With Deluge Of Mail Ballots, Here’s When To Expect Election Results In 6 Key States

Election workers sort ballots at the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office in Phoenix.

Matt York / AP

For months now, election officials have cautioned that the winner of the presidential election may still be unknown when election night is over.

Rules in some states don’t allow election workers to begin the labor-intensive work of processing mail-in ballots until Election Day. And with a record number of voters casting their ballots by mail, the influx could delay final tallies for days.

In six particularly key states — Arizona, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — the margin of victory is expected to be slim, so it may be hard to know who won until their mail ballots are fully counted. It takes 270 electoral votes to secure the White House — these states account for 101 combined.