Millions of Americans are eagerly waiting tonight to find out who our next president will be. Will it be Trump or Kamala? The bad news is we likely won’t know who the winner of the election is tonight because of how key states, including Pennsylvania and Nevada, process mail ballots.

ICYMI: PILF President J. Christian Adams penned an op-ed in The Hill: Why We Probably Won’t Know Who the Next President is on Election Night

• “Maricopa County, Ariz. election officials have warnedit will take them 10 to 13 days to count all the ballots. The Associated Press is already cautioning that highly competitive races in Nevada may not be called on election night. Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt has told voters to not expect results on Election Day.”

• “Things worked better once. Once, we had the results and then went to bed. Now we have Election Month, with officials warning Americans to prepare themselves for weeks of uncertainty afterward. How did this happen?”

• “These delayed results are driven primarily by mass mail-voting. Specifically, how states’ laws relate to the acceptance and tabulation of mail-in ballots.”

• “There are 17 states that accept mail ballots that arrive after Election Day. Some even accept ballots that arrive up to two weeks late. When a state allows ballots to roll in for days after an election, results will be delayed for days.

• “Not only does accepting mail ballots that arrive after Election Day lead to delays in election results, but it also violates federal law. Congress passed a law that created a single national Election Day, to be held on ‘the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of every even-numbered year.”

• “Delayed canvassing also delays results. Some states like Florida, for instance, begin canvassing of absentee ballots ahead of time — they don’t wait until after the election. It works well. Florida law also criminalizes any leaks about the vote count. In 2022, Florida managed to call all its House, Senate and gubernatorial races within two hours of polls closing. Election Day still means something in Florida. Other states should take note.”

Read the full op-ed here.

BOTTOM LINE: We must restore the “day” in Election Day, so we can restore trust in the process.