Poll closing times vary from state to state, from county to county, and, in some parts of the country, from town to town. The earliest results in most states are reported by local voting precincts soon after polls close there. Every state also has different rules for how officials process and count ballots, and these rules determine how quickly results are released.
In 2020, an influx of mail-in and early ballots due to the pandemic caused major slowdowns in vote counting and reporting election results. It took four days for enough votes to be counted for the major decision desks to call the presidency for Joe Biden. Vote counting isn’t expected to be nearly as slow as it was last time around, but there’s a chance we won’t know the outcomes of some key races — and possibly even control of Congress — on election night.
The Associated Press has compiled state-by-state details on poll closing times, vote counting rules and expected timing based on patterns in previous elections. Here’s when polls close in every state and how long vote counting might take:
Alabama
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? It varies. Counts can go late, but wide victory margins often allow projections to be done earlier in the evening. In the high-turnout presidential election in 2020, Alabama’s vote count reached 90 percent at 3:34 a.m. the next morning. (More from the AP)
Alaska
Polls close: Midnight/1 a.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? The Nov. 8 election is a ranked choice election, in keeping with a 2020 voter initiative that implemented open primaries and ranked voting for general elections. Early results will be the number of first-choice votes for each candidate. The winner in many races may not be known until Nov. 23, which is the deadline for elections officials to receive ballots mailed from overseas addresses and when ranked vote tabulations will take place. (More from the AP)
Arizona
Polls close: 9 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Generally, up to and sometimes longer than a week. The state won’t release results until an hour after all polls close or all precincts are reporting, whichever comes first, and the earliest returns often don’t clearly show who will ultimately win. Waiting for all the Election Day votes to be counted is often needed to see who won, and it is also common for races to be too close to call until a substantial number of the “late-earlies” are tabulated in the following days. (More from the AP)
Arkansas
Polls close: 8:30 p.m. Eastern (7:30 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? The vast majority of votes here are counted on election night — in 2020, 90 percent of votes had been counted by 11:14 p.m. The early vote ballots are usually the first to be reported because they are counted as they arrive at each county office in the weeks leading up to the election, so a large chunk of results will be reported immediately after polls close. (More from the AP)
California
Polls close: 11 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Californians can vote by mail, and ballots are accepted by county officials until Nov. 15 (as long as they are postmarked by Election Day). This makes the counting process incredibly slow — millions of ballots are counted after Election Day, and it could take days or even weeks to determine winners in close races. (More from the AP)
Colorado
Polls close: 9 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Most of Colorado votes by mail, but results flow in fairly quickly after polls close since ballots are tabulated as soon as they are received in advance of Election Day. In 2020, 90 percent of votes were reported by 11:30 a.m. Eastern the next morning. (More from the AP)
Connecticut
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? Connecticut does not allow early voting, so nearly all ballots are cast and counted on Election Day. This makes the reporting process slower — in 2020, the state was still counting its votes nearly two days after Election Day. (More from the AP)
Delaware
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? Delaware has a small voting population and counts very quickly. In 2020, 90% of votes had been counted a little over two hours after polls closed. Officials can start counting absentee ballots the Friday before Election Day, which helps to speed up the process. (More from the AP)
District of Columbia
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? Following the coronavirus pandemic, voters in the nation’s capital cast their ballots primarily by mail. Final counts will take some time, as ballots postmarked by Election Day will be counted if they arrive by Nov. 15.
Florida
Polls close: 7 p.m./8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time). Nine Florida counties are in Central time.
How long does counting usually take? Florida counts votes faster than most states. In 2020, 90 percent of votes had been counted by 9 p.m. Eastern. Early and mail voting is very popular here — in 2020, 83 percent of votes cast were from early or absentee ballots — and most counties report those votes first. (More from the AP)
Georgia
Polls close: 7 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? The rural, more Republican-leaning counties will count much faster than the more Democratic-leaning urban counties, especially those in the Atlanta metro area. But overall, Georgia counts its ballots fairly quickly — in 2020, approximately 95 percent of votes had been counted by noon the day after the general election. (More from the AP)
Hawaii
Polls close: Midnight Eastern (7 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Hawaii is a vote-by-mail state, and ballots are processed as they are received. The first round of results, released right after polls close, will include ballots processed by Nov. 7, which should account for the vast majority of votes cast. (More from the AP)
Idaho
Polls close: 10 p.m./11 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local time). Nine Idaho counties are fully in Pacific time.
How long does counting usually take? Most voters in Idaho cast ballots on Election Day, but the state still counts pretty quickly. In 2020, around half of the state’s votes had been reported within an hour of polls closing, and it only took seven hours to get to 100% counted. The state will not report any results until all polls have closed at 11 p.m. Eastern. (More from the AP)
Illinois
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Early and absentee voting has grown in popularity here over the last few elections, which has slowed the vote count process a little. In 2020, Illinois took until the evening after the election to reach 90% of votes counted. (More from the AP)
Indiana
Polls close: 6 p.m./7 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. local time). Twelve Indiana counties are in Central time.
