Watching US election in UK

[Lazarus]

I'm trying to figure out when the election pre-results and the results themselves will be on TV in the UK so I can plan an evening for it, but I can't work it out. When does voting start on the Tuesday? If we're 8 hours ahead, will the results be on in the early hours or sometime the next day? Thanks!

[apocolypse]

If I recall correctly, the first state to close polls is Virginia at 7pm Eastern Time. If you're +8 hours, that should be around 3am your time. I think all polls will be done by 7am or so for you (except for maybe Alaska, and definitely Hawai'i, but both states are pretty solidly red/blue and don't have many EVs so it won't change much). Hope that helps.

[Teebs]

I think the UK is currently only 4 hours ahead of Eastern Time. It's normally 5, but we've just gone back an hour for daylight saving time, so if polls close in Virginia at 7pm then it'll be 11pm here.

[lance]

If I recall correctly, the first state to close polls is Virginia at 7pm Eastern Time. If you're +8 hours, that should be around 3am your time. I think all polls will be done by 7am or so for you (except for maybe Alaska, and definitely Hawai'i, but both states are pretty solidly red/blue and don't have many EVs so it won't change much). Hope that helps.

Do they actually close at that time or is it a end of the line type thing. I remember when I first voted and their was a huge line behind me as I got to the booth and people were still going into vote when I left.

[apocolypse]

I think the UK is currently only 4 hours ahead of Eastern Time. It's normally 5, but we've just gone back an hour for daylight saving time, so if polls close in Virginia at 7pm then it'll be 11pm here.

Ah, you're right. I just checked and the UK is 4 hours ahead of the East Coast.

Do they actually close at that time or is it a end of the line type thing. I remember when I first voted and their was a huge line behind me as I got to the booth and people were still going into vote when I left.

From what I understand it's more an "end of the line" type of deal. The polls are officially closed as in, "no new people allowed", but if you're in line when the polls close, you still have the right to vote. When the polls close a worker will be placed at the end of the line. Anyone trying to show up afterwards can't vote, but those already there should be fine.


Also, it seems I was wrong about Hawai'i. Their polls close the same as the rest of the West Coast states. The last one to close is Alaska.

[phongn]

I think the UK is currently only 4 hours ahead of Eastern Time. It's normally 5, but we've just gone back an hour for daylight saving time, so if polls close in Virginia at 7pm then it'll be 11pm here.

Ah, you're right. I just checked and the UK is 4 hours ahead of the East Coast.

DST ends on 2 November, so it'll be five hours.

[Teebs]

DST ends on 2 November, so it'll be five hours.

Erm no, it's just started. DST is what we do in Winter to save daylight, there wouldn't be much point to it in summer.

[Pulp Hero]

On a related note, for someone in the US, but without a TV, is there a good place to watch the election updates on-line? I figure either 538.com or CNN will be good, but does anyone have a better site?

[General Zod]

On a related note, for someone in the US, but without a TV, is there a good place to watch the election updates on-line? I figure either 538.com or CNN will be good, but does anyone have a better site?

There's always MSNBC, but either CNN or 538 are good bets.

[Stark]

If I remember from last time, didn't it take a really long time for the results to come in, in the order of several days?

[Flagg]

If I remember from last time, didn't it take a really long time for the results to come in, in the order of several days?

No, Kerry conceded by the next day. Ohio just took awhile to get their tallies in and Kerry didn't want to repeat Gores mistake of calling in a concession in case things tightened up and a recount would significantly close the gap.

[apocolypse]

If I remember from last time, didn't it take a really long time for the results to come in, in the order of several days?

Results are typically rather quick, states can be called soon after polls close. IIRC the reason it took so long last time is because the election pretty much hinged on Ohio's vote, and the vote was nearly 50/50 so there were recounts and whatnot to go through. With Obama having something like 260 electoral votes from strong Democrat states, it should all be decided that night. (barring of course some hugely unforeseen circumstance)

[apocolypse]

Oops, nevermind. I thought Ohio had recounts too, thanks Flagg for the clarification.

[RedImperator]

If I remember from last time, didn't it take a really long time for the results to come in, in the order of several days?

If these poll numbers hold, we could conceivably know the winner by 9 PM Eastern, maybe sooner if Virginia comes in lopsided for Obama. Virginia + all the safe Obama states equals 277 EVs, even if every other swing state breaks for Obama. In fact, if any swing state gets called for Obama, it's game over for McSame.

[OneEyedTeddyMcGrew]

If you're a member of a university, both the unions here (Glasgow) are putting on nights where you can watch the election results live.

However, there's usually a point in the night where it effectively becomes "all over bar the shouting", I'm not entirely sure where that might be this election. (Colorado? Florida?) but you could plan your nights around those particular times. Find out what the swing states are, check the ETA of the results, and work it out from there.

[RedImperator]

If you're a member of a university, both the unions here (Glasgow) are putting on nights where you can watch the election results live.

However, there's usually a point in the night where it effectively becomes "all over bar the shouting", I'm not entirely sure where that might be this election. (Colorado? Florida?) but you could plan your nights around those particular times. Find out what the swing states are, check the ETA of the results, and work it out from there.

The following times are all Eastern Standard (UTC -5):

• 7 PM: Indiana, Virginia
• 7:30 PM: North Carolina, Ohio
• 8 PM: Florida, Pennsylvania*, Missouri
• 9 PM: Colorado, South Dakota
• 10 PM: Montana, Nevada
• 11 PM: North Dakota

If any of these are called for McSame, he's toast. Pennsylvania isn't expected to even be close for McSame, but they seem to have staked their entire election strategy on it, so if it's called for Obama, barring a miracle, McSame is probably finished.

Erm no, it's just started. DST is what we do in Winter to save daylight, there wouldn't be much point to it in summer.

The States do DST in the summer, to extend the day as far as possible, and then go back to standard in the winter, because otherwise it's too dark in the morning (I had to drive somewhere starting 6 this morning, and it was full dark until almost 7).