This Tuesday, November 5, the United States celebrates the 2024 presidential electionwhich will decide who will be the next president of the United States: the Republican donald trump or the democrat Kamala Harris. The recount has already begun in which very close elections are expected, according to the polls, so a heart-stopping night is expected in which the smallest details will decide the new tenant of the White House.
In Spain we will live that election night in the early morning of November 5th to 6th. It will be a long evening for many, and for those who stay awake to find out the Americans’ decision, the most common question is: When will the winner be known?
The official process takes weeks, but the media usually announces the winner
Although in Spain we know the winner of the elections on the same night, within a few hours, in the United States the process is much more complex. Officially, in fact, a winner is not proclaimed until the Electoral College meets several weeks later. of the elections to certify the results.
The announcements made during election night are “projections“that the media They do so through exit polls, advance data, statistical models and data management. In this way, offer the result of each state with the greatest possible precisionand ultimately the winner of the presidential election and the new president of the United States.
However, this is easy when the elections are decided by a considerable margin, but many factors come into play that can delay the announcement: time zones, the closure of polling stations, the electoral regulations of each state, possible incidents, especially adjusted results…
Winner announcement may be delayed if unclear
All responsibility falls on the media, which precision prevails over speed: if there are some clear results For their measurements, it is common (as it has been on most occasions) that they announce the winner of the elections during the same morning from November 5 to 6 (Spanish time).
If not and any complications arise, the American media They don’t usually “get their fingers caught” and They only offer an accurate result when they are sure: In the last election, in 2020, the result was so close that they preferred to wait until they were sure that Joe Biden was the president-elect to launch their projection and declare the winner.
In the year 2000, for example, some media declared Al Gore the winner despite the narrow marginalthough hours later they had to recant: finally the Supreme Court gave the victory in those elections to Bush.
Deadline: January 6
In short, the official proclamation of an election winner does not occur on the same election nightbut when the Electoral College does it (which may take weeks or months depending on the results, possible litigation…).
unofficiallythrough the media projectionsit may be during election night, take several days, or there may be no media screening: in that case we would have to wait for the official Electoral College count, which will occur on January 6, 2025.