Politics

Here’s when the polls close in every state

The first polls close in Indiana and Kentucky at 6 pm ET, with the last closing in Alaska and Hawaii.

by Benjamin Rosenberg

Nov 3, 2020, 11:40 AM UTC

People cast absentee ballots in Lansing, Michigan.

Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

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While we may not know the results for a few days or even weeks after Election Day, the deadline to cast a ballot will be Tuesday evening. Results will start to come in once the polls close — but even within some states, that’s not at the same time.

The first polls close in parts of Indiana and Kentucky at 6 pm ET, but only the parts of those states that lie within the Eastern time zone. Polls in the Central time portions of Indiana and Kentucky close at 7 pm ET, or 6 pm local time. In fact, 13 states are split between two time zones, and polls will close an hour apart in 11 of them.

The first big wave happens at 7 pm ET, when seven states will have all of their polls close, including states with interesting Senate races like Georgia and South Carolina. The next — and biggest — wave will be at 8 pm ET, when more than 20 states will have polls closing in part or all of their territory. (Vox has live results you can follow for the presidential race, Senate races, and House races.)

If you are headed to the polls on Tuesday, Vox has a guide to your voting rights. You can check your polling place here.

Some other things to keep in mind: In certain states, you may be entitled to paid time off from work to vote. And if you are in line when the polls close, you should still be able to cast your vote.

Here’s the list of when polls close in every state chronologically:

6 pm ET: Indiana (Eastern time region), Kentucky (E)
7 pm ET: Florida (E), Georgia, Indiana (Central time region), Kentucky (C), New Hampshire (varies by municipality), South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont
7:30 pm ET: North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia
8 pm ET: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida (C), Illinois, Kansas (C), Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan (E), Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire (varies by municipality), New Jersey, North Dakota (C), Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota (C), Tennessee, Texas (C), Washington, DC
8:30 pm ET: Arkansas
9 pm ET: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas (Mountain time region), Louisiana, Michigan (C), Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota (M), South Dakota (M), Texas (M), Wisconsin, Wyoming
10 pm ET: Idaho (M), Iowa, Montana, Nevada, Oregon (M), Utah
11 pm ET: California, Idaho (P), Oregon (P), Washington
Midnight ET: Alaska (Alaska time region), Hawaii
1 am ET: Alaska (Hawaii-Aleutian time region)