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Results tonight? Don't be so sure

The only thing about the election sure to end tonight are the ads.

The only thing about the election sure to end tonight are the ads.

The final results could be clear tonight, since polls close by 11 p.m. Eastern Time in every state but Alaska.

Then again, they not be ready for the history books for days. Or weeks. Or even months.

Polls show voters almost evenly split between President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney, and projections of electoral votes suggest scenarios where the outcome hinges on a single state or two.

If that happens, and voting in a crucial state is close, expect challenges that mean recounts, lawsuits or even Congressional action.

Although Florida, for example, mandates that recounts to be completed in a dozen days, Ohio's "labyrinthine" process "ensures weeks of delays and the likelihood of a mountain of lawsuits," according to the New York Times.

In some other states, recounts are automatically initiated if the margin is less than a certain percentage. In Pennsylvania, it's half of 1 percent.

The courts have already been quite busy this election season, weighing in on voter-ID laws, provisional ballots, and deadlines for early voting and absentee ballots. A pending Ohio lawsuit challenges how perhaps 300,000 provisional ballots will be tallied. The judge isn't expected to rule until Nov. 17, according to the Associated Press.

In 2000, the election wasn't finally decided until Dec. 12, when the U.S. Supreme Court let stand Florida's certification of George Bush's winning its 25 electoral votes, providing the margin for the Republican to win the White House.

Vice President Al Gore, the Democratic challenger, went on to win an Oscar and a Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2004, Bush was re-elected in another close race, one in which Ohio's 20 electoral votes were enough to tip the balance. Although Democratic challenger John Kerry conceded defeat, suspicions of inaccurate vote-counting led a group of Congressional Democrats in January 2009 to challenge Ohio's electoral votes. The move was soundly defeated by the House and Senate.

The craziest scenario of all involves an even split in the Electoral College. The math suggests a 269-269 tie is possible. In that event, the choice of president would go to the House of Representatives, with the vice president being picked by the U.S. Senate, where it's even possible Vice President Biden, serving as president of the Senate, could cast the tie-breaking for himself.

One possible result: Romney in the White House, with Biden a heartbeat away.

Maybe the candidates should wait to decide on Kid Rock or Bruce Springsteen at inauguration parties.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.