Determining the winner of the U.S. presidency is no easy process — and there are many tasks that must be completed to confirm who will lead the United States come January 2025.

Everything begins the moment the first ballots begin to be counted.

When do the polling stations close?

With the last polls closing in western Alaska at 8 p.m. local time, all polling stations across the United States are now closed.

US elections take place in six time zones. In most US states, polls closed at 7 or 8 p.m. In Indiana and Kentucky, polls closed at 6 p.m. and in New York, polls remained open until 9 p.m. The nearly 22.6 million registered voters in California, the most populous US state, were not heard until 8 p.m. local time, or 0400 UTC. Some polling locations may also have exceptions to the statewide rules.

Polling stations must also remain open as long as people are waiting in line. This year, locations in Georgia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey stayed open later due to long lines, fake bomb threats and technical difficulties.

In addition, more than 85 million people – or more than a third of the approximately 240 million eligible voters in the United States – cast their votes before Election Day.

When will the results be announced?

The announcement of the results will begin as soon as the first ballot boxes are opened for counting.

Exit pollsters such as Edison Research and Associated Press reporters report results from counting stations to their respective press clients in the National Election Pool and AP VoteCast.

Media outlets, including television networks, radio stations, and print and online newspapers, begin reporting these results, predicting results and naming winners state by state once they are sure who won.

DW receives its data on the election results from AP.

What happens if there is no winner on election day?

Given the polls before the election, this is certainly possible.

There's a high chance that some Electoral College results won't be known for days.

There is also no central electoral authority; the states themselves are responsible for conducting the elections and counting the ballots.

When is a result formalized?

Before December 11, a state will issue certifications for its appointed presidential electors. Instead of being elected directly by the popular vote, the president is confirmed by appointed electors from each state and the District of Columbia. Each state is assigned electors based on the number of members of Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives or Congress and the U.S. Senate. Every voter has one vote.

On December 17th, the 538 Electoral College voters will gather in their states to pledge their votes to a candidate. All states except Maine and Nebraska commit all their electors to the most popular candidate in their state.

These votes will then be forwarded to the President of the Senate (current Vice President Kamala Harris) on December 25th.

A joint session of Congress will take place on January 6, 2025, during which Harris will oversee the vote count and announce the Electoral College's decision. In this case, it will officially announce the new president.

This article was originally published on November 5th and was updated after the first polls closed on November 6th.

Edited by: Kristin Zeier