When will we know who won US elections 2024?

Americans are bracing themselves for another nail-biting wait to find out who'll claim the White House and control Congress.

With Kamala Harris and Donald Trump neck and neck in the polls, it's unlikely we'll know the winner on election night itself .

The outcome hinges on four crucial swing states: Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, which have absentee ballot procedures that may take days to wrap up.

If Harris decisively wins the other swing states, she might be declared the victor, but any other result will require more time.

When will winner be declared? 

Well, that depends on how close things turn out to be. Four swing states – Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – have absentee ballot procedures that can require days to conclude. But if Harris has decisively won the other swing states, it is enough to declare her the victor. Any other result will take time.

The calls of different networks may differ in timing because each uses a model that is independent of others. Different analysts may make conclusions at different times.

What states will provide results first this year?

It’s likely that news organizations will call several east coast states first where one candidate has a clear advantage over the other.

“Obviously, there are some states that are going to be basically called at full closing,” said Drew McCoy, president of Decision Desk HQ. “There’ll be some that are called, you know, once you sort of start to see the first votes come in and that it tracks with historical precedents.”

When will we know who controls Congress?

Individual congressional races will be called as votes come in, but with 435 races across the country, some are bound to be too close to call on election night. Depending on how many, it may not be obvious for some time which party controls Congress, McCoy said.

“There’s always kind of like one or two races that are just, you know, ridiculously close, and it just goes to a recount, or whatever the process may be,” McCoy said. “It’s very much about waiting for the data and seeing what it tells you, not getting in front of that. That’s our biggest rule, is never getting in front of the data.”

When is the presidential inauguration?

The president-elect will begin their term in office after being inaugurated on Monday, 20 January 2025, in the grounds of the US Capitol complex.

It will be the 60th presidential inauguration in US history.