The US goes to the polls for a close race – when will we know who won?

Voting is underway in what looks to be a close match in the US elections. Pundits are expecting turnout to be lower than the previous election, although 240 million voters have been called on to hand in their ballot.

For the first time in history, a woman could be called on for the top job after incumbent Joe Biden was forced to resign from the race due to health concerns. Donald Trump is in the running to ‘Make America Great Again’ again. Both candidates stand in an election to be the so-called ‘Leader of the Free World’ based on what appears to be a battle of the least popular.

High taxes, high inflation, and high spending on external affairs are just some of the arguments lodged against Harris, while Trump’s hyperbole and potential criminal proceedings and attempts at impeachment go against him, among other reasons. Voter turnout for the 2022 US election was around 66 percent, which was reasonably good for an election in the US. However, doubts loom over this one. 

Who will win US election & when will we know?

One of the most repeated questions regarding the electoral process of the United States has to do with the counting of votes and results, that is, when we will know for real who is to be the next president of the United States. Firstly, these presidential elections are indirect. That means that citizens vote from the list of members of the Electoral College, and then it is these winners who directly elect the president and vice president of the new government.

In a close-run fight, it can take some time before we will know the result. If one of the candidates reaches 270 electoral college votes early on in the results, it can be quick. The electors of the Electoral College of each state meet on December 17, and that is when they elect the president and vice president, ratifying the final result in January 2025.

Some of the states to watch in this election will be Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Nebraska District 2, and Nevada. Once those voter results come in, we should have a better idea of who will be the next President of the United States of America.