Tuesday’s election results are some of the most highly anticipated of the midterm season, with two battlefield states of the five hosting major primary contests, a wave of Trump-backed election deniers seeking their party’s nominations and the first post- Roe vote on abortion taking place in Kansas.
So pour a cup of coffee if you need to – this can get late.
In Arizona and Washington state, first results aren’t reported until at least 11 p.m. Eastern Time (8 p.m. in those states). Both have contests worth staying ahead of: Former President Donald J. Trump has supported several election deniers seeking top positions in Arizona, and in Washington, he has supported Republicans running for two House members, Jaime Herrera Beutler and Dan. Newhouse, who is in favor of his impeachment.
Much of Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, leaving it three hours behind East Coast clocks. An Arizona law intended to prevent voters still queuing at polling stations when they close from being affected by early results will push back the release of vote totals even further. Legally, the first batch of unofficial results cannot be published until one hour after the last polling stations close at 10 p.m. Dutch time. (The polls on the Navajo reservation, which does observe daylight saving time, will close one hour earlier, at 9 p.m. Eastern.)
But Arizona is letting officials start tabulated results for ballots cast during the early ballot before Election Day. Since a majority of voters in Arizona vote by mail, a significant portion of the vote may be available when that first set of results is released.
Maricopa County, which includes the city of Phoenix and is home to more than 60 percent of Arizona residents, will be crucial to the timing of the results. All votes cast in person there must be counted at 4 a.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. local time), Scott Jarrett, the county’s election director, said during an open meeting with Arizona’s Citizens Clean Elections Commission last week.
Mr Jarrett told the committee he thought in-person voting would increase significantly from 2020, when fears of Covid-19 led many to vote by mail. Provincial officials do not expect the increase to lead to delays in drawing up the table.
Washington will also release its first round of results shortly after 11 p.m. Eastern Time (8 p.m. Pacific Time), which is the deadline for voters to turn in their ballots to turn in boxes — and when the polls close for in-person voting, though nearly all voters in Washington vote by mail unless they need help.
According to Stephen Ohlemacher, the election decisions editor for The Associated Press, Washington published about 70 percent of the total votes within hours of the polls closing in previous elections. Washington counts ballots stamped before or on Election Day, meaning the results will be counted in the days after the primaries when the ballots are received in the mail. In a close match, that can delay a race call.
Missouri polls show scandal-ridden former governor Eric Greitens seeks a political comeback in a closely watched Senate race, which concludes at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (7 p.m. in Missouri). Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said he expected the outcome of that race to be clear at 1 a.m. Eastern time.
Voting also ends at 8 p.m. Eastern Time in most counties of Michigan and Kansas. In Michigan, Mr. Trump has expressed his support for another member of the House, Peter Meijer, who voted to impeach. Michigan voters will also weigh in on other competitive House primaries, as well as a chaotic Republican contest for governor.
Preliminary results in those states should be available shortly after polling stations close. As in Arizona, Kansas may begin processing and counting early ballots before the election, allowing it to release a large tranche of votes shortly after the ballot ends.
Missouri can also start counting early votes in advance, but the Secretary of State will not publish results until all voters have cast their votes. Long queues when polling stations close can reduce the release of voting totals.
Michigan law dictates that counting or processing cannot begin until 7 a.m. on Election Day.