Voting in our national election concludes a week from today. At our house, we submitted our ballots some time ago. By mail.
Nationwide polling has been completed. And all of them - ALL of them - show the same thing. Tied at within the statistical margin of error. Separated by fractions of a point. On election night, it may be the next morning before we know who got the most votes. Or even the next week.
I didn't say won. "Won" may be used by the candidate who seemingly got the most votes at the time. "Won" is likely to be used wistfully by whichever political camp you call home. "Won" may be the euphemism used by people who think their candidate was victorious.
But, in this election, we may not know the victor - the one who "won" - for several days. Even weeks. Challenges there will be.
Our many elections offices are run by intelligent, honest public servants. They've practiced and practiced their jobs for months. They know what they're doing and they'll try as hard as humanly possible to get the counting done right. The first time. ASAP.
Still, there are those looming challenges.
If Trump wins, the Harris folks will almost certainly want recounts in specific cases. If Trump loses, he's already talking challenges up to your knees. Which means we might not know who won for up to a week. Or more.
We're at a place in our national history we've never been before. We've always cast our ballots and, in the vast majority of times, accepted the final count. National recounts have been few and far between.
Not this time. If Trump loses - as he likely will - there'll be a rush to the nearest court house with briefcases filled with paperwork. Because judges often call a temporary stop to whatever is being challenged so the legal niceties can be worked out, the outcome of our election could be stopped in a single court. All he needs is one - just one - of those challenges to throw the outcome into doubt.
So, be of stout heart. Lay in more than the usual amount of popcorn and some liquid refreshment. Get some blankets for the couch and settle in election night in front of the telly. And, the morning after.
It's gonna be late. Very late.