Tens of millions of voters will step into ballot booths across the United States on Tuesday.
But the results of the election – including whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will be the next president – will not be official until votes are counted and verified, which could take days to complete.
The first polls will begin closing as early as 18:00 EST (23:00 GMT) in certain counties on Tuesday, but counting votes will extend hours beyond that in most states.
For instance, in two battleground states – Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – election workers are not allowed to begin processing mailed-in ballots until election day.
That is expected to slow the effort.
It’s important to note that news organisations use unofficial results and projections when they announce winners on election night or the following days, instead of waiting for the final and official count.
Some counties “feed” ballots into optical scanners, while others may use touch-screen systems or ballot-marking devices to record votes.
The scanners are the most common. They tabulate results, which are then manually recounted and double-checked by hand.
BBC
