Nevada polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and here is how and when election results are expected to come in

What happened

Nevada voters go to the polls Tuesday to pick federal, state and other officeholders. The Las Vegas Sun published an Associated Press guide to the election. It covers key facts and the data points the AP Decision Team plans to track as ballots are counted.

Polls close at 7 p.m., but lines still count

Polling places close at 7 p.m. local time, which is 10 p.m. Eastern. State law requires polls to stay open until every voter who was in line by closing time has cast a ballot.

Races the AP will call

Statewide and legislative contests

The AP said it will report results and declare winners for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, controller and state treasurer. It will also call U.S. House races, statewide ballot measures, state Supreme Court races and seats in the state Senate and state Assembly.

Henderson mayor

The race for mayor of Henderson is also on the AP's list of races it will call. Our earlier explainer covers the candidates in the Henderson mayor race.

How results will be reported

Most ballots are cast before Election Day

According to the AP, about 1 million votes were cast in Nevada's 2022 U.S. Senate race. About 80% of those ballots were cast early or by absentee ballot. The AP keeps an advance vote tracker with the latest totals for Nevada. We also looked earlier at the final day of early voting.

Early votes come first

The AP expects every Nevada county to release at least some early in-person or mail results at the start of the night. Nearly every county is expected to post all or almost all in-person early voting results in its first update. About half of the counties are expected to release all or almost all mail results. About half are not expected to include any in-person Election Day results in that first update.

Clark and Washoe counties

In Clark and Washoe counties, the AP said the first update of the night tends to include all early in-person results and part of the mail results. In-person Election Day results are released after that.

How fast it went in 2024

In the 2024 general election, Nevada's first results began arriving at 12:54 a.m. ET on Nov. 6, about three hours after polls closed. The state passed 50% of votes reporting less than 10 minutes later, at 1:02 a.m. ET. It reached 90% at 8:26 p.m. ET later that day.

How winners are declared

No projections

The AP said it does not make projections. It will declare a winner only once it determines there is no scenario in which a trailing candidate could close the gap. Until a race is called, the AP said it will still report developments such as concessions or victory claims. It will make clear that it has not declared a winner and explain why.

Recounts are not automatic

Nevada does not hold automatic recounts. A candidate may request and pay for one no matter how close the margin is. The AP said it may still call a race that is subject to a recount if it determines the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the result.

What to watch next

• Polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and voters in line by then can still cast ballots.
• The first update from Clark and Washoe counties, expected to include all early in-person votes and part of the mail ballots.
• AP calls in races for governor, Henderson mayor and other offices, made only when a trailing candidate has no path to close the gap.
• Whether any candidate requests and pays for a recount, which Nevada does not conduct automatically.