# When will we know who the next President is? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 27, 2024, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-we-know-who-the-next-president-is/1006326 "2024-08-27T20:17:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-we-know-who-the-next-president-is/1006326/41 "2024-09-05T00:01:19Z")
If it comes down to Pennsylvania, it will take days — even if the election is not all that close. Most of us here will probably vote by mail, and counties cannot start opening envelopes until Election Day. This was mentioned earlier in the thread, but details are here: [Republicans in the state Senate refused to change the law and allow mail-in votes to be counted ahead of Election Day, despite widespread calls for change.](https://wapo.st/47eacfr) > [@](#): > > Despite widespread calls for change, Pennsylvania is likely to again take several days to announce this year’s winner, alarming state election officials who worry the delay will cause confusion, deteriorate trust in the process and make election workers targets for harassment. > > “If the electoral college comes down to Pennsylvania or Wisconsin, we might still face a long period where we don’t know the winner,” said Rachel Orey, an elections expert at the Bipartisan Policy Center. Of course, nobody knows the answer to the thread question. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-we-know-who-the-next-president-is/1006326/42 "2024-09-05T00:13:39Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Republicans in the state Senate refused to change the law and allow mail-in votes to be counted ahead of Election Day, despite widespread calls for change. Do we know what their objection was? Or at least their stated objection? I assume they didn’t say “we want to create as much chaos as possible.” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-we-know-who-the-next-president-is/1006326/43 "2024-09-05T00:18:35Z")
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say we’ll know before midnight on the west coast. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-we-know-who-the-next-president-is/1006326/44 "2024-09-05T00:20:19Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > If it comes down to Pennsylvania, it will take days Unless it’s a total blowout, it will probably come down to Pennsylvania. The vast majority of projections show that as goes PA, so goeth the nation. There are scenarios where Harris gets GA and most of the other swing states and can win without PA, but those are low probability. I’ve been following Democratic strategists, and I’m not sure how hard it is for Trump to win without PA. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2024, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-we-know-who-the-next-president-is/1006326/45 "2024-09-05T00:34:35Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > > > Republicans in the state Senate refused to change the law and allow mail-in votes to be counted ahead of Election Day, despite widespread calls for change. > > Do we know what their objection was? Or at least their stated objection? I assume they didn’t say “we want to create as much chaos as possible.” Googling I found this: > **[Cutler: House Democrats Continue to Fail Pennsylvanians on Election Reform](https://www.pahousegop.com/News/34119/Latest-News/Cutler-House-Democrats-Continue-to-Fail-Pennsylvanians-on-Election-Reform)** > > Cutler: House Democrats Continue to Fail Pennsylvanians on Election Reform Basically, since the Democrats want it, they should be willing to give up something in return. The something desired to by the GOP is making it harder to vote. Both parties think Democrats are less likely to vote if it is a PITA. I think this is totally outdated analysis, but for some reason they aren’t listening to me 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-we-know-who-the-next-president-is/1006326.md?page=2)