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Election results certification dates, 2024
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This article lists state certification dates for November 5, 2024, general election results.
The election results that state and local election agencies present on election night are unofficial, partial results. After election night, results are finalized during what is called the canvassing and certification of the vote.[1]
During the canvassing process, elections officials verify that votes were counted correctly. Officials reconcile absentee/mail-in ballots and military and overseas ballots, process provisional and challenged ballots, and review rejected ballots. After the canvass, officials publish a report, which often includes the official returns; informational statistics such as the number of each type of ballot cast, the number of absentee/mail-in ballots sent out, and the number of ballots rejected; and a narrative portion describing any issues, audits, or remedies. Depending on the state, official certification of the election may occur at the finalization of the canvass, or at a separate certification meeting.[1]
Canvassing and certification occur on the local and state levels. State laws set timelines for these processes. In some states, certification dates for presidential electors vary from deadlines for other offices. Certification dates in some states were subject to change due to recounts.
In 2024:
- Four states had state certification dates within one week of the election.
- Twenty-two states had state certification dates between November 13 and November 30.
- Twenty states had state certification dates in December.
- Four states did not have state certification dates specified in statute.
Click here for more details about each state's certification timeline.
State certification dates, 2024
This table lists state—not local—certification dates. In some states, certification dates for presidential electors vary from the dates in this table. Certification dates in some states were subject to change due to recounts.
| State certification dates, 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | State certification dates | Notes | Source | Official results |
| Alabama | 11/27/2024 | "All returns of elections required by law to be sent to the Secretary of State must, within 22 days after an election, be opened, counted, and certified in the presence of the Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General, or two of them." | Link 1 Link 2 |
Link |
| Alaska | 11/30/2024 | "Target date to certify the GENERAL ELECTION." | Link | Link |
| American Samoa | Not specified | "On receipt of certified tabulations from the election officials concerned, the Chief Election Officer shall compile, certify, and release the election results." | Link | N/A |
| Arizona | 11/25/2024 | "First day to issue Certificates of Election to all prevailing Federal, Statewide, and Legislative Candidates who filed Nomination Papers with the Secretary of State." | Link 1 Link 2 |
Link |
| Arkansas | 12/20/2024 | "It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, in the presence of the Governor, within thirty (30) days after the time allowed to make returns of election by the county board of election commissioners, or sooner ... to cast up and arrange the votes from the several counties[.] ... The Governor shall immediately thereafter issue his or her proclamation declaring the person having the greatest number of legal votes to be duly elected[.]" | Link 1 Link 2 |
Link |
| California | 12/13/2024 | "Statement of Vote certified by the Secretary of State." | Link | Link |
| Colorado | 12/2/2024 | "No later than the twenty-seventh day after any primary or general election or any coordinated election that includes a statewide ballot measure, the secretary of state shall compile and total the returns received from all counties for all candidates, ballot issues, and ballot questions certified by the secretary of state, determine if a recount of any office, ballot issue, or ballot question is necessary, and order the appropriate recounts, if any." | Link | Link |
| Connecticut | 11/27/2024[2] | "The votes returned as cast for a senator in Congress, representatives in Congress and presidential electors shall be publicly counted by the Treasurer, Secretary of the State and Comptroller on the last Wednesday of the month in which they were cast ... they shall, on said day, declare what persons are elected[.]" | Link | Link |
| Delaware | Not specified | "The Governor, after receiving the certificates of the results of the election in each county, under the seal of the Superior Court ... shall, without delay, examine the returns and declare the persons elected, and shall issue certificates of such election[.]" 11/7/2024 was the date for the "Board of Canvass [to meet] in Superior Court in each county to certify the results of the November 5, 2024 General Election." |
Link 1 Link 2 |
Link |
| District of Columbia | 12/2/2024 | "[TENTATIVE] Certification of election results." | Link | Link |
| Florida | 11/19/2024 | "Elections Canvassing Commission [c]ertifies official returns by 8 am/14th day." | Link | Link |
| Georgia | 11/22/2024 | "Last day for SOS to certify the votes cast for federal and statewide contests." | Link | Link |
| Guam | Not specified | "[T]he Guam Election Commission shall not certify the election results until the GEC makes a determination on all election complaints or causes for contest brought to the attention of the GEC within fifteen (15) calendar days of the election. Thereafter, as soon as all the votes are counted and the ballots are sealed, the Election Commission shall certify the results of the election." | Link | Link |
| Hawaii | 11/25/2024[3] | "On receipt of certified tabulations from the election officials concerned, the chief election officer in a state election ... shall compile, certify, and release the election results by district and precinct after the expiration of the time for bringing an election contest." | Link 1 Link 2 |
Link |
| Idaho | 11/26/2024[4] | "The state board of canvassers shall meet ... within twenty-one (21) days after the general election in the office of the secretary of state[.]" "Immediately after the general election canvass, the secretary of state shall issue certificates of election to the federal, state and district candidates who received the highest number of votes for the particular office and they shall be considered duly elected to assume the duties of the office for the next ensuing term." |
