the Electoral College
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2012: ELECTORAL COLLEGE MAP | MAKE YOUR OWN MAP
  | Barack Obama Joe Biden Party: DEMOCRATIC Electoral Votes: 332 | ||||||||||||
  | Mitt Romney Paul Ryan Party: REPUBLICAN Electoral Votes: 206 | ||||||||||||
  | Gary Johnson Jim Gray Party: LIBERTARIAN Electoral Votes: 0 | ||||||||||||
Other Candidates
Green, Constitution, Peace & Freedom...
Electoral Votes:
0 |
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Electoral College Vote Total electoral votes (from 50 states and DC) - 538 Majority needed to win - 270
Popular Vote
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| Alabama – | Alaska – | Arizona – | Arkansas – | California – |
| Colorado – | Connecticut – | Delaware – | DC – | Florida – |
| Georgia – | Hawaii – | Idaho – | Illinois – | Indiana – |
| Iowa – | Kansas – | Kentucky – | Louisiana – | Maine – |
| Maryland – | Massachusetts – | Michigan – | Minnesota – | Mississippi – |
| Missouri – | Montana – | Nebraska – | Nevada – | New Hampshire – |
| New Jersey – | New Mexico – | New York – | North Carolina – | North Dakota – |
| Ohio – | Oklahoma – | Oregon – | Pennsylvania – | Rhode Island – |
| South Carolina – | South Dakota – | Tennessee – | Texas – | Utah – |
| Vermont – | Virginia – | Washington – | West Virginia – | Wisconsin – |
| Wyoming – | Randomize Map | Map | Clear Map | |
If the historical map for this year had a split state vote, the electoral total when clicking " Map" will not be correct.
| STATE | ELECTORAL VOTES |
OBAMA | ROMNEY | JOHNSON | OTHERS | |
| ALABAMA | 9 | 795,696 38.4% | 1,255,925 60.5% | 12,328 0.6% | 10,389 0.5% | |
| AL ELECTORS | Edward S. Allen, Robert A. Cusanelli, Robert Fincher, Terry Lathan, Susan Neuwien, James Elbert Peters, Lynn Robinson, Will Sellers, James T. Waggoner | |||||
| ALASKA | 3 | 122,640 40.8% | 164,676 54.8% | 7,392 2.5% | 5,787 1.9% | |
| AK ELECTORS | Kristie D. Babcock, Kathleen R. Miller, Christopher L. Nelson | |||||
| ARIZONA | 11 | 1,025,232 44.6% | 1,233,654 53.7% | 32,100 1.4% | 8,268 0.4% | |
| AZ ELECTORS | Don M. Ascoli, Malcolm Barrett Jr., Paul Gilbert, Robert Haney, Leona Johnston, Gregory Mendoza, Steve Montenegro, Kristine Morrissey, Thomas Morrissey, John D. Rhodes, C.T. Wright | |||||
| ARKANSAS | 6 | 394,409 36.9% | 647,744 60.6% | 16,276 1.5% | 11,039 1.0% | |
| AR ELECTORS | Reta Hamilton, Jonathan Barnett, Benny Speaks, Doyle Webb, Robin Lundstrum, Larry Bailey | |||||
| CALIFORNIA | 55 | 7,854,285 60.2% | 4,839,958 37.1% | 143,221 1.1% | 201,083 1.5% | |
| CA ELECTORS | Michael Williams Adams, Alisha Aguilar, Maria Teresa Becerra, Janine Vivienne Bera, Karen Chang, Aaron Samuel Conaway, Greg Conger, Raymond Cordova, Mollie Culver, Dennis Donohue, Sandy Emberland, Ernesto Encinas, John Freidenrich, Felipe Fuentes, Patricia W. Garamendi, Bobby Glaser, Dolores Clara Huerta, William H. Kysella Jr., Laura Lee, Daniel Leroux, Dave Low, Mark Macarro, Jane Morrison, Donald Mullen, Chris M. Myers, Anu Natarajan, Sandy L. Nixon, Ricardo Roybal Olivarez, Louis Paulson, Geoffrey Pete, Bonnie Burns Price, Andre Quintero, Michael Ray, Terry Reardon, Brooke Reed, Gwen Regalia, Meriam Louise Reynosa, Gregory Lucas Rodriguez, Alexandra Rooker, Gary Rotto, Alfonso Sanchez, Barbara Schraeger, John Harold Simpson, Laurie Stalnaker, Ranada Stephenson, Xiaoguang Sun, Maeley Lock Tom, Kyriakos Tsakopoulos, Christopher Tumbeiro, Ernest Joseph Vasti, Ruben Antonio Villalobos, Dean E. Vogel, Diane Watson, Sanford Weiner, Steven Ray Young | |||||
| COLORADO | 9 | 1,323,102 51.5% | 1,185,243 46.1% | 35,545 1.4% | 25,632 1.0% | |
| CO ELECTORS | Polly Baca, Thomas E. Cronin, Anthony Eric Graves, Gilbert Ortiz, Terry Phillips, Debra Pilch, Alvin D. Rivera, Laurence W. Steele, Richard O'Dean Swain | |||||
| CONNECTICUT | 7 | 905,083 58.1% | 634,892 40.7% | 12,580 0.8% | 6,405 0.4% | |
| CT ELECTORS | Carmen Colon, James C. Ezzes, Jason Jakubowski, Jacqueline James, Larry Pleasant, Ronald C. Schurin | |||||
| DELAWARE | 3 | 242,584 58.6% | 165,484 40.0% | 3,882 0.9% | 1,971 0.5% | |
