Election Day has finally arrived but this is just the start as the wait begins for votes to be counted and results to be declared.
It is impossible to know exactly when each state will finish counting votes, as this is determined by their individual laws and the different ways their residents tend to vote—like how many people cast mail-in ballots, which take longer to count because of verification requirements, for example.
Florida, Georgia and North Carolina are generally known to report their results fairly quickly, while Arizona, Nevada and California generally take longer.
Newsweek has looked at the pace at which states have completed their counts in past elections. Here is what you need to know to get a better idea of when the results will be called. It is important to be aware of vote mirages, which refer to when an ongoing vote count shows a candidate getting a higher percentage of the vote than they will ultimately end up with once all the votes have been counted.
Voting machines and signs are loaded onto trucks from a warehouse in New Orleans East for delivery across the parish on November 4, the day before Election Day. Newsweek has compiled a list of important times and dates to note in regard to when states will release election results.
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Swing States
Arizona
During the midterm election in 2022, Arizona reported 71 percent of the vote within 24 hours of 6 p.m. ET on Election Day, according to polling aggregator 538’s guide.
Polls close at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday in the state, which only reports results an hour after that, once all precincts have reported. Counties are then expected to release results from mail-in ballots received before Election Day and then mail-in ballots received on or after Election Day are counted over what election officials estimate will take between 10 and 13 days.
Georgia
Georgia is generally known for releasing its results quickly. During the 2022 midterms, Georgia had reported 100 percent of the vote within 24 hours of 6 p.m. on Election Day, according to 538’s guide.
Counties are required to report early and absentee votes received before Election Day by 8 p.m. ET. Then, Election Day votes should be announced between 8 p.m. and midnight ET, with counties required to finish counting absentee ballots by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
Michigan
Michigan had reported 98 percent of the vote within 24 hours of 6 p.m. of Election Day in 2022, according to 538’s guide, but this could take less time this year as new laws allow the state to start processing absentee ballots before Election Day, although not all counties will have changed their procedures to take up this option.
Polls close at 8 p.m. ET in most of the state, and 9 p.m. ET in some parts of the Upper Peninsula.
Nevada
In Nevada, 82 percent of the vote had been reported within 24 hours of 6 p.m. on Election Day in 2022, 538 reported.
Once all voters in line have voted, counties will start releasing all the votes they have counted up until that point—12:42 a.m. ET in 2022. While this is often a large portion of the final vote, officials could still take days to count all mail-in ballots.
Polls close at 10 p.m. ET.
North Carolina
Like Georgia, North Carolina has a reputation for announcing results quickly. Within 24 hours of 6 p.m. on Election Day in 2022, North Carolina had counted 98 percent of its votes, according to 538.
The majority of the vote in North Carolina is made up of early votes and absentee ballots, which are set to be reported by between 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET. Election Day votes are then included between 8:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. ET on Wednesday. Other votes, including those dropped off in different counties because of voters affected by Hurricane Helene, will be counted over the next 10 days.
Polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Pennsylvania
Some 97 percent of the voters had been reported by 6 p.m. ET the day after Election Day in 2022, according to 538.
Although mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania cannot be processed until Election Day, counties are not allowed to stop counting these votes once they start.
Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is another state that does not allow absentee ballots to be processed until Election Day and there are specific regulations about when jurisdictions can release their counts, with some dragging the result out like in 2020.
This was not an issue in 2022, when fewer people voted with absentee ballots, which meant that 98 percent of the vote was counted by 6 p.m. the day after Election Day, according to 538.
Polls close at 9 p.m. ET, with first results set to come in shortly afterward.
California and Florida
Florida is one of the fastest states at counting ballots, with 100 percent of the vote reported by 6 p.m. the day after Election Day in 2022. Florida reports its early votes and mail-in ballots cast during the early voting period within 30 minutes of polls closing, which is 7 p.m. ET in most of the state and 8 p.m. in the panhandle.
These votes usually make up the majority of the total vote, with Election Day votes released in 45-minute increments until they are all counted.
Conversely, California is known to take longer, having reported only 50 percent of the vote by 6 p.m. the day after Election Day in 2022, according to 538.
This is largely because mail-in ballots can arrive as late as November 12 and still be considered valid if they are postmarked by Election Day.
Counties legally have until December 5 to finish their counts, but this is usually done within two weeks of Election Day. Polls in California close at 11 p.m. ET.
Other States
- Alabama: All votes should be tallied by election night
- Alaska: Has until November 20 to tabulate its ranked-choice voting system.
- Arkansas: All votes should be counted by election night
- Colorado: Election officials estimate it could take until the Friday or Monday after Election Day to finish the count
- Connecticut: Most votes should be counted by election night
- Delaware: Results expected by midnight ET.
- Hawaii: Results will be announced after polls close at midnight ET, again at 3:30 a.m. and then once all mail-in ballots have been processed
- Idaho: The count should be complete by the end of election night
- Illinois: While most early votes and early-arriving mail-in ballots will be counted by the end of election night, mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day have until November 19 to do so.
- Indiana: Results will be released at 8 p.m., 10 p.m. and midnight local time. Counties that have not completed their counts are then required to report results at 9 a.m. local time on Wednesday and then every subsequent hour after that.
- Iowa: All results are expected by the end of election night.
- Kansas: Most results are likely to be reported by the end of election night.
- Kentucky: Most counties are expected to report results by midnight on Election Day.
- Louisiana: Counting is usually done by 1 a.m. ET, just after the end of Election Day.
- Maine: Most results should be available by the end of election night.
- Maryland: Counties have until November 15 to continue counting mail-in ballots.
- Massachusetts: Results will drop throughout the week.
- Minnesota: Most of the count should be complete by Tuesday or Wednesday.
- Mississippi: The deadline for postmarked mail-in ballots is November 13.
- Missouri: Most results are expected to be in by midnight.
- Montana: The count is expected to go into Wednesday.
- Nebraska: The majority of the vote should be counted on election night.
- New Hampshire: While most of the count should be reported throughout election night, it will probably continue into Wednesday.
- New Jersey: The deadline for postmarked mail-in ballots is November 11.
- New Mexico: Most results should be in by 2 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
- New York: The deadline for postmarked mail-in ballots is November 12.
- North Dakota: Most votes will be counted on election night but correctly postmarked mail-in ballots have until November 18 to arrive.
- Ohio: Most votes will be counted on election night but correctly postmarked mail-in ballots can arrive until November 9.
- Oklahoma: Nearly all ballots should be counted by 1 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
- Oregon: The state accepts correctly postmarked ballots that arrive up until November 12.
- Rhode Island: The first results should be released at about 8:15 p.m. ET, but some mail-in ballots will not be counted until Wednesday.
- South Carolina: Most results should be counted on election night.
- South Dakota: The count should be complete by Wednesday morning.
- Tennessee: First results will be released at about 8:30 p.m. ET and 95 percent of the count should be reported by 11:15 p.m. ET.
- Texas: Most of the count should be complete within 24 hours of Election Day.
- Utah: Correctly postmarked ballots have until November 12-19 to arrive, depending on the county.
- Vermont: Most of the count is set to be complete by midnight.
- Virginia: Correctly postmarked mail-in ballots have until November 8 to arrive.
- Washington: Correctly postmarked mail-in ballots have until November 26 to arrive.
- West Virginia: Correctly postmarked mail-in ballots have until November 12 to arrive.
- Wyoming: Most of the count should be reported by 2 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
