What time do polls close in my state on Election Day 2024?

When the networks got it wrong twice in one night

"Hanging chads" and "butterfly ballots" became part of our election vocabulary back in 2000 as the Florida recount dragged on for weeks. In this LiveNOW & Then full episode, we look at coverage of the back-and-forth on Election Night 2000 and beyond.

Millions of Americans will have already voted by the time the polls close on Election Day, but tens of millions more plan to cast their ballots in person.

Polling hours vary state by state and sometimes county by county. Even some states fall into two different time zones.

The first polls to close are on the East Coast are in eastern counties of Indiana and Kentucky, at 6 p.m. ET. Other states, including Georgia and Florida following closely, closing at 7 p.m. ET.

Here’s when the polls close in each state, with Eastern times listed.

Alabama

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

Alaska

Polls close at 12 a.m. and 1 a.m. ET for Alaska.

The honor of having the last voter in the nation fell to Alaska when they did away with absentee-only voting for the 2012 election and added in-person voting.

"People have a little bit of fun on that day because, I mean, realistically everybody knows the election’s decided way before we’re closed," said city manager Layton Lockett. "But, you know, it’s still fun."

Arizona

Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

Arizona does not release votes until all precincts have reported or one hour after all polls are closed, whichever is first.

In 2020, The Associated Press first reported Arizona results at 10:02 p.m. ET on Nov. 3, Election Day, and declared Biden the winner at 2:51 a.m. ET on Nov. 4.

Arkansas

Polls close at 8:30 p.m. ET.

California

Polls close at 11 p.m. ET.

Colorado

Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

Connecticut

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

Delaware

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

Voters arrive at a polling place on March 3, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Credit: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Washington D.C.

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

Florida

Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.

Georgia

Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.

In 2020, the Associated Press first reported Georgia results at 7:20 p.m. ET on Nov. 3 and declared Biden the state’s winner at 7:58 p.m. ET on Nov. 19, more than two weeks after Election Day.

Hawaii

Polls close at 12 a.m. ET.

Idaho

Polling locations in Idaho close between 10:00 p.m and 11:00 p.m. depending on time zone of the county.

Illinois

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

Indiana

Polls close at 6 p.m. ET in the state’s 80 counties that are in the Eastern Time Zone. The state’s 12 remaining counties are in the Central Time Zone and will close polling at 7 p.m. ET.

Iowa

Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

Kansas

In Kansas, polls will close between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. depending on the time zone of the county.

Kentucky

Polls will close between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m.depending on the time zone of the county.

Louisiana

Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

Maine

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

Maryland

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

Massachusetts

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

Michigan

Polls close in Michigan at 8 p.m. ET for all but four of its counties. The four counties in the Central Time Zone will close at 9 p.m. ET.

In 2020, the AP first reported Michigan results at 8:08 p.m. ET on Nov. 3 and declared Biden the winner at 5:58 p.m. ET on Nov. 4.

Minnesota

Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

Mississippi

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

Missouri

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

Montana

Polls close at 10 p.m. ET.

Nebraska

Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

Nevada

Polls close at 10 p.m. ET.

The state doesn’t release results until the last person in line has voted, so there’s usually been a wait between poll close and the first results.

In 2020, the AP first reported Nevada results at 11:41 p.m. ET on Nov. 3 and declared Biden the winner at 12:13 p.m. ET on Nov. 7.

New Hampshire

Polls close between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. ET in the state, varying based on municipality.

New Jersey

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

New Mexico

Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

New York

Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

North Carolina

Polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET.

In 2020, the AP first reported results at 7:42 p.m. ET on Nov. 3 and declared Trump the winner at 3:49 p.m. ET on Nov. 13.

North Dakota

Most polls in the state will close at 8 p.m. ET, but the state’s eight counties on Mountain Time Zone will close at 9 p.m. ET.

Ohio

Polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Oklahoma

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

Oregon:

Polls close between 10 p.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET depending on the county’s time zone.

Pennsylvania

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

In 2020, the AP first reported results at 8:09 p.m. ET on Nov. 3 and declared Biden the winner at 11:25 a.m. ET on Nov. 7.

Rhode Island

Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.

South Carolina

Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.

South Dakota

Polls in the state’s eastern half close at 8 p.m. ET and in the state’s western half at 9 p.m. ET, since the state is nearly divided in half between Central Time Zone and Mountain Time Zone.

Tennessee

Polls close at 8 p.m. for the state’s 30 counties in the Eastern Time Zone. The state’s remaining 3 counties in Central Time Zone close polls at 7 p.m. local time (also 8 p.m. ET).