- We should know the result ofthe election on November 3rd.
- [Ben] But the finalnumbers are never actually in
by midnight election day.
Political analysts and news networks,
project winners based on partial counts.
But this year, the racemight be too close to call
due to the historic number of early votes
in Maryland ballots
- It just takes longer toprocess, prepare and count
absentee ballots than it does ballots cast
in a polling place.
- [Ben] A candidate needs270 electoral votes to win.
And due to a July Supreme court ruling,
states can now require electorsvote with the popular vote
which means every ballot counts.
- I suspect the most likelykind of post election
litigation is over therejection of absentee ballot.
Again, going to back tothe New York primary,
one in five ballots wererejected by election officials
for not complying withstate legal requirements
and litigation was then filed contesting
the rejection of those absentee ballots.
And I suspect that's thesame kind of litigation
we might see after the general election.
(machine running)
- [Ben] There's nothingnew about voting by mail,
but this year, the sheer amount
could delay election results.
Florida and North Carolinahave been counting mail
and votes for weeks, andwe're set to release results
as soon as polls close,but not all mail in ballots
will be counted by the end of the night.
For some States, it could takedays a week or even longer.
- Counting ballots for twoweeks, which is totally
inappropriate, and I don'tbelieve that that's by our laws.
I don't believe that.
So we'll see what happens
- [Ben] In all 50 states, mail and votes
must be sent by election day.
In 28 states, they mustalso arrive by the time
polls close, in the other22, ballots are counted
if they arrive after the election, as long
as they have a postmarkof November 3rd or before.
Massachusetts, Mississippiand Maryland do not permit
the processing of mail ballotsuntil after the polls close.
That led to a call to vote in person.
Typically mail and votestake longer to count
than ballots cast in person.
So initial results thatindicate either a red
or blue wave could be premature.
In 2018, Arizona RepublicanMartha Sally was leading
by more than 14,000 votes election night,
then lost a DemocratChristian Cinema days later
after hundreds of thousands ofmail-in ballots were tallied.
President Trump and Democrat Joe Biden,
could face a similar situation.
The US Supreme Court recentlyruled in Pennsylvania
to allow mail and balance up to three days
after the election, as longas it is postmarked by today,
which means it is unclearthe actual day we'll know
who will be in the WhiteHouse the next four years.
Ben Kennedy, CBN News.