| DE ELECTORS | Abby Betts, Peter Keenan, Delores McLamb | |||||
| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | 3 | 267,070 90.9% | 21,381 7.3% | 2,083 0.7% | 3,230 1.1% | |
| DC ELECTORS | Yvette M. Alexander, Donald R. Dinan, William P. Lightfoot | |||||
| FLORIDA | 29 | 4,237,756 50.0% | 4,163,447 49.1% | 44,726 0.5% | 28,250 0.3% | |
| FL ELECTORS | Lynette Acosta, Burt Aaronson, Scott Arceneaux, T. Wayne Bailey, Carol M. Bartleson, Leon Belton, Tim Bottcher, Alan Clendenin, Ana Cruz, Buddy Dyer, Joe Faulk, Rita Fernandino, Joe Gibbons, Audrey Gibson, Dina Heffernan, Vonzelle Johnson, Luis Lauredo, Elena McCollough, Amy Mercado, Vivian Mitchell, Jean Monestime, Susannah Randolph, Rod Smith, Justin Spiller, Bob Troy, Kirk Wagar, Ashley M. Walker, Alan Williams, Jeanette Wynn | |||||
| GEORGIA | 16 | 1,773,827 45.5% | 2,078,688 53.3% | 45,324 1.2% | 2,211 0.1% | |
| GA ELECTORS | Teresa Jeter Chappell, James Randolph Evans, Sue P. Everhart, Darrell L. Galloway, Linda D. Herren, Kathy S. Hildebrand, Hsiao Lung Ho, Anne Ware Lewis, Kelly Lynn Loeffler, Robert Luther Mayzes, Lautoria Estes Morgan, Eugene E. Pearson Jr., George Ervin Perdue III, Frank B. Strickland, Eric J. Tanenblatt, Julianne Elizabeth Thompson | |||||
| HAWAII | 4 | 306,658 70.5% | 121,015 27.8% | 3,840 0.9% | 3,184 0.7% | |
| HI ELECTORS | Michael Golojuch Sr., Marina Schwartz, Debbie Shimizu, Marie Dolores (Dolly) Strazar | |||||
| IDAHO | 4 | 212,787 32.6% | 420,911 64.5% | 9,453 1.4% | 9,123 1.4% | |
| ID ELECTORS | Travis Hawkes, Teresa Luna, Jason Risch, Damond Watkins | |||||
| ILLINOIS | 20 | 3,019,512 57.6% | 2,135,216 40.7% | 56,229 1.1% | 31,057 0.6% | |
| IL ELECTORS | Carrie Austin, Julia Kennedy Beckman, Barb Brown, Christine Cegelis, Barbara Flynn-Currie, John R. Daley, Vera Davis, James A. Deleo, Lynn Foster, Lauren Beth Gash, Mark Guethle, Debbie Halvorson, Don Johnston, Shirley McCombs, Andrew R. Madigan, Ricardo Munoz, William Marovit, John Nelson, Toni Preckwinkle, Nancy Shepherdson | |||||
| INDIANA | 11 | 1,152,887 43.9% | 1,420,543 54.1% | 50,111 1.9% | 993 0.0% | |
| IN ELECTORS | Robert Grand, Eric Holcomb, Kyle Hupfer, Susan Lightle, Scott Molin, Jamey Noel, William Ruppel, Steve Shine, William Springer, Pearl Swanigan, Charles Williams | |||||
| IOWA | 6 | 822,544 52.0% | 730,617 46.2% | 12,926 0.8% | 16,093 1.0% | |
| IA ELECTORS | Dale Creech, William Gluba, Theodore Herrick, Glen Sailsbury, Jan Shirley, Marc Wallace | |||||
| KANSAS | 6 | 440,726 38.0% | 692,634 59.7% | 20,456 1.8% | 6,155 0.5% | |
| KS ELECTORS | Amanda Adkins, Kelly Arnold, Jeff Colyer, Randy Duncan, Todd Tiahrt, Helen Van Etten | |||||
| KENTUCKY | 8 | 679,370 37.8% | 1,087,190 60.5% | 17,063 0.9% | 13,589 0.8% | |
| KY ELECTORS | Mira Ball, Mary Ann Baron, Wilma W. Cooper, Lawrence E. Cox, Dave Disponett, Terry E. Forcht, Robert L. Mitchell, Kevin Sell | |||||
| LOUISIANA | 8 | 809,141 40.6% | 1,152,262 57.8% | 18,157 0.9% | 14,505 0.7% | |
| LA ELECTORS | Jimmy C. Allen, Michael R. Bayham Jr., Harold O. Coates, Christian J. Gil, Legena (Gena) Gore, Louis S. Gurvich Jr., Garrett C. Monti, S. Scott Wilfong | |||||
| MAINE FIRST DISTRICT | 1 | 221,952 59.4% | 142,573 38.1% | 4,471 1.2% | 4,953 1.3% | |
| ME1 ELECTOR | Diane Denk | |||||
| MAINE SECOND DISTRICT | 1 | 177,283 52.7% | 148,845 44.3% | 4,823 1.4% | 5,226 1.6% | |
| ME2 ELECTOR | Marianne Stevens | |||||
| MAINE AT-LARGE | 2 | 401,306 56.3% | 292,276 41.0% | 9,352 1.3% | 10,246 1.4% | |
| ME ELECTORS | Jill Duson, Craig Hickman | |||||
| MARYLAND | 10 | 1,677,844 62.0% | 971,869 35.9% | 30,195 1.1% | 27,419 1.0% | |
| MD ELECTORS | Kumar Barve, Jonathan K. Branch, Tashea Brodgins, Helen L. Dale, Cheryl Everman, Richard Madaleno Jr., Gary W. Michael, Joseline Pena-Melnyk, Beth Swoap, Alonzo Washington | |||||
| MASSACHUSETTS | 11 | 1,921,290 60.7% | 1,188,314 37.5% | 30,920 1.0% | 27,243 0.9% | |
| MA ELECTORS | Sandy E. Bagley, Janet M. Beyer, James Eliseo DiTullio, Louis A. Elisa II, Paul J.Giorgio, Candy Glazer, Susan M. Kennedy, Mike Lake, James McGowan, Karen L. Payne, Diane M. Saxe | |||||
