For those in Ireland staying up tonight

20Cent

Here's a handy guide from the Journal all times are Irish:

http://www.thejournal.ie/how-to-watch-the-us-election-662034-Nov2012/

Midnight
Polls close in: Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia.
Romney: Georgia (16 electoral votes), Indiana (11), Kentucky (8), South Carolina (9)
Obama: Vermont (3)
Virginia (13) is the one to watch here. The TV networks will likely call the result in the the other states and if they don’t call Virginia quickly then it could be a long night. Polls show a slight lead for Obama and if he wins here it could mean that he’s in for a good night. But Romney will be hoping to pick this state up to add to the early lead he will establish by taking the other states.

12.30am
Polls close in: North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia.
Romney: West Virginia (5)
No Republican has ever taken the White House without Ohio (18) and polls indicate that Obama might just squeak it. It would be a blow to Romney and would mean that he would have to almost certainly take North Carolina (15) to still be in with a chance. If by this stage Obama has taken Virginia and adds Ohio to it, the game is almost certainly up for Romney. The closeness of the contest means that networks are unlikely to call Ohio straight away.

1am
Polls close in: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee.
Romney: Alabama (9), Mississippi (6), Missouri (10), Oklahoma (7), Tennessee (11)
Obama: Connecticut (7), Delaware (3), District of Columbia (3), Illinois (20), Maine (4), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (11), New Jersey (14), Rhode Island (4)
The big one. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia close their polls at this time and a whole load of electoral votes are likely to fall into place for the candidates. Florida (29), Pennsylvania (20) and New Hampshire (4) will be the ones to watch.
The fiasco of Florida in 2000 means you won’t have many TV networks calling the state too early but the polls indicate that Romney will take Florida. If he doesn’t, he’s in big trouble.
Pennsylvania is leaning towards Obama but if Romney causes an upset here and takes its 20 electoral votes then it could be very interesting given that no Republican has taken this state in 25 years. New Hampshire and its four electoral votes is also one to watch here. If Romney takes that it could be indicative of a good night ahead for the former Massachusetts governor but again it is Obama who leads the polls in this state.

1.30am
Polls close in: Arkansas.
Romney: Arkansas (6)
No problem for Romney in taking the six electoral votes on offer here.


2am
Polls close in: Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
Romney: Arizona (11), Kansas (6), Louisiana (8), Nebraska (5), South Dakota (3), Texas (38), Wyoming (3).
Obama: Minnesota (10), New Mexico (5), New York (29)
Okay we know you’re tired by this stage but keep those eyes open because there are three battlegrounds here including Wisconsin (10), Colorado (9) and Michigan (16). Democrats have won Wisconsin in the last six presidential elections and Obama is edging the polls there so if he doesn’t win this time, it could be an indication of a bad night for the incumbent.
Michigan will be expected to fall the way of Obama and other polls also give Colorado to Obama who, if he wins all three, will be on the way to sealing the deal. Romney taking Colorado would keep the Republican challenger alive.

3am
Polls close in: Iowa, Montana, Nevada, and Utah.
Romney should take: Montana (3), Utah (6)
Two swing states here are Iowa (6) and Nevada (6). Privately, Republicans appear to have given up on taking Nevada but it remains a swing state and if they do take it well then that probably means a good night. Iowa, where it all started for Obama in 2008, will be expected to go for the Democrat.

4am
Polls close in: California, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Washington.
Romney: Idaho (4), North Dakota (3)
Obama: California (55), Hawaii (4), Oregon (7), Washington (12)
None of these are swing states but the 55 electoral votes of California will significantly boost Obama’s electoral tally. He will also take Hawaii and Washington with Oregon leaning his way too. Romney will win Idaho and North Dakota.

6am
Polls close in: Alaska (3)
Sarah Palin’s home state and its three electoral votes are a lock for Romney.



I reckon once Obama gets California its over, so might get to bed at 4am!
Romney Concedes about 4.30.

Prediction Romney 47%, Obama 50% Gary Johnson .05% then the rest.

Corkfeen

I guess I'll be staying up till 2, there's some college work I have to do tonight so the overlap should work out for me....

martingriff

I think all 3 will be a GOP win (slight control in the senate) then in 2 years time we will see what has happened and we could see the 2 houses swing Democrat. 2 years after that it could be intresting. I don't think that Obama was very good in his 4 years and a change was needed but proably not romney.

southsiderosie

I just want to note that just because the polls are closed does not mean that people stop voting. As long as you are in line by the time the polls 'close', you are allowed to vote. So for people who are going to vote after work (6 pm or so), they may not actually vote until 9 or 10pm, depending on how crowded the polls are. I would guess that in parts of Wisconsin and perhaps even Florida and Ohio people - an din particular, voters in urban districts and student voters on university campuses - will still be voting when the California polls officially close.

cabb8ge

I see result some minutes after alarm snooze finish in morning. I like most expect Obama to be President again.

