BOSTON – Tomorrow is the day Election Daybut what can you expect after the final ballots are cast in Massachusetts?
Opinion polls opened at 7am and closes at 8pm After that, we will have to wait for one of the closest elections in history. Political analysts say we should expect the unexpected.
When will the election results come?
Experts say results for New England races such as New Hampshire governor, the five ballot questions in Massachusetts and the Senate will be known about 90 minutes after the polls close. But the presidential race is a different story.
“As far as the presidential race is concerned, depending on your point of view, it could be a long goodbye or a slow-motion car crash,” says WBZ political analyst Jon Keller.
If 2024 is anything like the 2020 election, it could be days before the results are visible.
“I think some states have already indicated that it will take two to three days to count all their votes. The advent of early voting and the expansion of absentee ballots has complicated the job,” Keller said.
Which states to watch?
All eyes will be on the seven theaters of battle; Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. CBS News Director of Elections and Polls Anthony Salvanto says polls are the first indication of how a race is unfolding, followed by how counties vote.
“As votes begin to appear in the province, we will first urge patience. I will remind people that here is an example from Georgia in 2020. When we got all the votes, it was a narrow victory for Joe Biden. But if you had seen that, say, at 8 p.m., just an hour after the polls closed, this is what it would have looked like with only a few counties reporting, many of them Republican-leaning,” Salvanto said.
CBS News will also monitor the balance of power in Congress throughout the evening. You can watch Salvanto following the results live as soon as the results come in.
The most important thing experts say to do on Election Day night is exercise patience.
“Predicting is something I learned not to do years ago, and especially in this election,” Keller said.
