US midterms 2026: what time polls close in Pakistan and India, state by state, and which results to watch first
First US polls close at 4am Wednesday Pakistan time and the last at 11am. Full state list, the Senate maths, and why control may not be known that day.
At a glance
- Polls start closing at 6pm Eastern on Tuesday, November 3, which is 4am Wednesday in Pakistan and 4:30am in India.
- The last regular polling places, in Alaska's western Aleutian Islands, close at 1am Eastern, or 11am Wednesday in Pakistan.
- Republicans hold the Senate 53-47 and need 50 seats to keep it, because Vice President JD Vance breaks ties. Democrats need 51.
- The House has 435 seats, so 218 is a majority. Republicans hold a very narrow lead there.
- Close races may stay uncalled for hours or days while mail and provisional ballots are counted.
American voters choose their next Congress on Tuesday, November 3, and for viewers in South Asia the action falls on Wednesday morning. The first polls close at 4am Pakistan time and 4:30am India time on November 4. The last regular polling places shut at 11am in Pakistan.
The US clocks went back on Sunday, so Pakistan is now exactly 10 hours ahead of Washington and India is 10 hours 30 minutes ahead. Older charts that use the summer gap will be an hour out.
Every closing time, converted
| Eastern (Nov 3) | Pakistan (Nov 4) | India (Nov 4) | Where polls close |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6pm | 4am | 4:30am | Eastern Time parts of Indiana and Kentucky |
| 7pm | 5am | 5:30am | Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, rest of Indiana and Kentucky, most of Florida, some New Hampshire towns |
| 7:30pm | 5:30am | 6am | North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia |
| 8pm | 6am | 6:30am | Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington DC, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, rest of Florida and New Hampshire, most of Michigan and Texas, most of Kansas and South Dakota |
| 8:30pm | 6:30am | 7am | Arkansas |
| 9pm | 7am | 7:30am | Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin, Wyoming, rest of Michigan, Texas and South Dakota |
| 10pm | 8am | 8:30am | Montana, Nevada, Utah, most of Idaho and Oregon |
| 11pm | 9am | 9:30am | California, Washington state, rest of Idaho and Oregon |
| Midnight | 10am | 10:30am | Hawaii, most of Alaska |
| 1am (Nov 4) | 11am | 11:30am | Alaska's western Aleutian Islands |
North Dakota is the exception that breaks the table: its local polling places close between 7pm and 9pm local time, about 8pm to 11pm Eastern. Kansas counties can also keep voting past the usual 7pm local close.
The numbers that decide control
Republicans hold the Senate 53-47. They need only 50 seats to stay in charge, because Vice President JD Vance casts the tie-breaking vote. Democrats therefore need 51, a net gain of four.
In the 435-seat House, 218 is a majority and Republicans' current edge is very thin. Best-case forecasts for each party show how wide the range is: as many as 240 House seats for the Democrats on a very good night, and about 212 for the Republicans even on a good one, which would still be six short. In the Senate, the outer scenarios run from 54 Democratic seats to 52 Republican ones.
A national poll released on Sunday had Democrats ahead 52% to 45% on which party voters prefer for Congress. Pollsters have been wrong before, though. They understated Donald Trump's support in 2024, and understated Democrats in the New Jersey and Virginia governor races in 2025.
Where to look as the morning goes on
Your Wednesday morning has a rough order to it, based purely on when polls close in each contested state.
- 5:30am Pakistan time: Ohio closes, one of the seats Democrats need to flip.
- 6am: Maine, Michigan and most of Texas. In Texas, a late YouGov poll had Democrat James Talarico at 51% to Republican Ken Paxton's 47%.
- 7am: Iowa and Nebraska. The same pollster had Josh Turek leading Ashley Hinson 50-49 in Iowa, and Pete Ricketts tied at 49% with independent Dan Osborn in Nebraska.
- 6am to 7am: Kansas, where Democrat Adam Hamilton was at 50% to Senator Roger Marshall's 49% in that poll.
- 10am to 11am: Alaska, where recent polls have shown Mary Peltola narrowly ahead of Senator Dan Sullivan. With the state closing last, a tight chamber could still be undecided well after breakfast.
Forecasters do not agree on every toss-up, but Alaska, Iowa and Texas are on the lists compared here. One-point leads like these are too small to call.
Why the winner may not be known on Wednesday
A closed poll does not mean a finished count. Winners are projected only once enough votes have been reported, and states count mail and provisional ballots at different speeds. Close contests can stay uncalled for hours or days. If the Senate comes down to one or two states, there may be no clear answer on November 4.
More on the ballot than Congress
Thirty-six states elect governors on Tuesday, and there are 145 statewide ballot measures. Eleven states are voting on voter ID or noncitizen voting rules. California's Proposition 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on residents worth more than $1 billion, while Washington state votes on repealing its 9.9% tax on income above $1 million.
Why South Asia should care
The vote lands in the middle of the Iran war. Trump has hinted that strikes could resume after the election, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio says no decision has been made. Brent crude is trading around $111, and Pakistan and India pay for that at the pump and in imported gas bills. A chamber under Democratic control could also investigate the administration and hold up its spending requests.
The new Congress takes its seats in January.
Questions people are asking
What time do US midterm results start in Pakistan?
The first polls close in parts of Indiana and Kentucky at 4am Pakistan time on Wednesday, November 4. The first big batch of states closes at 5am to 6am, so meaningful results should start coming in from early Wednesday morning.
When will we know who won the US Senate and House?
There is no fixed time. Each state counts at its own speed, and close contests can remain uncalled for days while mail and provisional ballots are counted, so control may not be settled on Wednesday.
