AS millions head to the polls to decide who will be the 47th president of the US, here are the timings you need to be aware of.
The fate of candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will be sealed in the next few hours as voters race to the ballots in what is deemed to be one of the closest presidential elections in US history.
ReutersA sign is seen outside a polling station in the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Election Day in Raleigh, North Carolina[/caption]
ReutersPeople line up to vote in the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Election Day at Park Tavern in Atlanta, Georgia[/caption]
Though millions have opted to vote early via mail-in votes, those leaving it until today must pay attention to when the polls will close.
Not only will this impact those who have not yet voted, but also which states will announce their results first.
The first two states to close their polls will be Indiana and Kentucky which will end at 6 pm Eastern Time (11 pm GMT).
This will be followed by the majority of states including Arizona, Texas, Florida, and Nevada where polls close at 7 pm ET (Midnight GMT).
Others such as North Carolina and Arkansas will join at 7:30 pm ET and a slew more at 8 pm including Alaska, California, and Washington.
The final state to close polls will be New York where they close at 9 pm ET (2 am GMT).
However, it could be days or hours before we find out the winner, particularly in the swing states like Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
These are key battlegrounds for both candidates where votes often come down to the wire.
For the 2020 election between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, it took five days for a winner to be announced due to a surge in mail-in votes thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, as the 2024 race for the White House is neck-and-neck, many fear that there will be an even lengthier wait this time around with states going through the process of recounting votes.
The election between George W Bush and Al Gore in 2000 saw voters wait five weeks for a winner due to a recount in Florida which ended with a Supreme Court ruling on December 12.
Meanwhile, other states could declare a winner moments after voting stops.
Alabama is expected to be one of these areas due to having a majority of in-person voters.
Arkansas and California could also announce results on Election Day as they both have a small number of absentee ballots and declared a winner around 8 pm local time in 2020.
States like Colorado, Connecticut, and Delaware are also expected to announce on Election Day night.
Meanwhile, states with a large amount of absentee voters who have mailed in could take much longer to declare a winner.
This includes Georgia and Michigan, though voting laws have been changed in several states to allow for the speedier processing of mailed-in votes.
With around 244 million Americans being eligible to vote, it is expected that if voter turnout matches the record of 67% in 2020, around 162 million ballots will be submitted across the country.
Millions have already been submitted via mail while the rest have to take to the ballot boxes today.
The first candidate to reach 270 electoral college votes will win the White House and be declared the 47th president of the US.
As each state declares their results, exit polls will provide a more accurate insight into each candidate’s success compared to pre-election polls.
Keep an eye on our live blog to stay up to date with the election.
GettyKamala Harris or Donald Trump will have to race each other to 270 electoral college votes to be declared a winner[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
