The states voting today span the nation, and millions of Americans will visit polls from when the sun rises off the Maine coast to when it sets in Alaska. Because of different time zones, some results might start coming in early, while others won’t come until late — maybe very late.
Here what we know about the night (all times are Eastern):
Iowa Democrats may be first.
They lost their first-in-the-nation status this cycle, but at least tonight they could be the earliest to announce results. Results from the party’s first mail-only caucus are expected around 6 p.m., according to The Associated Press. (Iowa Republicans, of course, retained their early state bragging rights and voted in January.)
Next up: Vermont and Virginia.
The first Republican results on Tuesday are likely to come from Vermont and Virginia, where polls close the earliest, at 7 p.m. Vote counts should start arriving shortly afterward. Both Democrats and Republicans are holding presidential primaries in these states.
Polls close in North Carolina at 7:30 p.m.
Both parties are holding presidential primaries as well as primaries to succeed Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat who is barred from running again by term limits. While North Carolina has been quick to count in the past, new legislation is changing how the state will count its votes. Election officials used to be able to get a head start, counting early votes before the polls closed. That had helped them release some results right at 7:30 p.m., but this year they must wait until Election Day voting has concluded before they can begin tabulating early ballots.
Lots of states wrap up voting at 8 p.m.
Alabama, Massachusetts, Maine, Oklahoma and Tennessee close their polls at 8 p.m. Most polls in Texas will also close then, though two counties in the western part of the state are in another time zone and will keep voting for another hour. Don’t expect any Texas race calls from The Associated Press until all the state’s polls are closed.
By 9 p.m., three more states and a territory will be done.
Arkansas polls close at 8:30 p.m., and American Samoa’s Democratic caucus will wrap up then, too.
Colorado and Minnesota polls will close next, at 9 p.m. In the Democratic primary in Minnesota, the attention will again be on a campaign to vote “uncommitted” as a way to protest President Biden’s handling of the war in Gaza. The movement made itself heard last week in Michigan.
Utah Democrats claim the 10 p.m. spot.
The polls in Utah’s Democratic primary will close at 10 p.m., and first returns will likely be available soon after. But Utah Republicans, who are participating in a caucus rather than a primary, mostly likely won’t start delivering results for another hour.
Delegate-rich California is one of the last states to finish voting.
Polls in California, the most populous state, close at 11 p.m. But don’t expect many results right away. California is famously slow to count votes, mostly because counting mail ballots just takes longer and the state largely relies on mail voting — 91 percent of ballots were cast by mail in the 2022 primary elections.
California’s 22 million registered voters are automatically mailed ballots, though they also have the option to vote in person. Mail ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day, so valid votes will still be coming in and being counted well after Tuesday night.
Competitive contests, like the Senate primary in the race to succeed Dianne Feinstein, who died last year, may not be decided on Tuesday night. In 2022 midterm primaries, less than half of all ballots had been counted by 6:10 a.m. Eastern time the next day, according to The A.P.
Alaska will bring up the rear.
Though California might take the longest to count its votes, it won’t be the last state to close polls Tuesday. That will be Alaska, where voting will stay open until midnight.
