One country, three time zones, many different voting systems and schedules. The US elections for those following them in Europe are proving to be an overnight thriller.

The seven states that will decide the winner of the election are spread across the US and the process is completed at different times.

Due to the time difference, the polls will close after 01:00 on Wednesday (GMT). Every half an hour and an hour until almost dawn (Greek time), the process will be completed in each of the key states and the picture of the next occupant of the White House will become increasingly clear.

The timeline is as follows:

17:00 Tuesday (Eastern Time) / 00:00 Wednesday (Eastern Time) – The polls will not have closed, but after that time the first exit polls will begin.

18:00 ET / 01:00 (Greece)– Polls are closing in eastern Kentucky and much of Indiana.

They are both Republican states and no surprises are expected.

19:00 ET / 02:00 (ET) – Polls close in six states, including Georgia.

It’s one of seven crucial swing states. In 2020, Joe Biden won by just 0.2%. If Kamala Harris wins it, she’ll have a good first win.

19:30 ET / 02:30 (ET) – Polls close in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia.

The first will be a battle: if Donald Trump wins it, he has a serious chance of winning the election, while Harris will see her own numbers shrink.

20:00 ET / 03:00 (ET) – Polls close in 18 states, including Pennsylvania.

Another state that could prove decisive in sealing victory for one of the two in the election. About this time we can expect a second wave of exit polls.

20:30 ET / 03:30 (Greece) – Polls close in Arkansas.

Another case that, barring the unexpected, Republicans have “in their pocket.”

21:00 ET / 04:00 (ET) – Polls close in 15 states, including Michigan and Wisconsin.

This will now be, as the Guardian notes, the defining moment for Kamala Harris: if she wins, she has a chance, if not she bids farewell to her White House hopes. Trump won them in 2016 (along with Pennsylvania) and took the election, and so did Biden in 2020; this year Trump only needs one of the three.
Polls are also closing in New York, a solidly Democratic state.

22:00 ET / 05:00 (ET) – They’re closing in Nevada, Montana and Utah.

Here Harris can hope for a win, overturning the polls that initially put Trump in the lead.

23:00 ET / 06:00 (ET) – Polls close in four states.

The presidency will now be decided when results come in from the largest state that traditionally favors Democrats.

00:00 Wednesday ET / 07:00 in the U.S. – Polls close in Hawaii and Alaska.

History shows that in 2020 the AP declared Biden the winner on November 7, almost four days after the election. In 2016, however, at 2:29 a.m. Wednesday, Trump was already declared the winner by the news agency.