Officials for Joe Biden’s campaign and independent voting experts have stressed a set of facts that should bolster confidence in the voting process. These observations are not partisan; they simply reflect established laws and facts.

First, despite concerns about physical intimidation and violence, such incidents have been small and sporadic. That did not happen by magic. Private nonprofits and officials at state and local levels provided training to law enforcement and conducted a public information campaign to explain which actions are illegal under federal and state laws.

Second, according to members of the National Task Force on Election Crises, the “missing” 300,000 ballots that the U.S. Postal Service had said could not be traced are not actually missing. They were unscanned ballots, but there is as yet no evidence they did not reach the intended recipients. Rather, these ballots probably went directly to carriers for delivery.

Third, there has been litigation in Nevada, Pennsylvania and elsewhere, but none of these cases advances a legal theory that would end vote-counting or invalidate a significant number of ballots. Courts in Nevada and Pennsylvania have dismissed spurious claims (e.g., Republicans tried to disallow ballot officials from allowing voters to cure signature-match issues). Remember: There is litigation in every election. This election is no different — aside from President Trump’s hyperventilation.

Fourth, in some states there may be automatic recounts; in others, a recount can be requested. Michigan has an automatic recount, but only if the result is within 2,000 votes. In Pennsylvania, a margin of half a percentage point or less triggers a recount. In Wisconsin, if the result is within 1 percent a candidate can request a recount, as the Trump campaign said it will do on Wednesday. Although this is normal, it is extremely rare that vote totals change by tens of thousands, the margin that probably will separate the two presidential candidates in a number of states.

There has been some questionable behavior in this election. In a call with reporters, Paul Smith of the Campaign Legal Center said that Republican state legislators in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin blocked requests from local election officials to begin counting ballots as they came in or at least in advance of Tuesday to speed the reporting of the massive influx of early and mailed ballots. They apparently did this to try to prevent the count from starting, claim that voting had to be cut off or that Trump was “winning” and then try to delegitimize votes tabulated after Tuesday. This was misguided in multiple respects, but largely because Trump was not “ahead” as of Tuesday night. We do see a shift in the composition of votes as early ballots are tabulated, but that is neither irregular nor unexpected. Trump nevertheless continues to claim that this is some how illegitimate.

In any case, voting officials have been speedy, considering the record number of ballots cast this year. Georgia promises to finish counting Wednesday; Wisconsin officials said that all unofficial results had been reported. Media outlets and the general public should be patient and confident. The voting system — aside from an unhinged president bent on creating cover for an impending loss — is working.

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