The New York Times recently warned Americans that the 2024 presidential election results “could take awhile,” just like during the 2020 election.
According to The New York Times, a clear winner between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris may not be declared on election night for the second straight presidential election. The outlet noted that the delay could be similar to the delay in the 2020 election results, which showed Trump with a lead over President Joe Biden on election night until additional mail-in ballots were counted in the days following election night.
The Post Millennial reported that The New York Times’ warning comes as many Americans are preparing to vote by mail this year instead of voting on election day at the ballot box. With the increase in the number of Americans voting by mail and the slower vote-counting process in battleground states like Arizona, The New York Times has warned that another election delay is likely in November.
Despite the anticipation of another delay, The New York Times claimed that a delay in November’s election results should not be viewed as a failure in America’s election system but should instead be viewed as a result of each state’s security measures surrounding mail-in ballots.
READ MORE: Mail delays could impact 2024 presidential election, officials warn
According to The Post Millennial, while delayed elections results are expected in 2024, multiple states have passed legislation to improve the mail-in ballot-counting process. As an example, the outlet highlighted legislation passed by Michigan lawmakers in 2022, which will allow election officials to start processing ballots eight days prior to the election in November.
On the other hand, The Post Millennial reported that some swing states, such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, have not passed legislation to allow officials to begin ballot processing prior to the election. The outlet noted that Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt previously explained, “It is a technical challenge with a technical solution, that everyone has known about since 2020, but legislation was never passed to address it.”
Additionally, the New York Times cited Ann Jacobs, Wisconsin Election Board’s Democratic chairwoman, who warned, “Wisconsin will not have full results on election night.”
