After a grueling, high-stakes campaign between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, Americans will soon — and finally — start receiving election results from across the country.

The first state polls close at 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM ET on November 5, while the last state polls in Hawaii and most of Alaska close at midnight ET.

The most important thing to keep in mind is patience. Social media will soon be flooded with partisans on both sides declaring that this county or that is indicative of the final vote. The reality is that it takes time to assess these things.

Democratic and Republican counties — or districts within those counties — may report their numbers at different speeds. Early and mail-in ballots often reflect different partisanship than in-person votes, and they are also likely to be counted at a different pace, with each state using its own system.

The most important thing to watch are the race calls in the seven swing states that the Harris and Trump campaigns agree will lead to a close election. In order of Electoral College votes, these are:

Pennsylvania (19), Georgia (16), North Carolina (16), Michigan (15), Arizona (11), Wisconsin (10) and Nevada (6).

Don’t forget Congress, where Republicans want to maintain their razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives and Democrats want to do the same with their 51-49 lead in the Senate. Control of Congress can enable or thwart much of a president’s political agenda. For example, the Senate not only passes legislation, but also approves the president’s choices for judges and the Cabinet.

This is how Election Day will unfold, hour by hour.

6:00 PM ET: The first polls close

Indiana and Kentucky are spread across two time zones, so it will be another hour before the states close their doors. It is expected that both will end up in Trump’s column.

7:00 PM ET: The first race is calling; Georgia takes the stage

• Florida (Eastern time zone region)

• Georgia

• Indiana (central time zone region)

• Kentucky (central time zone region)

• South Carolina

• Virginia

• Vermont

• New Hampshire (partial)

Now that the entire states have finished voting, it’s likely that the media will feel comfortable calling a few of the races. In addition to Indiana and Kentucky, South Carolina is expected to be an easy win for Trump, while Vermont should be the same for Harris.

Don’t expect an early call Georgiathe first major swing state to close its polls. Be careful in analyzing the results until a significant percentage of the constituency is present. Whichever candidate emerges victorious will have a significant advantage in the electoral college.

Florida and Virginia used to be swing states, but both have drifted from the most competitive status: Florida toward the Republicans and Virginia toward the Democrats. Although Harris is not spending time or money in Florida, Senate Democrats are hoping to do well against Florida Senator Rick Scott. (Note: In the Florida Panhandle, voters will still have an hour to go to the polls in the Central time zone.)

Note that New Hampshire law requires polling places to remain open at least until 7:00 PM ET, but also allows places to stay open later if they wish. Some close at 7:30 or 8:00 PM

7:30 PM ET: Enter North Carolina

• North Carolina

• Ohio

• West Virginia

Like Georgia, North Carolina is one of the largest swing states up for grabs in these elections. Again, avoid jumping to conclusions until you’ve seen almost all the districts, as Harris and Trump draw support from very different corners of the state. Parts of North Carolina are also still struggling to recover from Hurricane Helene.

North Carolina also includes a high-profile gubernatorial race that was rocked by scandal after CNN reported that the Republican candidate, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, made a series of racist, sexist and otherwise offensive comments on a porn website. Robinson denied posting the messages.

Trump’s expected victory in Ohio creates a headwind for Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is running for re-election and needs at least some Trump voters to support him.

In West Virginia, the state’s strong Republican stance led national Democrats to largely cede the seat of retiring Sen. Joe Manchin.

8:00 PM ET: All eyes on Pennsylvania

• Alabama

• Connecticut

• Delaware

• Florida (central time zone region)

• Illinois

• Kansas (central time zone region)

• Maine

• Maryland

• Massachusetts

• Michigan (Eastern time zone region)

• Mississippi

• Missouri

• New Jersey

• North Dakota (central time zone region)

• Oklahoma

• Pennsylvania

• Rhode Island

• South Dakota (central time zone region)

• Tennessee (Eastern and Central Time Zones)

• Texas (central time zone region)

• Washington, DC

There are a lot of incoming state results at this time of night. And there is certainly one that is among the most viewed: Pennsylvaniathe most populous of the seven swing states.