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| Illinois | 12/6/2024[4] | "The State Board of Elections, shall proceed within 31 days after the election, and sooner if all the returns are received, to canvass the votes ... and to each person duly elected, the Governor shall give a certificate of election or commission ... and the Governor shall cause to be made such proclamation of the result of the canvass as the statutes elsewhere provide." | Link | Link |
| Indiana | Varies by office | 11/18/2024 was the certification deadline for U.S. senator, U.S. representative, and state legislative offices. 11/26/2024 was the deadline for presidential electors, statewide offices (other than governor and lieutenant governor), and judicial offices. 1/13/2025 was the deadline for governor and lieutenant governor. |
Link | Link |
| Iowa | 12/2/2024[4] | "Not later than twenty-seven days after the day of the election, the secretary of state shall present to the board of state canvassers abstracts of votes cast at the election showing the number of ballots cast for each office and a summary of the results for each office, showing the votes cast in each county. The state board of canvassers shall review the results compiled by the secretary of state and, if the results are accurately tabulated, the state board shall approve the canvass." | Link 1 Link 2 |
Link |
| Kansas | 12/2/2024[4] | "In the case of general elections, the meeting [of the state board of canvassers] shall be called not later than December 1 next following the election, except when the date falls on Sunday, then not later than the following day, and may recess from time to time until the canvass is completed. ... The state board of canvassers shall certify such statements to be correct, and the members shall subscribe their names thereto, and the board shall determine what persons have been elected to such offices and the members shall endorse and subscribe on the statement a certificate of the determination and deliver them to the secretary of state." | Link | Link |
| Kentucky | 11/25/2024 | "Last day for State Board of Elections to meet to tabulate votes and make out certificates of election (not later than third Monday after election)." | Link | Link |
| Louisiana | 11/21/2024 | "On or before the fourteenth day after the primary or general election, if no action has been timely filed contesting the election to the office of a state candidate, the secretary of state shall promulgate the returns for state candidates ... by publishing in the official journal of the state the names of the state candidates for each office in the election ... and the number of votes received by each such candidate ... as shown by the returns transmitted by the clerks of court from the compiled statements by the parish boards of election supervisors. ... On or before the fourteenth day after the primary or general election, if no action has been timely filed contesting the election to office of a candidate other than a state candidate, the secretary of state shall promulgate the returns for the election for candidates other than state candidates by publishing on the secretary of state's website a notice containing the results of the elections for candidates other than state candidates." "Computation of all time intervals in this Section and Chapter 7 of this Title shall include Saturdays, Sundays, and other legal holidays. However, if the final day in a time interval falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or other legal holiday, then the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday shall be deemed to be the final day of the time interval. If one or more of the duties in this Section or Chapter 7 of this Title required to be performed on the fifth, sixth, seventh, or fourteenth day after an election are delayed because of a Saturday, Sunday, or other legal holiday, the duties which follow will be delayed a like amount of time." |
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| Maine | 11/25/2024 | "Within 20 days after an election, the Secretary of State shall tabulate the election returns and submit a certified copy of the tabulation to the Governor. The tabulation of a candidate or referendum election is considered final as of the date the certified copy is submitted to the Governor, except for any contests in which a recount is pending." | Link | Link |
| Maryland | 12/5/2024 | "Deadline for the State Board of Canvassers to convene to certify election results." | Link | Link |
| Massachusetts | 11/20/2024[5] | "The governor shall, in the presence of at least five councillors, certify to the results of the examination of the copies of the records of votes cast ... and shall issue his summons to such persons as appear to be chosen to said offices. ... No certification shall be made or summons or certificate issued under this section until after five o'clock in the afternoon of the fifteenth day following a state election[.]" | Link | Link |
| Michigan | 11/25/2024 | "Deadline for Board of State Canvassers to meet to canvass November general election." | Link | Link |
| Minnesota | 11/21/2024[6] | "The State Canvassing Board shall meet … on the 16th day following the state general election to canvass the certified copies of the county canvassing board reports[.] …Within three days after completing the canvass, the State Canvassing Board shall declare the result and declare the candidates duly elected who received the highest number of votes for each federal office and for each state office voted on in more than one county." | Link | Link |
| Mississippi | 12/6/2024 | "Deadline for County Election Commissions to transmit to the Secretary of State their counties’ General Election returns, including their certified recap sheets and the total number of votes cast in the county for each candidate. ... Declaration of Results by Secretary of State." | Link | Link |
| Missouri | 12/10/2024 | "The secretary of state shall convene the board of state canvassers to total the abstracts of each general election and the board shall, not later than the second Tuesday in December following the general election, issue a statement announcing the results of the general election[.]" | Link | Link |
