US elections: When will each state declare winner in the contest between Trump and Harris?

Polling stations on the US east coast opened Tuesday, marking the last opportunity for Americans to vote in the fiercely contested 2024 presidential election. According to the Associated Press, around 82 million people have already participated through early voting.

Voting will end after Election Day on November 5. However, the key question remains: when will the US election results be announced? Initial results are expected to start coming in soon after the first polls close at 6 p.m. (4:30 a.m. IST) on Tuesday. It is important to note that winning the popular vote does not guarantee overall victory, as the final outcome depends on the Electoral College.

While the candidate with the most votes is often announced late on election night or early the following day, this year's tight race may mean a longer wait before the final results are confirmed, according to the BBC.

In some cases, a projected winner may be declared in one state while vote counting continues in others. Narrow vote margins could also lead to recounts. Most states allow recounts if the difference between leading candidates is within a certain range, such as 0.5 percentage points, even if the gap involves thousands or tens of thousands of votes. Recounts naturally extend the timeline for finalizing results.

Swing states could also contribute to delays in determining the winner of the race. Moreover, the official winner will not be confirmed until electoral votes are factored in.

The Electoral College is a system where voters select electors who then cast votes for the President and Vice President of the United States. After the election, 538 members of the Electoral College convene in their state capitals to make the final decision. Each state is allotted a specific number of electors based on its representation in the House of Representatives and Senate.

To win, a candidate must secure at least 270 electoral votes.

Due to the length of this process, the exact timing of when the winner will be declared is often uncertain. For example, in the 2020 presidential election, voting occurred on November 3, but Joe Biden was not announced as the winner until late November 7, when US TV networks called the race after Pennsylvania's results became clearer, according to the BBC.

However, there have been instances of quicker outcomes. In the 2016 election, Donald Trump was declared the winner by the Associated Press on election night. In 2012, Barack Obama's re-election was reportedly announced before midnight on election day.

Here is the state-wise polling time by time zones:

Alabama

Polls open at 8am ET (7am local time)
There was no early in-person voting.

Alaska

Polls open 11am/noon ET (7am local time -- Alaska covers two time zones). Polls closes at midnight/1am ET (8pm local time)

Arizona

Polls open 8am ET (6am local time). Polls close 9pm ET (7pm local time)

Arkansas

Polls open 8.30am ET (7.30 local times). Polls close 8.30 pm ET (7.30 pm local time)

California

Polls open 10 am ET (7am local time). Polls close at 11pm ET (8pm local time)

Colorado

Polls open 9am ET (7am local time). Polls close at 9pm ET (7pm local time)

Connecticut

Polls open 6am ET, closes 8pm ET

Delaware

Polls open 7am ET, 8pm eatern times

District of Columbia

Polls open 7 am ET, polls close ar 8pm ET

Florida

Polls open at 7am/8am ET (7am local time -- Florida has two time zones)

Polls close at 7pm/8pm ET (7pm local time)

Georgia

Polls open at 7am ET, polls close at 7pm ET

Hawaii

Polls open Noon ET (7am local time), polls close at midnight Eastern time (7pm local time)

Idaho

Polls open between 9 am and 11 am ET depending on municipality (7am or 8 am local time --nine countries are fully on Pacific time)

Polls close at 10pm/11pm ET (8pm local time)

Illinois

Polls open at 7am ET (6am local time). Polls close at 8pm ET (7pm local time)

Indiana

Polls open 6am/7am ET (6am local time -- 12 Indiana countries are on Central time)
Polls close at 6pm/7pm ET (6pm local time)

Iowa

Polls open 8 am ET (7am local time) and polls close at 9pm ET (8pm local time)

Kansas

Polls open at 7am/8am ET (Between 6am and 7am local time in the Central time zone and between 5am and 6am in the Mountain time zone). Polls close at 8pm/9pm ET (7pm local time)

Kentucky

Polls open at 6am/7am ET (6am local time -- 41 countries are on the Central time). Polls close at 6pm/7pm ET (6pm local time)

Lousiana

Polls open at 7am ET (6am local time) and poll close at 9pm ET (8pm local time)

Maine

Polls open between 6 am and 10 am ET depending on municipality, polls close at 8pm ET

Maryland

Polls open at 7am ET and closes at 8pm ET

Massachusetts

Polls open at 7am ET, polls close at 8pm ET

Michigan

Polls open at 7am/8am ET (7am local time)
polls close at 8pm/9pm ET (8pm local time)

Minnesota

Polls open at 8am ET (7am local time)
Polls close at 9pm ET (8pm local time)

Mississippi

Polls open at 8am ET (7am local time)
Polls close at 8pm ET (7pm local time)

Missouri

Polls open at 7am ET (6am local time)
Polls close at 8pm ET (7pm local time)

Montana

Polls open at 9am ET (7am local time)
Polls close at 10pm ET (8pm local time)

Nebraska

Polls open at 9am ET (7am/8am local time -- 19 countries are on Mountain time)
Polls close at 9pm ET (7pm/8pm local time)

Nevada

Polls open at 10am ET (7am local time)
Polls close at 10pm ET (7pm local time)

New Hampshire

It depends on the municipalities. Most open between 6am and 11 am ET
Polls close between 7pm and 8pm ET, depending on municipalities.

New Jersey

Polls open at 6am ET
Poll close at 8pm ET

New Mexico

Polls open at 9am ET (7am local time)
Polls close at 9pm ET (7pm local time)

New York

Polls open at 6am ET and polls close at 9pm ET

North Carolina

Polls open at 6.30am ET and polls close at 7.30 ET

North Dakota

Polls open between 8am and 11 am ET (between 7am and 9am local time)
Polls close at 8pm/9pm ET (7pm local time)

Ohio

Polls open at 6.30am ET, polls close at 7.30pm ET

Oklahoma

Polls open at 8am ET (7am local time)
Polls close at 8pm ET (7pm local time)

Oregon

Polls open at 9am/10am ET (7am local time)
Polls close at 10pm/11pm ET (8pm local time)

Pennsylvania
Polls open at 7am ET, polls close at 8pm ET

Rhode Island
Polls open at 7am ET, polls close at 8pm ET

South Carolina
Polls open at 7am ET, polls close at 7pm ET

South Dakota
Polls open at 8am/9am ET (7am local time - 17 countries are in Mountain time). Polls close at 8pm/9pm ET (7pm local time)

Tennessee
Polls open between 7am and 10 am ET depending on municipality (Between 6am and 10 am local time). Polls close at 8pm ET (7pm/8pm local time -- 30 Tennessee countries are on ET)

Texas
Polls open at 8am/9am ET (7am local time). Polls close at 8pm/9pm ET (7pm local time)

Utah
Polls open at 9am ET (7am local time). Polls close at 10pm ET (8pm local time)

Vermont
Polls open between 5am and 10am ET, depending on municipality, polls close at 7pm ET

Virginia
Polls open at 6am ET, polls close at 7pm ET

Washington

Polls open between 10 am and noon ET depending on municipality (between 7 am and 9 am local time). Polls close at 11pm ET (8pm local time)

West Virginia

Polls open at 6.30am ET, polls close at 7.30pm ET

Wisconsin

Polls open at 8am ET (7am local time). Polls close at 9pm ET (8pm local time).

Wyoming

Polls open at 9am ET (7am local time). Polls close at 9pm ET (7pm local time)

Also See:

US Presidential Election | Donald Trump | Kamala Harris | JD Vance

(With input from agencies)