before the next President of the United States is officially declared.

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