Elections in the United States: at what time will the results be known and what to pay attention to

In these elections renews the entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate. Furthermore, they choose 36 governors.

In states with fewer voters, high rates of early voting, or early poll closings, States typically release almost all of their results before midnight, Eastern time (two in the morning in Argentina). In states with large populations, high rates of voting by mail or systems such as preferential voting, The count can take days or even weeks.

But a quick count does not guarantee an immediate announcement of the result. Organizations like the Associated Press They only project one winner when they are safe that it is impossible for the lagging candidate to overcome it. If the race is decided by a narrow margin, AP will not announce a winner until all votes cast abroad, by military and provisional ballots, have been counted.

In 2024, the House race with the narrowest final margin — 187 votes — It was not defined until 29 days later of the elections.

It should be noted that all the electoral results They are unofficial until they are certified by the states, and that the arrival of batches of ballots in the days or weeks after election night, even those that result in a new leading candidate, They are a normal part of the process.

In this electoral cycle, early voting data indicates that, in several key states, Registered Democrats have been disproportionately likely to vote early.

These votes are usually among the first to be reported, so it is possible that in many races “blue mirages” occurwhere the Democratic candidate’s lead in the vote count gradually narrows as more votes cast on Election Day are counted.

The first voting centers will close on Tuesday at 6 pm Eastern Time (at 8 pm in Buenos Aires), and the last ones will do so on Wednesday at 1 am Eastern Time in Alaska (at 3 am in Argentina).

Nonetheless, there will be a constant stream of polling place closures every 30 to 60 minutes; In most states, voting will conclude between 7 and 10 p.m. Eastern time (that is, between 9 and 12 p.m. in our country)

Some states are traditionally Democratic or Republican and there should be no surprises there. But in others, the dispute is anticipated to be close and it will be key to see what weighs in those cases. An example is Texas, where the Democratic senatorial candidate seems like he will put up a good fight.

A Texas, The polls close between 10 and 11 p.m. Argentine time. In recent elections, between 80% and 90% of the votes were counted by midnight ET, and 99% had already been recorded by 7 pm the day after the election. Voting by mail requires a valid justification, and only a small portion of voters cast their vote this way.

Another case is Kansas. There, too, the fight for a seat in the Senate is expected to be close.

Polls close at the same time as Texas. In 2022 and 2024, by noon ET Wednesday, most of the votes had already been reported. Ballots sent by mail have a period of three days to arrive, as long as they are postmarked no later than Election Day; However, only about 1 in 10 voters use this modality.

Maine, Iowa, Michigan y Ohio They are also hinge states or battleground and could be significant in terms of the final conformation of the chambers.

Alaska is another “battleground” in the Senate race. There, the polls close between midnight and 1 am (Eastern time), that is, after two in the morning in Buenos Aires.

In 2024, approximately 75% of the votes were counted on election night, while the rest were counted seven to 15 days later. In federal and state races the ranked-choice voting system is used; If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the next recount will take place on November 18.