But don’t expect any quick race calls here, as Pennsylvania prohibits election officials from processing mail-in votes until Election Day. This can cause significant delays in determining the winner if the race is close. In 2020, the Associated Press called Pennsylvania for Joe Biden four days after Election Day, giving Biden enough electoral votes to win the presidency.

“Overall, vote-by-mail votes have skewed in favor of Democrats since the issue of early voting and voting by mail became highly politicized during the 2020 election,” the AP noted ahead of the 2024 vote . “This means that in a competitive race, the Democratic candidate could take an early lead in vote counting in the first voting reports after polls close, even though the race could tighten significantly as more votes are counted.”

Polling stations are also closing in most countries Michigan at 8 p.m. ET, shining the spotlight on another of the seven major swing states. Both campaigns have spent a tremendous amount of time and resources on this, and it’s also a place where, if the race is close, race callers will have to wait until most precincts are in to draw any significant conclusions. Please note that a few counties in the Upper Peninsula are in the Central time zone and polls will be open for another hour.

Also keep an eye out Mainewhich awards two electoral votes to the winner of his state and also one electoral vote to the winner of each of his two congressional districts. Harris is expected to win the state, but the rural 2nd District spanning the northern part of the state is considered competitive.

There are also some key Senate races at stake here. Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania is running for re-election. Michigan has an open seat. Republicans hope that appointing a moderate former governor will help them in Democratic-leaning Maryland. And Democrats are hoping for unrest in two Republican-leaning states: Missouri, against Sen. Josh Hawley, and Texas, against Sen. Ted Cruz.

8:30 PM ET: One more state

Arkansas is friendly territory for Trump.

9:00 PM ET: Polls close in Arizona and Wisconsin

• Arizona

• Colorado

• Iowa

• Kansas (Mountain time zone region)

• Louisiana

• Michigan (central time zone region)

• Minnesota

• Nebraska

• New Mexico

• New York

• North Dakota (Mountain time zone region)

• South Dakota (Mountain time zone region)

• Texas (mountain time zone region)

• Wisconsin

• Wyoming

Polls are now closing in two other major swing states: Arizona and Wisconsin.

Along with Pennsylvania and Michigan, Wisconsin is part of the Democrats’ “blue wall” strategy, where Harris could potentially secure a slim majority in the Electoral College by sweeping them away. All three are Rust Belt states with strong Democratic organizations, but also areas where Trump has exceeded expectations in the past.

ArizonaMeanwhile, it is the only border state that both campaigns are vying for, in a race that has involved much debate over immigration and border policy. Pay special attention to Maricopa County, where most of the state’s residents live. Also note that Arizona is one of the states that pioneered mail-in voting, and historically, most Arizonans cast an early ballot – in person or by mail.

Nebraska joins Maine in apportioning electoral votes by congressional district. While most of the state is expected to go Republican, the Omaha-based 2nd District is considered competitive and could be key if the election is close enough.

Democratic Senators Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Mark Kelly of Arizona also face Republican challengers. Nebraska, meanwhile, has an interesting Senate race with GOP Sen. Deb Fischer being challenged by an independent candidate, union leader Dan Osborn.

10:00 PM ET: Nevada, the last swing state

The polls are now closed Nevadathe last and least populous of the seven swing states. Trump has a hotel on the Las Vegas Strip and sees the state as a natural fit for his political brand. At the same time, the state’s diverse population and strong union culture could give Democrats a boost. Nearly three-quarters of the state’s population lives in Las Vegas-based Clark County.

Democratic Sens. Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Jon Tester of Montana also want to defeat their Republican challengers.

11:00 PM ET: The West Coast

Harris’ home state of California represents the largest share of electoral votes, but is expected to be an easy win for her.

12:00 PM ET: States finals

There was speculation that Alaska could be worth a look after a respected local poll showed Harris trailing by just a few points in September. However, it is widely expected that this will apply to Trump.

Note that a sparsely populated part of Alaska is in a different time zone and polls will close an hour later, at 1 a.m. ET: the western edge of the Aleutian Islands. Related: The last in-person voting in the US will take place on the deserted tundra of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands