1. When Does Voting Start?
Polling stations open between 7:00 and 9:00 a.m. local time. Due to the various time zones in the U.S., this is between 10:00 and 15:00 GMT.
2. When Does Voting End?
The end of polling times varies from state to state and sometimes even by county.
3. When Does Vote Counting Start, and When Can We Expect Results?
Just hours after the first polls close at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time (00:00 GMT), results are expected to start appearing. However, some states will count votes faster than others. As polls close later in western states compared to eastern states, their initial results will come later, even as eastern states might have already declared results in favor of either Harris or Trump.
In a close race, counting could continue past election night, and it might take several days to know the winner.
Raymond J. La Raja, a political science professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, notes that "the competition is very tight."
According to national polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight, Harris has held a narrow national lead of about 1.2 points since Friday.
However, La Raja pointed out that polls might not accurately capture certain voter groups, which could lead to surprising results for either candidate. He added, "If polls are wrong, and the race isn’t as close as expected, we’ll know very quickly. But my guess is we won’t know in the first few days."
He further stated, "The margin is very, very close, so the losing candidate might not concede. I’m getting enough coffee and tea ready, as it will be a long night, and it could take a few days for the final results to emerge."
4. What Do We Know About Swing States?
Seven key swing states are expected to play a crucial role in determining the election outcome.
These key states include Pennsylvania (19 electoral votes), North Carolina (16), Georgia (16), Michigan (15), Arizona (11), Wisconsin (10), and Nevada (6), with a total of 93 electoral votes.
A candidate needs at least 270 out of 538 electoral votes to win the election.
Polling will end in these states between 7:00 and 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time (00:00 to 03:00 GMT).
Some of the earliest results may come from Georgia, where state law requires all early votes to be counted and reported by 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time (01:00 GMT) on election night.
North Carolina follows, where votes will be counted and reported throughout the evening, with complete results expected by midnight (04:00 GMT).
5. In Nevada and Pennsylvania, Results May Take Days
In 2020, Nevada was slow, with state results only announced five days after Election Day. Since then, rules have changed, and the process is expected to move faster this time. However, results might not be known on election night as the state allows late-arriving mail-in ballots, meaning it could take days to confirm final results.
Pennsylvania, one of the most important battleground states, didn’t have a clear winner in 2020 until four days after Election Day. This state is one of the few that doesn’t allow election workers to begin counting mail-in ballots until Election Day, which could mean it will take several days before results are known.
6. Results in Michigan and Arizona Will Appear Quickly
In Michigan, the count is expected to be faster than in previous elections because officials are now permitted to start counting mail-in ballots before Election Day, though an exact reporting time for state results isn’t available yet.
In Arizona, officials can start counting mail-in ballots as soon as they receive them. The first results are expected around 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time (03:00 GMT), an hour after polls close.
Finally, in Wisconsin, election workers cannot begin counting ballots until Election Day, which means there may also be delays similar to Pennsylvania. According to a CNN report, results might not be available until Wednesday.
7. What Happens in Case of a Tie?
If there’s a 269-269 tie or if a third-party candidate wins electoral votes, preventing either candidate from reaching 270 votes, the next step is known as a "contingent election."
A contingent election is the process where the U.S. House of Representatives decides the winner. Each state delegation in the House casts one vote, and the candidate must secure a majority of state delegation votes to win.
The Senate then selects the vice president, with each member casting one vote, requiring a simple majority of 51 votes to win.
8. Contingent Elections
There have been three contingent elections in U.S. history, in 1801, 1825, and 1837. The closest recent election was in 2000, when George W. Bush won with 271 electoral votes — just one more than needed — after a contentious recount in Florida. Outgoing Vice President Al Gore had received 266 electoral votes.
9. Is There Concern About Potential Delays This Year?
La Raja commented that if results are delayed, "it certainly increases the feeling of fraud and illegitimacy, and the longer the wait, people start saying: what’s happening behind closed doors? How are they counting ballots? Who’s lying?"
According to him, it’s best to conduct a highly competitive election and reach a "final result quickly."
These concerns and suspicions emerged in 2021 when thousands of then-President Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol, attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss and forcing lawmakers to flee for safety. This followed his call to his supporters to "fight hard."
10. What Happened in Previous Years?
In the most recent election in 2020, results were announced four days after the November 3 election, once Pennsylvania’s results were confirmed. In the previous 2016 election, Hillary Clinton conceded to Donald Trump the morning after Election Day.
In the 2020 election, some states experienced a "red mirage," where it initially appeared that Trump was leading as early votes were counted on election night. A subsequent shift to blue, representing the Democrats, occu
rred as additional mail-in ballots were tallied, allowing President Joe Biden to take the lead.
