In unprecedented times it’s only natural that we have an unprecedented election.

It’s the first in our lifetimes to occur during a global pandemic, and one in which an unprecedented number of votes will be cast by mail. While we’re used to watching the results roll in on election night, this time it may take days possibly weeks to call winners. And that’s okay.

In a close election, accessibility and accuracy are far more important than immediate results. We should reject any premature victory declarations made before the process has been completed. Patience is a democratic virtue.

More than 150,000 West Virginians requested a mail-in ballot for this election -- far more than in 2016 -- because state officials rightly allowed all registered voters to use this option in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Americans have been voting by mail since the days of the Civil War, and the practice was already becoming increasingly common before this election. That’s because it is a safe, secure, and convenient option for voters.  

All eligible voters should have this option, regardless of whether there’s a pandemic. But more mail-in ballots means more time spent counting, because these ballots take longer to process.

This means we may not have a winner on election night. This isn’t a reason to be disappointed: A lag in results is not only expected, it’s a good sign that the process is working as it’s supposed to. Each and every vote counts. 

Plenty of pundits or even candidates themselves will try to preemptively declare victory. But just because someone calls themselves a winner doesn’t make it true. Any results reported on election night will be based disproportionately on votes cast in person, as mail-in votes continue to be counted.

And there’s a distinct partisan divide based on voting method: about 17 percent of Trump voters prefer to vote by mail compared to 58 percent of Biden supporters, according to Pew Research. Candidates up and down the ballot could easily win the majority of in-person votes, but ultimately lose once all mail-in ballots are counted.

And remember: voters, not candidates or pundits, decide the winner.

Announcing a winner too soon is dangerous. Conflicting reports of election results undermine election integrity and chip away at voters’ trust in the process. It’s important we temper our expectations and prepare for many days, possibly even weeks, before a winner is announced.

There are good reasons for why the increase in mail-in ballots may slow election results. It takes more time to process mail-in ballots for mundane reasons such as taking the ballots out of envelopes, to applying security protocols to verify each mail-in ballot, just as ballots cast in-person are also subject to verification. Ensuring security and accuracy means more time. 
 

We’re also expecting high turnout numbers across the nation, which is a good thing: our democracy is strongest when all voices are heard. But taking necessary safety precautions and counting every vote may mean delays in official results. 

The goal of any democratic election is to represent the will of the people, and to achieve that goal, we must count every single vote.

Let’s prepare for a potentially extended election process to make sure that happens.