A complete guide to poll closing times, vote counting and races to watch on election night 2020
There’s a good chance we won’t know who won the presidential election on election night. More people than ever are voting by mail this year due to the pandemic, and mail ballots take longer to count than ballots cast at polling places. But because each state has its own rules for how votes are counted and reported, some will report results sooner than others. Those disparate rules may also make initial returns misleading: The margins in some states may shift toward Democrats as mail ballots (which are overwhelmingly cast by Democrats) are counted, while states that release mail ballots first may experience a shift toward Republicans as Election Day votes are tallied.
Here’s a general picture of how much of the vote we expect to be counted on election night in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. If you click on a given state, it’ll take you to a more detailed description of when to expect results and whether to expect a red or blue shift in the vote count.
How much of the vote is expected to be counted on election night?
Nearly allMost but not allOnly some
The upshot for the presidential race is that we should have a pretty good idea of where things are headed on election night, even if no candidate is able to clinch 270 electoral votes (which is the threshold required to win) until later in the week. We should get near-complete results in Florida in a matter of hours; Arizona and North Carolina will release the vast majority of their ballots very quickly, although if the race is too close to call they may not provide a final answer for days. Georgia and Texas should tally most ballots on Nov. 3, but counting may stretch into Wednesday or Thursday. We should know the winner in Wisconsin by Wednesday morning; Michigan and Pennsylvania, by contrast, will probably take until the end of the week.
Of course, there are a lot more races on the ballot than just the presidential contest, so read on to get a more detailed picture of every state. One last caveat before you dive in: These are just our best guesses based on what we know right now. Things can always go sideways thanks to human error or technological failures. And, of course, even the fastest-counting state may leave a race uncalled for days if the margin is close enough.
Last polls close
8 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
Senate
Timing of results
Should be pretty fast. A relatively small percentage of people are voting by mail in Alabama, which should help in getting results quickly. The secretary of state says the results will be known on election night.
Shift in results
Nearly all absentee ballots are expected to be counted at roughly the same time as in-person votes, so there probably won’t be a noticeable blue or red shift.
Last polls close
1 a.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President, Senate, House
Timing of results
Get ready to wait. Election Day votes and early votes cast by Oct. 29 should be counted on election night, but the remainder of the early vote, as well as all absentee votes, won’t even begin to be counted until Nov. 10. With so many people voting absentee, it will probably take a week or two to declare winners here. Counting should be complete by Nov. 18.
Shift in results
Initial results in Alaska will probably be skewed toward Republicans since no mail ballots will be included in those totals. A blue shift could occur as absentee ballots are counted Nov. 10-18; however, absentee ballots here may not be quite as good for Democrats as they are in other states because Alaska mailed absentee-ballot applications to all voters age 65 and older, and older voters are more likely to vote Republican.
Last polls close
9 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President; Senate; 1st and 6th congressional districts
Timing of results
Most votes should be counted on election night, but full results may take a few days. Early and absentee votes cast by the weekend before the election should be pre-counted and those results are expected to be released shortly after 10 p.m. Eastern (the earliest time results can be reported in Arizona, under state law). Election Day votes are also expected to be announced on election night. Together, these two categories are expected to constitute the vast majority of Arizona’s total votes. However, absentee ballots received at the last minute will not be reported until perhaps Thursday or Friday. So if it’s a close race, we might have to wait for those last few ballots before knowing who won.
Shift in results
The very first batch of results on election night is expected to be early and absentee votes, which will likely lean Democratic. Then, the results may shift toward Republicans later in the evening as Election Day votes are counted. However, they may then shift back toward Democrats in the days after the election as the last few absentee ballots are tallied.
Last polls close
8:30 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
2nd Congressional District
Timing of results
We probably won’t have to wait long. A spokesman for the secretary of state told Genesis Brand they are hopeful that Arkansas will have “pretty firm unofficial results at the end of the night,” although this year’s influx of absentee ballots makes the timing difficult to predict.
Shift in results
Early and absentee votes are the first ones released, so initial results could be skewed slightly toward Democrats.
Last polls close
11 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
1st, 4th, 10th, 21st, 25th, 39th, 42nd, 45th, 48th and 50th congressional districts
Timing of results
As a state with a long tradition of mail voting, California has always taken a long time to report full results. Expect the same this year: We’ll get some results on election night, but ballots will continue to come in for weeks afterward (the state accepts ballots that arrive as late as Nov. 20). However, a new law allowing mail ballots to be processed earlier hopefully means more results than usual will be ready on election night.
