2020 Presidential Election: When can we expect results?

DOVER, Del. – Even though Tuesday is election day, experts say it could be weeks until we have the official results. Experts say while we’ll probably have the results from the day of and early votes, those numbers won’t include absentee or provisional ballots. A political science expert from Delaware State University tells 47 ABC a lot of states including Virginia, Pennsylvania, and even Texas will be counting ballots days after the election is over. So even though there may be a projected winner, people likely won’t know the true results for a while. Experts add that if a presidential candidate asks for a recount, the process could take even longer.

“If you’re still accepting them on Friday you may not tally them up for days or longer depending on how many votes are out. There could be a recount, and then how long, how many weeks potentially, how many months could that potentially take,” said Dr. Donna Patterson, Chair of History, Political Science, and Philosophy at Delaware State University.

Officials say more people already have cast ballots in this year’s presidential election than voted early or absentee in the 2016 race