BTRTN: Could Joe Biden Be Declared the Winner Outright On Election Night (That Is, With No Delay)?

[reggieandlee]

Born To Run The Numbers poses the question: Is there any scenario in which Joe Biden is declared the outright winner of the Presidency on the night of (or early morning following) Election Day. While the odds are slim, there is the chance... here's how it could happen:

http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2020/10/btrtn-could-joe-biden-be-declared.html

Excerpts: "But another pre-emptive scenario could be if Biden could actually be declared the winner outright on Election Night, sometime before, say, 6 AM Wednesday morning. This is quite unlikely. We have been warned that with all the mail-in ballots – possibly up to 80 million of them – it will take weeks to count the votes, and America will have to sit on its hands. But while an Election Night Biden declared win is not likely, that does not mean it is impossible.
"The first assumption is that the 'solid for Biden states' at the top (refer to chart at BTRTN), will be conclusive on Election Night. Biden holds double-digit leads in all of them, many by very large margins, and those states will start counting ballots either on receipt or well before Election Day. Thus they will be in a position to have counted plenty, if not all, of the mail-in votes by the end of Election Night, and this, along with exit polling, will be sufficient for the Associated Press and the networks to call them for Biden without dispute. That gets Biden to 212 electoral votes that night, needing 58 more.
"He can get within field goal range with wins in New Hampshire, another solid state, Minnesota, a likely winner, and Arizona, a leaner at this point. Winning those three states brings him to 237 electoral votes. Then the big one: Florida. For Biden to be declared the winner on Election Night, he pretty much has to win Florida...
"And then he needs one more. It could be North Carolina, or Ohio, or Iowa or Georgia.."

[wryter2000]

1. Crap

I’ve been waiting 4 years for this election. Now I’ll have to wait more. Someone, please reassure me it won’t be long.

[Under The Radar]

2. We will get to see just how sophisticated Russia really is

Because if it were a clean voter tally, Florida would be called before 11Pm which would end any legitimate chance that Trump has.

[PubliusEnigma]

3. If Biden wins Florida (which will have the early vote counted on election night), it's all over.

[Aristus]

4. I think it depends what percentage of the total votes cast in a precinct

are early votes. If any given precinct is able to tally a certain reliable percentage of votes on Election Night, they might be able to call their races on time.

[jonstl08]

5. Probably not

Probably no winner declared that night since each state counts mail in/absentee voting differently. Some states count them before November 3rd and report the results right away. I think Florida does this. Other states I believe in some battle ground states by state law cannot start counting until the polls close. I could be wrong about this but that was my understanding.