Many voters in Michigan, and across the U.S., will cast their votes on Tuesday, Nov. 5, but that doesn’t mean voters will know the results of the presidential race on Election Day.
While former President Donald Trump demands that the winner be called shortly after the polls close, one of the reasons why calling a winner on election night is unlikely is due to the amount of time it will take certain swing states to count ballots.
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In 2023, Michigan passed a law that allows its largest jurisdictions to start processing absentee ballots eight days before the election. All of Michigan‘s jurisdictions can start processing absentee ballots the day before the election, according to Michigan’s secretary of state website.
Clerks in Michigan cannot begin calculating totals for early voting or absentee voting until the polls close.
While Michigan joined the other swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina with the ability to process mail-in ballots before Election Day, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin haven’t changed their processes.
In these two states, clerks cannot start processing ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day, which can cause a delay in knowing the results for those states.
So, while official results typically take days or weeks to call, the time it takes to determine projected winners also takes longer due to the increase in absentee voting over recent years.
