Notes

Polling places in states that span multiple time zones will close either synchronously or asynchronously.

• (Note ^*S) With synchronized closing, all the polls close at the same GMT/UTC time. For states with multiple time zones-- when polls close in the advanced local time zone, they will close one hour earlier in the lagging local time zone.
• (Note ^*A) With asynchronous closing, the polls close at different GMT/UTC times in different parts of the state. Media outlets might decide to declare a winner before all the polls have closed.

Alaska Primary: Polls close asynchronously on Tuesday 28 August 2012 at 8:00p AKDT (0400 UTC) / 8:00p AleutDT (0500 UTC). Alaska Time covers most of the state except for the Aleutian Islands west of Umnak Island (approximately half of Aleutian Islands). The media considers Alaska's polls to close at 8 PM Alaska Time and, thus, considers the State "callable" after that hour.

Florida Primary: Polls close asynchronously on Tuesday 14 August 2012 at 7:00p EDT (2300 UTC) / 7:00p CDT (0000 UTC). Relatively small portions of this state are in CT and so the vast majority of the polls are closed by the time indicated ET.

Idaho Primary: Polls close asynchronously on Tuesday 15 May 2012 at 8:00p MDT (0200 UTC) / 8:00p PDT (0300 UTC). Local option allows polling places to open at 7 AM. A sizable part of IDAHO is in PT but, as the MT section is the much more populated portion of the state, the networks consider that "most of the polls in IDAHO" are closed by 8 PM MT.

Indiana Primary: Polls close asynchronously on Tuesday 8 May 2012 at 6:00p EDT (2200 UTC) / 6:00p CDT (2300 UTC). Although a portion of this state is in CT, the majority of the polls are closed by the time indicated ET when the networks feel they can project.

Kansas Primary: Polls close asynchronously on Tuesday 7 August 2012 at 8:00p MDT (0200 UTC) / 8:00p CDT (0100 UTC). State law requires that polling places open at 7 AM and close at 7 PM on Election Day; however, the county may open the polls earlier and close them later. Polls must be open at least 12 continuous hours. They may open no earlier than 6 AM local time and close no later than 8 PM local time. Most polls in the State close at either 7 pm or 8 pm local time in the Central Time Zone by local option; the remaining polls in the Mountain Time Zone close at either 6 pm or 7 pm local time by local option. The time noted as the "official" poll closing time is the statutory poll closing time and is that at which the networks generally consider the polls in the State to have closed.

Kentucky Primary: Polls close asynchronously on Tuesday 22 May 2012 at 6:00p EDT (2200 UTC) / 6:00p CDT (2300 UTC). Poll closing time could be rather problematic in KENTUCKY. A large chunk of the state is in Central Time [but the networks consider that "most of the polls have closed" in KENTUCKY by 6 PM Eastern Time and so, if they can, project at the same time they project INDIANA]. Central Time voters in KENTUCKY may note the networks' willingness/eagerness to project a winner as early as 6 PM Eastern Time.

Maine Primary: Polls close synchronously on Tuesday 12 June 2012 at 8:00p EDT (0000 UTC). Voting places open between 6:00a Eastern Time and 10:00a Eastern Time depending on the size of the town.

Massachusetts Primary: Polls close synchronously on Thursday 6 September 2012 at 8:00p EDT (0000 UTC). By local option, municipalities may open their polls as early as 5:45 a.m.

Michigan Primary: Polls close asynchronously on Tuesday 7 August 2012 at 8:00p EDT (0000 UTC) / 8:00p CDT (0100 UTC). Relatively small portions of this state are in Central Time and so the vast majority of the polls are closed by the time indicated Eastern Time, when the networks feel they can project.

Michigan Special Election: Polls close asynchronously on Wednesday 5 September 2012 at 8:00p EDT (0000 UTC) / 8:00p CDT (0100 UTC). Relatively small portions of this state are in Central Time and so the vast majority of the polls are closed by the time indicated Eastern Time, when the networks feel they can project.

Minnesota Primary: Polls close synchronously on Tuesday 14 August 2012 at 8:00p CDT (0100 UTC). Voting begins at 10:00 AM in some townships.

Montana Primary: Polls close synchronously on Tuesday 5 June 2012 at 8:00p MDT (0200 UTC). A polling place with less than 400 registered voters must be open at least from noon to 8 p.m. or until all registered electors have voted.

Nebraska Primary: Polls close synchronously on Tuesday 15 May 2012 at 8:00p CDT (0100 UTC) / 7:00p MDT (0100 UTC). The polls open and close at the same GMT/UTC time, that is, polls open and close at a particular local time in the advanced time zone and open and close one hour earlier local time in the lagging time zone.

New Hampshire Primary: Polls close synchronously on Tuesday 11 September 2012 at 8:00p EDT (0000 UTC). Polls must open by 11 AM however most open between 7 AM and 8 AM. NEW HAMPSHIRE permits its 13 cities to keep their polls open until 8 PM Eastern Time by local option- however, as there ARE only 13 cities among New Hampshire's 234 County subdivisions [the 221 "non-cities", of course, being the proverbial New England Town(ship)], the fact is that the vast majority of NH's polls have closed by 7 PM Eastern Time and the networks have no problem considering this hour as the earliest hour of potential projection.

