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

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

The most important thing to keep in mind is patience. Social media will quickly be flooded with supporters from both sides declaring that this or that county is indicative of the final vote. The reality is that these things take time to evaluate.

Democratic and Republican-leaning counties — or precincts within those counties — can report their counts at varying speeds. Early and mail-in ballots often reflect a different partisan lean than in-person votes, and they will likely be counted at different rates as welleach state employing its own system.

The most important thing to watch is the race calls in the seven swing states that the Harris and Trump campaigns say will decide a close election. These are, in order of Electoral College votes:

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

Don’t forget Congress either, where Republicans are looking to maintain their slim majority in the House and Democrats are looking to do the same with their 51-49 advantage in the Senate. Control of Congress can enable or thwart much of a president’s policy agenda. The Senate, for example, not only passes laws but also approves the president’s choices regarding judges and the Cabinet.

Here’s how Election Day will unfold, hour by hour.

6 p.m. ET: Early state polls close

Indiana and Kentucky straddle two time zones, so it will take another hour for the states to close up shop. Both should end up in Trump’s column.

7 p.m. ET: The first race is announced; 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 all of the states have finished voting, it’s likely that the media will begin to feel comfortable calling some races. Besides Indiana and Kentucky, South Carolina should be an easy win for Trump, while Vermont should be the same for Harris.

Don’t expect an early call Georgiathe first high-profile swing state to close its polling places. Be careful analyzing the results until there is a significant percentage of precincts. Whichever candidate emerges victorious will have a significant advantage in the electoral college.

Florida and Virginia were once swing states, but both have drifted from the most competitive status: Florida to the Republicans and Virginia to the Democrats. Even if Harris isn’t spending time or money in Florida, Senate Democrats are. hoping to do well against Florida Senator Rick Scott. (Note: The Florida Panhandle will have voters go to the polls for another hour in the Central Time Zone.)

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

7:30 p.m. ET: Enter North Carolina

• North Carolina

• Ohio

• West Virginia

Like Georgia, North Carolina is one of the biggest swing states to win in this election. Again, avoid jumping to conclusions before you’ve seen almost every precinct, as Harris and Trump enjoy support from very different corners of the state. Parts of North Carolina are also still struggling with Recovery from Hurricane Helene.

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

Trump’s expected victory in Ohio adds headwinds to Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is candidate for re-election and he will need at least some Trump voters to support him.

In West Virginia, the state’s strong Republican leaning has led national Democrats to largely give up the seat held by outgoing Senator Joe Manchin.

8 p.m. 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, D.C.

There are a lot of state results coming in at this point in the night. And one of them will certainly be among the most watched: Pennsylvaniathe most populous of the seven swing states.

But don’t expect calls for a quick race here, as Pennsylvania prohibits election officials from processing absentee ballots until Election Day. This could add significant delays to determine 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, mail-in votes have tended to favor Democrats, since the issue of early and mail-in voting became highly politicized in the 2020 election,” the report said. AP noted before the 2024 vote. “This means that the Democratic candidate in a competitive contest could quickly gain an early lead in the vote count in early voting reports after the polls close, although the race could tighten considerably as more votes are counted.”

Polling stations also close in most countries. Michigan to 8 p.m. ET, spotlighting another of the seven marquee swing states. Both campaigns have spent an enormous amount of time and resources here, and this is another place where, if the competition is close, race callers will have to wait until most precincts are together in order to draw any meaningful conclusions. Note that a few Upper Peninsula counties are in the Central Time Zone and their polls will open in another hour.

Also keep an eye on Mainewhich awards two electoral votes to the winner of its state and also one electoral vote to the winner of each of its two congressional districts. Harris is projected to win the state, but the rural 2nd District that stretches north of the state is considered competitive.

A number of key Senate races are also in play here. Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey is candidate for re-election. Michigan has an open seat. Republicans hope leading a moderate former governor will help them Democratic-leaning Maryland. And Democrats are hoping for upsets in two Republican-leaning states: Missouriagainst Senator Josh Hawley, and Texasagainst Senator Ted Cruz.

8:30 p.m. ET: One More State

Arkansas is Trump-friendly territory.

9 p.m. 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 ending in two other swing states: Arizona and Wisconsin.

With Pennsylvania and Michigan, Wisconsin is part of the “blue wallstrategy, in which Harris could potentially secure a narrow majority in the Electoral College by sweeping them. All three are Rust Belt states with strong Democratic organizations, but also areas where Trump has outperformed expectations in the past.

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

Nebraska joins Maine in distributing its electoral votes by congressional district. Even though most of the state is expected to go Republican, Omaha’s 2nd District is considered competitive and could be important if the election is close enough.

Democratic Sens. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Mark Kelly of Arizona also face Republican challengers. Nebraska, meanwhile, has an interesting Senate race in which Republican Sen. Deb Fischer is being challenged by an independent candidate, labor leader Dan Osborn.

10 p.m. ET: Nevada, the last swing state

Polling stations are now closed Nevadathe last and least populated of the seven swing states. Trump owns 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 powerful union culture can boost Democrats. Nearly three-quarters of the state’s population lives in Las Vegas-based Clark County.

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

11 p.m. ET: The West Coast

Harris’ home state of California accounts for the most electoral votes, but it is expected to be an easy victory for her.

12 a.m. ET: Final States

There was speculation that Alaska might be worth watching after a respected local poll showed Harris only a few points behind in September. However, Trump is widely expected to be in favor.

Note that a sparsely populated part of Alaska is in a different time zone and will have its polls close an hour later, at 1 a.m. ET: the western edge of the Aleutian Islands. See also: The last in-person vote in the United States will take place on the desolate tundra of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands.