You Can Relax...We Won’t Have the Election Results Tonight

What’s the story? 

• Chances are we won’t know which party controls the U.S. Senate tonight, let alone the winner of each statewide race. While you can expect election results to start coming in tonight after 6 p.m., waiting for the final results may require some patience. 
• After the 2020 presidential election took four days for news organizations to be able to project a winner, voters are anxiously waiting to see when the final results are called this time around. But don’t worry; the timing of today’s results will differ from the 2020 election for a few reasons. Since this is a midterm year, there will likely be a lower voter turnout than in a primary election, meaning fewer votes will need to be counted. Additionally, states expect fewer mail-in ballots this year, which often take longer to count than those cast in person. 
• Indiana and Kentucky state officials are expected to be the first to report the results of the 2022 midterm elections soon after polls close. Noncompetitive states can usually call their race results before most ballots are received. On the other hand, the battleground states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin could take longer to call and will have automatic recounts if the races are close. 
• So, when can you expect these states to call their races?

When are results expected in battleground states?

Arizona

• Polls close at 7 p.m. MST. Arizona’s first batch of election results isn’t released until 10 p.m. EST. The Associated Press reported that Arizona usually takes up to, and sometimes longer than, a week to count ballots. More than 80% of the state’s voters voted early, which can slow down the process. 
• Local county election director Scott Jarrett estimated that 98-99% of the ballots will be counted the Friday after Election Day.

Georgia

• Polls close at 7 p.m. EST. The first batch of votes will be released between 7 and 8 p.m. EST. Georgia’s new election law gives local officials more time to count ballots early and requires all counties to finish counting votes by 5 p.m. the day after Election Day.

Michigan

• Polls close at 8 p.m. EST in most of the state and 9 p.m. EST in the Upper Peninsula. Michigan recently passed a law allowing clerks to count absentee ballots early, but many counties didn't implement it before the election. Officials said that unofficial results are expected to be released by Wednesday night. 
• Secretary of state Jocelyn Benson estimated that it might take more than24 hours to release official results. 

Pennsylvania

• Polls close at 8 p.m. EST. Counting votes in Pennsylvania usually takes several days since officials cannot start processing absentee ballots until Tuesday morning. Several counties reported to the Philadelphia Inquirer that they expect to be mostly done counting by Wednesday morning. 
• Secretary of state Leigh Chapman predicts that official results will be available within a few days, saying that even unofficial results won’t be available on Nov. 8. 

Wisconsin 

• Polls close at 8 p.m. CT. Wisconsin officials are seeing fewer absentee ballots this year, hopefully quickening the process. However, the state isn’t allowed to count absentee ballots before Election Day, which prolongs the count. 
• Similar to the 2020 election, it is expected that Wisconsin will call the results 24 hours after Election Day.