US Elections 2024: Trump or Harris? When to expect final result?

US Presidential Elections 2024: Vice President Kamala Harris and former President of US, Donald Trump are neck-to-neck in the presidential race. While the world waits for the inauguration of the new American president, the cutthroat competition means it will take longer than usual to declare the final winner. 

The race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump remains intensely close across seven critical swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

As of 11 pm ET (9:30 am IST), the Republican presidential nominee leads with 211 electoral votes, while Democratic nominee Kamala Harris trails with 145 votes. To secure victory in the US presidential election, a candidate must obtain at least 270 electoral votes.

When can we expect the result?

Narrower victories usually mean recounting and more careful counting of votes. In 2020, Pennsylvania saw a margin of 1.1%, so much so that the state delayed the announcement of Joe Biden as the President by four days till November 7th. This year, the states of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania will take longer than usual to count the votes given their state laws. Given the trend, people should not expect the result any time immediately after polling is over.  

The trend of indecisive election timelines is nothing new in the US elections. In 2016, Donald Trump’s victory was declared at 3 a.m. on November 9th. In 2012, when Barack Obama secured a second term, his victory was projected before midnight on polling day itself on November 6th. While in 2008, Obama secured a quick victory, with outlets calling the race at 11 pm, after the polls. 

However, the most exceptional was the 2000 election between George W Bush and Al Gore was a notable exception. The elections were plagued with accusations of a faulty ballot design and allegations of miscounting. The vote was held on 7 November, but the two campaigns went to war over a tight contest in Florida and the race was not decided until 12 December, because Gore wanted a manual recounting of the votes. The US Supreme Court voted to end the state's recount process, which kept Bush in place as winner and handed him the White House with a 5-4 majority.

Once results are announced, the inaugural ceremony will take place on 20th January 2025 at the US Capitol