Save Election Day

Remember when Election Day used to be just that, a day? Now, it drags on for weeks. In 2022, it took 35 days for all the votes in federal elections to be counted.

The delay in election results is driven by mass vote-by-mail. 18 states now accept mail ballots that arrive after Election Day. Some accept ballots up to 14 days after Election Day.

All of the states shaded in blue accept mail ballots after Election Day. Select a state from the dropdown to learn how many days they accept mail ballots after Election Day.

Click on the pin to learn how long these states accept ballots that arrive after Election Day.

Why Election Day Still Means Something in Florida

Who can forget the first time the federal elections drug on for weeks? All eyes were on Florida as the election officials debated hanging chads and the winner of the presidency hung in the balance. Would the next President be Gore? Would it be Bush? The whole country sat on the edge of their seats.

After five weeks, the Supreme Court got involved and ended the recounting of votes. Florida’s 2000s election was the worst in the country’s history.

Fast forward to 2023. Florida election officials got their act together and cleaned up their election system to make it one of the few states that was able to get their election results in early on Election night. In 2022, Florida’s U.S. House, Senate, and Gubernatorial races were all called within two hours of the polls closing.

Florida Secretary of State, Cord Byrd, let PILF investigators into his office to see how Florida gets all their votes counted securely by election night.

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