Shift in results
Most counties report (Democratic-leaning) early and mail votes cast by the weekend before Election Day first, then (Republican-leaning) in-person Election Day votes in the wee hours of Wednesday. But historically, late-arriving mail ballots have added several points to Democrats’ margins in the weeks after Election Day.
Last polls close
9 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
Senate, 3rd Congressional District
Timing of results
We should know the winners here on Nov. 3. Colorado has been voting by mail for years with a rule that ballots must be received (not postmarked!) by Election Day, and the state has never had trouble reporting near-complete results on election night.
Shift in results
Given that almost everyone votes by mail in Colorado, there shouldn’t be much of a partisan split by vote method.
Last polls close
8 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
No major races
Timing of results
We don’t have a great sense of the timing here — results could come anywhere from election night to a few days later. Initial tallies must be released by midnight Eastern, but these don’t have to be complete. And there could be regional differences in counting speed. A spokesman for the secretary of state told Genesis Brand that small towns may be done counting on election night, but larger municipalities probably won’t have final results until at least Wednesday. Some places are even cautioning that they might need until Monday, Nov. 9, to count every vote.
Shift in results
Initial returns will include all Election Day results and as much of the absentee vote as has been tabulated so far. If absentee votes are still being counted later in the week, though, it could produce a small blue shift.
Last polls close
8 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
No major races
Timing of results
We should get near-complete results on election night as usual. Although Delaware has seen a surge in absentee voting this year, officials are expected to report all of those absentees alongside precinct results on Nov. 3.
Shift in results
None expected; absentee and in-person votes should be released simultaneously.
Last polls close
8 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
No major races
Timing of results
It’s going to take a while. The District is mailing ballots to all voters for the first time this year, and the ones that are mailed back can arrive at election offices as late as Nov. 13 (as long as they’re postmarked by Election Day). While some mail and in-person vote totals will be released on election night, officials say they will still be counting for weeks after.
Shift in results
Washington, D.C., is strongly Democratic-leaning, so even if there is a blue shift, it will probably go unnoticed.
Last polls close
8 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President; 15th, 16th, 18th, 26th and 27th congressional districts
Timing of results
Should be very fast. Florida is accustomed to handling a heavy volume of mail ballots and has laws (like letting counties process absentee ballots weeks in advance and not accepting most ballots that arrive after Election Day) that encourage an early count. In other words, results should be nearly complete within a couple hours of polls closing. That said, counties are allowed to take their time if needed, so some larger counties may still be tabulating mail ballots on Wednesday or later. That means that if a race is close, we might not know who won on election night.
Shift in results
The first batch of results, consisting of early votes and pre-tabulated mail ballots, is due to the secretary of state within 30 minutes of polls closing and will probably be skewed toward Democrats. Expect a red shift as Election Day votes are reported, however. If there are still mail ballots being counted on Wednesday or later, though, that could lead to a late blue shift.
Last polls close
7 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President; Senate (two seats); 6th and 7th congressional districts
Timing of results
Should be relatively quick. Counties were allowed to start processing absentee ballots on Oct. 19, and only ballots mailed from overseas may arrive after Nov. 3. “For races that aren’t too close, we’ll have those results” on election night, the secretary of state told WSB-TV. “For the races that are very, very close, we believe that we’ll have them by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest.”
Shift in results
Hard to say. Each county treats absentee votes differently, and with (Democratic-leaning) absentee votes being reported at different times throughout the state, it’s possible we’ll see some miniature red and blue shifts on the county level, which may cancel each other out statewide.
Last polls close
Midnight Eastern
Races to watch
No major races
Timing of results
Extremely fast. According to state election officials, about 90 percent of all votes will be announced immediately after polls close — speed made possible by the fact that ballots are due by Nov. 3 at the latest and can be processed as soon as they arrive. A second batch of ballots is scheduled to be released at 3 a.m. Eastern.
Shift in results
Hawaii is pretty Democratic-leaning so it probably won’t matter much, but the second batch of ballots to report on election night will include in-person votes, so it might nudge the margins a bit toward Republicans.
Last polls close
11 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
No major races
Timing of results
A bit longer than usual, but still pretty quick. Despite many polling places in the state closing at 10 p.m. Eastern, no results will be posted until the last polls close at 11 p.m. Eastern, and election officials say “meaningful” results will take a few hours. However, counting should be nearly complete by Wednesday morning.
Shift in results
Unclear. About half of counties combine absentee votes with Election Day ballots and report them together; the others report them separately, but we don’t know yet if one batch will consistently come out before the other.
