Happy Election Day! We know anxieties are high, for Democrats, Republicans, and, well, anyone hoping that democracy continues. We’ll be here on this live blog all day and night, sifting through the latest election results and political antics while offering commentary and distraction when the day feels too heavy. In the meantime, here are some things to note:
What time do the polls open?
Each state has different rules for early voting, but as of today, voters have returned 82,052,087 advance ballots. Election Day voting, meanwhile, began this morning at 5 a.m. ET (well, technically, midnight in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, where six registered voters live; insert West Wing reference here) in some towns in Vermont. Check your state board of elections website for specific polling place hours.
When can we expect exit polls?
The earliest exit polls are released around 5 p.m. ET, but election watchers should be wary of any claims or predictions made by these early numbers. Polling places across the US are still open, and exit polls only become more reflective of the electorate as the night rolls on and the data is reweighted. A note of general caution: be skeptical whenever you read about exit polls today; they’re really intended to explain how someone won once the election is over, not to gain real-time insights into who’s winning earlier in the day. For instance, did you vote early? More than 82 million people returned advanced ballots, which means that questioning voters as they exit polling places today won’t give us an estimate of how they voted.
What time does voting end?
The first Election Day polls will close at 6 p.m. ET (parts of Indiana and Kentucky), and the last close at 1 a.m. ET Wednesday (Alaska). Here’s a full rundown of poll closing times by state.
Where to find real-time election results:
We’ll have results on this live blog. You can also track all the calls by each network here.
If you are looking to keep a second or third screen in view, here are some other ways to follow Election Day news and results:
-The New York Times’s homepage will have a results map.
-ABC News will start network coverage at 7 p.m. ET, while ABC News Live began coverage on streaming platforms at 8 a.m. ET.
-CBS will start primetime coverage at 7 p.m. ET.
-CNN started election coverage at midnight on November 4. Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper will take over at 4 p.m. ET, and network coverage will begin streaming at 7 p.m. ET.
-C-SPAN will begin coverage at 7 p.m. ET.
–NBC will begin coverage on the network and streaming platforms at 5 p.m. ET, with Lester Holt and Savannah Guthrie joining at 6:30 p.m. ET.
–MSNBC’s primetime coverage will begin at 6 p.m. ET.
-Amazon Prime Video will begin coverage with Brian Williams at 5 p.m. ET.
-Fox News will begin coverage at 6 p.m. ET.
