Certified Stamp of Approval: When the Election Results Will be Final in Each State

According to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, canvassing refers to “the compilation of election returns and validation of the outcome [of the election] that forms the basis of the official results by political subdivision.” At the local level, canvassing means compiling the tabulated results from each in-person early voting and/or Election Day polling place, absentee ballots, and provisional ballots. At the state level, the process is the compilation of the local results.

Canvassing must be completed by certain deadlines, which can vary from within the week after Election Day, as in Connecticut and Alabama, to no later than a month after Election Day, as in California and West Virginia.

After the canvass is completed, results are can be certified. At this stage, the reports compiled by the local jurisdictions are reviewed and double-checked to ensure accuracy. Counties can individually certify results, but all states must have their results certified by the chief election official, which is usually the state director of elections or the secretary of state. Deadlines for certification vary by state in accordance with when they close their canvassing period.

State certification deadlines range from two days to over a month after Election Day.

Source: National Association of State Election Directors

While some media sources may project the winners of races long before these dates, those are just projections. The winner of each state contest is not final until the certification has been completed. For the presidential election, states have a hard deadline of December 14th, when electors of the Electoral College must meet and vote, to certify their results.

Finalizing the results was always going to take weeks. The American election system is doing exactly what it was designed for. Every vote is being counted and verified with precision and care, and we trust that election officials will do their jobs.