When will Australians know the results? Our guide to the US election

With the 2024 US presidential election finally here, Australians are engaged in American politics as never before. To help you follow events today, and manage those pesky time zone conversions, here’s an Australian election-observer’s guide to the key details of the day.

Kamala Harris is in a knife-edge election with Donald Trump.Credit: Stephen Kiprllis

When do polls close?

Voting began early on Tuesday, November 5, in the United States (the late evening of Tuesday, November 5, AEDT). States decide individually what time the polls close.

The first states to close will be Indiana and Kentucky – two states expected to go to Donald Trump, which will close by about 10am today (AEDT).

Polls will begin closing in other eastern states from about 11am today (AEDT). By noon, voting will have concluded in more than 20 states, including the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina.

The polls in the remaining swing states will be closed by 2pm (AEDT) and then in all remaining states two hours later, by 4pm.

About 82 million Americans cast their vote before today via mail-in ballot or in-person early voting.

When will we know the results?

In a tight race, counting can continue well beyond election day.

Results in some states will be known fairly quickly, while other counts could drag on for days. We’ll probably get the first results from some eastern states within hours of the first polls closing about 11am today (AEDT). The results will keep rolling in through to Wednesday evening from the east to west coasts.

The slower counts that could delay the result by days will be in the tight swing-state races.

The first results from a swing state will probably be from Georgia, where state law requires that all early votes be counted and reported by 8pm on election night (US time), or noon Wednesday (AEDT).

We’ll probably have results from North Carolina and Arizona by the pointy end of election night, or from about 3pm (AEDT).

Nevada has updated its vote-count rules but could still face a multi-day delay in delivering a result, as it did in 2020. It’s a similar situation in Michigan.

In Wisconsin, pundits are predicting delays that will result in the first results delivered on Wednesday (US time), making it Thursday in Australia.

The crucial vote in Pennsylvania is likely to take a lot longer to deliver a result, possibly several days. It is one of a few states that do not allow election workers to begin processing mail-in votes until election day.

Considered the tipping-point state that could win the election for either candidate, we could see a repeat of 2020, where the election couldn’t be called until the Pennsylvania vote was confirmed four days after the poll.

What happens after a winner is announced?

Usually, when a winner is confirmed, the loser concedes to the victor, who informally becomes the president-elect. In 2016, the result returned quickly, with Hillary Clinton conceding to Trump the morning after the election.

In 2020, the results confirmed Joe Biden had won the election four days after the poll, but Donald Trump initially refused to concede.

In the 2024 vote, official work will continue into December, with all electors in the Electoral College confirmed by December 11, and those electors casting their votes on December 17.

On January 6, 2025, a joint session of the House and the Senate tallies the Electoral College votes, presided over by Vice President Kamala Harris. This means it will fall to Harris to formally announce the result, whether she wins or loses, in a ceremony that happens to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the January 6 Capitol riots.

On January 6, 2021, thousands of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss. This happened after he told his supporters to “fight like hell”. Trump has continued to erroneously claim he won the 2020 election. There are fears similar riots could take place if Trump loses in 2024.

The inauguration of the newly elected president takes place in late January.

Who is likely to win?

The polls are neck and neck, so it’s impossible to say who is more likely to win. But polling has been wrong before, so there is also a chance that the election will not be as close as predicted.

Where can I watch US election coverage?

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age will be live blogging the election around the clock this week, all the way until we have a result – and beyond.

All Australian networks will have wall-to-wall coverage of the election on Wednesday. The dedicated programming begins at 10am on Channel Nine, Network Ten and the ABC. Seven’s coverage begins at 11.30am.

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