Reply #2

In the United States we tend to have many candidates on the ballot. For example, the spring election here could feature a few state-level candidates (Supreme Court, attorney general, secretary of state, etc.), a dozen judgeships to fill, members of the city council, county board, and school board--we're talking about upward of 20 different races, plus a referendum or two. The counters would need to be prepared to work for quite a while, and the rest of the population to wait for results.