Why these states will take the longest to count votes for the 2024 presidential election

Election Day becomes Election Week or even Election Month for millions of voters across the country.

In 2020, the last polls closed on Tuesday, November 3, but it took four days – until Saturday, November 7 – for President Biden to be declared the winner due to unfounded delays in counting votes Donald Trump and his allies' allegations of fraud continue to reverberate.

This time, even without the impact of a global pandemic, Republicans and Democrats will still be waiting a while for several states to finalize their results.

While the slowness of some of these states will not determine the outcome of the presidential race, it could delay the calling of key rounds of voting and the battle for control of Congress.

Here are some of the slowest slowpokes among the 50 states.

Alaska

Polls closed: 12 p.m. ET Wednesday in most of the state, 1 a.m. Wednesday in parts of the Aleutian Islands.

Despite having the third-smallest population of any state in the union, Last Frontier is known for being among the last to have ballots counted due to its special voting rules and scattered, mostly rural population.

State law requires that early votes cast at regional election offices on or before the Thursday before Election Day (in this case, October 31) be counted on election night.

However, absentee votes and early votes cast after that period must be counted until seven days after polls close (Nov. 12), according to the Alaska Division of Elections.

That means the House race between Democratic incumbent Mary Peltola and Republican challenger Nick Begich III could be among the last to be called.

Arizona

Polls closed: 9pm ET

In Arizona, election officials are allowed to begin processing mail-in ballots after early voting begins — but it is critical that officials wait to count them until polls close.

During the 2022 midterm elections, about 20% of absentee ballots were cast on Election Day, requiring time-consuming verification procedures to ensure ballots were legitimate.

The majority of ballots are cast in Maricopa County, which includes the Phoenix metropolitan area and is home to about three-fifths of Arizona's population. In 2022, it took until the Sunday after Election Day for election workers to complete ballot processing.

There is also the possibility of litigation that could lead to further delays in announcing a result, not only in the presidential race but also in the 1st Congressional District, which is currently held by Republican David Schweikert and described by the Cook Political Report as a “tie.” “ is referred to.

Biden won Arizona four years ago by 0.3% over Trump.

California

Polls closed: 11 p.m. ET

The country's most populous state has been known to take days and even weeks to complete the rudimentary task of counting ballots.

This is primarily because most Californians vote by mail. In the 2020 cycle, 72% of votes came from mail-in ballots. During the 2024 primary, that number rose to 89%, according to the California Department of State.

The Golden State requires county officials to undergo an extensive signature verification process and gives counties 30 days to count ballots — a much longer time frame than the seven days allowed in most other absentee voting states.

Vice President Kamala Harris (a native of the Bay Area) will almost certainly win California's 54 electoral votes in the presidential election. But as many as five House Republicans (John Duarte, David Valadao, Mike Garcia, Ken Calvert and Michelle Steel) could face a very tense Thanksgiving, waiting to see if they will be back in Washington in January 2025.

Nevada

Polls closed: 10 p.m. ET

The Silver State was the third-to-last state to call for Biden four years ago and has taken steps to ensure they're a little quicker this time.

Nevada allows mail-in ballots to be counted up to four days after the election as long as they are postmarked on or before Election Day.

Earlier this year, Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar told officials that they can begin counting early votes as soon as ballots arrive on Election Day rather than waiting until after polls close, meaning we have a clearer picture of the state should the race as Tuesday turns into Wednesday.

But with polls showing a tight race between Harris and Trump, who hopes to become the first Republican to take Nevada since George W. Bush in 2004, it may be a long time coming for both the Democratic and Republican camps.

North Carolina

Polls closed: 7:30 p.m. ET

In 2020, North Carolina was not called for Trump until ten days after the election (only Georgia took longer to project a winner).

While it may not take as long to determine a winner this time, the Tar Heel State has a new policy that would make vote processing even slower than before.

Unlike four years ago, officials are no longer allowed to count early votes until after polls close on Nov. 5 under a state law that took effect last year.

Pennsylvania

Polls closed: 8pm ET

The state, which many believe will decide the presidency, does not allow ballots to be counted before Election Day, which in the past has caused delays in predicting a result.

Four years ago, most media outlets declared the Keystone State for Biden on November 7, sparking wild celebrations among his supporters.

This time, officials are hoping for a result like 2016, when Trump was expected to win the state in the early hours of Wednesday.

Wisconsin

Polls closed: 9:00 p.m. ET

History doesn't necessarily suggest that Wisconsin will be quite as slow as some of the others on this list. But the results may not be available on election night.

Under Wisconsin law, ballots cannot be counted until Election Day. Making matters worse, the Badger State appears to be one of the few states where early voting and absentee voting have not declined following the COVID pandemic, even causing delays at some in-person locations last week.

Four years ago, Biden was only called the day after the polls closed in Wisconsin.

Will Georgia have problems again?

Polls closed: 7pm ET

Georgia was the very last state to be called four years ago.

Since then, lawmakers in the Peach State have taken steps to speed up reporting of results and reform the election process.

The biggest step was the passage of the Election Integrity Act of 2021, which Democrats led by Biden vilified as voter suppression and which the president called “Jim Crow 2.0.”

The new law should streamline and strengthen resources for processing and verifying ballots. Absentee votes now require the last four digits of a Social Security number or a copy of ID to minimize the complexity of signature verification.

Despite the controversy, Georgia's 2022 elections went smoothly. This year, voters have already broken turnout records with more than 2.1 million ballots already cast and another 320,000 mail-in ballots requested, according to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's office.

“All early voting and all early accepted ballots must have their results reported by 8 p.m.,” Raffensperger told CBS’ “Face the Nation” earlier this month. “That’s 70, maybe even 75% of all votes cast, which will be announced no later than 8 p.m. on election night.”

Also a good sign of a quick outcome in Georgia is the fact that a Fulton County judge recently issued a late Georgia State Election Board rule requiring officials to analyze ballots by hand.

What about Michigan?

Polls closed: 8:00 p.m. ET in most of the state, 9:00 p.m. ET in parts of the Upper Peninsula

Michigan, another state that called for Biden on Election Wednesday in 2020, has taken steps to deliver results more quickly, allowing counties with more than 5,000 voters to begin counting mail-in ballots on Oct. 28.

As a result, Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson predicts that her state will have unofficial results no later than a day after the final vote.