Americans are casting their ballots to select between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump in the 2024 race for the White House. How soon we will know those results remains to be seen.

Results will start trickling in shortly after the polls close (that’s at 7 p.m. in Alabama), but if we’re looking to the 2020 presential election as benchmark , we likely won’t know the winner until the next day – and possibly the days beyond.

In 2020, the AP called 26 states instantly as their polls closed, and another five within an hour, Axios reports in its election rewind.

When do the earliest polls close?

According to the New York Times, the first polls will start to close at 5. p.m. CST on Tuesday and the last polls will start to close at midnight CST.

Some of the states with the earliest closing polls include Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, and Ohio.

When will state election results start being called?

The Associated Press does not call a race until the final polls close in that state. NBC News does not call a race until the final polls close and “when it can determine statistically that one candidate’s lead is insurmountable.” Given these guidelines, the earliest results could start arriving around 6 p.m. CST.

When will we know who won the election?

That is the question of the day. According to Politico, how soon we will know the results depends on two factors: How long it takes election officials to count ballots and how close the margin is.

Experts said ballot counting should be faster than it was in 2020 as fewer people are expected to cast mail-in ballots. A super-close margin of victory on either side means the vote could take even longer, however, with a final result possibly being days away.

“So when should you expect to know the president? Sooner than 2020 … but have a little bit of patience. Knowing the next commander in chief mid-week seems like a good possibility, but it’ll all really come down to how close it is between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris,” Politico said.