It is called a “red mirage” or “blueshift.”
This is a recent phenomenon in which a clear Republican lead immediately after polls close on election night is erased by the counting of mail-in votes later in the evening or the day after election day.
Former President Donald Trump cited a red mirage to support his baseless claims of election fraud, but the real impact is an increase in mail-in voting and often unique rules about when people can vote.
What happened in 2020?: On election night 2020, November 3, when most Americans went to bed, the final results were not clear. It was still too early in the race between Trump and Joe Biden to call the key states of Arizona, North Carolina, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
The next few days will be dramatic as they monitor vote counting in those states. Biden’s lead in Georgia was not reflected in the vote count until the early morning hours of Nov. 6, when a small number of votes were being counted and had an impact on the close election.
CNN was able to predict that Biden would win on November 7, four days after Election Day, but vote counting is still continuing.
How long will it take this year?: There are signs that things could move faster in some key states.
In Georgia, a new election law could prompt more people to vote early in person instead of by mail, speeding up the process of counting mail-in votes. North Carolina will no longer accept mail-in ballots if they arrive after Election Day.
News networks such as CNN may predict a winner when it is clear who will win, but it is important to remember that the race is not officially certified until later. Certification deadlines vary by state, but all states have a Dec. 11 deadline to complete recounts, if necessary, and resolve disputes over presidential results.
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