So, you voted. What happens next?

Over the next 17+ hours, millions of Americans will fill out or drop off a midterm election ballot at their respective polling locations across the country. But the real work begins after polls close, when election officials in all 50 states start canvassing, aka counting up the votes.

🗳️ A deeper dive… While voting rules vary from state to state, all of them use electronic vote tabulators. Research shows it’s much faster and slightly more accurate than counting by hand.

• Different safeguards are in place across all 50 states to guarantee the accuracy of machine-counted votes, including frequent audits and the existence of paper ballots for recounts.
• As of 2020, less than 9% of America lived in a county that used electronic voting machines without paper trails for all voters – the lowest level on record.
• Rules for recounts also vary by state. Some are automatically triggered in the event of a close result (often 0.5%), while other states allow candidates the option to request a recount.

👀 Looking ahead… Though it depends on the state – each has different rules for when and how votes are counted – we probably won't get the results before heading to bed tonight, thanks to a rise in voting by mail. And in close races, where recounts are possible and legal challenges expected (and, in some cases, already underway), we likely won't know the outcome for anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.