Here’s what we will — and won’t — know on election night in Kansas, Missouri midterms

After months of campaigning, it’s up to voters to decide who will represent residents of the Kansas City area.

From senators’ and governors’ races to ballot questions on marijuana legalization and police funding, a myriad of races will be decided by voters. But how much will we know on election night?

While we’re likely to see many preliminary results that will most likely be the outcomes, the official results won’t be finalized until more than a week after election night. Here’s what we can expect to learn, and what we’ll have to wait to find out.

When will we get a sense of election results?

Election officials anticipate that we’ll have a pretty good idea of the winners and results late on election night.

Polls close at 7 p.m. in both Missouri and Kansas, and local election officials told The Star that vote tallies will begin rolling in as early as 7:30 p.m. to share the results of mail-in ballots and early votes.

“We expect to have the results on election night,” Platte County Election Commissioner Chris Hershey told The Star last week. Officials from Johnson and Wyandotte Counties echoed this prediction.

However, mailed ballots only have to be postmarked on Election Day in order to count in Kansas, so those votes won’t be added to the tally until they arrive. This can be as many as three days later, on Friday, Nov. 11. County election offices in both states also have to decide which provisional ballots to count in the week following the election.

If a race is very close, these additional ballots could decide the outcome -– and a tight race may lead to a recount request. We won’t know the official results until each county’s election board certifies its results up to a few weeks later.

What could cause delays in results being reported?

Lines of voters continuing to vote after the polls close could potentially cause a delay in reporting initial results.

All voters who are in line by 7 p.m. are allowed to cast a ballot, even if the closing time has passed. If some polling places are still processing these voters, county election boards may choose to wait before they begin releasing results.

“I would like to refrain from posting results while there are still voters voting at a polling site,” Johnson County Election Commissioner Fred Sherman told The Star. “Your guess is as good as mine what the numbers will be like on Election Day.”

Voting machine problems and a shortage of poll workers could also contribute to delays at certain polling places.

An approximate timeline of election results

Polls close: 7 p.m. on Nov. 8 in both Kansas and Missouri.

Mail-in ballots are due: 7 p.m. on Nov. 8 in Missouri, and three business days later in Kansas, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day.

Mail-in ballots are counted: On Election Day in Missouri and before Election Day in Kansas. While mailed ballots can be counted before Nov. 8, they cannot be added up or announced before Election Day.

Initial results start to come out: Around 7:30 p.m. or after all voters have cast their ballots, depending on your county. Check your local election board’s website for the latest announcements, or the secretary of state in Missouri or Kansas.

Unofficial results are announced: This will vary depending on the race, but will likely be late on election night or early the next morning. County election offices will release updates throughout the evening.

Provisional ballots are counted: Within several days following Election Day, each county’s canvassers will decide which provisional ballots to count. This small number of ballots is unlikely to swing the outcome unless the race is very close.

Election audits take place: In Kansas, a manual audit of 1% of precincts will have to take place at least 48 hours before the Board of Canvassers meets to certify the election results. In Missouri, an audit of 5% of precincts must be completed before the results are certified.

Deadline to request a recount: Nov. 15 in Missouri and Nov. 18 in Kansas. Neither state has automatic recounts, but candidates and individuals can request recounts. Depending on the circumstances, the requester may be required to pay for the cost of the recount.

County canvassers meet to certify election results: Several weeks after the election. The exact date will depend on your county, but results are certified once all votes are accounted for. Once the results are certified, the official final results will become available on your local election board’s website for local races and on your state’s secretary of state website for statewide and federal races.

How will The Star decide when to ‘call’ races?

The Star relies on the Associated Press to ‘call,’ or make an informed prediction, on the outcomes of state and national races. While we may report on who is in the lead as votes are still being tallied, we won’t announce a likely winner until the AP does so.

The Associated Press only calls races when the candidate with fewer votes has no mathematical chance of catching up to the candidate in the lead. That means its announcements come in a little later than some political analysts, but are extremely accurate.

You can watch the vote tallies live and see when the AP has called various races on The Star’s website on Election Night.

Do you have more questions about the Nov. 8 Election? Ask the Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com.