How will US Election Day unfold?

2 weeks ago 12

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Millions of Americans will head to polling booths on Tuesday to cast their ballots in the 2024 presidential election, in which Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival, Donald Trump, are locked in a tight race.

There are 230 million eligible voters, but only about 160 million of them are registered. Nearly half of the 50 states in the United States, however, allow on-the-day registration while citizens can vote without registering in North Dakota.

More than 70 million people have already voted through postal ballots or at early in-person polling stations.

Voters will also elect 34 US senators (out of 100) and all 435 members for the US House of Representatives. Additionally, gubernatorial races will take place in 11 states and two territories (Puerto Rico and American Samoa).

The US stretches across six time zones. Using US East Coast time (ET), voting will start as early as 5am (10:00 GMT) on Tuesday and go as late as 1am (06:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

We break down when polls open and close across the states:

5am ET (10:00 GMT)

Polls open at different times from state to state. The earliest voting will start well before dawn in some municipalities in Vermont.

6am ET (11:00 GMT)

Polls open in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. Some polls in Indiana and Kentucky also open.

In Maine, polls open from 6am ET to 10am ET (15:00 GMT) depending on the municipality guidelines. In New Hampshire, polls open from 6am ET to 11am ET (16:00 GMT).

6:30am ET (11:30 GMT)

Polls open in the battleground state of North Carolina as well as the red states of Ohio and West Virginia. States that traditionally back Republicans are called red states.

7am ET (12:00 GMT)

Polls open in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

Some polls in Indiana, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan also open at this time. In Tennessee, voting starts from 7am ET to 10am ET (15:00 GMT) depending on the municipality.

Georgia is a critical swing state. In the 2020 election, Democrat Joe Biden won by 0.2 percentage points over Trump, making it the narrowest margin of victory that year.

From 1972 to 2016, Republican candidates would usually sweep Georgia. However, races have become tighter in the state recently due to demographic changes.

8am ET (13:00 GMT)

Polls open in Alabama, Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Some polls in Florida, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Texas also open at this time.

In North Dakota, voting starts from 8am ET to 11am ET (15:00 GMT) depending on the municipality.

Arizona recently became a swing state when Biden defeated Trump by 0.3 percentage points four years ago. From 1952 to 2016, the Republican presidential candidate won in Arizona with one exception – Democrat Bill Clinton when he ran against Republican Robert Dole in 1996.

8am ET (13:30 GMT)

Arkansas starts voting.

9am ET (14:00 GMT)

People start casting ballots in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Polls also open at this time in some parts of South Dakota, Oregon and Texas and for the New Shoreham municipality in Rhode Island.

In Idaho, polls open from 9am ET to 11am ET (16:00 GMT) depending on the municipality.

10am ET (15:00 GMT)

Voting starts in California and Nevada as well as some parts of Oregon. In Washington, polls open from 10am ET to noon ET (17:00 GMT) depending on the municipality.

11am ET (16:00 GMT)

Some polls open in Alaska, a state with two time zones. The state’s other polls open at noon ET (17:00 GMT)

12pm ET (17:00 GMT)

Polls open in Hawaii.

Polls start to close at 6pm ET (23:00 GMT)

Some polls in Indiana and Kentucky close.

7pm ET (00:00 GMT)

Polls close in six states: Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and the remainder of Indiana and Kentucky.

Trump disputed the 2020 Georgia election result. He was later indicted on charges of election interference there. False claims about election fraud in the swing state in this election are already circulating.

Indiana, Kentucky and South Carolina are leaning towards Trump while Virginia and Vermont are expected to go to Harris.

7:30pm ET (00:30 GMT on Wednesday)

Polls close in Ohio, North Carolina and West Virginia.

In 2020 in North Carolina, Trump won the battleground state by 1.3 percentage points over Biden, and in 2016, Trump won the state by 3.6 percentage points over Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.

From 1980 to 2020, Republicans have won in North Carolina in every election except 2008 when Democrat Barack Obama won against John McCain by 0.3 percentage points.

Ohio and West Virginia have historically voted Republican, and a Trump win is expected in the two states.

8pm ET (01:00 GMT on Wednesday)

Polls close in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington and the District of Columbia.

Most polls in Michigan and Texas also close at this time.

Pennsylvania is a swing state that Biden won by 1.2 percentage points in 2020. In 2016, Trump won against Clinton by 0.7 percentage points.

After a Democratic win in 1976, Republicans swept the state from 1980 to 1988. From 1992 to 2012, Democrats won Pennsylvania.

8:30pm ET (01:30 GMT on Wednesday)

Polls close in Arkansas, marking a conclusion of voting in half of the US states.

Arkansas is expected to go to Trump because Republicans have won comfortably in the state from 2000 to 2020.

9pm ET (02:00 GMT on Wednesday)

Polls close in 15 states: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

These include three swing states: Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin.

From 1976 to 2020, Republicans have won in Arizona every election except 1996 and 2020. In 2020, Biden beat Trump by 0.3 percentage points. In 2016, Trump beat Clinton by 3.6 percentage points.

From 1992 to 2020, Michigan has swung blue for Democrats every election except 2016 when Trump beat Clinton by 0.2 percentage points. In 2020, Biden beat Trump in the state by 2.8 percentage points. But US support for Israel’s war on Gaza could turn the sizeable number of Arab American voters in the state towards Trump or the Green Party’s Jill Stein.

Wisconsin has also historically turned blue, doing so in every election from 1988 to 2020 except in 2016 when Trump defeated Clinton by 0.7 percentage points. In 2020, Biden won the state by 0.7 percentage points.

10pm ET (03:00 GMT on Wednesday)

Polls close in Montana, Nevada and Utah.

Montana and Utah are expected to go to Trump. Nevada, however, is a swing state.

While Republicans won the state from 1976 to 1988, Democrats have won there since 2008. In 2020, Biden won by 2.4 percentage points. In 2016, Clinton beat Trump by 2.4 percentage points.

11pm ET (04:00 GMT on Wednesday)

Polls close in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

California is the most populous US state, and it is expected to go to Harris, who is from California and has represented the state in the US Senate and served as its attorney general.

From 1992 to 2020, Democrats have won comfortably in California.

Oregon and Washington are also likely to see a Harris victory while Idaho is expected to go to Trump.