PolitiFact: Be patient on election night 2020: Counting the returns will take timeIt’s time to let go of old ideas about how election night will work. This November, there’s a good chance we won’t have a clear winner in the wee hours of the morning.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, many states are urging residents to vote by mail, and election officials are bracing for a more time-consuming ballot-counting process.
Ballots cast by mail require extra steps to verify a voter’s identity, such as comparing signatures, and require more mundane handling like opening envelopes and sorting. Their increased use makes it likelier that the candidate who leads early may fall behind once later votes are counted.
Election experts say that everyone — the candidates, the media, and voters watching the results roll in — needs to prepare for the possibility of delayed returns. There will be a lot more to come after Election Day, Nov. 3.
“It could easily be ‘election week’ rather than election day,†said John Lapinski, the director of elections at NBC News............
https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2020/06/30/politifact-be-patient-on-election-night-2020-counting-the-returns-will-take-time/