New York Primary: Polls close synchronously on Tuesday 26 June 2012 at 9:00p EDT (0100 UTC). Polls are open from 6:00a to 9:00p in NYC and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam and Erie. All other counties, polls are open from 12:00 noon - 9:00p.

North Carolina Primary: Polls close synchronously on Tuesday 8 May 2012 at 7:30p EDT (2330 UTC). In extraordinary circumstances, the county board of elections may direct that the polls remain open until 8:30 p.m.

North Carolina Second Primary (LG-R,H08-R,H09-R,H11-R,SOS-R,INS-R,LAB-D,SPI-R): Polls close synchronously on Tuesday 17 July 2012 at 7:30p EDT (2330 UTC). In extraordinary circumstances, the county board of elections may direct that the polls remain open until 8:30 p.m.

North Dakota Primary: Polls close asynchronously on Tuesday 12 June 2012 at 9:00p CDT (0200 UTC) / 9:00p MDT (0300 UTC). Voting places open between 7:00a to 12:00n and remain open until 7:00p to 9:00p depending on the size of the town. The western half of the state is in Mountain Time but that is, of course, the more sparsely populated part of the state, so it is not as problematic to the networks as might be otherwise suggested by simple geography.

Oregon Special Election: Polls close synchronously on Tuesday 31 January 2012 at 8:00p MST (0300 UTC) / 8:00p MST (0300 UTC). Oregon votes by mail. Ballots must be in the hands of election workers or in an official drop-off location no later than 8 PM local time. OREGON is the reverse of the norm because the by far largest portion of the state is in the lagging time zone and the networks have no choice but to not consider the OREGON polls closed until 8 PM Pacific.

Oregon Primary: Polls close asynchronously on Tuesday 15 May 2012 at 8:00p MDT (0200 UTC) / 8:00p PDT (0300 UTC). Oregon votes by mail. Ballots must be in the hands of election workers or in an official drop-off location no later than 8 PM local time. OREGON is the reverse of the norm because the by far largest portion of the state is in the lagging time zone and the networks have no choice but to not consider the OREGON polls closed until 8 PM Pacific.

Rhode Island Primary: Polls close synchronously on Tuesday 11 September 2012 at 8:00p EDT (0000 UTC). Polls open 7a to 9a by location.

South Dakota Primary: Polls close asynchronously on Tuesday 5 June 2012 at 7:00p CDT (0000 UTC) / 7:00p MDT (0100 UTC).

South Dakota Secondary Election (no elections posted on this site require runoffs): Polls close asynchronously on Tuesday 26 June 2012 at 7:00p CDT (0000 UTC) / 7:00p MDT (0100 UTC).

Tennessee Primary: Polls close synchronously on Thursday 2 August 2012 at 8:00p EDT (0000 UTC) / 7:00p CDT (0000 UTC). The polls close at the same GMT/UTC time, that is, polls close at a particular local time in the advanced time zone and close one hour earlier local time in the lagging time zone. Poll opening times are set by county.

Texas Primary: Polls close asynchronously on Tuesday 29 May 2012 at 7:00p CDT (0000 UTC) / 7:00p MDT (0100 UTC). Only the area around El Paso is in Mountain Time, so the vast majority of polls have closed in Texas by 7 PM Central Time.

Texas Runoff: Polls close asynchronously on Tuesday 31 July 2012 at 7:00p CDT (0000 UTC) / 7:00p MDT (0100 UTC). Only the area around El Paso is in Mountain Time, so the vast majority of polls have closed in Texas by 7 PM Central Time.

Vermont Primary: Polls close synchronously on Tuesday 28 August 2012 at 7:00p EDT (2300 UTC). Polls may open as early as 5:00a and no later than 10:00a as set by the Board of Civil Authority.

Washington Primary: Polls close synchronously on Tuesday 7 August 2012 at 8:00p PDT (0300 UTC). Washington votes by mail. Ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day, or dropped off in a designated ballot box by 8 p.m. local time on Election Day.

Time zone abbreviations

UTC: Coordinated Universal Time (Greenwich England)
AST: Atlantic Standard Time, UTC - 4 hours
EST: Eastern Standard Time, UTC - 5 hours
EDT: Eastern Daylight Time, UTC - 4 hours
CST: Central Standard Time, UTC - 6 hours
CDT: Central Daylight Time, UTC - 5 hours
MST: Mountain Standard Time, UTC - 7 hours
MDT: Mountain Daylight Time, UTC - 6 hours
PST: Pacific Standard Time, UTC - 8 hours
PDT: Pacific Daylight Time, UTC - 7 hours
AKST: Alaska Standard Time, UTC - 9 hours
AKDT: Alaska Daylight Time, UTC - 8 hours
ALST: Aleution Standard Time, UTC - 10 hours
ALDT: Aleution Daylight Time, UTC - 9 hours
HIST: Hawaii Time, UTC - 10 hours
MPST: Northern Marianas Time, UTC + 10 hours
GUST: Guam Time, UTC + 10 hours
VIST: Virgin Islands Time, UTC - 4 hours
ASST: American Samoa Time, UTC - 11 hours
m: midnight
a: AM
p: PM