Results in Georgia runoffs could take days, might show 'red mirage' at first
Election Day is here in the two runoff races in Georgia that will determine whether Democrats or Republicans control the Senate, but there is unlikely to be a result Tuesday night, and it could be days until there is a clear winner.
There's a strong chance that there will be a "red mirage" -- the early but misleading appearance that Republicans have won -- similar to what was seen in the general election in several battleground states.
Trump was leading by tens of thousands of votes in Georgia on election night in November, a fact not unique to the state but something President Trump and his allies cite when claiming baselessly that the election was rigged against him.
It wasn't until Clayton County, the fifth largest and the most Democratic in the state, uploaded a batch of votes in the early hours of the Friday after the election that Biden surpassed Trump and took the lead in Georgia.
In the Senate races, the six largest counties -- which all lean in Democrats' favor -- are going to take longer to count their votes than small, rural counties, which lean in Republicans' favor.
Also, absentee ballots can be received up until 7 p.m. on Election Day, and these will still need to be processed, which is time-consuming. Voters whose absentee ballots are rejected (like for a missing signature) have until 5 p.m. Friday to "cure" their ballots. Military/overseas ballots are due by 5 p.m. on Friday as well. Voters who had to cast provisional ballots because they didn't have a photo ID also must follow up with their county election offices and prove their eligibility to vote by 5 p.m. Friday.
On election night and in the days that follow, a "red mirage" or "blue shift" is not a sign that something nefarious is happening -- it just means the votes are being counted.
-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan