What time will the US election result be announced?

Election night: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face a tight battle
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Patrick Grafton-Green9 November 2016

Millions of Americans will head to the polls over the next day as the US Election 2016 reaches an end after months of campaigning.

Most of the latest polls show Hillary Clinton has a narrow lead, but the night promises to be a tense affair as more than 120 million Americans are expected to vote - and all outcomes possible.

Counting in many of America's 50 states will begin at about midnight tonight, and by about 4am tomorrow either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump could be elected the next President of the United States.

In order to win the election, a candidate must secure 270 out of the 538 votes in the electoral college.

The first results are announced in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, which has already been won by Hillary Clinton by 4 votes to 2.

Here's how tonight will unfold [GMT]:

11pm

Polls close in Indiana and Kentucky, both traditionally Republican states. Counting begins.

Midnight

Polls close in key swing states Florida and Virginia.

Florida, with 29 electoral college votes, will be hotly anticipated and Trump probably won't win the election without it.

However the result is often close and as a result may not be declared until much later in the night.

Virginia voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 but was previously solid Republican.

Polling stations will also close in Georgia, which has voted Republican for 20 years but the party's margin of victory has diminished in recently, so could be one to watch out for.

The first state projections will be made based on exit polls.

12.30am

Polls close in two more swing states, Ohio and North Carolina.

Ohio is a bellwether state, having backed the winner at every presidential contest except one since the Second World War, so all eyes will be on the result here.

Polls also close in the West Virginia, a traditionally Republican state.

1am

Polls close in number of states.

These include Pennsylvania and Michigan, both battleground states. Hillary Clinton is expected to win both, but Trump has been targeting Mitchigan.

Other states where polls close are Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District Of Columbia, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas.

2am

Polling stations close in Colorado and Wisconsin, which are also target states - Colorado swung from George W Bush in 2004 to Barack Obama in 2008, while Trump has been making a push in Wisconsin, although the state has voted Democrat since 1984.

Polls also close in Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, South Dakota and Wyoming.

3am

Polls close in two more swing states, Nevada and Iowa.

Clinton could take Nevada due to the Hispanic vote, while Iowa is a must win for Trump, although it voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012.

Utah could be interesting because Mormon and ex-CIA operative Evan McMullin, who is an Independent, has polled well, and could take it ahead of both Clinton and Trump.

Arizona’s could also to be a nail-biter as while it should be a Republican stronghold, Clinton’s been polling slightly ahead of Trump.

4am

This is the earliest possible time the election will be “called” for either candidate by US TV networks.

Polls close in California, a Democrat state with 55 electoral college votes, more than any other state, as well as Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Barack Obama was declared President of the United States shortly after 4.30am in 2012.

6am

Alaska will be the last state to declare, but by this time the election race will probably already be over.

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