| MICHIGAN | 16 | 2,564,569 54.2% | 2,115,256 44.7% | 7,774 0.2% | 43,362 0.9% | |
| MI ELECTORS | Jane Ahern, Dorothy Burrell, Peggy Ciaramitaro, Steve Cook, Cindy Estrada, Marge Faville, Hilliard Hampton, Norwood Jewell, Dorothy Johnson, Jess Minks, Joanne Murphy, Howard Pizzo, Toni Sessoms, Walter Sobczak, James Winne, Marion Vanderveen | |||||
| MINNESOTA | 10 | 1,546,167 52.7% | 1,320,225 45.0% | 35,098 1.2% | 35,071 1.2% | |
| MN ELECTORS | Lucy Buckner, Jettie Ann Hill, Dee Long, Joe Moren, Al Patton, Shanti Shah, Rick Stafford, Russ Warren, Janet Weir, Paul Wright | |||||
| MISSISSIPPI | 6 | 562,949 43.8% | 710,746 55.3% | 6,676 0.5% | 5,213 0.4% | |
| MS ELECTORS | Austin Barbour, Ricky Jay Calhoun, Charles Cannada, William Randolph James, William D. Mounger, Billy R. Powell | |||||
| MISSOURI | 10 | 1,223,796 44.4% | 1,482,440 53.8% | 43,151 1.6% | 7,936 0.3% | |
| MO ELECTORS | Mavis C. Busiek, Stanley Cox, Matthew G. Gertsner, Robert L. Green, John Judd, Michael Koop, R. Layne Morrill, Penelope Z. Quigg, David Stokes, Kurt Witzel | |||||
| MONTANA | 3 | 201,839 41.7% | 267,928 55.4% | 14,165 2.9% | 116 0.0% | |
| MT ELECTORS | Thelma Baker, John Brenden, Errol Galt | |||||
| NEBRASKA FIRST DISTRICT | 1 | 108,082 40.6% | 152,021 57.1% | 3,847 1.4% | 2,059 0.8% | |
| NE1 ELECTOR | Joe Hampton | |||||
| NEBRASKA SECOND DISTRICT | 1 | 121,889 45.5% | 140,976 52.6% | 3,393 1.3% | 1,770 0.7% | |
| NE2 ELECTOR | Arlene Steier | |||||
| NEBRASKA THIRD DISTRICT | 1 | 72,110 27.7% | 182,067 69.9% | 3,869 1.5% | 2,296 0.9% | |
| NE3 ELECTOR | Mary Crawford | |||||
| NEBRASKA AT-LARGE | 2 | 302,081 38.0% | 475,064 59.8% | 11,109 1.4% | 6,125 0.8% | |
| NE ELECTORS | Mick Jensen, Kay Orr | |||||
| NEVADA | 6 | 531,373 52.4% | 463,567 45.7% | 10,968 1.1% | 9,010 0.9% | |
| NV ELECTORS | Theresa Benitez-Thompson, Samuel Lieberman, Marty Ann McGarry, Rose McKinney-James, John Ponticello, Randolph Soltero | |||||
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | 4 | 369,561 52.0% | 329,918 46.4% | 8,212 1.2% | 3,281 0.5% | |
| NH ELECTORS | James Demers, Joanne Dowdell, Mary Rauh, C. Arthur Soucy | |||||
| NEW JERSEY | 14 | 2,125,101 58.4% | 1,477,568 40.6% | 21,045 0.6% | 16,578 0.5% | |
| NJ ELECTORS | Frank Argote-Freyre, Marion G. Costanza, Suzanne Marshall Discher, Christopher Irving, Jeffrey Laurenti, John J. McCarthy, Ileana Montes, Ida Ochoteco, Paul Penna, Robert F. Renaud, Virginia N. Scott, Henry G. Sykes, Philip Thigpen, Beth E. Timberman | |||||
| NEW MEXICO | 5 | 415,335 53.0% | 335,788 42.8% | 27,788 3.5% | 4,847 0.6% | |
| NM ELECTORS | Elizabeth (Lisa) Chavez, Katherine (Kat) Duran, Tracy Goodluck, Pamelya Herndon, David Thomson | |||||
| NEW YORK | 29 | 4,485,741 63.3% | 2,490,431 35.2% | 47,256 0.7% | 57,731 0.8% | |
| NY ELECTORS | Scott Adams, Anne Marie Anzalone, Steve Bellone, Byron Brown, Karim Camara, Mario Cilento, Sheila Comar, Walter Cooper, Bill DeBlasio, Ruben Diaz Jr., Tom DiNapoli, Robert Duffy, Emily Giske, George Gresham, Peter Harckham, Hakeem Jeffries, Ken Jenkins, Gerald D. Jennings, Virginia Kee, Stephanie Miner, Joseph Morelle, Felix Ortiz, Christine C. Quinn, Eric Schneiderman, Sheldon Silver, Archie Spigner, Irene Stein, Scott Stringer, Keith L.T. Wright | |||||
| NORTH CAROLINA | 15 | 2,178,391 48.4% | 2,270,395 50.4% | 44,515 1.0% | 12,071 0.3% | |
| NC ELECTORS | Don Abernathy, Dodie Allen, Charles Barrett, Michael Esser, Barbara Hines, Robert Levy, Paul Penney, Felice Pete, James Art Pope, James Proctor, David Ruden, Mary Jo Shepherd, William Shillito, Garry Terry, Ashley Woolard | |||||
| NORTH DAKOTA | 3 | 124,827 38.7% | 188,163 58.3% | 5,231 1.6% | 4,406 1.4% | |
| ND ELECTORS | Layton Freborg, Mary Lee, David Nething | |||||
| OHIO | 18 | 2,827,709 50.7% | 2,661,437 47.7% | 49,493 0.9% | 42,208 0.8% | |
| OH ELECTORS | Ann Block, Sarah Brown-Clark, Grace Anne Cherrington, Michael Friedman, William J. Healy II, Tracy Heard, Cathina Hourani, Pernel Jones Jr., Wade Kapszukiewicz, Ryan Kolegar, Constance Lighthall, Kevin Malecek, Mark Owens, Chris Redfern, Ted Strickland, Daniel Traicoff, Jeremy Van Meter, William Young | |||||