IvySlayer

They release the results of other states before the polls are closed in others?

Lenin Skynard

Does anyone have a URL for a live stream of one of the major US news networks?

Edit: Nevermind, TV3 just started a live stream of CNN

Be like Nutella

time to get in me undies and crack open a few beers and shout at the telly Randy style!

Obamaaaaaa!!!!!!

Capt'n Midnight

IvySlayer wrote: »

They release the results of other states before the polls are closed in others?

yes
IIRC it helped Regan get in.

3:24

Madd Finn

southsiderosie wrote: »

I just want to note that just because the polls are closed does not mean that people stop voting. As long as you are in line by the time the polls 'close', you are allowed to vote..

WTF is the deal with that? How come you have to queue to vote?

I have never EVER had to queue to vote in this small, pathetic bailed out parish-pump-dominated banana republic but in the states, the Leader of the Free World you have to stand in line for hours on end? How incompetent is that?

If they could process voters as quickly as they process customers in a hamburger queue they might get it done a little quicker.

Guess it's a matter of priorities.

martingriff

Madd Finn wrote: »

WTF is the deal with that? How come you have to queue to vote?

I have never EVER had to queue to vote in this small, pathetic bailed out parish-pump-dominated banana republic but in the states, the Leader of the Free World you have to stand in line for hours on end? How incompetent is that?

If they could process voters as quickly as they process customers in a hamburger queue they might get it done a little quicker.

Guess it's a matter of priorities.

The amount of people who vote was very large so yes there are queues always have. The need a rethink in how to change this. Don't forget every state is different there is no uniform policy how to vote, early voting. It is good they still be able to vote though.

Grudaire

Anyone else still up?

To be hinest I haven't been following this closely enough to know what state by state results actually mean..

Romney's currently ahead, but I still get the opinion that Obama will win... #confused.

Go Jill Stein... :-\

A Primal Nut

Madd Finn wrote: »

WTF is the deal with that? How come you have to queue to vote?

I have never EVER had to queue to vote in this small, pathetic bailed out parish-pump-dominated banana republic but in the states, the Leader of the Free World you have to stand in line for hours on end? How incompetent is that?

If they could process voters as quickly as they process customers in a hamburger queue they might get it done a little quicker.

Guess it's a matter of priorities.

Yes but the hamburger queues are being handled by the private sector who are much better at...pretty much everything.

Also many American cities have large population densities.

martingriff

A Primal Nut wrote: »

Yes but the hamburger queues are being handled by the private sector who are much better at...pretty much everything.

Also many American cities have large population densities.

BOOM BOOM

Madd Finn

A Primal Nut wrote: »

Yes but the hamburger queues are being handled by the private sector who are much better at...pretty much everything.

Also many American cities have large population densities.

Has the administration of Irish elections been privatised? Guess that shoots down that argument.

It's quite simple: more polling stations and more invigilators. Private/public doesn't come into it.

20Cent

A Primal Nut wrote: »

Yes but the hamburger queues are being handled by the private sector who are much better at...pretty much everything.

Also many American cities have large population densities.

Voting seems to have gone well in the other states, the long lines are there on purpose Rick Scott doesn't want a high turnout because its better for the democrats. Nothing to do with private v public sector.

martingriff

20Cent wrote: »

Voting seems to have gone well in the other states, the long lines are there on purpose Rick Scott doesn't want a high turnout because its better for the democrats. Nothing to do with private v public sector.

I thought it be the other way

Overheal

like 4 years ago I suspect the election will be called in the few minutes shy of midnight Eastern (4AM Irish). In 2008 it was called right around 11:55+

Joseph

Overheal wrote: »

like 4 years ago I suspect the election will be called in the few minutes shy of midnight Eastern (4AM Irish). In 2008 it was called right around 11:55+

Hope so, struggling to stay awake!

admiralofthefleet

im off to bed now, congrats mr. obama

Overheal

Earlier than expected

BlaasForRafa

martingriff wrote: »

The amount of people who vote was very large so yes there are queues always have. The need a rethink in how to change this. Don't forget every state is different there is no uniform policy how to vote, early voting. It is good they still be able to vote though.

Add to that you've got Senate, Congress and Governor elections in many states. Also some areas might have elections for public officials like Judges, Sheriffs and the like and there may be State referendums, like for instance Colorado has (according to the bbc) voted to legalise marijuana. One of the commentators on the BBC was saying that Florida has an extremely long voting form for voters to have to trudge through.