How Long Will Vote Counting Take In NC: Presidential Race

NORTH CAROLINA — Election Day is just hours away and Tuesday will be the culmination of days of early and absentee voting — a shift seen across the country due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As of Monday, at least 4.5 million voters — 62 percent of those registered in North Carolina — had already voted early, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Once polls close Tuesday evening, North Carolinians and voters across the country will be anxious to learn who wins the state's 15 electoral college votes: Republican President Donald J. Trump or Democratic challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden.

North Carolina voters won't have to wait long to learn the results, according to state voting officials.

"The vast majority of all votes cast in the 2020 general election in North Carolina will be reported as unofficial results on November 3," NCSBE said Sunday. The results will become official when they are certified Nov. 24.

Results will begin shortly after all polls close at 7:30 p.m., but could be later if poll hours are extended due to interruptions that last more than 15 minutes.

In North Carolina, mail-in ballots are checked for completeness when returned, and approved ballots are inserted into a voting machine. The results, however, are not tabulated or reported until Election Day.

Here's NCSBE's estimated timeline for election returns Nov. 3:

• 7:30 p.m. — polls close
• 7:30 p.m. - 9 p.m. — Counties report results of in-person, one-stop early voting and absentee by-mail ballots received by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2
• 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. — Precinct officials hand-deliver Election Day results to county boards of election offices
• 8:30 p.m. - midnight — Election Day precinct results are reported; reporting continues until all Election Day results are posted

A ruling from the Supreme Court last week also allowed an extension for mail-in votes to be counted in North Carolina as long as they were postmarked by Election Day.

Of course, it's not just the presidential election results that residents across the Tar Heel State are awaiting. The state's governor, State House and Senate, the entire Council of State, Supreme Court and local races were also on the ballot.