Last polls close
8 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
6th, 13th and 14th congressional districts
Timing of results
Most votes should be counted quickly, but the rest will take time. Because absentee ballots can be processed as soon as they arrive, tallies of those received and prepped for counting before Election Day (as well as all in-person votes) should be released on election night. However, Illinois’s Nov. 17 deadline for receiving absentee ballots means results will not be complete for around two weeks. Some counties are planning to release updated results every day during that time, while others may only update once or twice. Thankfully, the state will report the number of unreturned mail ballots throughout, so we’ll know whether there are enough ballots outstanding to sway the election. So far, officials say that enough absentee voters are returning their ballots early that the election-night results should give us a “fairly clear picture.”
Shift in results
Democrats will likely gain as late-arriving absentee ballots are counted Nov. 4-17. A few counties may also see a red shift on election night because they release absentee ballots first, followed by Election Day returns; however, most counties release absentee and precinct returns simultaneously.
Last polls close
7 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President, 5th Congressional District
Timing of results
It’ll probably take a few days. Absentee ballots can’t be processed until Election Day, and two big counties (both of which are in the 5th District) say they will only have time to count a fraction of those votes on Tuesday. However, Indiana won’t have as many absentee votes to count as other states, and other counties say they’ll have no problem reporting full results on election night.
Shift in results
The days after Election Day will probably see a blue shift as counties work through their remaining absentee ballots. On election night itself, some counties may see a red shift if absentee votes are reported first and Election Day votes trickle in later. However, most counties combine their absentee and Election Day votes.
Last polls close
10 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President; Senate; 1st, 2nd and 3rd congressional districts
Timing of results
Most votes will be counted quickly, but some will continue to trickle in after Election Day. Thanks to a new rule allowing for earlier processing of absentee ballots, election officials are confident that ballots received by Election Day will be counted that night, although they are also leaving open the possibility that the high volume will make that impossible. However, Iowa law also requires officials to count mail ballots that arrive by Nov. 9 (as long they’re postmarked by Nov. 2), so results won’t be final for about a week. The question is how many ballots will arrive at the last minute.
Shift in results
Late-arriving mail ballots will probably skew Democratic, producing a blue shift in the days after Nov. 3.
Last polls close
9 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
Senate, 2nd Congressional District
Timing of results
Most votes should be counted on election night, but the remainder will take a few days. The state has handled high volumes of advance votes in the past and it tallied results quickly during the primary. However, mail ballots are allowed to arrive as late as Friday and still count, which could make the difference in a close race. Additional vote totals will be announced once per day Nov. 4-6.
Shift in results
Most counties release mail votes first (although about one-third intermingle them with Election Day votes), which means initial results may be too good to be true for Democrats. Expect a red shift as election night wears on. However, the mail votes released later in the week may nudge margins back toward Democrats.
Last polls close
7 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
6th Congressional District
Timing of results
Election officials estimate that unofficial results could be as much as 90 percent complete on election night. However, absentee ballots can continue arriving until Nov. 6, so the last 10 percent will take some time.
Shift in results
Unknown. It’s unclear whether mail or in-person votes will be released first.
Last polls close
9 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
No major races
Timing of results
It looks like it could be pretty fast, although officials are keeping expectations low. Louisiana is one of only five states that are not allowing everyone to vote by mail, so most votes should be cast in person and thus would likely be totaled at the usual time on election night. Absentee votes should all be counted on Nov. 3 too, but the secretary of state is nevertheless warning not to expect full results that night.
Shift in results
Minimal, if any. Absentee and early in-person votes are typically released together as the first “precinct” of the night. However, because not everyone is allowed to vote absentee, it’s not clear if absentee votes will be as Democratic-leaning as they are in other states — plus, they’ll be combined with early votes anyway.
Last polls close
8 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President, Senate
Timing of results
Most results should be known on Nov. 3 — but there’s a catch. Maine uses ranked-choice voting for federal offices, and if a candidate fails to win a majority of first-place votes, officials will need to count up voters’ second choices, third choices and so on — a process that takes place days after Election Day. Otherwise, Maine’s recent extension of the absentee-ballot processing period has made local officials optimistic that they will count every ballot on election night, although smaller towns sound surer about that than larger cities like Portland.
Shift in results
Maine combines absentee votes with Election Day ones, so there shouldn’t be either a red or blue shift.
Last polls close
8 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
No major races
Timing of results
Complete results will take more than a week. A monthlong head start in processing absentee ballots should help make sure a greater share of the results will be known on election night than were initially released in the snail’s-pace primary — but absentee ballots aren’t due until Nov. 13, so the state will continue to count and update the vote totals for at least 10 days after Election Day.
Shift in results
On election night, Maryland will release counts of early votes, mail votes that have already been tallied, and then Election Day votes. Then, the remaining mail ballots will be counted over the next 10 days. As a result, Maryland could see a blue shift followed by a red shift on election night, then a slow-motion blue shift in the following days.
