Editorials

We won’t know all the election results Tuesday night. That’s not cause for concern.

This year has been an election cycle like none before it. A bitterly divided America is coming into the home stretch, with Tuesday’s election the culmination of months — in some cases, years — of campaigning. With fears high about all manner of election tampering, from hacking to fraud to voter intimidation and court intervention, suspicions are high that delays in reporting results could mean someone’s playing foul with ballots.

Here’s why you shouldn’t worry if — when — races aren’t called on election night, both in Alaska and nationwide.

Nationally, the U.S. has never seen early voting turnout like this before. In 2016, 139 million Americans voted in the Presidential election. This year, more than two-thirds that many ballots have already been cast, before election day even starts. The big reason: COVID-19. Many voters have sought out ways to cast ballots without being around long lines indoors, leading to a tremendous surge in mail-in ballots and early voting. That’s a good thing in that it takes pressure off polling places for those voting in person on election day — but it brings its own set of complications.

The sheer quantity of mail-in, early and absentee ballots will strain the local and state elections offices tasked with tallying ballots on election night. Here in Alaska, mailed absentee ballots aren’t even counted until a week after election day to allow them time to arrive — and this year, there are more than 86,000 of them that have already been cast and returned, with tens of thousands more that may still be en route. That’s the most pre-election absentee votes Alaska has seen, and more than one-quarter of the total votes cast in 2016. In many close races, it won’t be possible to call a winner on election night.

The same is true nationally. Many states will have decisive enough results in the presidential race that they can be called on election night, but in many others — including most of the swing states, unless one candidate secures a landslide victory — the margin will be too thin to declare a winner. Therefore, it’s likely that we’ll go to bed Tuesday night not knowing which candidate will be our next president. That’s not a sign that something’s wrong or suspicious — on the contrary, it would be wrong to call the race when there are still enough votes left to be counted that the result could change.

Unfortunately, the vitriolic nature of our politics and our obsession with instant gratification will surely lead many to assume the worst — especially if their candidate ultimately doesn’t prevail. There will be cries from those seeking to discredit our democracy that the election is being stolen. There may be calls to instigate violence. Don’t fall prey to that. Be patient, and trust the public servants at the local and state levels across our nation who have been conducting our elections professionally and fairly for decades. Alaska has endured races so close they ended in coin flips. We’re patient enough to wait a week or two to be sure we’ve got all the votes counted.

Anchorage Daily News editorial board

Editorial opinions are by the editorial board, which welcomes responses from readers. Board members are ADN President Ryan Binkley, Publisher Andy Pennington and Opinion Editor Tom Hewitt. The board operates independently from the ADN newsroom. To submit feedback, a letter or longer commentary for consideration, email commentary@adn.com.

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