When do they start counting votes
The gist
Polls close first at 6 p.m. Eastern in parts of Indiana and Kentucky, with the last closing at 1 a.m. Eastern in Alaska's Aleutian Islands.
Full results can take days, and key races may not be known on election night.
How it unfolded
- Sep 30, 2026Arizona's preelection tests on vote-counting machines began, and the state allows election staff to start processing votes once those tests are performed; voting and counting have been ongoing since then.
- Nov 3, 2026Polls close first at 6 p.m. Eastern in parts of eastern Indiana and Kentucky, with the last polls closing at 1 a.m. Eastern Wednesday in Alaska's Aleutian Islands.
- Nov 3, 2026Arizona's first batch of results is expected about an hour after polls close, around 8 p.m., with more through the night; Texas early-voting results should start after its 7 p.m. close, and Alaska posts its first batch between 8:45 and 9 p.m. Alaska Time.