Here in UK all polls are done by with paper ballots. When polls close there is a big push to get the boxes in the right place and votes counted quick. If a recount is needed its done then an there, it causes a hold up but nothing major.
Polls close at 10pm and by midnight-ish the results start coming in. In some places like highlands & islands it takes longer (transport and weather) but usually by 4am–ish everything is fully counted and announced. Its unusual to still be going at it after 5/6 am. And yes - we’ve had some very close races lately.
My confusion is, its not really that different to how its done in Mississippi. How is it possible to still be counting votes 3 days later??
I’ve been keeping an eye on the news but I’m finding it difficult to get a clear answer. What the hell is taking so long???
Remember that NONE of the results in any state are certified yet. Everything at this point is just projected wins based on statistical probability. Until all votes are counted, and potentially recounted depending on each state’s voting laws, there are no official winners yet anywhere. Some states have mandatory recounts if results are within a certain range. Some the candidates can request recounts if within certain ranges. That sort of thing.
Most states allow mail in votes as long as they are postmarked by election day. Usually the race isn’t close enough to where the likelihood of ballots arriving more than a day or so after would change the outcome. Mississippi is unusually close, it is extremely rare for any election to be this close.
It’s not a big deal really, the entire electoral system timeframe in the US is still based on needing to travel by horse to deliver notifications of counts and things like that. It was never updated for modern technology so there is plenty of time built into the system to count and adjudicate normally.
To be honest it sounds incredibly backward to someone from a country where (in a general election) you vote one day, results announced by the time you wake up the next, and new head of govt in power by 2pm that day 😅
In general, its as if rules and procedures in US are chiseled on a stone tablet and cannot ever be modified or removed.
Keep in mind when this election system spanning what was effectively over a dozen separate countries was developed, much of the world were still governing Monarchies.
Useful when you have to change the head of government 2-3 times a year.