WASHINGTON – Votes are taking place across the country on Tuesday and Americans are anxiously awaiting to see who will take control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives. On top of that, several gubernatorial, state and local races are being closely watched this cycle.

More than 82.6 million mail-in and in-person votes were cast nationwide, according to NBC News Early Voting Dashboardbut the numbers won’t start coming in until Tuesday evening.

FOX 5 uses Associated Press reporting data to determine when a race is called. AP triggers a race when trailing candidates no longer have a path to victory. Learn more on how AP calls a winner.

Click here to Election results LIVE

Polling stations close at 8 p.m. Washington, D.C. Voters can vote at any voting center, regardless of their residential address.

All polling stations on election day Maryland are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. As long as you are in line before 8:00 p.m., you will be allowed to vote.

Polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia on election day, November 5.

It is well known that the election call will likely depend on the results of seven key states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The unique vote counting rules in some of these states mean that some results may come in quickly while others keep us guessing. From early voting to extended mailing deadlines, each state has its own approach that could shape the election night schedule.

NOTE: All times are expressed in Eastern Standards.

• Arizona: Polls will close at 9 p.m.
• Georgia: polls close at 7 p.m.
• Michigan: Polls will close at 9 p.m.
• Nevada: Polls will close at 10 p.m.
• North Carolina: polls close at 7:30 p.m.
• Pennsylvania: Polls will close at 8 p.m.
• Wisconsin: Polls will close at 9 p.m.

When are votes counted?

The procedures for counting early in-person ballots, primary ballots, and in-person Election Day ballots vary from state to state, which is why some count much faster than others.

FOX 5 will have results on our LIVE Dashboard as soon as the polling stations close – from 6 p.m.

How soon will we know the results?

Although most local elections are expected to be called within a day of the election, expert opinions vary depending on when the voters know who will be the next president.

Right now, there are many different answers when asking political pundits when they think we’ll know the results of the presidential race.

“My only prediction going into election night is that we won’t know who won this race,” Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha told FOX 5.

Arnon Mishkin, veteran elections expert who runs Fox News’ decision desk. Voters shouldn’t be surprised if there isn’t a clear winner on election night, he said. In fact, he says it could take days.

“I think the most likely thing is we’ll know before Saturday and it just depends on how close this election is and the reason why Saturday is the over/under is because that’s when Pennsylvania will probably get something we can call it,” Mishkin said.

Mishkin says different states have different counting rules and with early voting and mail-in voting now a regular part of the mix, returns in battleground states could take longer.

David Ramadan of the Schar Center for Politics at George Mason University agrees, saying it will likely take two to three days to find out who won.

“We probably won’t know for at least 48 or 72 hours and if we’re lucky,” Ramadan said.

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