WA ballot boxes close at 8 p.m. Here’s when we’ll know which candidates, measures won
In the 2024 general election, ballot boxes in Washington state close at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5. But when will we learn the results of the election? There’s a complicated process that can take weeks to figure out the final vote counts, but we’ll likely know the winners much earlier. Here’s are all the important times and dates in the process.
When will WA election results be posted?
The first set of results will be released shortly after the polls close – around 8:15 or 8:20 p.m., according to the Secretary of State’s office. You can view up-to-date results at results.vote.wa.gov.
Since Washington conducts its elections by mail over the weeks leading up election day, the majority of votes in the state are already in. But Washington counts any mail-in ballots postmarked by election day, meaning that some votes won’t be received, let alone counted, by Tuesday night.
In the days after the election, results will continue to trickle in. Counties with more than 75,000 residents will update their results daily, while smaller counties will update their results every three days.
Under state law, each county has 21 days to certify its results. The results will then be sent to the Secretary of State, who will certify the final vote count, both for candidates and ballot initiatives, by Dec. 5.
Will we know who won the election on November 5?
While the official final vote counts won’t be available until early December, you won’t have to wait that long to find out which candidates have been elected. Media outlets will declare a candidate the winner once they can rule out any plausible way for another candidate to win. While these declarations aren’t official, they’re typically accurate.
For races with a clear winner, we’ll likely know the results by election night, while it could take days to find out the winner of closely-contested races.
So when will Washington be called for either presidential candidate? There’s no way to know for sure, but if recent elections give us any clue, it will be on the earlier side. In 2020, the Associated Press called Washington at 8:00 p.m. on election night. In 2016, the AP called Washington at 8:28 p.m.
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 6:23 PM.