When polls close in Tuesday’s elections and when to expect results

By CNN Newsource

Published October 31, 2025 3:00 AM

By Ethan Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — Tuesday will feature the first major elections of President Donald Trump’s second term, a series of tests both for Trump and for Democrats trying to decide on how to oppose him.

Here’s when the last polls will close in the four major races on election night, and what to expect from vote reporting.

7pm Eastern: Virginia

Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears faces former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger. The winner will become Virginia’s first female governor.

Democrat Ghazala Hashmi and Republican John Reid face off for lieutenant governor. And the attorney general’s race has been rocked by the disclosure of violent text messages sent by the Democratic nominee, Jay Jones, who is running against Republican incumbent Jason Miyares.

In last year’s presidential election, Virginia reported its first votes at 7:09pm on Election Day. Half of the vote was in by around 9 p.m. and 90% was in by midnight.

8pm Eastern: New Jersey

Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill faces Republican Jack Ciattarelli in the race for governor.

In last year’s election, the first votes came in at 8:02pm with half of the vote reported by around 9:20. About 90% of the vote was in by midnight.

9pm Eastern: New York City

The field in New York includes Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo – running as an independent after losing June’s Democratic primary – and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Mayor Eric Adams ended his reelection bid in late September but will remain on the ballot.

The first votes in 2024 came in at 9:03pm and half of the vote was reported by 9:16. 90% of the vote was in at around 11:00pm.

11pm Eastern: California

Gov. Gavin Newsom is leading the push to persuade California voters to redraw the state’s congressional maps created by an independent redistricting commission. There is a splintered coalition of opponents, including former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and GOP megadonor Charles Munger Jr.

California reported its first votes last fall at 11:06pm Eastern and had half of the votes by around 1am. Reporting continued through much of Wednesday but at 1pm that day, only 62% of the vote was in. It wasn’t until 9 days after the election that 90% of the vote was in.

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