TAMPA, Fla. — Florida residents will be casting their ballots on Tuesday, but the winner of the presidential election likely won't be announced right away.
It might take longer than expected if the race is close, with swing states being particularly important. Americans shouldn't expect final results on election night.
In 2020, news outlets did not call the race for President Joe Biden until four days later. But, in 2016, the race was called for Trump early the next day around 3 a.m.
The Associated Press will call the race when it is unquestionable that the trailing candidates can catch the leader.
"Many races are won on election night, but it’s not uncommon for it to take a few days – and in rare instances, a few weeks – to reach that point," their elections page reads.
The election won't be finalized until the Electoral College votes and those are counted.
Voters will be telling the electors which candidate they want to be president when they go to the polls. Florida gets 27 electoral votes and each state's political parties choose their own slate of potential electors, according to the Library of Congress.
The votes cast on Election Day are part of the popular vote, which will go to a statewide tally. In Florida, the winner gets all the electoral votes for that state. So if the Republican candidate wins the popular vote in Florida, then the Republican's slate of electors will vote during the electoral college.
The electors will vote on Dec. 17 according to Florida's Division of Elections' website. Electoral votes must be received by the President of the Senate, who is Vice President Kamala Harris, and the Archivist, who is Colleen J. Shogan, no later than the fourth Wednesday of December, which is Dec. 25 this year.
A candidate needs at least 270 electors, which is more than half of the total votes of 538, to win the election.
The winner of the presidential election will be announced nearly two months after Election Day when Congress meets on Jan. 6 in a joint session to count the electoral votes submitted nationwide. The President of the Senate will then declare who was elected.
If no presidential candidate wins the majority, the House of Representatives decides the election by a majority vote. The vote would be taken by state, with each state having one vote. If no vice presidential candidate wins the majority, then the Senate elects the person by majority with each senator having one vote, according to the National Archives.
Once the winners are chosen, the president-elect and vice president-elect take the Oath of Office on Inauguration Day, which is at noon on Jan. 20.