How To Watch Tonight’s Election Coverage Online & On TV

Patrick Hipes and Erik Pedersen
·9 min read

This is it, America – Election Day 2020. With President Donald Trump, his Democratic challenger Joe Biden and so many others declaring this “the most important election of our lifetimes,” it’s time for the final votes to be cast and tallied. Deadline will provide live coverage all day – and, likely, night – long, and here is a rundown of how to watch as the historic day unfolds.

You can keep abreast of called states with the Electoral Map on our homepage, and watch our poll closing times to get a sense of where things stand at any given moment. There promises to be no shortage of drama, along with the potential for a 2016-esque GOP surprise or a 2018-like blue wave. But prognosticators gonna prognosticate, while Americans await their new president.

If you haven’t voted yet, please do. Then follow all the action of the strangest election in the strangest year.

Election Night Preview: How The Networks Plan To Cover The Finale To A Campaign Of Chaos And Confusion

Here’s how to do it, starting with the times the polls close in all 50 states, from battlegrounds to locks, so you can plan your news cycles and bathroom breaks:

7 PM ET/4 PM PT

Georgia
Indiana
Kentucky
South Carolina
Vermont
Virginia

7:30 PM ET/4:30 PM PT

North Carolina
Ohio
West Virginia

8 PM ET/5 PM PT

Alabama
Connecticut
Delaware
Washington D.C.
Florida
Illinois
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Mississippi
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Tennessee

8:30 PM ET/5:30 PM PT

Arkansas

9 PM ET/6 PM PT

Arizona
Colorado
Kansas
Louisiana
Michigan
Minnesota
Nebraska
New Mexico
New York
North Dakota
South Dakota
Texas
Wisconsin
Wyoming

10 PM ET/7 PM PT

Iowa
Montana
Nevada
Utah

11 PM ET/8 PM PT

California
Idaho
Oregon
Washington

MIDNIGHT ET/9 PM PT

Hawaii

1 AM ET (WED)/10 PM PT (TUE)

Alaska

Election Day 2020: Deadline’s Complete Coverage

Here are the networks’ coverage plans for the long day:

ABC

ABC News’ broadcast coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with chief anchor George Stephanopoulos toplining from New York City joined by World News Tonight anchor David Muir, ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis and its political team. ABC News Live will begin coverage at 7 a.m. ET on the network’s streaming news channel as polls open; after teaming in primetime with ABC News, it will continue streaming breaking news and results overnight. Anchor Diane Macedo and correspondent Kyra Philips will lead the live daytime and afternoon coverage, respectively. More coverage on ABCNews.com, the ABC News mobile app and Apple News. ABC News Radio will offer live anchored coverage on election night beginning at 7 ET with correspondents Aaron Katersky and Karen Travers. ABC NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News, will provide coverage to its more than 200 ABC affiliates and international partners.

BLOOMBERG

Bloomberg TV and Radio will kick off live coverage at 7 p.m. ET tonight with David Westin anchoring coverage, joined by contributors Rick Davis and Jeanne Zaino. Alix Steel will focus on how the results could change Wall Street. Bloomberg Chief Washington Correspondent Kevin Cirilli, with the outet’s reporters and analysts, will look at important races and follow any delays with the vote count. Bloomberg TV’s coverage will also stream on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. At Bloomberg.com, an election live blog begins at 6 p.m. ET, while Bloomberg QuickTake will bring viewers the latest on election night across its social platforms, including top of the hour updates with QT reporter Madison Mills.

CBS

CBS News will deliver election coverage across the broadcast network, streaming news service CBSN, CBSNews.com and CBS News Radio. CBS Evening News anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell will lead the network’s primetime coverage from ViacomCBS’ Times Square HQ in NYC (a first) beginning at 7 PM ET with CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King, Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan, 60 Minutes‘ John Dickerson and political correspondent Ed O’Keefe. CBSN (with anchors Anne Marie Green, Vlad Duthiers, Tanya Rivero and later Elaine Quijano) and CBS This Morning both launch the day at 7 AM ET. CBS News Digital’s multiplatform coverage will include CBSN’s 12 national and local live streams. CBS Newspath, CBS News’ newsgathering organization will provide news and information to 200-plus affiliates nationwide, and CBS News Radio will begin coverage starting at 7 p.m. ET.

CNN

CNN’s Election Night in America coverage begins at 4 p.m. ET anchored by Dana Bash, Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Abby Phillip and Jake Tapper and will air live from Washington; Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon will lead the network’s late-night coverage. Joining them is chief national correspondent John King, who will report live from the CNN Magic Wall. Other voices include CNN political director David Chalian, senior White House correspondent Pamela Brown and senior political analyst Mark Preston, and analysts Gloria Borger, Van Jones, David Axelrod and Rick Santorum. The coverage will be livestreamed on CNN.com and its mobile apps without the required authentication from 9 a.m. ET Tuesday to 4 p.m. ET Wednesday. It can also be viewed on CNNgo. CNN International (to its 373 million households worldwide) and CNN en Español will also have full coverage.