How long does counting usually take? An increase in the popularity of early and absentee voting caused delays in 2020, and 90% of votes had been counted just over 24 hours after the first polls closed. Indiana has one of the earliest poll closing times in the nation. (More from the AP)
Iowa
Polls close: 9 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Ballots are counted and released quickly in Iowa. 99.9% of votes in 2020 were reported within four hours of polls closing. (More from the AP)
Kansas
Polls close: 8 p.m./9 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time). Four Kansas counties are in Mountain time.
How long does counting usually take? In 2020, vote counts started being released with 45 minutes of polls close, and 100% of results had been reported by 5 a.m. Eastern the next morning. (More from the AP)
Kentucky
Polls close: 6 p.m./7 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. local time). Forty-one Kentucky counties are in Central time.
How long does counting usually take? Kentucky has one of the earliest poll-close times in the country, and the state counts quickly, too — the vast majority of results are usually released within three hours of polls closing. (More from the AP)
Louisiana
Polls close: 9 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Most votes should be counted by late election night or early the next morning, but since Louisiana is a jungle primary state, some of the more competitive races could advance to a Dec. 10 runoff. (More from the AP)
Maine
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? Maine is notoriously slow at counting votes because many of its small townships still count by hand. To complicate matters even more, the state’s congressional races are using ranked-choice voting, and if no candidate has a definitive majority, final results won’t be released for a week. (More from the AP)
Maryland
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? Historically, counting has been incredibly slow. In the July primaries, state law prevented mail-in ballots from being counted until two days after Election Day, but the law has since been struck down, and officials can now count them ahead of time. This should speed up the process in a state that took six days to count 90% of votes in the 2020 general election. (More from the AP)
Massachusetts
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? Mail-in votes and in-person votes are all counted together on Election Day, and most results are available by early morning the next day. (More from the AP)
Michigan
Polls close: 8 p.m./9 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local time). Four Michigan counties are in Central time.
How long does counting usually take? In 2020, 94% of Michigan’s results were released on election night. County officials cannot start counting mail-in ballots until the Sunday before the election. (More from the AP)
Minnesota
Polls close: 9 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? In 2020, 100% of results were released within 24 hours of polls closing. Minnesota doesn’t start counting ballots until Election Day. (More from the AP)
Mississippi
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Mississippi doesn’t usually finish counting all its votes on election night. In 2020, the state didn’t reach 100% reporting until around 8:30 a.m. on Thursday. (More from the AP)
Missouri
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Missouri usually finishes counting almost all of its votes on Election Day. The state can start counting absentee ballots five days before, and nearly all absentee votes are released in the first batch of results after polls close. (More from the AP)
Montana
Polls close: 10 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Most of Montana votes by mail, and ballots are counted starting the day before the Election. In 2020, 94% of votes were tallied by noon Eastern on Wednesday. (More from the AP)
Nebraska
Polls close: 9 p.m. Eastern time (7 p.m./8 p.m. local time). Nineteen Nebraska counties are in Mountain time and close an hour earlier.
How long does counting usually take? Historically, most Nebraska counties finish tallying votes on election night. (More from the AP)
Nevada
Polls close: 10 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Counting is usually slow in Nevada. The state won’t release any results until all voters in line at polling places have cast their vote, and absentee ballots cannot be processed until polls close. In 2020, it took three days to fully finish counting and reporting votes. (More from the AP)
New Hampshire
Polls close: It varies. Most New Hampshire townships close at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, but Brookline and Kensington close at 7 p.m., and Nashua closes at 8 p.m. Dixville Notch and Millsfield follow the tradition of “midnight voting” — they are small enough townships that all voters cast their ballots together at midnight on Election Day, and polls close shortly thereafter.
How long does counting usually take? Vote counting has been slower here in the last few election cycles, especially in more populated cities like Nashua and Manchester. (More from the AP)
New Jersey
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? It depends — counting could be slow if a large percent of the population votes absentee. The pandemic led to a massive influx of mail-in ballots in 2020 and majorly slowed the count. New Jersey had counted half its ballots within an hour and a half of polls closing in 2020, but didn’t finish counting for another nine days. (More from the AP)
New Mexico
Polls close: 9 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Votes will be counted pretty quickly in New Mexico. Most of the state votes ahead of time, and officials can start validating ballots five days before Election Day. Ninety percent of votes were counted by 1:30 a.m. Eastern in 2020. (More from the AP)
New York
Polls close: 9 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? A huge chunk of votes will be reported on election night — in 2020, 90% of votes were counted by 12:28 a.m. Eastern. The last 10% were counted much more slowly, and the state took nine days to reach 100% reporting. (More from the AP)
North Carolina
Polls close: 7:30 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? North Carolina counts very fast. Much of the state votes early or absentee, and those votes are processed when they are received. In 2020, 99% of votes were counted on Election Day. (More from the AP)
North Dakota
Polls close: 8 p.m./9 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? The bulk of the ballots are counted within a few hours after the polls have closed. (More from the AP)
Ohio
Polls close: 7:30 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? Ohio routinely counts a little more than 2 percent of votes in the days after Election Day, which should only delay race calls in the closest races. In the 2020 general election, 2.6% of votes were counted after Election Day. In 2018, before the pandemic, 2.7% were counted later. Most late-counted votes in both elections were provisional ballots. (More from the AP)
Oklahoma
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? When the polls close, reporting will start to come in quickly, with the majority of votes counted within a few hours. In the 2020 general election, states reached 100% precincts reporting at 12:31 a.m. local time. (More from the AP)
Oregon
Polls close: 10 p.m./11 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local time). Malheur County is in Mountain time.
