When will we know who won the US election?

Here is what you need to know about the 2024 presidential election results.

Kentucky (eight electoral votes) will be the first state to close its polls at 6 p.m. Eastern.

For most of the eastern half of the country, voting polls will close between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., while polls on the West Coast will close at 11 p.m. Eastern.

The last states to close will be Hawaii (four electoral votes) and Alaska (three electoral votes), which will close their polls at midnight and 1 a.m. respectively.

Election Day results have historically often been announced just hours after the polls close. However, recent elections have required longer waiting periods before all the votes can be tallied, and a winner can be declared.

One reason for this is the prevalence of mail-in absentee voting. Fourteen states legally require that mail-in ballots be counted only after polls close on Election Day.

The first election results of the night will likely begin being called after 7 p.m. Eastern. Results for some of the critical swing states such as Pennsylvania (19 electoral votes) will likely not be called till much later.

In 2020, news outlets called the election in President Biden's favor four days after Election Day. In 2016, the race was called in Trump's favor at 3 a.m. the day after Election Day.

The closer the election, the longer it will take to know the result. Barring an unexpected landslide victory by either candidate, the winner of the 2024 presidential election may not be known until a day or several days after Election Day.

With 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency, the 2024 presidential election is expected to be extremely close.

There are seven states - Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada - considered close swing states. Experts will be closely watching these states as they will likely determine who the next president will be.

Here is when polls will close in each of the swing states.

7 p.m. Eastern - Georgia (16 electoral votes) 

7:30 p.m. Eastern - North Carolina (16 electoral votes) 

9 p.m. Eastern - Michigan (15 electoral votes), Arizona (11 electoral votes) and Wisconsin (10 electoral votes) 

10 p.m. Eastern - Nevada (six electoral votes)