What to know as states keep counting with key races hanging in the balance - CNN

CNN  — 

Key races to find power of the Senate successful Arizona and Nevada person yet to beryllium called arsenic some states contention to number hundreds of thousands of ballots that person yet to beryllium processed.

It inactive whitethorn beryllium hours – oregon days – earlier capable ballots are counted successful those states to find who won the Senate and gubernatorial races successful some states. There are besides inactive galore key legislature races uncalled successful California and Colorado that volition find what the House looks similar erstwhile the caller Congress is seated successful January.

The unofficial results – and lingering uncertainty astir who volition power Congress adjacent twelvemonth – hasn’t prevented Republican apprehension astir the predetermination results, wherever an expected Republican question ne'er materialized. The lackluster GOP results person raised caller questions astir House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy’s way to the speakership and added a caller furniture to the looming 2024 feud betwixt erstwhile President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Here’s what you should cognize arsenic the counting continues:

The biggest crushed for the hold is the mode that each authorities handles the ballots extracurricular of those formed astatine polling places connected Election Day, including some aboriginal votes and mail-in ballots.

In Arizona, for instance, CNN’s determination table estimates determination are astir 675,000 ballots to beryllium counted. The bulk of those, astir 400,000 ballots, are successful Maricopa County, the state’s astir populous region that includes Phoenix.

Of those ballots, astir 290,000 were dropped disconnected astatine ballot centers connected Election Day, Bill Gates, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors chairman, said connected CNN Thursday. Those ballots person to beryllium processed earlier they tin beryllium counted, starring to a lag clip successful tabulating.

“We’re present getting into what we telephone late-earlys, truthful these are aboriginal ballots that we would person received implicit the weekend, or, successful specifically 290,000 that were dropped disconnected connected predetermination time astatine our ballot centers,” Gates said.

The full was “a record,” helium added.

In addition, Maricopa County has astir 17,000 ballots that were attempted to beryllium counted connected Election Day but were not work by the tabulator due to the fact that of a printer error, and those ballots inactive request to beryllium counted, too.

The region has not yet started counting the 290,000 ballots dropped disconnected connected Election Day, Gates said Thursday. Officials successful Maricopa County said that they expect to merchandise further ballot counts aboriginal Thursday evening that would see ballots received Saturday night, Sunday and astir of Monday.

In Pima County, Arizona’s second-most populous, officials said determination were astir 159,000 ballots near to beryllium counted arsenic of Wednesday evening, and the region doesn’t expect to implicit the number until November 14 oregon 15.

The uncounted ballots see much than 54,000 aboriginal ballots inactive being processed by the recorder’s office. The region expects to tabulate astir 20,000 ballots per time and volition station results astatine 6 p.m. section clip each day.

In Nevada, the authorities instrumentality allows mail-in ballots to beryllium received done Saturday, arsenic agelong arsenic they were postmarked by Election Day, meaning counties are inactive receiving ballots to beryllium counted.

Clark County, the state’s largest that includes Las Vegas, received much than 12,000 postmarked ballots from the station bureau connected Wednesday, Clark County registrar Joe Gloria said. The fig dropped importantly connected Thursday, however, arsenic the region received different 626 ballots from the Postal Service.

In addition, counties successful Nevada person tens of thousands of mail-in ballots that were dropped disconnected connected Election Day successful driblet boxes located astatine polling places. Clark County said that its Election Day driblet boxes contained astir 57,000 message ballots.

In all, determination are much than 50,000 ballots that request to beryllium counted successful Clark County, which are successful “various stages successful the process of validation,” Gloria said successful a Thursday update.

Washoe County, which includes Reno, received adjacent to 18,500 ballots connected Tuesday from voting centers and the station office, arsenic good arsenic astir 4,000 further ballots successful the message Wednesday, according to Jamie Rodriguez, the county’s interim registrar of voters.

Bethany Drysdale, a spokeswoman for the county, told CNN Thursday determination inactive were astir 20,000 ballots that needed to beryllium counted. “More message successful ballots volition get today, but we can’t estimation however many,” she said.

Rodriguez told reporters astatine a Wednesday property league that the region was inactive adjusting to the usage of mail-in ballots and got much than they did during the superior earlier this year.

“Not that we weren’t expecting a ample fig of ballots coming successful – seeing 2 afloat shelves of ballots, though, is simply a small much than we expected, and I deliberation a small harder for america present than successful the primary,” Rodriguez said.

The lackluster show of respective Trump-endorsed candidates successful battleground states has formed caller doubts astir Trump’s imaginable 2024 run motorboat that’s expected astatine an lawsuit scheduled for Tuesday.

At the aforesaid time, DeSantis’s resounding reelection triumph successful Florida is fueling calls for him to capitalize connected his momentum and situation Trump for the 2024 nomination.

The opening of the statesmanlike jockeying close aft the midterms extremity is thing new, but the imaginable combat successful the Republican Party looking for 2024 is peculiarly noteworthy aft Trump teed up the nighttime earlier the predetermination that helium would beryllium making an announcement astatine a Florida rally the adjacent Tuesday.

The Trump-DeSantis showdown has been simmering for months now, but it could burst into the unfastened arsenic the 2024 superior play officially gets underway. A Trump advisor told CNN Wednesday that DeSantis “was already having a infinitesimal but the spotlight conscionable quadrupled successful intensity” aft Tuesday’s election.

McCarthy is moving swiftly to fastener down votes needed to assertion the speaker’s gavel successful the adjacent Congress, arsenic Republicans are inactive closing successful connected a bulk successful the House adjacent aft Democrats had a better-than-expected nighttime connected Tuesday. CNN has not yet projected a Republican takeover of the chamber.

But the eventual size of a Republican bulk could find however hard it volition beryllium for McCarthy to go speaker, arsenic a constrictive bulk could punctual the pro-Trump House Freedom Caucus to basal successful the mode of McCarthy’s enactment ambitions.

A root acquainted with the House Freedom Caucus’ deliberations told CNN connected Wednesday greeting determination are astir 2 twelve existent and incoming members consenting to ballot against McCarthy if helium doesn’t connection them concessions. They are actively discussing putting up a nominal challenger to look McCarthy successful adjacent week’s enactment elections successful an effort to unit the GOP person to springiness them much power successful however the House operates, the root said.

Rep. Bob Good of Virginia, a subordinate of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, told reporters Thursday that McCarthy “has not done thing to gain my vote” for speaker, predicting determination would beryllium a situation to McCarthy for the role.

This communicative has been updated with further developments Thursday.