What to expect on election night: Polls closing, exit polls and results….see more

Two failed assassination attempts, the incumbent’s presidential campaign falling apart, and several major party defections later, the drama of the 2024 election is about to reach a crescendo.

On Tuesday, millions of voters are flocking to polling locations across the country to cast their votes in what is believed to be one of the most hotly-contested presidential elections in history, with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump effectively deadlocked in the national polls.

An estimated 82 million Americans – more than half of the 2020 electorate – have already voted early, according to the Associated Press.

Here’s what you need to know about timings on election night (and beyond):

When do polling stations close?
Since the very first ballot center in Vermont opened its doors at 5am ET on Tuesday morning, polling stations across all 50 states followed suit.

Poll closures also vary state-by-state from 6pm in parts of Kentucky and Indiana to 1am on Wednesday morning at the very last ballot center in Adak, Alaska.

Below is the full list of times (all in Eastern Time) when the last polls close across each state.

(There are sometimes variances in timings between different counties and municipalities within a state.)

. 7pm: Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia

. 7.30pm: North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia

. 8pm: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee

. 8.30pm: Arkansas

. 9pm: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming

. 10pm: Montana, Nevada, Utah

. 11pm: California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington

. 12am: Hawaii

. 1am: Alaska

When to expect exit polls?
One of the earliest, albeit primitive, indications for who will win the White House will be the exit polls: in-person surveys of those who have cast their ballot outside polling centers.

At 5pm, members of the National Election Pool can start releasing the first batch of exit pol data after the press embargo breaks.

However, full exit poll results can’t be released until polling closes across the entirety of individual states (listed above).