Michael and Maddie’s Election Bet Is Not What You Think

Maddie and I are betting on today's election, but it's not what you might think.

While everyone else might bet on whether President Donald Trump gets four more years or if Joe Biden gets a crack at the Oval Office, Maddie and I are betting on something different.

I was telling Maddie yesterday that I don't believe that it's likely that we'll know the winner of the presidential election by tomorrow morning.  In fact, I believe it could be a week or even more before we know the winner.

Maddie couldn't believe it, so we made a bet. If we know the winner of the presidential election before the start of the show on Friday morning, I will buy breakfast for everyone on the show. If the winner is declared after the start of Friday morning's show, Maddie will buy breakfast for the whole show.

Incredibly, it is estimated that 100 million people cast votes before polls opened today. That is roughly three-quarters of the votes from the 2016 election, and 40 percent of the 240 million registered voters in the United States. According to USA Today, it is estimated that nearly 30 percent of the ballots cast in the country will be mail-in ballots. That is up from an estimated three to five percent in 2016. That's just a jaw-dropping figure.

Now, consider the fact that a number of states are going to count mail-in ballots that arrive after election day. States like Utah, California, Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Nevada, and Washington State will all count ballots that arrive after election day, with acceptable ballots arriving anywhere from a week to more than two weeks after the election.

In other words, settle in, these election results are not going to care about America's obsession with instant gratification.