A step-by-step guide to how the U.S. election will unfold today
11am AEDT: Polls start closing in crucial swing states
Florida: 11am AEDT (mostly - rest of state closes as 12)
North Carolina: 11:30am AEDT
Pennsylvania: 12pm AEDT
Michigan: 12pm AEDT
Wisconsin: 1pm AEDT
Arizona: 1pm AEDT
1pm AEDT: We’ll know who the President is - if it’s a landslide
In past presidential elections, we’ve known the results soon after polls close.
But there’s a couple of reasons why we likely won’t know the result too quickly this time:
It’s a relatively close election
There’s a record number of mail-in ballots
Quick note: what are mail-in ballots and why do they change things?
Mail-in ballots are sent in before election day by voters who don’t want to vote in-person on election day - because, for example, they’re not near a booth, or because they’re wary of COVID-19.
The process for counting mail-in ballots is time consuming, and there’s a lot of them this year. Officials in key states like Pennsylvania and Michigan have said it could take until Friday to count all the mail-in ballots.
At around 3pm AEDT: We’ll likely hear from the candidates
The candidates always like to say something on election night, even if the result isn’t known.
Some reports suggest Trump may claim victory on the night. If that happens, it could get messy. Speeches and announcements from key figures could pop up as late as Australian dinnertime.
If it’s a close election, the result could become clear any time until the end of the week - or even later if the election is so close that court cases are needed to validate certain ballots, or recounts are ordered.
Whatever happens, we’ll keep you posted.