Nico Savidge

Considering all the hype, all the anticipation, and all the nerves surrounding this nearly two-year-old election, it could be over very quickly, depending on who wins. Take a look at this map of the closing times for each state.

Polls in three of the four states I talked about will be closed by 8:00 p.m. eastern time (Virginia at 7:00, Ohio at 7:30, and Pennsylvania at 8:00), and if Obama wins in two of those three states, this election will be all but over. He would only need to cement his wins in states like New Mexico and Iowa, where he already leads comfortably, to earn the 270 electoral votes needed to become President, assuming that reliable blue states will stay that way, and there’s no indication they won’t.

Barring surprises from North Carolina or Indiana, if McCain takes Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania, we won’t know the election results all that soon. Polls in Nevada close at 10:00 and McCain needs all four of those states to break his way to win this election.

However, we may also see news channels reluctant to call the big states (and the election as a whole) one way or another, as they did with Ohio in 2004, even though it was clearly going for Bush. This all dates back to Florida in 2000, when the networks prematurely called the state and the election, then reversed their calls as more numbers came in.

How late this election goes will more or less be up to voters in three of those four crucial states and the confidence of the news outlets. 

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