US election 2024: When will we know the result?

Votes are being cast across the US to determine whether the country’s next president will be Kamala Harris or Donald Trump.
Throughout the night on Tuesday, polls will close and US news outlets can begin “calling” a state for either Trump or Harris.
This will only take place when networks are confident that a candidate will win. It gives a good idea of who is likely to secure the keys to the White House.
States that are traditionally Republican – like Oklahoma – or Democrat – like New York – are likely to be called as soon as the polls close and before any votes are counted.
However, for some key battleground states, networks will wait until a high number of votes are counted before making a projection because the result could go either way.
As a result, some states might not be called for hours, or even days, which could lead to delays in announcing the final result.
ITV News’ US election programme will guide you through the night and provide in-depth analysis as the results are announced.
But what are the key timings of the night and how quickly will we know who the next president is?
When will states declare results?
Tuesday, November 5
11pm GMT (6pm EST): Kentucky and Indiana are often the first states to be declared. These are Republican strongholds and so Trump should be the first candidate to pick up votes.
After this, we can expect a steady stream of declarations.
Wednesday, November 6
12am GMT (7pm EST): The first results for Harris will come in as the polls close in Virginia and Vermont at midnight. South Carolina, a Republican stronghold, should also declare results.
The polls for Florida and Georgia also close, however, these states are unlikely to be declared straight away as it’s expected to be close.
1am GMT (8pm EST): Polls close in many of the safe states around this time with results from Republican strongholds like Alabama and Oklahoma expected and strong Democrat states like Connecticut, Delaware and New Jersey.
In key battleground states Michigan and Pennsylvania polls also close at this time, but it is unlikely these results will be declared for a while.
2am GMT (9pm EST): Democrat strongholds New York and Colorado’s polls close. Safe Republican states like Kansas and Louisiana should also declare results around this time.
The polls for swing states Arizona and Wisconsin also close but results are likely to be delayed.
3am GMT (10pm EST): Most polls should have closed by now, and therefore most safe states should have declared their results. The last key battleground state, Nevada, closes its polls.
4am GMT (11pm EST): Democrat strongholds California and Washington polls close, with their results expected shortly after.
5am GMT (12am EST): Another safe Democratic state, Hawaii, will close its polls.
6am GMT (1am EST): The last polls will close in Alaska, which is likely to be called for Trump.
What are the key battleground states and why could there be delays for their declarations?
There are seven key battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Also known as “swing” states, it is widely argued that these determine who wins the keys to the White House.
In the 2020 election, Biden won all these states apart from North Carolina. In contrast, in 2016, Trump won all of the battleground states apart from Nevada.
These states are often quite close in the number of votes and so they are often declared late as all votes have to be counted first. As a result, it is hard to predict when these results will be declared.
In the 2020 election, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada were declared days after election day.
Some of these key states, including Michigan and Nevada, have now changed the rules around processing mail-in votes and early vote ballots before election day in order to prevent these delays from happening again.
However, Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania refused to change the rules around processing mail-in ballots before election day, so it’s unlikely these states will be declared quickly, meaning we could see days of delays again.
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Why are these states so important?
Because of the Electoral College voting system in the US, it is possible that the most popular presidential candidate may not win the election, which is fought as a state-by-state race.
When a candidate wins a state, they win Electoral College votes. A candidate needs at least 270 out of the 538 Electoral College votes to win a majority and become the next president.
States have different numbers of Electoral College votes, mainly in proportion to their size. For example, California has the highest number of Electoral College votes, with 54. Texas has the second highest number, with 40, followed by Florida with 30.
In 2016, Hilary Clinton lost the election to Trump, despite polling almost three million more votes by the US electorate.
When will we know who has won the US election?
It is often clear who the winner is on the night of the election, however, this can vary depending on how long it takes for all states to declare the race.
In 2020, it took four days for Joe Biden to be confirmed as the next president. This is widely thought to be due to a higher number of mail-in voters because of Covid.
However, in 2016, the election was called shortly after election day as Trump was named the next president at around 2.30am by the Associated Press and Hilary Clinton conceded.
Counting votes is often more complex in the US compared to in the UK because of the size of the country, the varying time zones and the different methods states use.
In some states, mail-in ballots can be verified before election day and then tabulated quickly on the day. However, not all states allow this which can lead to backlogs and delays.
Where will presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump be?
Harris and her campaign team will be at Howard University in Washington DC, her alma mater. Harris graduated from the University in 1986 and has previously said her time there “shaped” her.
Trump and his campaign are hosting an election watch party at the Palm Beach County Convention Centre, in West Palm Beach Florida, where he also lives.
What will ITV News election coverage look like?
ITV’s special US election programme, Harris V Trump: The Results, will air from 10.45pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
It will be presented by Tom Bradby live from Washington. He will be joined by ITV News’ award-winning Washington Correspondent Robert Moore, who will be covering his sixth US presidential election.
A number of experts and insiders will join the team from the studio, including former Trump spokeswoman Heather Nauert, former Obama and Biden advisor Adam Hodge, as well as election analyst Jessica Taylor.
ITV News reporters will also be on the ground across the US – we will have teams with both the Trump and Harris campaigns, as well as in the crucial swing states.
At 6am on Wednesday, Good Morning Britain will take over from ITV News, with Susanna Reid and Ed Balls live from Washington.
Join Tom Bradby for the ITV News US presidential election special, Harris v Trump: The Results, with in-depth analysis from 10.45pm on ITV1 and ITVX
Want an expert briefing on US politics and the presidential race? Listen to our latest podcast Talking Politics USA