Voting centers in the US begin to close –

Some voting centers in Indiana y Kentucky have just closed their doors, at 6:00 p.m. local time (23:00 GMT), being the first to do so in the presidential elections this Tuesday in USA who face the democrat Kamala Harris and the republican Donald Trump.

The rest of the voting centers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia will close in stages over the next seven hours, with Alaska being the last, at 9:00 p.m. local time (06:00 GMT on Wednesday).

Voting center closures vary considerably as there are six different time zones in the continental United States, Alaska y Hawaii; and, in addition, each state has its own electoral law with specific opening and closing times.

One hour after the first schools close, at 7:00 p.m. local time (00:00 GMT on Wednesday), they will do so in Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia, and half an hour later in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia.

The results that are known from that time on in the key states of Georgia and North Carolina, as well as in the rural areas of Virginia, will give the first clues about the behavior of the electorate in these elections.

The key states

The majority of states in the country – 32 plus the District of Columbia – will close the doors of their polling stations between 01:00 and 02:00 GMT on Wednesday.

At 03:00 GMT on Wednesday, schools in Montana, Nevada and Utah will end their day, while at 04:00 GMT on Wednesday they will do so on the west coast (California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho).

The last to do so will be the voting centers in Hawaii (05:00 GMT on Wednesday) and Alaska (6:00 GMT on Wednesday).

Most eyes are on the seven key states that are set to decide today’s elections.

In Georgiamost polling stations will close at 7:00 p.m. local time (00:00 GMT on Wednesday). However, due to bomb threats reported today at four polling places in Gwinnett, Clayton and Fulton counties in the Atlanta area, these precincts may close later.

Closing

In Pennsylvaniamost voting centers will close at 9:00 p.m. local time (01:00 GMT), although in Cambria County, a Trump stronghold, they will remain open until 10:00 p.m. local time (03:00 GMT on Wednesday) due to problems with the voting machines. count.

North Carolina Voting will conclude at 6:30 p.m. local time (00:30 GMT on Wednesday), while Michigan, Arizona y Wisconsinwith different time zones, will do so at 02.00 GMT.

Nevada It will be the last key state to close its voting centers, at 03:00 GMT.

Results from most states will not take long to arrive, but in key states, which are expected to be very close, it may take several hours or even days to project a winner.

This can generate a situation similar to that of the last elections in 2020, when the winner was not known until four days later. EFE (I)