On November 5 local time, the United States will hold a new presidential election voting day, and more than 75 million Americans have already voted early. Meanwhile, the competition between the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, Harris and Trump, remains intense. So, when will we know who won the U.S. election?
To find out when the results of this year's U.S. presidential election will be revealed, we can look to the process of the last election four years ago. The voting for the 2020 U.S. presidential election concluded on the evening of November 3, and the situation at that time was quite similar to now. According to preliminary counts and estimates from major U.S. media, the presidential candidates from the Democratic and Republican parties, Biden and Trump, were in a very tight race. After a night of waiting, as of 6 a.m. Eastern Time on November 4, neither candidate had secured the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. At that time, the counting process showed ups and downs. Meanwhile, Trump's team and supporters raised questions about the legitimacy of some ballots and the counting procedures, claiming that there was widespread fraud in this election. Public opinion suggests that it is not out of the question for Trump’s camp to make similar claims this year. That year, after several days of tense counting, U.S. media announced preliminary results on November 7 — Biden received over 270 electoral votes. At that time, the Associated Press announced that Biden won Nevada and Pennsylvania. However, it is important to note that the 2020 U.S. election was affected by factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a surge in mail-in ballots and early voting, which increased the difficulty and time required for counting.
In December 2020, electors across the country voted, officially electing Biden as the next President of the United States. In January 2021, Biden was sworn in.
This Year's Election Schedule
According to the schedule released by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, if the election process goes smoothly, this year’s Electoral College meeting will be held on December 17. At that time, electors will meet in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to vote for President and Vice President, and then the ballots will be submitted to the National Archives and the President of the Senate.
On January 6, 2025, before the joint session of Congress, the electoral votes will be read and counted.
On January 20, 2025, the new President and Vice President will be sworn in.