On Tuesday, November 5, a fateful election is coming in the United States. Due to the time difference, not much will happen for us in Switzerland on this day. The first important results will be released on Wednesday evening, but the outcome is unknown.
If you want to follow all the action in real time, we've got the best options for that – as well as all the shows during election night and when you can expect the first results from which state.
Where can I watch the US election live?
Online: Watson
On Watson you'll find a live ticker with all the important developments and all the results from election night and beyond. Coverage occurs around the clock, and we'll likely embed live CNN quotes (see below).
My TV: SRF
Our public television stations offer a variety of options for those interested to broadcast the election live.
- “10 to 10”: Host Arthur Honegger will host the show live from Washington.
- Next: Host Barbara Lüthi discusses current events surrounding the election with guests in a “Club” special.
- Nighttime: From midnight to 6am, SRF takes over the live broadcast of a US television station, according to SRG.
- From 6am: Urs Gredig discusses the events of the evening in a special broadcast on SRF 1. With guests Sebastian Ramspeck (host of “#SRFglobal” and international journalist SRF), Reto Lipp (host of “ECO Talk”), Nicoletta Cimmino (head of publishing at Gassmann Media) and Rahul Sahgal (CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland), according to SRG He classified the events that night.
- 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.: Updated hourly.
On YouTube: CNN and Co.
CNN host John King and his famous magic wall.Image: CNN
Most US television channels will cover the election day and night around November 5th. However, not all of these are accessible abroad and/or free. At least that's the case with CNN: If you don't have the channel at home, you can watch it live on YouTube. According to CNN, the event starts at 12 noon (Swiss time) on Tuesday.
ABC News also broadcasts live on its website – even from Switzerland.
How is the US election going?
Most voters headed to the polls throughout the day Tuesday. However, many people have already voted through mail-in voting or early voting. This year, it’s about a third of all voters.
Polling place hours vary from state to state. Basically, they are open between 6am and 7am (US time) and usually close at 7pm. Then count. Different time zones across the United States mean votes are already being counted on the East Coast, while voters in states like Alaska and Hawaii are still on their way to the polls.
When will we find out who the president is?
This is unpredictable. You usually find out the winner of a presidential election on Wednesday night. But in 2020, everything took longer than expected, with Joe Biden taking several days to actually determine the winner. There's a good chance delays will happen again this year.
When will we know the first results?
Once the polls close in a state, US news channels can “call” Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. But that only happens if the broadcasters are truly certain that this person is going to win the state.
In states that traditionally vote Republican (like Wyoming and Oklahoma) or Democratic (California and New York), this could happen immediately after polls close — before the votes are officially counted.
Case in point: In New York, polls close at 9 p.m. This means that in Switzerland we should expect results from the east coast country from 3am.
In so-called swing states like Arizona, Georgia or Pennsylvania, where the election results are expected to be so close, broadcasters will wait until a majority of the votes are actually counted and reported to make final predictions.
As a result, it could be hours or even days before some states declare their support for Harris or Trump. For example, in the last election, Pennsylvania ended up providing Joe Biden with enough votes to guarantee him the presidency. However, after a four-day waiting period, most ABCs did not name Pennsylvania for Biden until the Saturday after the election.
Election Night Program – Hourly
So the only thing you can predict with any certainty is when states will close polling places.
Here are all the times (by canton and Swiss time):
1 o'clock
Polls are about to close in three traditionally Republican-voting states: Indiana (There are 11 voters), kentucky (8) and South carolina (9). Meanwhile, Kamala Harris will likely have a say on the ballot Vermont (3) and virginia (13) Look forward.
Polls are also closing in the first swing state: Georgia (16).
exist maine There is no winner-take-all rule for the four electoral votes, but the winner of the two congressional districts gets two votes each, and the winner of the national popular vote gets two votes.
1.30 am
west virginia (4 votes), a safe Republican state that may soon be declared a safe state by Trump. Ohio (17) Once a swing state (Barack Obama narrowly won here in 2008 and 2012) but has moved toward safe Republican territory since 2016, Donald Trump should be declared relatively soon ·Donald Trump wins.
North Carolina (16), on the other hand, has become a swing state in this election, and according to polls, both candidates have a chance of winning.
2 o'clock
At two o'clock Swiss time, voting ended in more than a dozen states in the United States.
Kamala Harris is projected to win the following states: connecticut (7), delaware (3), illinois (19), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (11), New Hampshire (4), new jersey (14) and rhode island (4) and District of Columbia (3).
The following states are most likely to fall to Trump: alabama (9), Florida (30), mississippi (6), missouri (10), Oklahoma (7) and tennessee (11).
Also there pennsylvania (19 votes), another swing state where polling stations will be closed. It may take some time before the results are known. The state was firmly in Democratic hands until Trump's narrow victory in 2016, when Biden took it back in 2020.
2.30 am
The polling station is located at Arkansas (6) Close – Six votes most likely to go to Donald Trump.
3 o'clock
Some other brightly colored states will provide large numbers of votes for both candidates: kansas (6), Iowa (6), Louisiana (8), north dakota (3), south dakota (3), Texas (40) and Wyoming (3) are all likely to make decisions in favor of Trump quickly.
Harris might colorado (10), minnesota (10), New Mexico (5) and New York (28) WIN.
Three swing states are also currently counting votes: Arizona (11), michigan (15) and Wisconsin (10), if the results are close, it may take several days for a decision to be made. Biden won all three states in 2020, while Trump won all three in 2016.
nebraska Like Maine, it does not have a winner-take-all principle, but instead splits the electoral votes — in this case, the winner of each of the three congressional districts gets three votes, and the winner of the statewide popular vote gets two votes. .
4 o'clock
Polls close in Republican safe states Montana (4) and Utah(6). The same applies to the last swing state, Nevada(6).
Nevada has been carried by Democrats repeatedly in recent decades, but polls show the outcome is in jeopardy this year.
5 o'clock
Harris' account should get a boost when the polls close in three very safe Democratic states: california (54 votes), oregon (8) and washington (12). idaho and (4) it is likely that a decision will be made in Mr. Trump’s favor.
6 o'clock
The urn is near hawaii (4), a secure democratic country.
7 am
Alaska (3) is the last state to complete voting; its three electoral votes should go to Trump.
However, the overall winner of the election is likely yet to be determined, as it will still take some time for all votes to be counted in all swing states. If Harris or Trump achieves a landslide victory, some news networks may be tempted to declare the winner immediately.
However, if the election results are close, we must be prepared because the selection of the next president will take days or even weeks. (lucky)
Kamala Harris isn't just winning over black voters in the swing state of North Carolina. In an interview, political science professor Isaac Una explained why African Americans are turning away from the Democratic Party.
Beyond economic recovery and academic voters, what makes North Carolina a swing state?
Isaac Una: North Carolina has long been considered a conservative Republican stronghold. In 2008, a smart, articulate candidate, Barack Obama, came on the scene and brought about change. About a quarter of North Carolina residents are African-American; at the time, those people went to the polls in large numbers to support the African-American president, Barack Obama. But Obama remains the only Democratic presidential candidate to win the state in the past four decades.
