Why the numbers move after polls close
Election night numbers are early, unofficial counts. They change as more ballots are counted, and that is how counting is supposed to work.
States count different kinds of ballots at different times. Some start processing mail ballots before Election Day. Others cannot start until Election Day or until polls close.
Some ballots are counted days later by law: mail ballots that arrive by a state’s deadline, provisional ballots once each voter’s eligibility is confirmed, and ballots from military and overseas voters.
After counting, every state runs a canvass. Election officials check and reconcile the totals before they certify them. Official results come only from the state after certification.
A change in the numbers after polls close is not, by itself, a sign that anything is wrong.