Whether you're a political junkie or staying up to follow the US election for the first time, here's a complete guide to the Tuesday, November 5th election.
What time will things start happening?
The polls will start closing in some states from 11pm Irish times, with more to follow after midnight.
Do results come in at the same time?
No. The winners of many states will become clear over the night, but tight contests in some battleground states may see counting go on for days.
Will we know the winner by Wednesday?
There is a possibility that the winner of the election will be clear by 5am to 6am Wednesday (whether the loser accepts it is another matter).
However, the polls suggest it will be an historically tight race, meaning there may be a clear leader without official confirmation of the 47th US president for days, or even weeks.
Where can I follow the election?
BreakingNews.ie will be reporting on the election all through the night, so you can follow the updates here.
There are plenty of options for television, with coverage on the likes of RTÉ, BBC and Sky News.
US outlets such as The New York Times and the Washington Post will also have live updates.
The US television options include ABC, CBS and NBC, CNN, Fox News and CNBC, with most of them also streaming coverage online.
Who is in the lead?
It's too close to call. Donald Trump holds a slight lead in many national polls, but vice president Kamala Harris has been eating into thes leads, and the pair are essentially neck and neck.
Some polls still give Mr Trump the edge. However, a recent poll suggested Ms Harris could take Iowa, which had been forecast as a Republican certainty. Mr Trump took the state in 2016 and 2020.
The seven battleground states are: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Many political analysts have predicted Pennsylvania will be the most important state, and this has been reflected in the amount of time Ms Harris and Mr Trump have spent campaigning in the state.
The state has 19 electoral votes, and was won by Joe Biden in 2020 and Mr Trump in 2016.
Counting can be delayed by days there, especially when the racr is as tight as polls predict it will be.
Time guide of states
– 12am November 6th
Donald Trump should be off the mark when polls close in three traditional Republican strongholds: Indiana (which is worth 11 electoral votes), Kentucky (eight) and South Carolina (nine).
Kamala Harris will pick up the safe Democratic states of Vermont (three EVs) and Virginia (13).
Polls also close in the first of the swing states: Georgia (16 EVs).
Joe Biden won this state narrowly in 2020, but the result was confirmed only after several days of counting and recounting.
If the outcome in Georgia is close again, as is likely, it could take a similar wait before the winner becomes clear.
– 12.30am
West Virginia (four EVs), a safe Republican state, should be called quickly for Mr Trump.
Ohio (17 EVs) used to be a swing state – Barack Obama won close contests here in 2008 and 2012 – but since 2016 it has trended towards safe Republican territory and should be called for Mr Trump reasonably promptly.
By contrast, North Carolina (16 EVs) has become a swing state at this election, with opinion polls suggesting either candidate has a chance of victory.
As such, the winner might not become clear for some time.
– 1am
A flurry of projections is likely when polls close in more than a dozen safe states.
Ms Harris should pick up the Democrat-leaning states of Connecticut (seven EVs), Delaware (three), Illinois (19), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (11), New Hampshire (four), New Jersey (14) and Rhode Island (four), along with the District of Columbia (three).
Mr Trump ought to see Alabama (nine), Florida (30), Mississippi (six), Missouri (10), Oklahoma (seven) and Tennessee (11) added to his tally.
Maine does not have a winner-take-all policy for its four electoral votes; rather, it allocates two votes to the winner within each of its two Congressional districts and two to the winner of the overall state-wide popular vote.
In 2020, Joe Biden won the two state-wide votes and one of the district votes, giving him three of the four votes up for grabs, while Donald Trump won the other district vote.
Polls are also due to close in another of the swing states, Pennsylvania (19 EVs).
The state was solidly Democrat until Mr Trump won it narrowly in 2016, before Mr Biden took it back in 2020.
Due to the huge number of postal and early votes cast, which will need to be sorted and counted, the outcome in Pennsylvania is not likely to be known for some considerable time.
– 1.30am
Polls close in Arkansas (six EVs), another strongly Republican state.
– 2am
A rush of safe states should deliver a sizeable number of electoral votes for both candidates.
Kansas (six EVs), Iowa (six), Louisiana (eight), North Dakota (three), South Dakota (three), Texas (40) and Wyoming (three) are all likely to be called fairly quickly for Mr Trump.
Ms Harris ought to collect Colorado (10 EVs), Minnesota (10), New Mexico (five) and New York (28).
Nebraska, like Maine, does not have a winner-take-all policy and instead splits its electoral votes – in this case, allocating three votes to the winner within each of its three Congressional districts and two to the winner of the overall state-wide popular vote.
In 2020, Joe Biden won one of the three district votes, while Donald Trump won the other two plus the two state-wide votes, giving him four of the five votes up for grabs.
Polls also close in three swing states: Arizona (11 EVs), Michigan (15) and Wisconsin (10), all of which – if the outcome is close – could take days to be decided.
Mr Biden won all three of these states in 2020, while Mr Trump picked up all three in 2016.
– 3am
Mr Trump will add two more states to his tally when polls close in the safe Republican states of Montana (four EVs) and Utah (six).
Polls also close in the last of the swing states, Nevada, where six EVs are up for grabs – though as with the other battlegrounds, it could be hours, if not days, before the winner is known.
Nevada has been won repeatedly by Democrats in recent decades, but opinion polls suggest the result this year is on a knife’s edge.
– 4am
Ms Harris’s numbers will get a boost when polls close in three very safe Democratic states: California (54 EVs), Oregon (eight) and Washington (12).
Idaho (four EVs) should be called for Mr Trump.
– 5am
Polls close in another safe Democratic state, Hawaii (four EVs).
– 6am
Alaska is the last state to conclude voting, and its three electoral votes should be called for Mr Trump.
But there is every likelihood that the overall winner of the election still won’t be known, given the time it will take to count all the ballots in all the swing states.
If there has been a landslide for either Ms Harris or Mr Trump, then some news networks might be tempted to name a winner by now.
If it is shaping up to be a close contest, get ready to wait days, if not weeks, for the identity of the next president to be confirmed. - Additional reporting from Press Association