| OKLAHOMA | 7 | 443,547 33.2% | 891,325 66.8% | 0 0.0% | 0 0.0% | |
| OK ELECTORS | Jason Cowen, Duane Crumbacher, David Holt, Joe Peters, Mark Thomas, Lawrence A. Williamson, Lynn Windel | |||||
| OREGON | 7 | 970,488 54.2% | 754,175 42.1% | 24,089 1.3% | 40,518 2.3% | |
| OR ELECTORS | Michael J. Bohan, Shirley A. Cairns, Frank J. Dixon, Michael B. Miles, Harry W. (Sam) Sappington, R.P. Joe Smith, Meredith Wood Smith | |||||
| PENNSYLVANIA | 20 | 2,990,274 52.0% | 2,680,434 46.6% | 49,991 0.9% | 32,971 0.6% | |
| PA ELECTORS | Mark L. Alderman, Cindy M. Bass, Richard Bloomingdale, C. Kim Bracey, James R. Bum Jr., Jay Costa, Frank Dermody, Rich Fitzgerald, Penny Gerber, Amanda Green Hawkins, Vincent J. Hughes, Susan Golden Jacobson, Clifford B. Levine, Robert M. McCord, Michael A. Nutter, Lazar M. Palnick, Roxanne G. Pauline, Jose Rosado, Cynthia D. Shapira, Joshua D. Shapiro | |||||
| RHODE ISLAND | 4 | 279,677 62.7% | 157,204 35.2% | 4,388 1.0% | 4,780 1.1% | |
| RI ELECTORS | Marvin L. Abney, Emily A. Maranjian, L. Susan Weiner, Mark S. Weiner | |||||
| SOUTH CAROLINA | 9 | 865,941 44.1% | 1,071,645 54.6% | 16,321 0.8% | 10,211 0.5% | |
| SC ELECTORS | Bruce Chadwick Connelly, Cynthia F. Costa, James Edward Jerow, Roy Rex Lindsey III, Janice C. McCord, Drew McKissick, Randall S. Page, Betty Sheppard Poe, Sandra R. Stroman | |||||
| SOUTH DAKOTA | 3 | 145,039 39.9% | 210,610 57.9% | 5,795 1.6% | 2,371 0.7% | |
| SD ELECTORS | Dennis Daugaard, Marty Jackley, Matt Michels | |||||
| TENNESSEE | 11 | 960,709 39.1% | 1,462,330 59.5% | 18,623 0.8% | 16,915 0.7% | |
| TN ELECTORS | Joe Bailey, Ruth Hagerty, Kurt Holbert, Robert Bradley Martin, Jennie T. McCabe, Scott Niswonger, Bob Rial, Jerry Sink, Brad Smith, David Snodgrass, Annabel Woodall | |||||
| TEXAS | 38 | 3,308,124 41.4% | 4,569,843 57.2% | 88,580 1.1% | 27,304 0.3% | |
| TX ELECTORS | Richard Bernhard, Paul Bettencourt, Loren Byers, Sandra Cararas, Mary Ann Collins, Butch Davis, Nelda Eppes, Clinton Evetts, Bill Fairbrother, Terri Flow, Benny Gordon, Carolyn Hodges, Mary Holmsley, Steve Jessup, Matthew Johnson, Patti Johnson, Jane Juett, Johnny Lovejoy II, Bonnie Lugo, Tim McCord, Jean McIver, Texas Moore, Kaye Moreno, Steve Munisteri, Samuel Owens, Linda Rogers, Keith Rothra, Ruth Schiermeyer, Georgia Scott, Royal Smith, Betty Stiles, David Stone, Tim Turner, Jennifer Weaver, Daniel Whitton, Thom Wikins, Walter Wilkinson Jr., Billie Zimmerman | |||||
| UTAH | 6 | 251,813 24.7% | 740,600 72.8% | 12,572 1.2% | 12,455 1.2% | |
| UT ELECTORS | Terry Camp, Kyle Hicks, Fred Lampropoulos, Stan Lockhart, John Swallow, Thomas Wright | |||||
| VERMONT | 3 | 199,239 66.6% | 92,698 31.0% | 3,487 1.2% | 3,866 1.3% | |
| VT ELECTORS | Kevin B. Christie, Sherry Merrick, William Sander | |||||
| VIRGINIA | 13 | 1,971,820 51.2% | 1,822,522 47.3% | 31,216 0.8% | 28,931 0.8% | |
| VA ELECTORS | Sandra W. Brandt, Terry Carroll Frye, Gary W. Crawford, Christopher M. Daniel Jr., Edna N. Frady, Janyce N. Hedetniemi, Susan Johnston Rowland, Evan D. Macbeth, Judy L. Mastrangeli, Ben Ragsdale Jr., Melanie B. Salyer, Betty L. Squire, Anita A. White | |||||
| WASHINGTON | 12 | 1,755,396 56.2% | 1,290,670 41.3% | 42,202 1.4% | 37,248 1.2% | |
| WA ELECTORS | Harvey Brooks, Maria Ehsan, George B. Fearing, Heather Fralick, Dave W. Gossett, Gail Kirk, Kathleen A. Lawrence, Grifynn Marley Clay, Rick Lloyd, Elizabeth Satiacum, Georgia Spencer, Alec Stephens | |||||
| WEST VIRGINIA | 5 | 238,269 35.5% | 417,655 62.3% | 6,302 0.9% | 8,212 1.2% | |
| WV ELECTORS | Betty Ireland, John McCuskey, Sarah Minear, Mick Staton, David Tyson | |||||
| WISCONSIN | 10 | 1,620,985 52.8% | 1,407,966 45.9% | 20,439 0.7% | 19,044 0.6% | |
| WI ELECTORS | Peter Barca, Lori Compas, Gary Hawley, Frederick Kessler, Diana Miller, Mahlon Mitchell, Christine Bremer Muggli, Fred Risser, Marcia Steele, Jocasta Zamarripa | |||||
| WYOMING | 3 | 69,286 27.8% | 170,962 68.6% | 5,326 2.1% | 3,487 1.4% | |
