Description
Allegations of fraud and conspiracy have plagued elections for years. As part of our reporting on the elections, VERIFY dug deeper into why it might take longer for the official result to be declared, even if there is a wide margin of victory for a winner.\
“An election isn’t over when the polls close,” the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) says.
Election administrators have to complete post-election activities and election results need to be certified – results are not official until that process happens. And because each state runs its own elections, each state determines the post-election process.
For in-person voting and early in-person voting, people have to have their ballots cast by the time the polls close on Election Day. If someone is in line on Election Day and the polls close, they can still cast their ballots.
And each state, county or city has their own rules when polls close. Election officials don’t begin reporting results until the polls close, even if those ballots were processed and counted before Election Day.
MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/verify/elections-verify/official-election-results-normally-reported-after-election-night-fact-check/536-9d335c13-00b7-4f51-b569-7f41acb2e4c0