Election results summarize the voting outcomes for a given election. They may be presented in a variety of formats, but they all share the same basic information.
Vote counting is a long process that extends beyond Election Day. It can take days or even weeks to ensure that every valid ballot is securely counted and that no clerical errors have occurred in the results. During this process, it is common for results reported on election night to differ from the final, official results. The reasons for this are varied and include ballot curing, a process where votes that aren’t cast in person are verified and included in the count, and adding votes from provisional ballots or mail-in ballots deemed eligible to be counted.
This process is important because the only truly accurate and legitimate way to know who won an election is to have all the votes counted, regardless of when they were cast. It also allows voters to feel confident that their vote has been counted and that the outcome is genuine.
This is especially critical now as the Trump Administration has stepped up its efforts to undermine our elections and democratic institutions. A concerted effort to interfere with the electoral process can have serious consequences, and it is important that election officials remain calm and refuse to succumb to political pressure to subvert the results. See our full Election Protection page for more information about this issue.
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