Election 2020: When will we know who won?

If you woke up expecting to know who won the 2020 presidential election you are probably disappointed.

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And, unfortunately, you’ll probably stay that way for several days to come.

Most states had totals clear enough for the state to be called for either President Donald Trump or Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

As of Wednesday morning, there are eight states that both campaigns are watching carefully to complete their vote counts.

Here are those states and where those counts stand.

Which states can make a difference?

Most states are still counting absentee ballots, but in eight states whose vote count was still outstanding early Wednesday, a winner has not been called, or the results could change who the winner is.

Those states are Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Here is where those states stand in the counting:

Alaska: While it is expected to break for Trump, vote counting in Alaska has not been completed. In fact, counting mail-in ballots, or early in-person ballots cast after Oct. 29, won’t begin for another week.

Arizona: While Fox News and The Associated Press called the state for Biden late Tuesday, there are ballots still to be counted. As of early this morning, 80% of the vote was counted with Biden holding a five percentage point lead. What’s left to count are mail-in ballots. While those ballots have tended to break for Biden, the Trump campaign says it believes that there are enough Trump ballots to give him the state.

Georgia: Trump is ahead in Georgia by about 2 percentage points with 92% of the vote counted. A burst pipe at a site in Fulton County where election officials were counting absentee ballots slowed the tally of results. While Trump does have the lead, results yet to be counted are outstanding in a heavily Democratic area of the state.

Michigan: Early this morning, Trump had a slight lead with 77% of the vote in. As in Georgia, the outstanding vote is in a heavily Democratic area of the state.

Nevada: Biden has a narrow lead in Nevada, but there are mail-in ballots to be counted. Nevada accepts mail ballots received through Nov. 10. Nevada has said they will not give any more results until Thursday.

North Carolina: Trump has a lead in North Carolina with only 5% of the ballots left to count. As with Nevada, mail-in ballots are allowed to come in well after Election Day. The deadline for those ballots is Nov. 12.

Pennsylvania: Trump holds an 11-point lead in Pennsylvania, but, as with the other states, mail-in ballots are outstanding. According to election officials on Wednesday morning, 1.4 million absentee ballots are yet to be counted. Pennsylvania has until Friday to accept and count absentee ballots as long as they were postmarked by Tuesday. Republicans went to court prior to the election in an effort to cut off the collection of absentee ballots after Election Day.

Wisconsin: Early Wednesday, Biden moved ahead of Trump in the swing state of Wisconsin. Votes from the Milwaukee area pushed him in front of Trump, who had a lead in the state. Mail-in ballots are still being counted here.

So, when will we know who won?

It varies by state, but you can expect to see results come in over the next few days to a week. Pennsylvania allows counting of ballots until Friday. Nevada accepts mail ballots received through Nov. 10, North Carolina through Nov. 12.

Military and overseas ballots are generally granted a longer time to come in. In Pennsylvania, those ballots will be accepted through Nov. 10. In Michigan, they are to be returned by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Will there be a legal challenge?

Yes. There have already been legal challenges and you can expect more.

The Associated Press reported that a lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Pennsylvania in which Republicans accused county officials in Democratic-leaning Montgomery County of improperly giving voters a chance to fix problems with their mail-in ballots before Tuesday.

On Tuesday night, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly and five other plaintiffs filed suit in Pennsylvania to block the state’s counties from allowing voters whose mail-in ballots were disqualified to cast a vote by provisional ballot.

Cox Media Group