When will we get US results

Here’s when we should start to get results from the US elections for key swing states, as in the polls close for them:

• 12 pm – Florida, Georgia, South Carolina,
• 12.30 pm – North Carolina, Ohio
• 1 pm – Maine, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Texas
• 2 pm – Minnesota, Wisconsin
• 3 pm – Iowa

Also some exit poll data will become available from around 10 am.

Almost all the experts say it is improbable we will know today who has won the election. The reason is that many of the key swing states don’t allow early processing or counting of the postal ballots, so the final results for those states could take a further one to three days – or longer.

This will mean that data on election night, for some states, will mainly reflect those who voted on the day, and not the much larger number who voted early. So it may be difficult to get a clear picture.

I’d be very wary of any claims by politicians they they are winning or have won. You don’t get to declare yourself the winner. The election authorities do. The major TV networks have said they will only project a winner in a state when they are 99.5% confident in the outcome.