Exercise caution with candidates who declare victory too soon. Although voters may be eager for the presidential election outcome as quickly as possible, election specialists point out that results are **seldom official on the day ballots are cast**. This is due to the lengthy process of validating, processing, and counting each ballot.

Media organizations and candidates might announce an early election result based on **predicted numbers** and the gap between candidates in critical battleground states. However, this does not indicate that all votes have been counted, particularly in states that prohibit mail-in, absentee, or early ballots from being processed prior to Election Day. It’s vital to confirm the sources of any election announcements circulating online. Trusted organizations, such as the **Associated Press**, adhere to rigorous standards when declaring race outcomes.

For the most precise and authentic information, individuals should follow the election authorities in crucial battleground states like **Arizona**, **Georgia**, **Michigan**, **Nevada**, **North Carolina**, **Pennsylvania**, and **Wisconsin**.

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As Election Day nears, **X** (previously known as Twitter) users may observe a patriotic flair in their feeds, along with the risk of misinformation. The platform has launched a new animation for the like button, which morphs into a star-burst-filled ballot box upon being tapped. However, this animation is exclusively available on posts utilizing the official #ElectionDay and #Election2024 hashtags, which also include a ballot box emoji. Contrary to some online assertions, this feature is not tied to CEO Elon Musk’s political preferences.

This animation is part of X’s **live Election Day hub** and serves as a typical marketing strategy employed by brands, campaigns, and festive occasions. However, some viral tweets wrongly associated the animation with Musk’s endorsement of Donald Trump, alleging it celebrated the former president’s “current lead.” These posts were not grounded in official election results but rather on polling data from **Atlas Intel**, a data analysis and forecasting firm.

X’s bot networks quickly capitalized on this engagement, with numerous accounts sharing identical messages to attract likes and shares: “I thought this is a hoax 🙀, but it’s absolutely true Elon Musk has altered the like button for the United States Elections 🇺🇸.” Others utilized the official election hashtags to accumulate likes with pro-Trump sentiments, such as “Repost for Kamala, Like for Trump.”

In the meantime, numerous users continued to use the election hashtags for their traditional use: memes.

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For immediate updates on the presidential election, consult these **live election results maps**.