New York, November 3 (IANS). The US presidential elections are scheduled to be held on November 5. Counting of votes will begin on the same day but the final results may take several days. US voters will not know the final result until Vice President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris or Republican nominee Donald Trump scores significant victories in most states, especially the so-called swing states.
Resolving disputed results with recounts may take days or even weeks if there is not a large margin of victory.
Traditionally, a losing candidate accepts defeat even before the official announcement of the result, if the result is clear. But Trump has not accepted President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 and his defeat even after four years.
If Trump loses, he will almost certainly pursue a legal battle, and perhaps Harris too because the winner could be decided by a few hundred votes or so. Both have an army of lawyers standing ready.
A complicating factor is that in America, voters do not directly elect the President. The President is elected by the 538 Electoral College. To win the presidency, a candidate must win a majority – 270 or more – of the Electoral College.
Therefore, a candidate may receive a majority of the popular vote but still lose if he or she is unable to translate this into an Electoral College majority.
In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton won nearly 3 million more votes than Trump, but she lost the election as Trump crossed the majority mark by winning 306 Electoral College votes.
The final decision will come from those seven states where no party has a definite majority and the election could go either way. These states together have 93 Electoral College votes.
Another complication in receiving results is that the Federal Election Commission only deals with election finance laws and does not oversee elections.
Therefore, without a national elections body overseeing elections or uniform procedures and rules throughout the country, states follow different timetables for closing polls and counting absentee ballots. Absentee ballots are sent by post or, in some cases, submitted through other means.
The official count is conducted later, with each state following its own procedures for certifying the results.
Official announcements are sure to be delayed in many states due to legal challenges. Any party can demand a recount, which may also delay the results.
The governors of each state have until December 11 to receive the ‘Certificate of Ascertainment’ – the official count of the Electoral College votes – National Archives Colleen J. There is a deadline for handing over the shogun, whose role is like chief record-keeper for the country.
–IANS
mk/
