The 50 U.S. states span six different time zones — and, due to calendar quirks and congressional calls, they don't end neatly along state lines. In fact, over a dozen states officially contain multiple time zones (even if one only covers a handful of counties), according to USA Today:

It is impossible to know exactly when each state will finish counting votes, as this is determined by their individual laws and the different ways their residents tend to vote—like how many people cast mail-in ballots,

Here's when the polls close, which states to watch, and how different ballot counting processes may affect the timing of results.

As polls begin to close, Americans are anxiously awaiting the results of the 2024 election. It may take some time to count the ballots.

Americans and people worldwide watching for the U.S. election results on Tuesday night, November 5, might not know the winner right away. For a clear outcome, either Democratic nominee Kamala Harris or Republican candidate Donald Trump would need to win big in most states,