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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.
null - 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).
Texas
Polls close at 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET in Texas, depending on the time zone.
Utah
Polls close at 10 p.m. ET.
Vermont
Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.
Virginia
Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.
Washington
Polls close at 11 p.m. ET.
West Virginia
Polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Wisconsin
Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.
Wisconsin is no stranger to close elections; the margin of victory in the state was less than 1 percentage point in 2020, 2016, 2004 and 2000.
In 2020, the AP first reported Wisconsin results at 9:07 p.m. ET on Nov. 3 and declared Biden the winner at 2:16 p.m. ET on Nov. 4.
Wyoming
Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.