Counting votes in the United States depends on each state and can take days
In Tuesday's midterm elections, there is no single national procedure for counting votes, and the pace changes from state to state.
BY THE X-TRADER NEWS NEWSROOM · REPORTING FROM REVISTA OESTE · 2 MIN
In the United States, the results of an election do not always come out on the same day as the vote. According to Revista Oeste, the calculation depends on each State. On Tuesday, November 3, millions of voters cast their votes for the House of Representatives and the Senate, in mid-term elections that will define the composition of Congress.
Each State defines how voting takes place, how votes are counted and how the result is confirmed. There is no single national procedure. The country also does not have a central body equivalent to the TSE to coordinate the count, reports CNN, cited by Revista Oeste.
The pace of dissemination also varies. In some locations, the result appears within hours. In others, it takes days or weeks. In California, for example, mail-in ballots can arrive after the election, as long as they were postmarked by the election date.
Equipment changes depending on the state. There are manual ballots, electronic ones with paper records and machines with electronic storage. In 2022, according to Verified Voting, cited by Reuters and Revista Oeste, manual paper ballots predominated where 70% of registered voters were. Electronics with paper registration predominated in areas with 23% of voters, and machines with direct electronic storage, in areas with 7%.
After voting, ballots and digital records are taken to counting bodies. This work involves thousands of volunteers and employees, according to the same report.
What changes for the investor
For those who follow the stock market, Nasdaq, interest rates and the dollar, the central point is the time until the result becomes clear. When the count drags on, the market has less certainty about the composition of the US Congress, and this uncertainty can weigh on short-term decisions. This is a scenario to observe, not a prediction: the reaction will depend on the final result and how investors interpret it. This text is not a recommendation to buy or sell assets.
Automatically translated from Portuguese.
