We all know Tuesday’s election is far from ordinary, both in its importance and level of participation.
Across the nation and here in Virginia, we’ve already seen unprecedented turnout. More than 84 million have voted nationwide and 2.3 million people have cast their vote in the commonwealth, according to the Washington Post.
That’s great for civic engagement, but not so good for swift and definitive returns. It is likely that we will not know who won the presidential election on election night. With more people voting by mail due to COVID pandemic, it will likely take time for each state to count the ballots. States have different rules and procedures as well, meaning that early indications of a winner may not hold once all votes are counted.
In Virginia, polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and most of the votes should be counted by election night because localities can begin processing them once they are received. But ballots may arrive between Nov. 3 and the commonwealth’s receipt deadline of Nov. 6, and they can’t be fully counted until the end of the week.
Here’s what to expect from the newspaper on Wednesday: We will report from the field on election day, covering the local races as well as the situation at regional polling places. However, we will not publish vote totals in Wednesday’s paper and likely will not declare a race unless there is a definitive winner early in the night. Once we have more data about local, statewide and national races, we will publish those in print — ideally within a few days.
Online, we will update our elections information throughout Tuesday night on our Elections 2020 page at pilotonline.com and dailypress.com. There you will find data and graphics, as well as links to our voter guide and other race coverage. But we will be cautious in declaring winners.
If we’ve learned anything from this pandemic, it is that some things can’t be rushed. We appreciate your patience as we all wait for America’s election outcome.
