AP PHOTOS: As votes are counted, America and the world wait

Election 2020 America Waits Photo Gallery (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The day finally came and went, but the result hasn't yet.

People in the United States and around the world are waiting anxiously — and sometimes in confusion — for a winner to be declared in the American presidential election.

In text message chains, Twitter feeds and coffee shop lines, everyone seemed to be gaming out the various possible paths to victory for President Donald Trump and his challenger Joe Biden

The day after Election Day dawned, and it was still unclear when a winner might be determined. The margins were exceedingly tight, with the candidates trading wins in battleground states across the country.

It wasn't necessarily a surprise. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, many states made it easier to vote by mail, and millions chose to do. That meant a slowdown in compiling the results because votes received by mail often take longer to process than ballots cast at polling places.

But that didn't make the wait any easier.