| WY ELECTORS | Ron Micheli, Margaret Parry, Susan Thomas | |||||
| TOTAL POPULAR VOTE | 538 | 65,915,795 51.1% |
60,933,504 47.2% |
1,275,971 1.0% | 960,140 0.7% |
|
10:12 pm - As you can see we'll be keeping track of the election results a little differently from the networks. Everyone knows what the results are going to be in most states. By going ahead and figuring those electoral votes in from the beginning we'll get a better sense of where the race actually stands as the night progresses.
10:14 pm - Using this method during 2008's live blog, President Elect was able to call the race 90 minutes before the networks.
10:17 pm - If you have any questions or comments over the next day or so you can send them directly to me using the yellow button on the left side of this page.
10:26 pm - The final President Elect projection came out earlier today. Obama is picked to win 281-257, but be sure to read it for some caveats.
10:39 pm - For those checking out the new site, note that as we approached the election I stopped moving files from the old site to here. So you'll notice several pages that just say something like "under construction" with a link back to the old site. Once the election is over I'll get back to porting all the data to this new site.
10:43 pm - Looking ahead to tomorrow, my guess is the best case scenario for Obama would probably be a 347-191 win. Best case for Romney is probably 338-200.
10:45 pm - I don't think either will do that well though! I'm guessing which ever candidate wins, they'll have around 275-290 votes.
11:30 pm - Election day is just 30 minutes away! See you all in the morning.Yikes. CNN already has a countdown clock that says: First Polls Close 6pm ET 18hrs 56min 26sec
— Mike Williams (@MikeNWilliams)
10:25 am - In the traditional first voting count of the election, both candidates, perhaps unsurprisingly tied among the 10 voters of Dixville Notch NH!
10:33 am - We've got our first big controversy of the day in Philadelphia, where a large number of court-appointed Republican poll inspectors across the city are not being allowed to take their place in the polling stations by Democratic station heads. Apparently a judge is ordering them to be returned with police escort if necessary.
10:37 apm - Reader question: Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican elected president.
11:20 am - Reader question: My election projections take more than just raw polls into account. Here is a very basic description with some made up numbers, just as an example. Each state's historical voting tendencies are factored down into a raw number, something like R1.5 for Virginia. What that means is in the current election a Democrat needs to lead the polls by more than 1.5% in that state before I will call it for them. There are some other things that go into it to, but that is the largest component. And that is all a starting place – as these are my personal picks I can manually adjust things as much as I want too!
11:27 am - I love (sarcasm) how candidates when asked a question by a reporter will instead answer with a completely canned response that has little to do with the actual question.
12:50 pm - Lots of reports of what are really minor problems at the polls. Not everything needs to be blown into a big partisan conspiracy! It's amazing elections run as well as they do considering they always appear to be run by senior citizen volunteers!If You Want To Stay Out Of Jail, Don't Instagram Your Ballot bit.ly/PUqjG5
— Delicious Popular (@DeliciousHot)
1:35 pm - Reader question: Exit polling data is being kept under lock until 5pm. Network representives are analyzing the data in a "quarantine room" with no internet or cell phone access. They can not contact anyone about the data until 5pm. At that point news sources are not supposed to call a state or hint about what the numbers show until polls close in each state. Reuters has more info.
1:38 pm - That said, after 5pm you might find some of the data leaking across the web. The Drudge Report has posted such numbers in the past, for example.
