![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/us-midterms-when-will-we-know-the-election-results/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/127548261_ballotguy.jpg&description=Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, It may take days or weeks to know the final results of the midterms in states including Georgia.As voters across the US wake up on Wednesday morning after the election, the results of the 2020 midterms are unlikely to be completely clear - with officials across the country warning that elections may drag on for days or weeks. The expected delays are the result of a number of factors, including razor-thin margins between candidates, potentially contested elections and the possibility of recounts. Other delays will be due to the decentralised way in which elections are set up in the US, in which states have varied rules for how mail-in ballots are counted, and when.The issue of delays has been a politically contentious one since the 2020 presidential election, when then-President Donald Trump attempted to claim victory the following morning while votes were still being tallied, declaring continued voting counting a "fraud" and an "embarrassment". "We want all voting to stop," Mr Trump said early on the morning of 4 November, less than an hour after the last polls closed in Alaska. "We don't want them to find any ballots at four o'clock in the morning and add them to the list." The controversy has prompted electoral officials across the country to warn in recent days that delays are a normal, expected part of US elections. In a speech on 2 November, US President Joe Biden also weighed-in, warning that "it's important for citizens to be patient" while ballots are counted "in a legal and orderly manner". Let's take a look at why certified results are likely to trickle in slowly.Although the final numbers are not yet in, the number of people who cast their ballots ahead of the 8 November election has already surpassed the total from the 2018 midterms. This is likely to be the most significant factor when it comes to delays this electoral cycle. As of Monday, more than 40 million early votes - including in-person and mail-in ballots){kind=link}
As voters across the US wake up on Wednesday morning after the election, the results of the 2020 midterms are unlikely to be completely clear – with officials across the country warning that elections may drag on for days or weeks.
The expected delays are the result of a number of factors, including razor-thin margins between candidates, potentially contested elections and the possibility of recounts.
Other delays will be due to the decentralised way in which elections are set up in the US, in which states have varied rules for how mail-in ballots are counted, and when.
The issue of delays has been a politically contentious one since the 2020 presidential election, when then-President Donald Trump attempted to claim victory the following morning while votes were still being tallied, declaring continued voting counting a “fraud” and an “embarrassment”.
“We want all voting to stop,” Mr Trump said early on the morning of 4 November, less than an hour after the last polls closed in Alaska. “We don’t want them to find any ballots at four o’clock in the morning and add them to the list.”