• Home
  • Opinion
  • Quizzes
  • Redistricting
  • Sections
  • About Us
  • Voting
  • Events
  • Civic Ed
  • Campaign Finance
  • Directory
  • Election Dissection
  • Fact Check
  • Glossary
  • Independent Voter News
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Subscriptions
  • Log in
Leveraging Our Differences
  • news & opinion
    • Big Picture
      • Civic Ed
      • Ethics
      • Leadership
      • Leveraging big ideas
      • Media
    • Business & Democracy
      • Corporate Responsibility
      • Impact Investment
      • Innovation & Incubation
      • Small Businesses
      • Stakeholder Capitalism
    • Elections
      • Campaign Finance
      • Independent Voter News
      • Redistricting
      • Voting
    • Government
      • Balance of Power
      • Budgeting
      • Congress
      • Judicial
      • Local
      • State
      • White House
    • Justice
      • Accountability
      • Anti-corruption
      • Budget equity
    • Columns
      • Beyond Right and Left
      • Civic Soul
      • Congress at a Crossroads
      • Cross-Partisan Visions
      • Democracy Pie
      • Our Freedom
  • Pop Culture
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
      • American Heroes
      • Ask Joe
      • Celebrity News
      • Comedy
      • Dance, Theatre & Film
      • Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
      • Faithful & Mindful Living
      • Music, Poetry & Arts
      • Sports
      • Technology
      • Your Take
  • events
  • About
      • Mission
      • Advisory Board
      • Staff
      • Contact Us
Sign Up
  1. Home>
  2. Big Picture>
  3. vote by mail>

Elections end when all the ballots are counted, not on election night

Joe Ready
October 16, 2020
ballots to be counted

"Mail-in ballots, while safer, take more time to transport and tally than traditional in-person voting," writes Ready.

Saul Martinez/Getty Images

Ready is the democracy program director at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, the network of state organizations that use research, grassroots organizing and direct advocacy to advance the public interest.


Golden State Warriors take 2016 NBA championship, 3-1. Cleveland Indians win 2016 World Series, 3-1. New York Yankees claim 2004 American League pennant, 3-0.

You don't remember those headlines? Of course not. Nobody ran those stories because, while those three series records all existed at one point, they were not the final results. To the dismay of fans in the Bay Area, northern Ohio and the Bronx, there were more games to be played — and the opposing teams ended up the comeback victors.

While we don't have a final whistle, buzzer or out in our elections, we still need to hold tight until every vote is tabulated. Historically, because the major share of all that counting has happened on Election Day, American's have almost always known the winner of their presidential contests at some point — often very late — the night of that momentous day.

But that's unlikely to be the case next month.

To protect public health, states across the country have wisely shifted toward allowing more voters to cast ballots remotely. But mail-in ballots, while safer, take more time to transport and tally than traditional in-person voting. Election administrators in many states won't even have all the ballots to count by the end of Election Day, much less the final totals.

Sign up for The Fulcrum newsletter

So, realistically, the presidential contest won't be over the night of Nov. 3 or even the next day. To keep the sports metaphors going, this series is likely going the full seven games. And yet, recently, there has been a lot of concern about what happens if election results change after election night. What if a Republican lead at 11 p.m. on Nov. 3 is just a "red mirage"? What if there is a "blue shift" in the days following the election?

This is the wrong way to think about the election results. Whatever the numbers are at midnight, they won't be wrong — they will just be incomplete. The results will certainly change as the votes are counted. What matters is how we react to and report on those changes. Americans must be reminded that they will need to be patient and wait longer than usual before we can declare any winners.

Fortunately, most voters already recognize this new reality. In fact, 71 percent of Americans do not expect to know the results of the election on Election Day, and 64 percent are comfortable with that delay.

But ultimately, the public will likely take its cues from our leaders and our media. Given the president's refusal to commit to abiding by the results of the election, and the Democratic fears of another Trump administration, we may not be able to rely on the candidates or parties to act responsibly.

