Expect election results in November to take a while, the New York Times told its readers Friday, a warning that appears to preempt an expectation that Americans should know who wins the presidential election on Election Night.

Before modern technology, close presidential elections were often decided in the early morning of the next day, such as the 1960 presidential election between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

Now, in the 21st century, close election results still take a similar amount of time or even longer, depending on the state in question. In 2020, election results were not determined until four days after Election Day.

Americans should not expect to know who won the 2024 presidential election on the night of the election because of “intense security measures required for counting mail-in ballots,” the Times reported:

If a winner is not declared on election night, it will not necessarily point to failures in the process. More likely, it will be a result of the intense security measures required for counting mail-in ballots.

Election officials across the country are trying to telegraph to voters that waiting long hours or even days for a result is not unexpected in a close election. They are eager to counter conspiracy theorists who may seize on the uncertainty as evidence of fraud or malfeasance.

…

Counting mail ballots takes more time because there are more steps involved. A variety of security measures, including signature verification and ensuring that voters did not also try to vote in person, are required. Election officials must open the ballots and flatten them out before they can be put in a tabulator to be counted.

The Times, however, reassured readers the 2024 results are not expected to take as long as 2020 because “states have improved their procedures for tabulating mail ballots, and election officials across the country have more experience with the process.”

*Editor’s Note: This article has been corrected from writing that the 1960 presidential campaign was between Robert F. Kennedy and Richard  Nixon. It meant to state that it was between John F. Kennedy and Richard  Nixon.

Wendell Husebo is a political reporter with Breitbart News and a former RNC War Room Analyst. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality. Follow Wendell on “X” @WendellHusebø or on Truth Social @WendellHusebo.