When is the US election and when will we know the results?

The United States is conscionable days distant from its presidential election, with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump focusing their campaigns connected important plaything states, wherever each ballot matters.

As Election Day approaches, we instrumentality a person look astatine what to expect connected the time itself and however the results whitethorn unfold.

When is the US election?

The predetermination volition beryllium held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

In astir states, polling stations volition unfastened betwixt 7am and 9am section time. Given the span of aggregate clip zones successful the US, that would beryllium betwixt 11:00 GMT and 16:00 GMT.

At what clip does the polling end?

Poll closing times disagree from authorities to authorities and sometimes region to county.

However, astir polling stations volition adjacent betwixt 6pm Eastern Time and midnight Eastern Time (22:00-04:00 GMT).

When does the US ballot counting begin, and erstwhile tin we expect the results?

Just hours aft the archetypal polls adjacent astatine 6pm Eastern Time (22:00 GMT), results are expected to commencement coming in. However, immoderate states volition tally votes much rapidly than others. As polls adjacent respective hours aboriginal successful states to the west, their archetypal results volition lone commencement coming aboriginal – erstwhile immoderate eastbound states mightiness already person been called for Harris oregon Trump.

In a choky contention betwixt them, counting could proceed good past predetermination night, and we mightiness not cognize the victor for respective days.

“It’s truly close,” says Raymond J. La Raja, a governmental subject prof astatine the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

According to FiveThirtyEight’s National Polls tracker, Harris maintains a constrictive nationalist pb of astir 1.2 points arsenic of Friday.

However, La Raja explained that the polls mightiness not accurately seizure immoderate elector groups, which could pb to astonishing results for either candidate. If the polls are incorrect and the contention is not arsenic choky arsenic expected “then we volition cognize beauteous quickly,” helium added.

“But my conjecture is we volition not cognize successful the archetypal fewer days.

“It’s truthful adjacent [that a campaigner might] not concede… truthful I would get retired the java and beverage due to the fact that it’s going to beryllium a agelong evening that mightiness spell into fewer days.”

What bash we cognize astir the plaything states?

Seven plaything states are expected to beryllium cardinal successful deciding the statesmanlike contention outcome.

These cardinal states see Pennsylvania (19 Electoral votes), North Carolina (16), Georgia (16), Michigan (15), Arizona (11), Wisconsin (10), and Nevada (6), collectively totaling 93 Electoral College votes.

A campaigner needs astatine slightest 270 retired of 538 Electoral votes to triumph the election.

Polls successful these states volition adjacent betwixt 7pm and 10pm Eastern Time (23:00 to 02:00 GMT).

Some of the archetypal results volition apt travel from Georgia, wherever authorities instrumentality requires that each aboriginal votes beryllium counted and reported by 8pm Eastern Time (midnight GMT) connected predetermination night.

North Carolina follows. In this state, votes volition beryllium counted and reported passim the evening, with implicit results anticipated by midnight (04:00 GMT).

In 2020, Nevada was slow, and the authorities was not called until 5 days aft predetermination day. Since then, the rules person changed, and the process is expected to determination faster this time. Still, the results mightiness not beryllium known connected predetermination night. The authorities allows late-arriving message ballots, truthful it could instrumentality days until we cognize the last results.

Pennsylvania, 1 of the astir important battleground states, did not person a wide victor successful 2020 for 4 days aft Election Day. The authorities is 1 of lone a fewer that bash not let predetermination workers to statesman processing message ballots until Election Day, which means it volition apt instrumentality respective days earlier the results are known.

In Michigan, the counting could beryllium faster than successful erstwhile elections, arsenic it present allows officials to statesman processing message ballots earlier Election Day, but we bash not person a wide clip yet for erstwhile the authorities mightiness beryllium called.

In Arizona, officials tin statesman processing message ballots arsenic soon arsenic they are received. First results are expected to beryllium reported astatine astir 10pm Eastern Time (02:00 GMT), 1 hr aft the polls close.

Finally, successful Wisconsin, canvass workers cannot statesman processing ballots until Election Day, which means determination could besides beryllium delays, akin to Pennsylvania. According to a CNN report, results are not apt until Wednesday.

What happens if determination is simply a tie?

If determination is simply a 269-269 necktie oregon a third-party campaigner wins Electoral votes, preventing immoderate campaigner from reaching 270 votes, the measurement that follows is known arsenic a “contingent election”.

A contingent predetermination is the process that takes spot erstwhile the US House of Representatives decides the winner. Each state’s delegation successful the House casts 1 vote, and a campaigner indispensable person a bulk of the authorities delegation votes to win.

The US Senate would past take the vice president with each legislator casting 1 ballot and a elemental bulk (51 votes) required to win.

There person been 3 instances of contingent elections successful the US, successful 1801, 1825 and 1837. The closest predetermination successful caller years was the 2000 statesmanlike contest, erstwhile George W Bush won 271 Electoral College votes – conscionable 1 much than helium needed – aft a arguable recount successful Florida. Outgoing Vice President Al Gore won 266 Electoral College votes.

Is determination interest astir a imaginable hold this year?

If the announcement of results is delayed, “it decidedly increases feelings of fraud and illegitimacy,” La Raja said.

“The longer we wait, radical are like: what’s going connected down those closed doors? How are they counting the ballots? Who’s lying?,” helium added.

According to him, it’s amended to person a choky predetermination and scope “the verdict quickly.”

These fears and doubts arose successful 2021, when thousands of supporters of then-President Trump stormed the Capitol, trying to overturn his 2020 predetermination nonaccomplishment and forcing lawmakers to tally for safety. This happened aft helium told his supporters to “fight similar hell.”

What has happened successful erstwhile years?

In the past predetermination successful 2020, the results were announced 4 days aft the predetermination connected November 3, erstwhile Pennsylvania’s results were confirmed. In the erstwhile predetermination successful 2016, Hillary Clinton conceded to Donald Trump the greeting aft the election.

In the 2020 election, immoderate states went done what is known arsenic a “red mirage”, with Trump appearing to pb erstwhile the archetypal votes were counted connected predetermination night. A “blue shift” took spot arsenic additional, mail-in votes were counted, and President Joe Biden took the lead.