The first polls close at 6 p.m. Eastern, or 3 p.m. Pacific, in the Eastern time parts of Indiana and Kentucky. The last regular closings come at midnight Eastern in Hawaii and most of Alaska, and polling places in Alaska's western Aleutian Islands stay open until 1 a.m. Eastern Wednesday.
Each state sets its own hours. This schedule converts the local closing time in each state's election office notice or election law to Eastern and Pacific time. Daylight saving time ended Sunday, so every zone is on standard time.
Closing times, hour by hour
| Eastern | Pacific | Where polls close |
|---|---|---|
| 6 p.m. | 3 p.m. | The Eastern time parts of Indiana and Kentucky |
| 7 p.m. | 4 p.m. | Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, most of Florida, and the Central time parts of Indiana and Kentucky |
| 7:30 p.m. | 4:30 p.m. | North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia |
| 8 p.m. | 5 p.m. | Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, most of Michigan and Texas, eastern South Dakota, and Florida's Central time panhandle |
| 8:30 p.m. | 5:30 p.m. | Arkansas |
| 9 p.m. | 6 p.m. | Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Wyoming, western South Dakota, the El Paso area of Texas, and Michigan's Central time counties |
| 10 p.m. | 7 p.m. | Montana, Nevada, Utah, most of Idaho, and Malheur County in eastern Oregon |
| 11 p.m. | 8 p.m. | California, Washington, most of Oregon, and northern Idaho |
| Midnight | 9 p.m. | Hawaii and most of Alaska |
| 1 a.m. Wednesday | 10 p.m. | Alaska's western Aleutian Islands |
By 9 p.m. Eastern, voting has ended in 37 of the 46 states listed and in the District of Columbia. The three West Coast states close two hours after New York. Hawaii and most of Alaska follow an hour later.
States that close at two different times
Most states that span two time zones close at the same local hour in both, so the western part of the state closes an hour later on the Eastern clock. That is why Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, South Dakota, Texas, Idaho and Oregon each show up in two rows.
Three states avoid the split. Kansas law gives its Mountain time counties 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., an hour earlier by the local clock, and Nebraska's does the same, so each state closes all at once. Tennessee's polls close at 8 p.m. Eastern and 7 p.m. Central, the same moment. In Alabama, the state's voter guide says polling places in the Eastern time zone may run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern, an hour ahead of the rest of the state.
Where local officials set the hours
New Hampshire law requires polls to stay open until at least 7 p.m. local time, and local officials set the exact hours from there. In North Dakota, a city or county resolution sets each precinct's closing time anywhere from 7 to 9 p.m. local time. Voters in both states should check with their town or county.
Mississippi and Wisconsin are left out of the table. Voters there should confirm hours with their local election clerk.
If you are in line at closing time
Stay in line. Most states' election offices or laws say anyone already in line when the polls close can still vote. Alabama's guide adds that anyone who tries to join the line after 7 p.m. will be turned away.
Mail ballots run on a different clock. Colorado, Hawaii and Utah count only ballots that arrive by closing time, so drop one off at an official box or voting center rather than mailing it today. Oregon and Washington accept ballots postmarked by Election Day. Edit USA's Election Day guide lists each state's opening and closing hours with a link to the official source.