| Montana | 12/2/2024 | "State canvass completed – Canvass Board declares elected the individuals having received the highest number of votes cast for each state-certified office and proclaims the adoption or rejection of statewide ballot issues and sends certified copies of the reports and results to the Governor." | Link | Link |
| Nebraska | 12/2/2024 | "Board of State Canvassers meets to certify the election results." | Link | Link |
| Nevada | 11/26/2024 | "On this date, the Justices of the Supreme Court, or a majority thereof, shall meet with the Secretary of State to canvass the vote. ... The Governor shall issue certificates of election and shall issue proclamations declaring election of candidates." | Link | Link |
| New Hampshire | 12/4/2024[7][8] | "When the time for any recount or appeal to the ballot law commission or superior court has expired or when all candidates for an office whose names were placed on the official state general election ballot have waived in writing a recount and an appeal, whichever is first ... The governor shall issue certificates of election to the following officers-elect: (a) Electors of the president and vice-president of the United States; (b) United States senator; (c) United States representatives. ... The secretary of state shall issue certificates of election to the following officers-elect: (a) State senators; (b) State representatives; (c) County officers." | Link | Link |
| New Jersey | 12/5/2024 | "Deadline for Meeting of Board of State Canvassers to Certify General Election Results" | Link | Link |
| New Mexico | 11/26/2024 | "The state canvassing board shall meet in the state capitol on the third Tuesday after each statewide election and proceed to approve the report of the canvass and declare the results of the election or nomination of each candidate voted upon by the entire state and by the voters of more than one county." | Link | Link |
| New York | 12/9/2024 | "Last day for State Board of Canvassers to meet to certify General Election." | Link | Link |
| North Carolina | 11/26/2024[6] | "After each general election, the State Board of Elections shall meet at 11:00 A.M. on the Tuesday three weeks after election day to complete the canvass of votes cast in all ballot items within the jurisdiction of the State Board of Elections[.]" "[T]he State Board of Elections shall issue a certificate of nomination or election[.] ... The certificate shall be issued by the State Board six days after the completion of the canvass ... unless there is an election protest pending." |
Link 1 Link 2 |
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| North Dakota | 11/22/2024[4] | "Not later than seventeen days next following a primary, general, or special election, the state canvassing board shall meet at the office of the secretary of state for the purpose of canvassing and ascertaining the result of the election." "After receiving each certified statement and determination made by the state canvassing board, the secretary of state shall record the same in the secretary of state's office and shall prepare, and transmit to each of the individuals declared to be elected, a certificate of election as provided in this chapter. If the election results indicate that any candidate is entitled to a recount or to demand a recount pursuant to section 16.1-16-01, the secretary of state may not prepare or deliver the certificate of election until the time to demand a recount has expired, or the recount results have been determined and the winner declared, whichever is later." |
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| Northern Mariana Islands | Not specified | "As soon as is practicable after the tabulation of ballots is completed, the Commission shall issue certificates of election to the winning candidates for those Commonwealth or local elective offices in which no proceeding affecting ballots or election results has been initiated." | Link | Link |
| Ohio | 11/30/2024[4] | "When the secretary of state has received from the board of elections of every county in the state Form No. 2, as provided for in section 3505.33 of the Revised Code, the secretary of state shall promptly fix the time and place for the canvass of such abstracts, and the time fixed shall not be later than ten days after such abstracts have been received by the secretary of state from all counties." "Each board of elections must complete its official canvas, certify its results, and submit all reports to the Secretary of State’s office no later than 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 20, 2024." |
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| Oklahoma | 11/12/2024 | "The State Election Board shall use such county returns to certify the results of such election for all state officers and questions after 5 p.m. on Tuesday next succeeding the election." | Link | Link |
| Oregon | 12/12/2024 | "Last day for Secretary of State to canvass votes, prepare and deliver certificates of election and issue proclamation declaring election of candidates." | Link | Link |
| Pennsylvania | Not specified | "Upon receiving the certified returns of any primary or election from the various county boards, the Secretary of the Commonwealth shall forthwith proceed to tabulate, compute and canvass the votes cast for all candidates enumerated in section 1408 [presidential electors, United States Senators, Representatives in Congress, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Auditor General, State Treasurer and Secretary of Internal Affairs, Judges of the Supreme Court, Judges of the Superior Court and judges of other courts of record, including associate judges, senators and representatives in the General Assembly], and upon all questions voted for by the electors of the State at large, and shall thereupon certify and file in his office the tabulation thereof." "Not later than this day [November 19], the county boards of elections must complete the computation of votes so as to meet the certification deadline." |
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| Puerto Rico | Not specified | "The Commission shall not be able to certify any candidate, aspirant, proposal, or issue until the general canvass is carried out[.] After the Commission has received the election materials, it shall proceed to carry out a general canvass." | Link | Link |
