Electoral College Vote Results: When Will We Know Who Won?

electoral college results

When will we know the results? (Getty)

The electoral college votes today. Right now, Donald Trump is slated to win, with 306 electoral votes to his name. But some voters who supported Clinton are hoping against hope that enough electors will turn faithless that the election will go to Clinton or, at the very least, Trump won’t reach the 270 electors he needs to win and the vote will go to the House of Representatives. How long will it be before we know the results of the electoral college’s votes?

The answer depends on how each state handles its election. However, electors, state officials, and local news are quickly reporting on results, so it looks like we’ll know the “unofficial results” today.

Officially, the electors’ votes won’t be counted until January 6, when Congress meets in a joint session to officially count the votes. Vice President Joe Biden will preside over the count and announce the official results of the electoral college. The President of the Senate will then declare who was elected President and who was elected Vice President. At this point, if no candidate reaches 270 votes, then the House will elect the President through a majority vote from among the top three candidates getting electoral votes, with one vote per state. And the Senate will elect the Vice President by a majority vote from among the top two candidates getting electoral votes.

However, it looks like we will know the unofficial results of who won before January 6. Today, some states are livestreaming their votes, which means that anyone keeping track will know right away who won in those states. Other states or electors are publicly sharing who they voted for. So, although the official results won’t be announced until January, we will have a general idea of who won by the end of the day. You can see exactly what time each state is voting here.

So far, Pennsylvania has announced that all 20 of their electors voted for Trump, along with many other states. Trump looks poised to win. You can see more results, as they are announced, in our story here.