US Presidential Election 2024: When Will We Know the Winner between Harris and Trump?

• The presidential election in the United States of America (USA) between Kala Harris and Donald Trump will be concluded on Tuesday, November 5
• Voters and people across the world might have to wait longer to find out who the winner is because of the tight contest
• Other reasons are that the Republicans have filed more than 100 pre-election lawsuits including challenges to voter eligibility and voter roll management

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international events

The United States presidential election result between Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris and Republican candidate, Donald Trump might experience some delay because of the tight contest.

Harris and Trump have been running neck-and-neck for weeks and narrow victories for either of the current vice-president and the former president could also mean a recount.

A state-wide recount would be required if there’s a half-percentage-point difference between the votes cast for the winner and loser in key swing states like Pennsylvania.

As reported by BBC, another reason for a possible delay in announcing the result is legal challenges

The Republicans have filed more than 100 pre-election lawsuits including challenges to voter eligibility and voter roll management.

Other scenarios that could cause delays include any election-related disorder, particularly at polling locations.

On the positive side, vote counting has sped up in some areas, including the crucial state of Michigan.

The 2024 US election has seen far fewer votes being cast by mail than in the last election, which was during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When previous US presidential election results were announced

The result of the 2020 election was announced on Saturday 7 November days after Tuesday 3 November election day.

Joe Biden was declared the winner after the result in Pennsylvania became clearer.

However, voters have had a much shorter wait in other recent elections.

In 2016, Trump was declared the winner shortly before 03:00 EST (08:00 GMT) the day after the presidential election.

In 2012, Barack Obama secured a second term before midnight on polling day itself.

However, the 2000 election between George W Bush and Al Gore was a notable exception as the race was not decided on 12 December.

The election took place on 7 November, but the two campaigns went to war over a tight contest in Florida.

The US Supreme Court voted to end the state's recount process, which kept Bush in place as the winner and handed him the White House.

US election: 4 reasons Kamala Harris may lose

Legit.ng earlier reported that Presidential historian, Allan Lichtman, listed four factors that will decide the fate of Kamala Harris.

Lichtman, who has been described as America's polling "Nostradamus" successfully forecasted all but one presidential election result since 1984