Three reasons why swing states are reporting election results faster than in 2020

The pace of projected results for many of the key swing states was noticeably faster than in 2020, allowing for the projection of President-elect Donald Trump. winning The race began less than 11 hours after states closed their polls completely. In 2020, the winner of President Joe Biden’s presidential race was not projected until the Saturday after the Tuesday election. Here are some of the reasons why the race should be called earlier.

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State law changes

After slow returns in 2020, some states changed their vote-counting processes to speed up vote counting and avoid similar delays in knowing who the winner of the presidential race is.

In Georgia, a law was passed in 2021 that allows mail-in ballots to be scanned and processed up to two weeks before Election Day as a way to speed up the counting of early votes. Previously, the law only allowed mail-in ballots to be scanned and processed on the morning of Election Day.

“Counting absentee ballots in 2020 took incredibly long in some counties. Establishing processes for early processing and scanning of absentee ballots will increase voter confidence by ensuring results are reported quickly.” 2021 law in question.

Georgia was the last state to be called. Associated Press In the 2020 presidential election, it was called by the outlet on November 19, 2020, 16 days after Election Day, but in 2024, at 12:58 a.m. EST on the Wednesday after Election Day.

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In Michigan, a new law passed by the state legislature ahead of the 2024 election allowed cities and counties in the Great Lakes State to begin processing and tabulating votes up to eight days before Election Day. The state is also changed other election laws, including the addition of more early voting days, among other changes.

In 2020, Michigan was called for Biden at 5:58 PM EST on the Wednesday after the election, but in 2024, Michigan was called for Trump. Associated Press At 12:54pm EST on the Wednesday after the election. The difference when the race was called for Michigan was an improvement in pace, but not as dramatic as it was for Georgia.

Fewer mail-in ballots than in 2020

Another factor in the faster results this year compared to the last presidential election was that voters were less reliant on mail-in ballots. The 2020 election took place amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and mail-in voting was encouraged instead of in-person voting, resulting in an increase in its use.

An estimated 13 million voters did not cast their ballots in battleground states in the 2020 election. accordingly Only about 8 million voters in battleground states did not cast ballots in the 2024 election, according to TargetSmart.

Early in-person voting was still widely used across the country after the Trump campaign changed its stance on the method and encouraged its voters to use it.

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Wider margin of victory

Another important factor in why states were called faster was Trump’s wider margin of victory in swing states.

Biden won many of the key states by narrow margins over Trump in 2020. Four years later, though relatively narrow, Trump’s margins in many states were larger and the contests became easier to predict.

Biden won in 2020 Pennsylvania By about 80,000 votes, but in 2024 Trump won the Commonwealth by more than 126,000 votes. In Wisconsin, Biden won by more than 20,000 votes in 2020, while Trump won the Badger State by nearly 30,000 votes in 2024.

In the Grand Canyon State, Biden won by just over 10,000 votes in 2020, but in 2024 Trump won Arizona by more than 185,000 votes. In the Peach State, Biden beat Trump by just over 11,000 votes in 2020, but in 2024 Trump won the state by just over 115,000 votes.

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In Michigan, one of the battleground states, margins were narrower than in 2020. Biden won the state by nearly 154,000 in 2020, but in 2024 Trump won the state by just more than 80,000.

Trump’s wider margins in key battleground states and his gains in predominantly Democratic and Republican states across the country also enabled him to become the first Republican to win the popular vote since George W. Bush in 2004.