Who Is Winning The Election?: What Time The Next President Could Be Crowned
After months and months of campaigning, Americans are eager to know who will be their next president, but when exactly will the country have an official result?
It could be late Tuesday evening, based on how tight the race has been over the last few weeks, with President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney virtually neck and neck in the polls over the last several weeks.
The various hours for polling stations across the country will play a pivotal role in when either Obama or Romney can call himself a victor.
"Whatever happens, we'll start to get some indicators shortly after the first wave of poll closings at 7 p.m. ET. Battleground states in that group include Virginia and much of Florida, with Ohio following at 7:30 p.m.," CNN reported. "The portion of Florida that's in the Central time zone and many Midwestern states follow at 8 p.m. ET. West Coast states and Hawaii stop voting at 11 p.m. ET, and the last Americans will cast their ballots in Alaska by 1 a.m. ET Wednesday."
An early indicator of just how long it will take for the results to become official will be how things play out in Virginia, according to CNN's chief political analyst Gloria Borger.
"We have to look at Loudoun County in Virginia, and if the president were to win Virginia, obviously, the path to 270 is a lot easier for him," Borger said. "But if Mitt Romney wins Virginia, it could be a much longer night."
CNN's national correspondent John King also said that Virginia could be the key to either a short or long night as the results roll in.
"One of the first things I'll look at are the margins in the northern Virginia suburbs closest to Washington, D.C., especially Prince William County," King said. "If Gov. Romney is ahead or at least in play there, it means Virginia is in play, and we could have a long, competitive night. If he's not in play, it could be over before we even get to the Central time zone."