2:58 pm - Here's a look at this year's "command central". That's a 106" screen that will be showing NBC, a 42" TV that will have a split screen showing Fox News and ABC, and a 26" TV showing CNN. And of course a computer monitor so I can talk with you guys!Guys, I really think this is all coming down to turnout, and getting more votes, and winning the Electoral College.
— Joshua Treviño (@jstrevino)
3:26 pm - Last week when I first mentioned the live blog I said one of the things I'd be doing is making fun of whatever gimmick CNN had up their sleeves. Well, now we know: "CNN to Display Electoral Results Atop Empire State Building"
3:53 pm - If you want to do some last minute electioneering, here are some campaign button avatars for 11 of the presidential candidates you can use on Twitter, Facebook, or other forums.
4:00 pm - Hard to believe the first polls close in just two hours!
4:38 pm - This is dedication to your civic duty: man dies at polling station, is revived with CPR, and asks, "Did I vote?"
4:45 pm - Exit poll results will be released to the networks in 15 minutes. Though technically they are supposed to wait until polls close in each state to use the data, they usually start framing their coverage based on the data so sometimes you can get a feel for what it shows.
4:50 pm - It's important to note that the most important use of exit polling is to figure out why people voted as they did. It is not nearly as useful at predicting the outcome of a race.
5:01 pm - Reader question: I recently wrote a piece about what happens if the candidates tie in the Electoral College. The House of Representatives would choose the president, but using a special voting procedure.
5:12 pm - Not a fan of the Electoral College? (What do I have to do to change your mind?!) Here are five worse systems from around the world.
5:30 pm - Trying to get a quick dinner in before the first polls close.
5:55 pm - First polls close very, very soon. Expect some states we've already called to get colored in first and fairly quickly.
6:04 pm - Some polls in KY and IN closing now. Polls closing in GA IN KY SC VT VA in one hour.
6:05 pm - CNN exit polls on party affiliation: 37% D, 34% R, 29% I. CNN pre-election poll had a sample that included Democrats +11 over Republicans which said the race was tied.
6:15 pm - Dinner went longer than expected, but I am now here for the duration!
6:29 pm - Haven't seen many clues from the hosts about which way the exit polls are going.
6:40 pm - Drudge has some exit poll data. He says it looks like NC and FL are going to Romney, NH PA MI & NV to Obama, with OH VA CO & IA too close.
6:45 pm - Feel free to send in links to stuff you think I should see. My attention is all over the place and I won't see everything!
6:51 pm - Assuming those exit polls stick, the numbers would be Obama 257, Romney 235, Tossup 46.
6:55 pm - Five minutes and we'll start getting a whole lot more info from the press.
6:57 pm - Polls about to close in GA IN KY SC VT & VA.
7:01 pm - Exit polls show a 49% tie in Virginia according to CNN.
7:02 pm - Networks call VT IN KY as we have them colored above.
7:09 pm - NBC's gimmick is putting the electoral college map onto the ice rink at Rockefeller Center.
7:12 pm - You can color in the states as they're called yourself on our 2012 election page.
7:21 pm - OH NC & WV polls close in 10 minutes.
7:25 pm - All four networks I'm watching have it at 19-3 Romney. No surprises yet.
7:30 pm - Ohio is now closed. Networks give WV to Romney.
7:32 pm - Ohio exit poll: 51%-49% Obama. NC exit poll: 49%-49%.
7:40 pm - Remember to click the big yellow button above to easily send in your questions, comments, tips, links, etc.
7:43 pm - Reader question: If a President Elect dies before being sworn in things get complicated! Here's an article I wrote in 2008 with some details.
7:46 pm - Lots of polls closing in 15 minutes: AL CT DE DC FL IL ME MD MA MS MO NH NJ OK PA RI TN
7:49 pm - Reader question: No surprises yet. Everything is just as close as we expected so far. Only minor surprise is I thought the network analysis after seeing the exit polls would be willing to stick their necks out a little more. Exit polls must have been super close too.
7:54 pm - Another thought on the network coverage. In past years it seemed a little more frantic. Tonight if feels more subdued. Is that becasue things are so tight and there isn't much info to go on?
7:58 pm - One third of the states closing in minutes.
8:02 pm - CT DE DC IL MD MA ME RI to Obama, OK to Romney according to networks. Again, no surprises.
8:04 pm - CNN 64-40 Obama, Fox 78-71 Obama, NBC 82-64 Obama
8:05 pm - CNN exit polls: FL 50-49 Obama, NH 50-48 Obama, PA 52-47 Obama
8:07 pm - Those and the earlier exit polls are so very close. Even that PA one is surprisingly close. Keep in mind exit polls are not the greatest preditors of how a race will turn out - see 2000 & 2004! Their most important job is telling us why people voted as they did.
8:10 pm - Reader question: Doesn't the Republican-leaning panhandle of Florida close at 9pm EST, rather than 8pm, due to it being in the Central Time Zone? I could be very wrong but I think most of FL closed at 7pm and the panhandle at 8pm.
8:20 pm - Reader question: I'm not seeing anything that would swing VA, but Sean Trende is watching the minutia a lot closer than me.Would be very surprised at this point if Romney wins VA.Not getting the swings he needs.
— Sean Trende (@SeanTrende)
8:22 pm - Want to follow the FL vote from home: here you go!
8:27 pm - AR polls close in 3 minutes.
8:31 pm - AR & TN to Romney. Network totals: 88-64 Romney, 73-64 Romney, 88-78 Romney (can't remember which is which!)