Last polls close
8 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
No major races
Timing of results
Most votes will be counted on Nov. 3; the remainder will be tallied over the weekend. With election officials allowed to process mail ballots earlier than usual, mail ballots received by Nov. 3 will be counted at the same time as in-person votes. Mail ballots received Nov. 4-6, however, will not be counted until after 5 p.m. on Nov. 6. Most cities and towns will count those ballots between Nov. 6 and Nov. 9.
Shift in results
It’s unclear whether mail or in-person votes will be released first on election night, but the final vote update over the weekend should consist purely of late-arriving mail ballots, so it’ll likely be good for Democrats.
Last polls close
9 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President; Senate; 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 8th and 11th congressional districts
Timing of results
It’s going to take a few days. The earliest absentee ballots can be processed is Nov. 2, which likely does not leave enough time to count them all by election night. The secretary of state estimates that it could take until Friday, Nov. 6, for all ballots to be counted and a winner to be declared.
Shift in results
Margins will probably shift toward Democrats in the days after Nov. 3 as mail votes are added to the results.
Last polls close
9 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President; Senate; 1st, 2nd, 7th and 8th congressional districts
Timing of results
Most, but not all, results should be in on election night. With two weeks of advance absentee-ballot processing, votes in the state’s possession should be quickly tallied on Nov. 3. The secretary of state has warned that close races may take a while to call, but “it’s far more likely that we’ll have winners, outcomes either on election night or shortly thereafter.”
Shift in results
Any absentee votes counted after Election Day could cause results to shift in Democrats’ favor.
Last polls close
8 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President, Senate
Timing of results
We should know most results on Nov. 3. Since Mississippi still requires people to have an excuse to vote absentee, there won’t be a lot of absentee ballots to count, and election night should look pretty normal. However, it will take some time to count all the absentee ballots that are submitted: They can arrive as late as Nov. 10, and even the ones that arrive early can’t be processed before Nov. 3.
Shift in results
Probably none worth writing home about. Absentee and precinct votes are typically combined and released together on election night, and the number of late-arriving absentee ballots will likely be very small.
Last polls close
8 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President, 2nd Congressional District, governor
Timing of results
Should be pretty fast. Election officials are confident that near-complete returns will be released on election night.
Shift in results
There will probably be a red shift. Most counties release (Democratic-leaning) mail and absentee ballots first, followed by (Republican-leaning) Election Day votes later in the evening.
Last polls close
10 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President, Senate, House, governor
Timing of results
We shouldn’t have to wait long. Montana is accustomed to lots of people voting by mail and is expected to count nearly all absentee ballots on Election Day.
Shift in results
Counties vary in whether they release mail or in-person votes first, or release both together, so it’s hard to know if there will be either a red or blue shift.
Last polls close
9 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President (in 2nd Congressional District), 2nd Congressional District
Timing of results
Should be quick. Nebraska (where several counties vote by mail even in normal elections) allows absentee ballots to be counted early and requires regular absentee ballots to arrive by Election Day. As a result, “the results will be known in Nebraska on election night,” the secretary of state says.
Shift in results
The first results reported in most counties will be early votes, cast both in person and by mail. Election Day results will follow, potentially shifting the margins toward Republicans.
Last polls close
10 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President, 3rd and 4th congressional districts
Timing of results
Hard to say. Nevada is one of a handful of states that is mailing a ballot to every active registered voter for the first time, and it is only requiring that ballots be mailed back by Nov. 3, not received by then. In other states, that’s been a recipe for slow results; indeed, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state told Politico not to wait up for a call on election night. However, the ability to count mail ballots early has put Clark County (home to 71 percent of the state’s voters) in position to report tallies of in-person votes and any mail ballots received by Nov. 2 on election night. If that happens, we might get most results on election night, though we’ll still have to wait until at least Nov. 10, when the state stops accepting mailed ballots, for full results.
Shift in results
In other states, late-arriving mail ballots have historically trended Democratic, so don’t rule out a blue shift in the week after Election Day.
Last polls close
8 p.m. Eastern
Races to watch
President, 1st Congressional District, governor
Timing of results
Election night seems like a safe bet. Absentee voting is up in New Hampshire this year, but the vast majority of New Hampshire’s votes are expected to be cast in person, so results should be more or less complete on Nov. 3. “It might take a little bit longer than we’re normally used to, but they will be released by the end of the night,” the deputy secretary of state told the Granite State News Collaborative.
Shift in results
Absentee votes are reported together with Election Day results, so there will be no red or blue shift driven by vote method.
Last polls close
8 p.m. Eastern