US Election 2024 Showdown: Trump vs. Harris in Nail-Biting Battle for Battleground States
US Election 2024 Showdown: US Election 2024 Showdown: The U.S. presidential elections in 2024 have presented the public with a tough competition between the Republican candidate Donald Trump and the Democrat Kamala Harris. While Election Day falls on November 5, a final result at what time remains unknown. The race in the U.S. system can become a day-or-winter-marathon because of its complexity. Below, is a tour through process and what to expect during these coming weeks.
A Complicated System: That's Why It Takes Days
The U.S. is divided, without any center commission that would aggregate results of presidential elections. This system changes, and it gets convoluted because the election rests in the hands of each state. The 51 states and Washington, D.C., have different laws and rules, calendars, and deadlines. Therefore, this tends to be a piecemeal system reliant upon state and local elections' offices. States with habitual voters may produce more substantial results sooner, whereas so-called swing states or battlegrounds tend to take longer due to competitive voting.
How Time Zones Affect Reporting of Results
The vast geography of the U.S. stretches across six time zones, meaning polls close at different times throughout the country. For instance, while voting in the Eastern time zone closes earlier in the evening, polls remain open several hours later on the West Coast. Estimates suggest that the last polls close around 1:00 a.m. EST, meaning a comprehensive picture may start forming early Wednesday morning. However, this is only the starting point, and further steps and other variables may delay the process.
Role of Battleground States
While most states vote for one party continuously, the swing states are very competitive. The states include Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, and Wisconsin, which together account for 93 electoral votes. The outcome is usually so close between candidates in these states that every vote counts, making narrow leads enormous differences that can only be made possible through careful counting of all the votes. Narrow margins often force recounts in swing states, which means a wait to finally know who the winner will be.
Why the Electoral College System Matters
While most countries have popular vote decide who leads them, the United States employs the Electoral College system in selecting their president. There are 538 electors distributed according to population among the states. A candidate must have at least 270 electoral votes to win the presidency, which are cast by the electors and not through direct popular vote. It is theoretically possible for a candidate to win the presidency without winning the popular vote. In effect, this system makes certain states, especially swing states, of immense influence since a few closely contested electoral votes can determine the outcome.
Recounts and Legal Challenges
Close contests on the battleground states might open doors for possible recount events, especially where margin gaps of votes between these two campaigns will be only lesser than one percent in any battleground state. Anyway, whichever campaign will contest over specific factors about voting and process on vote counting; they should have extended days if recounts with legal reviews need days extra, and this even reaches days to the federal court process which also allows time on days further on the dates.
Election Night and Media Projections
While the official results may not be known for weeks, U.S. media organizations typically release their projection of the outcome a few hours after the closing of the polls. To make projections of the likely winners, famous news agencies such as The Associated Press, among other large television networks, have analyzed vote counts and trends. Since 1848, The Associated Press has called an election correctly when it declared Zachary Taylor as president. This would be like calling the outcome of the recent elections between Trump and Joe Biden last 2016, during election night, AP with other media declared Trump winner, while last 2020, they declared Joe Biden as winner four days past Election Day because of late tallying of mail-in ballots.
When Will Official Results Be Confirmed?
While the press declares a winner long before the ballots are certified, it is longer before the results become official. After ballots are counted and any required recounts are taken, the state certifies its vote totals, a process that is completed by December 11. After certification, the electors in each state -- there are 538 electors in total -- gather on December 17 to vote for president and vice president.
These votes are forwarded to Congress where the electoral votes are counted and officially tallied on January 6, 2025. The results of this date, which is known as Electoral Vote Count Day, are when the winner of the election is officially confirmed. The new president-elect will be inaugurated on January 20, so the official transfer of power will be done.
Historical Context: 2020 and 2016 Election Timelines
It took a four-day delay into the 2020 presidential election to declare who the eventual winner was when Joe Biden's victory emerged because he narrowly edged it out through some states in Pennsylvania, while it took mere election night in 2016 when Associated Press, among many major networks, declared the then Republican Party candidate to have won it. And taking it even further back in history, it was a story reported before midnight of Election Day in 2012 that the results have actually been projected to give President Barack Obama the win on their election. "Each election cycle is unique. There are different factors that factor into being able to know the outcome right away: recounting, mail-in ballots, and tight races, to name a few," one expert says.
How swing states could make a difference in 2024
It would be the competitive election in 2024, more than likely turning on a few swing states where minute margins can swing the whole vote. For instance, when Harris wins Pennsylvania or Georgia, such results might show a radical shift in the direction of election results. In the former two states, dependency on absentee and mail ballots is very high, thus final counts may not even come before some time.
What's Next: A Country on Edge
Millions of people in the U.S. and around the world are anxiously waiting to see what happens as the vote counting continues. So critical are issues such as healthcare, immigration, economic policies, and foreign relations in this election that the stakes are extremely high. In the days immediately following Election Day, recounts, lawsuits, and certification deadlines may decide how soon the country can find a resolution. Now, the Americans and observers have to wait as each vote is counted, bringing them closer to their next president.
Also read: US Election 2024: Trump Takes Early Lead Over Harris in Tight Race - Can the Battlegrounds Swing?
