On November 5th, according to CNN, the "red illusion" refers to the phenomenon in which the Republican lead early on election night turns to the Democratic lead in the evening or a few days after the mail-in vote count. Trump has used this phenomenon to accuse elections of corruptive practices, but it is actually the result of mail-in voting and state counting rules. In 2020, Biden's lead in Georgia did not become apparent until the early morning of November 6, and in 2016 Hillary Clinton experienced a similar shift in the popular vote count without changing the result. States must complete election certification by December 11, 2024 at the latest.