Election Day is over, but the election is not.
As the votes are being counted in the remaining swing states, the razor-thin leads provide no clear answer of which candidate will win, and the remaining states have no official deadline to finish counting the votes. In previous elections the results would be known by the night of Nov. 3. This year, however, most ballots were cast before Election Day but are not being counted until after.
The mail-in ballots are likely to favor Biden according to the New York Times, as the Democratic Party encouraged voting in advance, while Trump encouraged voting on Election Day.
Trump prematurely claimed victory, announcing at 2 a.m. Wednesday morning outside of the White House that “Frankly, we did win this election.” At the same time, he threatened to petition the Supreme Court to halt the counting of votes.
“We’ll be going to the U.S. Supreme Court,” he stated, then later added, “We want all voting to stop.”
“We feel good about where we are,” Biden told supporters on Wednesday morning. “I’m here to tell you tonight we believe we’re on track to win this election. I’m optimistic about this outcome.”
Biden also urged patience as the process plays out.
“As I’ve said all along, it’s not my place or Donald Trump’s place to declare who’s won this election,” Mr. Biden told supporters in his home state of Delaware before Trump spoke outside the White House. “That’s the decision of the American people. But I’m optimistic about this outcome.”
Both presidents scored victories early in the night that led to a tight race. Trump won Florida, Ohio and Texas, the latter of which had the possibility of becoming a swing state for the first time in decades.
In New York, Biden won with a significant lead. As of Nov. 4 at 12 p.m., 84% of estimated votes had been reported, with Biden at 58.2% of the vote, according to the New York Times.
The victory has fallen upon who wins the remaining seven states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Biden showed an early lead in Arizona and Nevada, but as of 1 p.m., Trump is within a thin lead as the results come in. While Trump led early in the other states, Biden holds a small lead in Wisconsin and Michigan. Trump is still ahead in North Carolina and Georgia at 1 p.m. Alaska has not been reported, with Trump leading, with only 36% of the votes reported as of 1 p.m.
The remaining states have reported different times they will announce their results. The following are the estimated deadlines as reported by the New York Times:
- Officials in Georgia and Wisconsin say the votes should be counted by Wednesday.
- The secretary of state in Michigan said she expected to have “a very clear picture, if not a final picture” of the results by Wednesday night.
- Nevada will not update any results until noon on Thursday, Nov. 5, and will continue to receive ballots in the next week that were postmarked for Election Day.
- Officials in Pennsylvania announced they will expect most votes to be counted by Friday, Nov. 6.
- North Carolina will accept mail ballots postmarked for Election Day until Nov. 12.
- As of 1 p.m., Arizona officials have not announced when counting will finish.
- The only results reported in Alaska are from early in-person voting through Oct. 29 and from Election Day. No mail or other absentee ballots will be counted until approximately a week later.
As the country anxiously awaits these results, the Torch asked St. John’s students what method they chose to vote in this historic election and who they think might win.