How long does counting usually take? Oregon votes by mail. Returns will start coming out soon after 8 p.m. but it could take days for close races to be decided. In 2020, it took until around 2 p.m. on Friday, three days after Election Day, for 90% of ballots to be counted. No votes will be reported here until polls in Pacific time have closed. (More from the AP)
Pennsylvania
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? Vote counting typically extends for several days. In 2020, counties reached 90% of statewide votes counted on Thursday evening — a full two days after polls closed. That year, the AP called the presidential race in Pennsylvania on Saturday, four days after the election. This year, the most heavily populated counties expect to report the bulk of their counting done by Wednesday morning. (More from the AP)
Rhode Island
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? First results usually come in about 30 minutes after polls close at 8 p.m. Eastern, and about 92% of votes are tabulated by noon the next day. That is because Rhode Island election officials are allowed to pre-process and sort mail-in ballots and early in-person ballots that arrive before Election Day, making for a speedy vote count after the polls close. Mail-in ballots must arrive by close of polling on Election Day, but mail-in ballots sent from overseas may be counted later if the voter can show the ballot was sent before Election Day. (More from the AP)
South Carolina
Polls close: 7 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? Vote counts in a few areas — Richland County, around the capital city of Columbia, as well as some pockets near the Upstate city of Greenville — can take considerably longer than the rest of the state. (More from the AP)
South Dakota
Polls close: 8 p.m./9 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time). Seventeen South Dakota counties are in Mountain time.
How long does counting usually take? Not long in South Dakota. The state can’t release results until all polls have closed, but it has a history of getting its ballots counted within four or five hours of final close time, even though some results are not fully complete until the next day. (More from the AP)
Tennessee
Polls close: 8 p.m. Eastern time (7 p.m./8 p.m. local time). Thirty Tennessee counties are in Eastern time and close an hour later than the rest of the state.
How long does counting usually take? In two election cycles before 2020, about 60% of the total votes statewide were cast during the early in-person voting period. The number of early in-person and no-excuse mail ballots increased the advance vote to 75% of total votes in 2020. (More from the AP)
Texas
Polls close: 8 p.m./9 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time). Two Texas counties are in Mountain time.
How long does counting usually take? Most of the votes are typically counted within 4-5 hours of polls closing statewide, with remaining votes verified over the following days. Unless a race is too close to call, most winners are determined by 2 a.m. Eastern. In fact, in the 2020 general election, more than half of all votes counted were released within 75 minutes of polls closing statewide. Texas can count quickly because so much of the state votes early, and counties with 100,000 people or more are allowed to start tallying early votes once the early voting period ends — this year that’s Nov. 4 — which gives them a head start. Counties with less than 100,000 can start counting when polls open on Election Day, but with the smaller populations, many still manage to count all early votes by the time polls close. (More from the AP)
Utah
Polls close: 10 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Partial results typically start being reported immediately after polls close, in batches. They’re updated throughout election night and in the following days. It’s common for reporting not to be complete until days later. (More from the AP)
Vermont
Polls close: 7 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? As many as 99.6% to 100% of votes are counted election night by 2 a.m., the rest by Wednesday afternoon. (More from the AP)
Virginia
Polls close: 7 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? Virginia counts votes quicker than many other states. In 2020, only 3% of votes were counted after noon on the Wednesday following Election Day. (More from the AP)
Washington
Polls close: 11 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Washington’s vote-by-mail system leads to some of the highest voter turnout in the nation, but is not a system that leads to fast results. In 2020, 18.3% of the total vote was not yet counted on election night. Totals didn’t reach 100% until 10 days after the election. Because ballots only have to be postmarked by Election Day, it can take weeks to decide close races. Counties can keep counting up until Nov. 29, the day they certify results. (More from the AP)
West Virginia
Polls close: 7:30 p.m. Eastern
How long does counting usually take? West Virginia counts votes quicker than many other states. In 2020, only 1.1% of votes were counted after the Wednesday following Election Day. (More from the AP)
Wisconsin
Polls close: 9 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? High-turnout elections with a large number of absentee ballots that require more time to process than ballots cast at the polls can lead to delayed results. State law does not allow for absentee ballots to be processed before 7 a.m. on Election Day. (More from the AP)
Wyoming
Polls close: 9 p.m. Eastern (7 p.m. local time)
How long does counting usually take? Wyoming has traditionally had all its counting done by early Wednesday morning. (More from the AP)