Be patient on election night 2020: Counting the returns will take time

It’s time to let go of old ideas about how election night will work. This November, there’s a good chance we won’t have a clear winner in the wee hours of the morning.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, many states are urging residents to vote by mail, and election officials are bracing for a more time-consuming ballot counting process.

Ballots cast by mail require extra steps to verify a voter’s identity, such as comparing signatures, and require more mundane handling like opening envelopes and sorting. Their increased use makes it...