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Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk
November 17, 2020
Welcome to Ballotpedia's Election Help Desk Newsletter. We're following results for more than 9,000 elections held on Nov. 3. Today, we cover:
- Progress made toward calling elections
- The latest on the presidential race
- Noteworthy lawsuits
- Upcoming absentee/mail-in ballot receipt deadlines and certification/canvassing deadlines
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Days Since the Election: 14
Election Results Progress
Click here to read how Ballotpedia calls races. Click here for Ballotpedia's coverage scope.
Ballotpedia is tracking results in 9,761 elections, including each state in the presidential election. Here's the status of these elections as of 5 p.m. on Nov. 17, subject to change as more results come in:
- 91.08% (8,890) are called
- 8.84% (863) are uncalled
- 0.08% (8) are contested
Presidential Election Update
As of 5 p.m. on Nov. 17:
- 49 of 50 states + D.C. called in the presidential election
- Uncalled states: Georgia.
- 232 electoral votes for Donald Trump (R)
- 290 electoral votes for Joe Biden (D)
- Lawsuits in five states regarding presidential election results
Noteworthy Disputes
Here's the latest on noteworthy recounts, lawsuits, and other election disputes.
Recounts
- New Hampshire: On Nov. 16, election officials completed the recount for New Hampshire House of Representatives Merrimack District 20. The recount did not change the outcome: Democrat Dianne Schuett and Republicans Brian Seaworth and Nick White won the district's three seats.
All 400 New Hampshire House seats were up for election on Nov. 3. Republicans won majorities in both chambers of the state legislature, changing New Hampshire from divided government to a Republican trifecta.
- North Carolina: On Nov. 17, the state board of elections announced a full recount in the race for chief justice of the state supreme court. The deadline for completing the recount is Nov. 25.
Incumbent Cheri Beasley (D) requested the recount. Preliminary returns show Beasley trailing Paul Martin Newby (R) by 366 votes out of nearly 5.4 million total ballots cast. The outcome of this race will determine the partisan composition of the court. If Beasley wins reelection, the court will have a 5-2 Democratic majority. If Newby wins the seat, the court will have a 4-3 Democratic majority.
Lawsuits
We are tracking 37 post-election lawsuits, 17 of which directly involve at least one of the two major presidential campaigns. For complete details on all of the lawsuits we're tracking, click here.
- Pennsylvania: On Nov. 17, Judge Matthew Brann of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania heard oral arguments in Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. v. Boockvar. The Trump campaign alleges election officials accepted invalid absentee and mail-in ballots. In particular, the campaign is asking the court to invalidate "ballots cast by voters who were notified and given an opportunity to cure their invalidly cast mail-in ballot."
The legal team working on the campaign's behalf has had several changes in recent days. On Nov. 12, law firm Porter Wright withdrew from the case. On Nov. 16, attorneys Linda Kerns, John Scott, and Douglas Bryan Hughes also withdrew. Marc A. Scaringi signed on to act as counsel for the campaign. On Nov. 17, Rudy Giuliani, a former U.S. Attorney and New York City mayor, petitioned the court to allow him to intervene as the campaign's lead counsel.
Other developments
- Virginia: On Nov. 16, the state board of elections announced a delay in the certification of statewide election results. State officials attributed the delay to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Richmond voter registrar's office. The commonwealth’s remaining cities and counties have certified their local returns, and officials expect to certify the statewide results by the end of this week. The original certification deadline was Nov. 16.
Upcoming deadlines
Absentee/mail-in voting deadlines
Two states have upcoming secondary receipt deadlines for absentee/mail-in ballots. In these states, ballots generally must have been postmarked on or before Election Day, but they will be accepted if they are received within a certain number of days after Nov. 3. These secondary receipt deadlines are listed below in chronological order.
For coverage of all dates, deadlines, and requirements, click here.
Certification deadlines
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia are scheduled to certify their election results between Nov. 17 and Nov. 24.
- Nov. 17:
- Nov. 18:
- Arkansas
- Idaho
- Massachusetts
- Nov. 20:
- Nov. 23:
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Michigan
- Pennsylvania
- Utah
- Nov. 24:
- District of Columbia
- Indiana
- Minnesota
- Ohio
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
Eight states have already certified their election results: Delaware, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.
And a Dose of Calm
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