C-SPAN

C-SPAN coverage hosted by Greta Brawner and Peter Slen will begin at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday and run through to 7 a.m. ET on Wednesday with a mix of speeches from winners and losers in both the presidential and Senate races. The network will also take viewer calls and reaction throughout the night, and Jessica Taylor of the Cook Political Report will join during the early part of the evening discuss the Senate. Bill Scanlan will host from 3-7 a.m. ET Wednesday, after which coverage will continue with the call-in show Washington Journal at 7.

FOX NEWS/FOX BUSINESS

Fox News Channel’s chief political anchor and Special Report’s Bret Baier and The Story‘s Martha MacCallum will co-anchor FOX News Democracy 2020 beginning at 6 p.m. ET from New York with a team that includes Chris Wallace, Brit Hume, Dana Perino, Juan Williams as well as contributors Donna Brazile, Karl Rove and Katie Pavlich. Anchor Bill Hemmer will break down the results on the electronic “Bill-board,” while anchor Shannon Bream will be reporting on the data from the Fox News Voter Analysis system. Bream and Jon Scott will front overnight coverage beginning at 2 a.m. ET Wednesday. Fox & Friends takes over with an early edition (5 a.m. ET) on Wednesday. Sandra Smith and Trace Gallagher will co-anchor coverage for affiliates on Fox Broadcasting beginning live at 7 p.m. ET. FoxNews.com and the Fox News Mobile App will feature news, results and information, and Fox News Radio will feature special coverage live on the FOX News Mobile App and FNR-affiliated stations starting at 6 p.m. ET.

On Fox Business Network, coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with Fox Business Network Presents Democracy 2020: Election Night helmed by anchor and managing editor of business news Neil Cavuto and featuring Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs, Charles Payne, Gerry Baker, Elizabeth MacDonald & Lisa “Kennedy” Montgomery along with senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino, contributor Robert Wolf and correspondent Jackie DeAngelis. Overnight coverage will be anchored by David Asman.

NBC/MSNBC

NBC News’ Decision 2020 coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, Today’s co-anchor and NBC News chief legal correspondent Savannah Guthrie, Meet the Press moderator and NBC News political director Chuck Todd and NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent and senior Washington correspondent Andrea Mitchell leading coverage from New York. Kate Snow will join beginning at 2 a.m. ET. NBCNews.com will stream live coverage. NBC News’ Decision 2020 election hub (NBCNews.com/Decision2020) will have the latest news, analysis, polls and results. NBCNews.com will stream live coverage, and be available on the NBC News mobile app and the NBC News apps on connected TVs. Coverage is also available at NBCLX, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations’ new TV and streaming network that serves adults 18-45.

On MSNBC, its special election coverage begins at 6 p.m. ET with Rachel Maddow, Brian Williams, Nicolle Wallace and Joy Reid anchoring throughout the night. NBC News National political correspondent Steve Kornacki will be at the Big Board. Chris Hayes, Lawrence O’Donnell and Ari Melber will also contribute, and Katy Tur and Ayman Mohyeldin will come on later in the night.

PBS

PBS NewsHour will present live special coverage starting at 6 p.m. ET on PBS stations nationwide. NewsHour‘s regular broadcast and the NewsHour West update will both be pre-empted by the special, which will be anchored by Judy Woodruff from Arlington, VA. PBS NewsHour senior national correspondent Amna Nawaz, Capitol Hill correspondent Lisa Desjardins and The Cook Political Report national editor Amy Walter will join her in the studio. Other contributors include White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, John Yang, Stephanie Sy, William Brangham, Nick Schifrin, Dan Bush, Jeff Greenfield, Robert Costa, Mark Shields and David Brooks among others. Coverage is also available at PBS.org/newshour, PBS.org and on the PBS Video App.

TELEMUNDO

Noticias Telemundo’s live coverage from Miami on the network and livestreamed on NoticiasTelemundo.com and Noticias Telemundo’s new mobile app. Primetime coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with anchors José Díaz-Balart, Felicidad Aveleyra, Julio Vaqueiro, Vanessa Hauc and Paulina Sodi. It is also working with sister network NBC News on the NBC News Decision Desk team. Telemundo owned stations will deliver live coverage of local races and results.

UNIVISION

Univision News’ Destino 2020 Presenta: La Gran Noche kicks off at 7 p.m. ET on Univision and streamed live on all its digital platforms, with a special focus on the coverage of Latino elected officials and the Latino vote in a special segment titled “El Poder Latino” (Latino Power). Univision News anchors Ilia Calderón and Jorge Ramos will host the special programming and be joined by correspondents and analysts nationwide. The coverage will also be available on Univision Noticias’ YouTube page.

DIGITAL

Newsy’s watching platforms began streaming Monday with Newsy Reports, and kicks of a special edition of Newsy Tonight at 7 p.m. ET hosted by Chance Seales, followed at 9 by Alex Livingston of Morning Rush. Availble on Roku, Fire TV, Vizio, Apple TV, Pluto, Samsung, and Newsy.com. … TuneIn‘s “The 2020 Election” channel features live coverage with sub-channels dedicated to Republican, Democratic, and third-party news via national news networks and local stations. Available for free on TuneIn’s mobile app and website, and commercial-free with TuneIn Premium.

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