That shifts the onus even further toward the media. There are numerous examples throughout history of journalists jumping the gun and prematurely calling an election. There's no room for that kind of error this time. In a mostly mail-in election, traditional measurements, like percentage of precincts reporting, should be replaced with metrics like percent of ballots received. Overall, America's reporters must be cautious and circumspect in their election night coverage to stave off confusion and potential chaos.

We would all do well to remember that on Election Day, there won't be a "red mirage" or a "blue shift." There will just be an ongoing election. That contest, like our favorite sporting events, won't be over just because one "team" is leading at midnight on Nov. 3. The 2020 election will be over when all the votes are counted, whenever that might be.

From Your Site Articles
  • Efforts to grow turnout may delay election results - The Fulcrum ›
  • Efforts to speed up vote counting stall in key states - The Fulcrum ›
  • Tips for cutting down on counting time for fall election - The Fulcrum ›
  • 17 states can get a head start on counting mailed-in ballots - The ... ›
  • American democracy after the 2020 stress test - The Fulcrum ›
Related Articles Around the Web
  • Maryland vote counting for November election to begin Oct. 1 in ... ›
  • VOPP Table 16: When Absentee/Mail Ballot Processing and ... ›
  • What the Electoral Count Act Means for Biden—And Trump - The ... ›
  • Pennsylvania's slow vote count may delay 2020 election outcome ... ›
  • Counting the Vote During the 2020 Election | Bipartisan Policy Center ›
vote by mail

Want to write
for The Fulcrum?

If you have something to say about ways to protect or repair our American democracy, we want to hear from you.

Submit
Get some Leverage Sign up for The Fulcrum Newsletter
Follow
Contributors

Reform in 2023: Leadership worth celebrating

Layla Zaidane

Two technology balancing acts

Dave Anderson

Reform in 2023: It’s time for the civil rights community to embrace independent voters

Jeremy Gruber

Congress’ fix to presidential votes lights the way for broader election reform

Kevin Johnson

Democrats and Republicans want the status quo, but we need to move Forward

Christine Todd Whitman

Reform in 2023: Building a beacon of hope in Boston

Henry Santana
Jerren Chang
latest News

Political blame game: Never let a good crisis go to waste

David L. Nevins
11h

Tipping points

Jeff Clements
11h

Your Take: Bank failures, protection and regulation

Our Staff
17 March

Threats against Michigan women leaders highlight ongoing concerns over political violence

Barbara Rodriguez, The 19th
17 March

Reframing judicial elections — not “who should we elect,” but “why should we elect them at all?”

Alexander Vanderklipp
16 March

Seven Days in March

Lawrence Goldstone
16 March
Videos

Video: We asked conservatives at CPAC what woke means

Our Staff

Video: DeSantis, 18 states to push back against Biden ESG agenda

Our Staff

Video: A conversation with Tiahna Pantovich

Our Staff

Video: What would happen if Trump was a third-party candidate in 2024?

Our Staff

Video: How the Federal Reserve is the shadow branch of the government

Our Staff

Video: 2023 National Week of Conversation

Our Staff
Podcasts

Podcast: A tricky dance

Our Staff
14 March

Podcast: Kevin, Tucker and wokism, oh my!

Debilyn Molineaux
David Riordan
13 March

Podcast: Civic learning amid the culture wars

Our Staff
13 March

Podcast: Winning legislative majorities

Our Staff
09 March
Recommended
Political blame game: Never let a good crisis go to waste

Political blame game: Never let a good crisis go to waste

Big Picture
Tipping points

Tipping points

Big Picture
Video: We asked conservatives at CPAC what woke means

Video: We asked conservatives at CPAC what woke means

Video: DeSantis, 18 states to push back against Biden ESG agenda

Video: DeSantis, 18 states to push back against Biden ESG agenda

Your Take: Bank failures, protection and regulation

Your Take: Bank failures, protection and regulation

Your Take
Threats against Michigan women leaders highlight ongoing concerns over political violence

Threats against Michigan women leaders highlight ongoing concerns over political violence

Big Picture