Your Hour-by-Hour Guide to Election Night

Tonight’s election promises to end before bedtime, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be drama. Nate Silver breaks down which polls close when, and what to watch for.

• 6pm: Indiana and Kentucky: Usually these get called red right away, but this year Indiana is a toss-up.
• 7pm: Virginia, Georgia, and most of Florida and New Hampshire: We’ll get an idea how accurate polls are; Virginia is extremely important

• 7:30pm: Ohio and North Carolina: Early voting favors Obama.
• 8pm: Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Missouri: Watch carefully; early results in these states are deceiving.
• 9pm: Colorado, New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Minnesota: Colorado is the key here for Obama.
• 10pm: Nevada, Iowa, Montana, and New York: The earliest point at which the race might be called for Obama.
• 11pm: California, Oregon, and Washington: Nothing to see here, folks, except Proposition 8.

(More Election 2008 stories.)