What time do polls close on Election Day 2026? An hour-by-hour guide

Update, Nov. 4, 2026: Polls have closed in every state. The Associated Press has called the Senate and the House for Democrats; for calls, counts still under way and what is still uncalled, see our live results explainer. The rest of this page is as published before Election Day.

On Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, the first polls close at 6 p.m. ET in parts of Indiana and Kentucky, and the last close at 1 a.m. ET Wednesday in parts of Alaska, Fox News and NPR report. Illinois polls close at 7 p.m. Central. No state reports results before its polls close, and counting can take days.

Key facts - Election Day: Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026 - First closings: 6 p.m. ET (5 p.m. CT), parts of Indiana and Kentucky - Last closing: 1 a.m. ET Wednesday (midnight CT), the rest of Alaska - By 9 p.m. ET, polls are closed in more than 80% of states (NPR) - Illinois: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central (NCSL)

When do polls close, hour by hour?

All times are Eastern. Central time is one hour earlier. Some states span two time zones, so part of the state closes an hour before the rest. This list combines Fox News's Nov. 1 schedule, which separates those split states, with NPR's Nov. 1 list.

• 6 p.m.: parts of Indiana and Kentucky
• 7 p.m.: Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia; the rest of Indiana and Kentucky; most of Florida and New Hampshire
• 7:30 p.m.: North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia
• 8 p.m.: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Washington, D.C.; the rest of Florida and New Hampshire; most of Texas, Michigan, Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota
• 8:30 p.m.: Arkansas
• 9 p.m.: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin and Wyoming; the rest of Texas, Michigan, Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota
• 10 p.m.: Montana, Nevada and Utah; most of Idaho and Oregon
• 11 p.m.: California and Washington; the rest of Idaho and Oregon
• Midnight: Hawaii and most of Alaska
• 1 a.m. Wednesday: the rest of Alaska

Two notes on the sources. Fox's list doesn't include Nevada. NPR puts Nevada at 10 p.m. Eastern, which matches the 7 p.m. local closing time in the National Conference of State Legislatures' polling-hours table. Fox also labels its 9 p.m. group "PT," but NPR lists the same states at 9 p.m. ET, and their local closing times match Eastern.

What are the polling hours where I live?

They're set by state law and listed in NCSL's table, last updated Sept. 15, 2026. Seven a.m. to 7 p.m. local time is the most common window, NCSL says. A few examples:

• Illinois: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central
• Indiana and Kentucky: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time
• North Carolina and West Virginia: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Alaska: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time

Your county or state election office has the final word on your polling place's hours, including any court-ordered extension on Election Day.

When will results start coming in?

Not before polls close. After that, it depends on each state's counting rules. NPR says counting will start Tuesday night but "could go on for days or even weeks," and that Georgia's secretary of state has told local news that new laws require counties to report results within an hour of polls closing. By 9 p.m. ET, NPR notes, polls are closed in more than 80% of states.

Early votes are a big part of the count this year. Our early-voting explainer covers how many ballots are already in and which states can start processing them before Election Day. Election-night numbers are unofficial. Our certification guide explains when each state makes them final.

How are outlets framing election night?

Left-leaning outlets tie the hours to what's at stake. NPR pairs each closing time with competitive Senate, House and governor races and warns counting could run long. The Guardian's explainer calls midterms "often a telling referendum" on the president's performance and cites Democrats' lead in the generic-ballot polling average in early October.

Right-leaning outlets emphasize the early clues and the GOP's position. Fox News leads with Republicans defending "slim congressional majorities" before its hour-by-hour list. The Washington Examiner says the earliest polls close "in two red states, Indiana and Kentucky," notes Democrats are projected to flip the House and says Republicans hope to "defy political gravity."

Where they agree: the first polls close at 6 p.m. ET in parts of Indiana and Kentucky, Alaska is last at 1 a.m. ET, and some races may not be called on election night.

Sources

• National Conference of State Legislatures, Polling Places (updated Sept. 15, 2026)
• NPR, Nov. 1, 2026
• Fox News, Nov. 1, 2026
• Washington Examiner, Oct. 30, 2026
• The Guardian, Oct. 26, 2026

Photo: Lorie Shaull / Wikimedia Commons (via Flickr), CC BY 2.0 (cropped to 16:9). A voter leaves the polling place at Cohasset City Hall, Minnesota, on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024. File photo.

Drafted with AI assistance from primary sources. Written and edited by The Whole Read newsroom under Monsaur Othman's editorial standards. Read how we use AI, our editorial policy and our corrections policy.