How will US election day develop? | News about the 2024 US election

Millions of Americans will go to the polls on Tuesday to cast their votes in the 2024 presidential election, in which Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump are fighting a tight race.

There are 230 million eligible voters, but only about 160 million of them are registered. However, nearly half of the 50 states in the United States allow day-to-day registration, while citizens in North Dakota can vote without registering.

More than 70 million people have already cast their votes by postal vote or at early polling stations.

Voters will also elect 34 U.S. Senators (out of 100) and all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. In addition, gubernatorial elections are taking place in 11 states and two territories (Puerto Rico and American Samoa).

The USA spans six time zones. According to US Eastern Time (ET), voting begins at 5 a.m. (10:00 GMT) on Tuesday and ends at 1 a.m. (06:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

We break down when polling stations open and close in each state:

5 a.m. ET (10:00 GMT)

Polling stations are open at different times from state to state. In some Vermont communities, the earliest voting will begin well before dawn.

6 a.m. ET (11:00 GMT)

Polls are open in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. Some polling places in Indiana and Kentucky are also open.

In Maine, polls are open from 6:00 a.m. ET to 10:00 a.m. ET (3:00 p.m. GMT), depending on community guidelines. In New Hampshire, polls are open from 6:00 a.m. ET to 11:00 a.m. ET (4:00 p.m. GMT).

6:30 a.m. ET (11:30 GMT)

Polling stations are opening in the contested state of North Carolina as well as in the red states of Ohio and West Virginia. States that traditionally support Republicans are called red states.

7 a.m. ET (12:00 GMT)

Polls are open in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and South Carolina.

Some polling places in Indiana, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan will also be open at this time. In Tennessee, voting begins from 7 a.m. ET to 10 a.m. ET (3 p.m. GMT), depending on the municipality.

Georgia is a critical swing state. In the 2020 election, Democrat Joe Biden won by 0.2 percentage points over Trump, making it the narrowest victory this year.

From 1972 to 2016, Republican candidates typically won in Georgia. However, races in the state have become tighter recently due to changing demographics.

8 a.m. ET (1:00 p.m. GMT)

Polls are open in Alabama, Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Some polling stations in Florida, Kansas, Michigan, South Dakota and Texas will also be open at this time.

In North Dakota, voting begins from 8:00 a.m. ET to 11:00 a.m. ET (3:00 GMT), depending on the municipality.

Arizona recently became a swing state when Biden defeated Trump by 0.3 percentage points four years ago. From 1952 to 2016, the Republican presidential candidate won in Arizona with one exception: Democrat Bill Clinton, who ran against Republican Robert Dole in 1996.

8 a.m. ET (1:30 p.m. GMT)

Arkansas begins voting.

9:00 a.m. ET (2:00 p.m. GMT)

People are starting to vote in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Polls will also be open at this time in some parts of South Dakota, Oregon and Texas, as well as for the community of New Shoreham in Rhode Island.

In Idaho, polls are open from 9:00 a.m. ET to 11:00 a.m. ET (4:00 p.m. GMT), depending on the municipality.

10:00 a.m. ET (3:00 p.m. GMT)

Voting begins in California and Nevada, as well as some parts of Oregon. In Washington, polls are open from 10:00 a.m. ET to 12:00 p.m. ET (5:00 p.m. GMT), depending on the municipality.

11:00 a.m. ET (16:00 GMT)

In Alaska, a state with two time zones, some polling stations are open. The state's other polling locations open at 12:00 p.m. ET (17:00 GMT).

12:00 p.m. ET (17:00 GMT)

Polling stations open in Hawaii.

Polls begin closing at 6:00 p.m. ET (11:00 p.m. GMT).

Some polling places in Indiana and Kentucky are closed.

7:00 p.m. ET (00:00 GMT)

Polls are closed in six states: Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and the rest of Indiana and Kentucky.

Trump disputed the 2020 election results in Georgia. He was later charged there with election interference. False claims are already circulating about voter fraud in the swing state this election.

Indiana, Kentucky and South Carolina are leaning toward Trump, while Virginia and Vermont are expected to lean toward Harris.

7:30 p.m. ET (00:30 GMT on Wednesday)

Polling stations are closed in Ohio, North Carolina and West Virginia.

In 2020, Trump won the battleground state of North Carolina by 1.3 percentage points over Biden, and in 2016, Trump won the state by 3.6 percentage points over Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.

From 1980 to 2020, Republicans have won in every election in North Carolina except 2008, when Democrat Barack Obama beat John McCain by 0.3 percentage points.

Ohio and West Virginia have voted Republican in the past, and Trump is expected to win in both states.

8:00 p.m. ET (01:00 GMT on Wednesday)

Polls are closed in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington and the District of Columbia.

Most polling stations in Michigan and Texas will also close at this time.

Pennsylvania is a swing state that Biden won by 1.2 percentage points in 2020. In 2016, Trump beat Clinton by 0.7 percentage points.

After a Democratic victory in 1976, Republicans dominated the state from 1980 to 1988. From 1992 to 2012, Democrats won Pennsylvania.

8:30 p.m. ET (01:30 GMT on Wednesday)

Polls are closing in Arkansas, marking the conclusion of voting in half of the U.S. states.

Arkansas is expected to go to Trump because Republicans won comfortably in the state from 2000 to 2020.

9:00 p.m. ET (02:00 GMT on Wednesday)

Polls are closed in 15 states: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

This includes three swing states: Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin.

From 1976 to 2020, Republicans have won every election in Arizona except 1996 and 2020. In 2020, Biden beat Trump by 0.3 percentage points. In 2016, Trump beat Clinton by 3.6 percentage points.

From 1992 to 2020, Michigan has voted Democratic in every election except 2016, when Trump defeated Clinton by 0.2 percentage points. In 2020, Biden beat Trump in the state by 2.8 percentage points. But U.S. support for Israel's war on Gaza could sway the state's significant number of Arab-American voters toward Trump or the Green Party's Jill Stein.

Wisconsin has also historically gone blue in every election from 1988 to 2020 except 2016, when Trump defeated Clinton by 0.7 percentage points. In 2020, Biden won the state by 0.7 percentage points.

10:00 p.m. ET (03:00 GMT on Wednesday)

Polling stations are closed in Montana, Nevada and Utah.

Montana and Utah are expected to go to Trump. However, Nevada is a swing state.

While Republicans won the state from 1976 to 1988, Democrats have won there since 2008. In 2020, Biden won by 2.4 percentage points. In 2016, Clinton beat Trump by 2.4 percentage points.

11:00 p.m. ET (04:00 GMT on Wednesday)

Polling stations are closed in California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

California is the most populous U.S. state and is expected to go to Harris, a California native who has represented the state in the U.S. Senate and served as its attorney general.

From 1992 to 2020, Democrats won comfortably in California.

Oregon and Washington are also expected to see a Harris win, while Idaho is expected to go to Trump.

Midnight ET (05:00 GMT on Wednesday)

Polling stations are closed in Hawaii and parts of Alaska.

Trump is expected to win in Alaska, while Harris is expected to win in Hawaii.

Wednesday, 1 a.m. ET (06:00 GMT)

The last elections have ended on the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.