Daijiworld Media Network - New York
New York, Nov 3: The first results showing clear trends in Tuesday's US midterm elections are expected before midnight (10.30 am Wednesday in India), particularly in constituencies where the contests are not closely fought.
In nine of the 11 closely watched Senate races, results could become known by Wednesday noon (10.30 pm IST). However, even these results may not be sufficient to establish which party will secure a majority in the Senate.
Two states, Alaska and Maine, follow a ranked-choice voting system. Under this system, if no candidate secures 50 per cent of the votes in the first count, further calculations are carried out by considering voters' second preferences. This process can delay the final results.
Legal challenges, which Republicans have threatened, could further prolong the counting process and delay the declaration of results in some constituencies, particularly in Alaska.
The previous two election cycles illustrate the possibility of delays. In the 2022 and 2024 elections, it took eight days to establish control of the House of Representatives because counting remained close in several key constituencies. In 2022, it took four days to determine control of the Senate.
In one California House constituency in 2024, where the winning margin was just 187 votes, the final result took 29 days to emerge.
However, a major concern overshadowing the election process, particularly in the Senate races, is whether President Donald Trump will accept the results.
Trump has still not acknowledged his defeat in the 2020 presidential election and continues to claim that the election was "stolen".
His Justice Department, which unsuccessfully attempted to challenge the Alaska Senate election in advance, is reportedly preparing the ground for similar legal challenges in other states.
In California, the Justice Department approached a court seeking an order to separate around 20,000 early ballots, alleging that they had been cast by non-citizens.
However, the department lost the case and subsequently failed in its appeals before higher courts, including the Supreme Court.