Much of the country’s attention will be on North Carolina on Election Night as results roll in for one of the most pivotal battleground states.
As votes are counted and reported, here’s everything you need to know about how and when to see results.
When will results come in?
Polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, which is when unofficial results will begin to be reported on the State Board of Elections’ results dashboard.
This process will likely take longer than in previous elections due to a new law that prohibits county boards of elections from tabulating the results of in-person early voting before polls close.
Previously, election workers could have those early votes ready to report almost immediately at 7:30 p.m., but the state estimates that process will now take 30 to 60 minutes after polls close.
However, election workers can still tabulate mailed absentee ballots before polls close, meaning those votes will likely be the first to be reported.
Precinct poll workers will hand-deliver results from ballots cast on Election Day itself to county board of elections offices between 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Those Election Day results will be reported starting at around 8:30 p.m. and will continue until all are posted, which could take until around 1 a.m.
Early results may be misleading
As votes are reported, the results may switch back and forth showing different candidates in the lead.
Traditionally, larger urban counties, which tend to vote for Democrats, take longer to send in their votes. This is mainly because these counties have more people, which means more votes to count.
Even though these areas may have more election workers than smaller counties, they’ll still be working through a high volume of ballots that must be transported from dozens of precincts to the county board of elections office.
This urban delay means a race could shift to the left later in the evening as those votes come in.
Are all votes counted on Election Night?
Per state law, no.
While the State Board of Elections anticipates that 98% of all ballots cast will be reported by the end of the night, some ballots have to be counted after Election Day.
Those include absentee ballots received on Election Day as well as all provisional ballots, which are cast when questions arise about a voter’s eligibility.
Provisional ballots are researched during the 10-day canvass period after the election.
When will races be called?
Election officials do not “call” elections; those projections are made by the media or candidates using unofficial results.
Election results are not official until the end of the 10-day canvass period, in which election officials conduct a rigorous audit of the results.
In many cases, the winner is apparent based on unofficial results and the losing candidate may concede the contest.
The News & Observer, alongside many other news organizations, relies on the Associated Press for race calls.
According to the AP, it will only call a race when it “is fully confident a race has been won — defined most simply as the moment the trailing candidates no longer have a path to victory.”
In extremely close elections, the winner may not be known until provisional ballots and ballots from some absentee voters are counted after Election Day.
How can I follow along with Election Night results?
The N&O will be reporting live on all of North Carolina’s elections on our website, newsobserver.com.
Results can also be found on the State Board of Elections’ online results dashboard.
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