As Election Day 2024 draws to a close, many are wondering when votes will be counted and a winner will be crowned. With each state running their polls a little different, here’s when voting places will begin to close across the country.
It’s important to note that if you are a voter and you are in line when polls close, you are still allowed to cast your vote. This is also important when it comes to counting votes, as some states wait to report numbers or even start counting until all votes have been cast.
The six earliest states will see their polls close by 7 p.m. ET, with the only battleground state closing this early being Georgia, where the state’s secretary of state says 70% of votes could be counted by 8 p.m. ET due to early and mail-in voting.
Another big Electoral College state is Florida, where polls outside of the panhandle will close at 7 p.m. ET, but those in the panhandle will close at 8 p.m. ET. No projections will be available for the state until all polls close.
Two red states and North Carolina, another battleground state, will see polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, 30 minutes later, polls will close in another swing state, Pennsylvania, at 8 p.m. ET.
By 8:30 p.m. ET, polls will be closed in half of the states throughout the country, with another 15 states having polls close up shop at 9 p.m. ET, including Michigan, Arizona, and Wisconsin.
The highly populated states of Texas and New York will also have their polls closed at 9 p.m. ET.
The final battleground state, Nevada, will see its polls close at 10 p.m. ET, along with two others.
An hour later, California, Oregon, and Washington will see their polls close, likely representing a major portion of the Democratic vote.
By midnight and 1 a.m. ET, the final polls will close in Hawaii and Alaska, respectively.
With states expected to count ballots throughout the night and into tomorrow, it could be days before the next president is chosen.