Other than a few races that have closed in the United States' Western Pacific territories, and one that has just closed in Puerto Rico, we have a long night of elections ahead of us. Here is a brief time table, telling us what we will know and when. All times are given in Eastern Time, which the reader can then convert into their local time.
6 PM, Tuesday: Indiana and Kentucky close their polls. At least some of them: Indiana and Kentucky are divided into two time zones, and the portions in the Eastern Time Zones close. While this gives us some numbers, they will probably not be too much of a guide to the Presidential race, since neither one of these states is considered to be competitive. However, Indiana's senatorial race is considered to be both competitive, and important, so this is what will probably be worth watching here.
7 PM, Tuesday is when we will really get to see some important results. This is when polls close in Virginia and Florida, two states that will be very competitive, and key to the electoral college. Virginia also has a competitive senatorial race. The early returns in Virginia may be indicative, but since it is a large state and the vote may be hard to count, it will probably not be definitive. This is even more true of Florida, which has the added complication that a part of the state's panhandle is in the Central Time Zone, and will not close for another hour.
7:30 PM, Tuesday: Ohio and North Carolina. Ohio is considered to be most important swing state this cycle, so its returns are eagerly awaited by election watches. While North Carolina is less competitive, it is still important in the night's electoral math. Much like the races in Virginia and Florida, Ohio's first numbers will be indicative, but far from definitive.
8 PM, Tuesday: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Missouri, most of Michigan and the rest of Florida. 8 PM is when returns will really start to pick up. Although not all these states are that competitive or important in the electoral college, Maine, Massachusetts and Missouri all have important senatorial races.
9 PM, Tuesday: Colorado and Wisconsin: Colorado is a very competitive state, and Wisconsin has an important senate race. If things aren't settled on the East Coast, it could be Colorado's returns that tip the election.
10 PM, Tuesday: Nevada, Iowa and Montana all close. Nevada and Iowa, although small, and leaning Democratic, are uncertain enough that the election might not be certain until their results come in. Montana will probably vote Republican in the presidential election, but has the night's last competitive senate race. Washington, Oregon and California also close at 10 or 11, but since they are not competitive, there is little interest in them, other than to see whether Washington and Oregon legalize cannabis.
11 PM, Tuesday: Hawaii finishes its vote.
12 AM, Wednesday: Most of Alaska finishes its vote
1 AM, Wednesday: The Aleutian Islands and American Samoa finish their vote, 23 hours after the Mariana Islands finished theirs. It might be time to go to bed.
As a note, the times when polling places close does not mean a tally will be immediately available. It is usually a half hour to two hours before most or all of the vote is in, although it can be much, much longer. You might want to prepare for a long night.