| Rhode Island | Not specified | "The state board [of elections] shall immediately, after the result has been ascertained, furnish to each candidate elected a certificate of that candidate's election[.]" | Link | Link |
| South Carolina | 11/14/2024 | "State Board of Canvassers meets to: - Canvass votes. - Certify results. - Order any necessary recounts for state-level offices." |
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| South Dakota | 11/12/2024[4] | "Last day for convening the state board of canvassers." "Within seven days after the day of election, the Board of State Canvassers shall open and examine the returns from each county. However, if the returns from each county have not been received, the board may adjourn, not exceeding ten days, for the purpose of obtaining the returns from each county. The board shall proceed with the canvass after the returns have been received from each county." "A certificate of election, signed by the Governor, attested by the secretary of state, with the great seal of the state affixed, shall be issued to each person elected to a federal or state office, or a member of the State Legislature. The secretary of state shall forward to the appropriate federal officer certified copies of the certificates as may be required." |
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| Tennessee | Not specified | "The governor, secretary of state and attorney general and reporter shall, as soon as the returns are received, publicly calculate and compare the votes received by each person for the office of member of the general assembly, presidential and vice presidential elector, member of congress, judge, chancellor, or district attorney general, and declare the person receiving the highest number of votes elected." 11/25/2024 was the deadline for county election commissions to certify the results of the election. |
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| Texas | 12/8/2024 | "The governor shall conduct the state canvass at the time set by the secretary of state ... not earlier than the 18th or later than the 33rd day after election day. ... The governor shall certify the tabulations." | Link | Link |
| Utah | 11/25/2024[6] | "The state board of canvassers shall convene ... on the fourth Monday of November, at noon[.] ... "[T]he lieutenant governor shall ... prepare certificates of election[.]" | Link | Link |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | Not specified | "Each board of elections, after having received all statements, books, lists, papers, vouchers, ballots, ballot boxes and district register from each polling district and polling place in its district, shall convene not later than one day following the receipt thereof and determine the total number of votes cast in the election district for each candidate. ... The chairman, or in his absence, the vice-chairman, of each board of elections shall, ten (10) working days after the determination by the board, notify in writing each candidate nominated or elected from the district, and within 24 hours after the determination, report the result thereof of the Supervisor of Elections in writing. Upon receiving these reports, the Supervisor of Elections shall determine the candidates who have been nominated for election at large, or who have been elected at large, and shall notify them ten (10) working days after such determination." | Link | Link |
| Vermont | 11/12/2024[6] | "At 10:00 a.m. all canvassing committees (statewide, county, senatorial, and representative) must meet to tally returns. ... The committee shall prepare certificates of election and send or deliver these to the candidates elected, except the statewide committee shall prepare the certificates but not sign them." "The prepared certificate shall be presented to the official canvassing committee appointed by the General Assembly, pursuant to Chapter II, § 47 of the Constitution of the State of Vermont, for their use if they desire." |
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| Virginia | 12/2/2024 | "The State Board shall meet by the first Monday in December to ascertain the results of the November election. If a majority of the Board is not present or if, for any other reason, the Board is unable to ascertain the results on that day, the meeting shall stand adjourned from day to day for not more than three days until a quorum is present and the Board has ascertained the results[.]" | Link | Link |
| Washington | 12/5/2024 | "Last day for Secretary of State to certify November General Election results." | Link | Link |
| West Virginia | 12/5/2024 | "The certification of the results of the General Election should be sent to Secretary of State as soon as possible but no later than 30 days after the election." | Link | Link |
| Wisconsin | 12/1/2024 | "Last day for chairperson of the Wisconsin Elections Commission to certify the results of the General Election." | Link | Link |
| Wyoming | 11/13/2024[4] | "The state canvassing board shall meet no later than the second Wednesday following the election. ... The governor shall issue a certificate of election to a candidate duly elected to an office to be filled by electors of the state, district court judges, circuit court judges and members of the state legislature." | Link | Link |
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Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Election Assistance Commission, "Election Management Guidelines Second Edition 2023," accessed September 8, 2024 (pages 127-132)
- ↑ For presidential electors and U.S. senators and representatives
- ↑ "Deadline to file a complaint on contests for cause in the General Election with the Hawaii State Supreme Court."
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Deadline for canvass to begin; certification follows.
- ↑ Earliest date to certify the election.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Canvass begins; certification follows.
- ↑ Date governor to sign certificates of election.
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with Assistant Secretary of State Kaley Dion," October 22, 2024
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