8:33 pm - Popular vote so far: 52% - 47% Romney with 5% of the vote in according to CNN.
8:38 pm - Reader question: NC exit poll was tied, which is bit of a surprise based on pre-election polling. Currently Romney is up by 3% with 11% of vote counted.
8:44 pm - CNN says NC vote is 1,259,000 - 1,236,000 Obama with 55% in.
8:48 pm - Another big hour coming up. Polls closing at 9pm in AZ CO KS LA MI MN NE NM NY ND SD TX WI WY
8:54 pm - FL is so tight: Romney up now 3,206,213 - 3,204,961
8:57 pm - Very cool graph from New York Times keeping track of what states each network is calling.
9:00 pm - Reader question: Yes, NC is MUCH tighter than I expected. Romney will have trouble winning if he can't wrap up NC.
9:03 pm - KS LA MS NE ND SD TX WY to Romney, NY NJ to Obama
9:04 pm - Exit polls from CNN: CO 48-48, MN 50-47 Obama, WI 52-46 Obama
9:09 pm - MICHIGAN (16) TO OBAMA
9:12 pm - With 6.6 million votes counted Romney leads FL by just 1,288!
9:17 pm - Florida down to a 300 vote margin with 78% of the vote in!
9:21 pm - With 45% in Romney leads 51-47%.
9:23 pm - PENNSYLVANIA (20) TO OBAMA
9:26 pm - Obama now just 43 votes away with 120 outstanding.
9:31 pm - WISCONSIN (10) TO OBAMA
9:35 pm - Oops sorry! Should have been MN not WI. Fixed now. Thanks for the heads up!
9:39 pm - Assuming Obama wins NV NH WI & IA, he would be 7 votes away and any remaining state, OH NC VA FL, would give him the win.
9:41 pm - Dangit, I was right the first time. Obama won WI! They have the same number of electoral votes so it doesn't change the total.
9:45 pm - 51% of vote in Obama leads CO 51-47.
9:46 pm - 57% of vote in Romney leads VA 51-47. 78% of vote in Romney leads NC 51-48.
9:51 pm - Romney is leading the popular vote as of now, but at this point in 2000 so was Bush.
9:53 pm - At 10pm poll will close in IA MT NV UT
9:58 pm - Reader question: I don't think Obama pulled out of NC completely, but I think they may have lowered the amount of money they were spending there and I think some polling firms stopped polling there.BREAKING: CNN reporting that Ohio is 75% vowels.
— Bryan Allain (@bryanallain)
10:01 pm - Surprised calls on NH and MN are slow coming. I think CBS has called NH for Obama but that's it.
10:02 pm - Romey wins UT
10:03 pm - Obama leads CNN exit poll in IA 52-46, NV 51-45
10:05 pm - Florida still tight, but mostly Obama friendly counties left.
10:09 pm - NEW HAMPSHIRE (4) TO OBAMA
10:11 pm - Obama just needs 29 votes to win. Florida has 29 votes.
10:13 pm - Obama looks likely to win FL which would end this thing quick.
10:24 pm - Had to take a moment there to refill the drink, get a little snack, and take a bathroom break. Back now!
10:26 pm - Karl Rove on Fox News seems... optimistic.
10:28 pm - Reader comment: Thanks for the kind words, guys!
10:31 pm - Reader comment: Yes, I'd agree with the betting markets that IA NV at least will go to Obama. OH I'm still not sure of though.
10:33 pm - 59% of OH in and Romney closing gap. Obama leads 50-48.
10:34 pm - Reader comment: I agree Romney won't take MN either. And if Obama takes FL then, as you say, "stick a fork in it, cuz she's done"!
10:35 pm - Romney still leads popular vote 51-48% with 39% of vote in.
10:38 pm - Reader question:My 2008 list still has Obama from HI? Dangit, I thought I fixed that! I have it right for 2012!
10:40 pm - Reader question: I don't think we can call FL definitively for Obama, since I don't know anything about provisional or absentee ballots. But it is looking very favorable to him.
10:48 pm - Reader question: If Romney wins the popular vote and Obama the electoral vote, I think pressure will mount to abolish the Electoral College. And yes I do think we'll see a flip on who supports it and who pushes to get rid of it. I think what we saw in 2000 was all politics. Nothing in the ideology of the Republican party should have made them more friendly to the Electoral College and nothing in the Democratic ideology should have made them against it – other than the results of the election. Hopefully if it happens we can weather the backlash again.
10:52 pm - MINNESOTA (10) TO OBAMA (really this time!)
10:54 pm - Obama now leads 251-191 with 96 votes left. He only needs 19 of those to win.
10:55 pm - Polls closing at 11pm: CA, HI, ID, OR, WA
10:59 pm - 90% of vote in in FL Obama leads 50-49% - a 36,000 vote difference.
11:01 pm - ID MT AZ to Romney, CA WA HI to Obama
11:04 pm - NORTH CAROLINA (15) TO ROMNEY
11:06 pm - Obama leads 251-206. He needs 19 votes to win. Romney needs 64. 81 votes remain.
11:11 pm - IOWA (6) TO OBAMA
11:14 pm - NBC and Fox News call the election for Obama.
11:17 pm - OHIO (18) TO OBAMA
11:17 pm - Barack Obama has been re-elected President of the United States
11:22 pm - Shocked this didn't take longer. I was expecting a looong night.
11:24 pm - Before it gets ruined, I want to point out that with only four states remaining the official President Elect projection is still 100% right. That may not last!
11:26 pm - Ohio is tightening, some Republicans saying this is premature.
