On Tuesday, November 5, starting at 11 a.m. (French time), the first polling stations in the United States open for the presidential, representative, senatorial and other local elections. The territory of the United States spans six time zones, and this time line crosses even fifteen states. To further complicate the organization, the opening and closing times of polling stations are governed by the laws of each state.
The first offices to close are those in eastern Kentucky and Indiana, starting at midnight French time. Then they will progressively close until 5 in the morning for the states on the Pacific coast, and at 6 in the morning to end in Alaska and the Hawaiian archipelago.
Please note, however, that the results are not known in each federal state as soon as the polling stations close, in particular due to the high proportion of postal votes and the counting rules that differ locally. Attention will also focus on key states (undecided states) where the differences between the two presidential candidates can be very close. These appear in yellow on the map below.
