The wild 107-day campaign between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris comes to an end Tuesday night, as polls close and states begin the process of counting the ballots.
Of course, all four major television networks, as well as the cable news channels, will have wall-to-wall coverage. But for those who do not want to listen to bloviating talking heads fill hours and hours of airtime as ballots are counted, or for others who won’t be home to be glued to their television screens, there are other ways to watch results.
First, bookmark this handy poll closing time graphic from our friends at The Downballot—a newsletter published by the former Daily Kos Elections team.
The outcome of the race will be determined by which candidate can take the right combination of swing states, which currently look to be Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Polls close in Georgia at 7 PM ET; in North Carolina at 7:30 PM ET; in Pennsylvania and Michigan at 8 PM ET; in Wisconsin and Arizona at 9 PM ET; and in Nevada at 10 PM ET.
Remember, the way each state tabulates votes—or whether they count Election Day ballots or early vote first—may produce blue or red mirages that may not last. So while a state might appear to be leaning in one direction earlier in the night, that direction might not hold as more and more votes are counted.
So how do you make sense of it all? Follow the election wonks who understand the composition of the electorate and whether the numbers coming in portend good or bad things for either candidate.
For national analysis, check out Lakshya Jain of Split Ticket; Tom Bonier, who has been tracking the early vote for Target Smart; Dave Wasserman of the Cook Political Report; and Nate Cohn of The New York Times, whose election needle still gives many PTSD from past elections.
And of course follow The Downballot for all downballot race analysis.
At the state level, Democratic strategist Sam Almy understands the landscape in Arizona, as does local political analyst Garrett Archer and data guru David Byler.
In North Carolina, Michael Bitzer has done a great job tracking early votes, as has Wake County Board of Elections Member Gerry Cohen.
In Nevada, look no further than Jon Ralston and John Samuelsen, who have been tracking the early vote in the Silver State.
In Michigan, Patrick Schuh has been tracking the early vote in the Wolverine State.
In Pennsylvania, data analyst Joshua Smithley is worth a follow.
And don’t miss Wisconsin Democratic Party chair—and prolific Daily Kos community member—Ben Wikler; no one knows that state better than him.
Ultimately, the Associated Press makes race calls that we here at Daily Kos and many other outlets follow. They explain their methodology here.
So, happy watching. Hopefully, the election turns out the right way.
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