11:28 pm - If 2000 and 2004 had never occured, I'd say this is wishful thinking. But who knows. The real issue is even if you pull off Ohio, Obama will probably win Florida.
11:32 pm - Reader question: Someone asked about my Florida pick earlier and assuming Obama wins why I got it wrong. I'll need time to look at it but my first impression is it was just so close I could've just flipped a coin!
11:38 pm - I'll need to look it up but it's probably been some time since a president with less support among the electorate compared to his first election was able to win a second term.
11:44 pm - Reader comment: Yes, Obama may win the remaining states, which is why I wanted to get in my comment about being 100% right so far while I still could!
11:47 pm - Obama leads VA 50-49 with 86% in. He leads CO 51-47 with 70% in.How about a hand for Twitter for not crashing throughout this night?
— John Moe (@johnmoe)
11:51 pm - Obama leads in FL 50-49 with 91% in. He leads in NV 54-44& with 63% in.
11:52 pm - Romney leads popular vote 45,547,969 to 45,381,425 with 65%.
11:55 pm - Lots of west coast votes to go though.
11:57 pm - NEVADA (6) TO OBAMA
12:08 am - Sorry, took another quick break. I've got some emails that say some states have been called. Give me a few minutes to look.
12:12 pm - COLORADO (9) TO OBAMA
12:16 pm - Reader question: Someone says the Washington Post is calling Ohio for Romney? Are they calling it or just saying he's leading? CNN had him leading after they called it for him. That just means they thing the remaining votes will go the other way.
12:18 am - This election is soooooo close. So many states at 50-49, with the popular vote looking similar. Hopefully the President will acknowledge that and the fact that he has less support than last time. Would go a long way towards bringing both sides together... maybe.
12:25 am - Expect Romney to announce his concession soon. With the Colorado projection, even if Ohio call is wrong and Florida and Virginia go to him too, Romney would still lose the election 272-266.
12:26 am - Romney back on top of the popular vote. With 73% in he leads 49,028,980 to 49,028,645! A difference of 335 votes!
12:30 am - Even if (when) Obama wins the popular vote he is going to have barely won in a very divided country. Will need to try a lot harder to work with the other side.
12:39 am - I've made fun of them a lot, but I'll admit CNN did a good job tonight. I muted everytime they went to the panel of partisans, but everything else was great.
12:41 am - Surprised we haven't seen a call in FL yet based on what they were saying earlier. Maybe too many provisional type ballots?
12:46 am - MD & ME vote to allow same sex marriage. First time it has EVER won at the ballot box.
12:47 am - Romney to speak in about 10 minutes.
12:51 pm - VIRGINIA (13) TO OBAMA
12:53 am - Networks say Romney has called Obama to concede.
12:55 am - Romney right on time.
12:56 am - Unlike most concession speeches, a very respectful crowd when Romney mentions Obama.
1:00 am - Gotta admit that Romney looks like he came straight out of central casting for a potential president, all politics aside.
1:03 am - Pressure is now on Obama to match Romney in classiness with his victory speech. Will want a touch of humility too based on closeness of vote.
1:05 am - Andeson Cooper doesn't know the Twitter lingo.
1:15 am - I'll be sticking around for some time but I know a lot of you will be going to bed soon. Let me thank you all for hanging out with me tonight. I consider President Elect to be more of a historical/education resource than a political site. And the only reason I do this election year stuff is because I know you, like me appreciate objective, non-partisan analysis. As long as there are a few of us left, I'll keep doing this! Thanks for your support this campaign year.
1:19 am - Obama and Romney continue to flip flop in the popular vote. Romney leads at the moment.
1:24 am - I wish the popular vote total would be known before Obama's speech. If he loses it the tone of his speech would probably be much different.
1:33 pm - Reader question: I menioned earlier that I didn't think there was any doubt Obama would win the popular vote based on what was left out there. However, I thought Obama would have overtaken Romney and stayed ahead of him by this time too. My best guess is Obama will win it, but it will be fairly close.
1:35 am - President is about to appear.
1:36 am - "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" - Odd choice for a walk-out song. I like the song, just weird in this context.
1:39 am - Obama back in the lead in the popular vote.
1:41 am - Took him awhile to mention Romney.Good googly moogly! That's a whole mess o' folks in Chicago.
— erin chapin (@erinkns)
1:42 am - Makes up for it with nice comments.
1:43 am - Funny dog joke. Lots of dog stuff in the election!
1:45 am - Must say when Obama speaks from the prompter it just feels more preachy than real. It's very obvious when he goes off prompter, and much more sincere.
1:54 am - Another Obama issue, his writers don't know when to end a speech. It started a little too flowery, got better and more genuine in the middle, but now is back to being magniloquent (I can do it too!) and is about 5 minutes too long so far.
2:06 am - A little over the top and exuberant considering the economy and the fact that he lost a lot of support, but exactly what his fans want to see from him. Those that didn't vote for him got nothing, however. A sign of how he intends to govern?
2:08 pm - Reader question: Yes, the 2008 page has the wrong electoral vote numbers on the state-by-state section. Thanks for noticing. When I fixed the map (which originally had the same issue) I must have forgotten to change that as well. Thanks for the heads up!
2:15 am - OK guys! Other than maybe an occasional post in the remaining time I'm staying up, this live blog is closing down. Thanks so much for coming. I look forward to seeing you all in 1,462 days for President Elect 2016!
Cut to Obama and Biden silently eating schwarma.
— Scott Kurtz (@pvponline)
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