The counting of ballots can take longer in some places than in others.
In presidential elections, that difference can cause a candidate’s early advantage in a state to change as more localities report their results in the hours and, sometimes, days after polls close on Election Day.
In 2020, the phenomenon known as the “red mirage” or “blue shift” turned the hue of several seemingly red states — where then-Republican President Donald Trump appeared to be in the lead over the then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden — blue.
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