You may remember (or may have forced yourself to forget) that it took four days to project that Joe Biden had won the 2020 presidential election.
This time around, despite polls showing the closest election in more than six decades, we expect that the result will be clear in much less time.
Here’s a look, based on 2016 race projections from the Associated Press, at when Americans might know the identity of the 47th president.
Follow along with The Post’s coverage of the 2024 election
7-11 p.m.
Most of the states will be called in this time frame, with the majority coming soon after polls close.
Ohio will likely be the first of eight swing states to be called, with Trump likely to win the Buckeye State’s 17 electoral votes
Republican control of the Senate is likely to be projected soon after the polls close in Montana at 10 p.m. ET.
11 p.m.- 12 a.m.
We expect to have calls in two more swing states, Georgia and North Carolina, along with the bulk of the vote in from a third swing state, Arizona.
All three of these states are tossups, meaning they could go for either Trump or Harris
Four years ago, North Carolina and Georgia were not called until 10 and 16 days after the election, respectively. However, changes in state law have officials optimistic that most of the ballots will be counted by late Tuesday night.
Arizona was the first battleground state to be called in 2020. However, due to the large amount of mail-in voting that cannot be counted until after polls close, media outlets may wait until Wednesday afternoon to make a race call.
12 a.m. – 2:30 a.m.
This is when we expect calls in two more swing states: Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
This is also the earliest that we expect a winner to be declared in the presidential race. The most likely path for a timely declaration is either Trump or Harris sweeping Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania
Wednesday
Michigan, another toss-up swing state where Harris has achieved some of her best polling figures, is expected to have unofficial results no later than 24 hours after the last polls close at 9 p.m. Tuesday
Depending on results elsewhere, that could mean the nation is waiting on pins and needles for the results from the Wolverine State — similar to Florida 24 years ago.
Assuming no major snafus, Alaska is expected to be the last state to be projected around noon Wednesday, with Trump forecast to take its three electoral votes.
