WASHINGTON – THE Associated Press and others decision offices will start counting presidential election results as the election closes, but America may not know whether former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris wins until a few days later.

THE competition 2024 is extremely tight, especially in the seven swing states, meaning the country may have to wait for key states to count absentee and mail-in ballots before calling the race.

Follow election results live here.

On Saturday, November 7, 2020, Biden was inaugurated president, four days after the polls closed.

When will the US election results be announced?

“Voters need to know, early and often, that we are unlikely to get results on Election Day (2024),” Danielle Lang of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center said FOX 5 NY. “There’s a good chance we won’t get results the day after Election Day, or even the day after.”

Each state has different rules for counting ballots, including Pennsylvania, where election officials must wait until 7 a.m. ET on Election Day before we can begin processing mail-in ballots and preparing for their counting. THE publication of postal voting results can only begin after the polls close.

“The bigger problem is that in some states, particularly Pennsylvania, Republicans in the state legislature have passed a law that requires election officials to wait until Election Day to begin opening and to count all early mail-in ballots,” Paul Schiff said. Berman, a professor at George Washington University Law School, told FOX 5 NY. “It just slows down the process, obviously.”

Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes, making it the biggest prize for presidential candidates. So if the highly competitive race is close in the Keystone State, as polls show, the counting process could delay the rest of the country.

Overall, mail-in votes have tended to favor Democrats, since the issue of early and absentee voting. has become very politicized in the 2020 election. This means that the Democratic candidate in a competitive contest could quickly gain an early lead in the vote count in early voting reports after the polls close, although the race may tighten considerably at as more votes are counted.

When to expect election results in Maryland

Results in Maryland will start coming in after polls close at 8 p.m.

In 2020, only about 8% of votes were reported before midnight on Election Day, but 70% were reported by noon Wednesday. The New York Times says Maryland’s reporting pace should be similar for the 2024 elections.

When to expect election results in Virginia

Virginia results begin coming in after polls close at 7 p.m.

Virginia has typically recorded the most votes by midday Wednesday in past elections, according to the New York Times.

In 2020, Virginia was called 36 minutes after the polls closed.

When to expect election results in Washington

Results in Washington will start coming in after polls close at 8 p.m.

In 2020, about 69% of votes were reported as of midday Wednesday, according to the New York Times. In the district, every registered voter was mailed a ballot that must be postmarked on Election Day — but could arrive ten days later to be counted.