US Election 2008: your print-and-keep guide
An hour-by-hour breakdown of when the states will announce results in the presidential, Senate and House races on November 4
The US spans four time zones and each state can set its own polling hours. As such, election results, or rather exit poll forecasts, come in scattergun. Despite the 2000 Florida debacle, exit polls are highly accurate: you'll get a reliable picture at the top of the hour every hour and occasionally at half past the hour too.
Two disclaimers. First, having learnt their lessons from 2000, most news organisations will only call results they're sure of so if the exit poll is within the margin of error, results will be held back. And second, if turnout is high as seems certain, judges may extend polling hours. This happened in Ohio four years ago; it could happen right across the country this time and it will, of course, delay the result being called.
Depending on which coverage you watch, you may not learn much beyond the presidential result and for most that's all that is wanted. If Obama is going to win, it should be clear fairly early in the night: possibly as soon as midnight.
However, there's lots more going on: there will be a slew of key House, Senate and governorship races that could produce a Democrat majority of a size not seen since Watergate.
So look around - don't be confined to the BBC (or Fox News if you have cable or satellite): news outlets like the US public service broadcaster C-SPAN offer live internet streaming; CNN has an unrivalled election night website and most states provide official real-time election results.
11pm-midnight UK time:
By the time most UK coverage of the elections begins, two early-closing states should have declared: Indiana and Kentucky.
Bush won Indiana by 21 per cent last time: but Obama is in with a chance, partly because the state borders his Illinois stronghold and much of it gets the same TV coverage. If McCain loses states that haven't voted Democrat since 1964, he isn't going to make it to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The likelihood is a narrow Republican hold in Indiana; but a win for McCain by 10 per cent or less would indicate a swing to the Democrats big enough to win the presidency.
Although Bill Clinton managed to win Kentucky in 1992 and 1996 it swung heavily to Bush in 2000 and 2004. If Obama wins here then there is going to be a massive Democrat landslide. But McCain is likely to win comfortably, despite his opposition to Big Tobacco, a Kentucky staple. Obama lost his primary race to Hillary Clinton massively.
The lower-tier race to watch here is for the Senate: Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is in the race of his life. If he loses, the Democrats will almost certainly have a filibuster-proof 60 seats or more in the Senate.
midnight-1am UK time:
Results will be coming in during this period from the eastern seaboard. These states provide an ascending level of difficulty for Obama to crack. Vermont and New Hampshire are his, but then things get harder in this order: Virginia, Florida, Ohio, North Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia and, toughest of all, South Carolina.
If the black vote exceeds the already high expectations, all nine could turn Democrat blue, but it would be truly remarkable if South Carolina, the heart of the Confederacy, were to help elect the first black president. McCain could hold on in Ohio and Obama still win overall. Ohio and Florida could again see disputes over their voting processes.
There are three key Senate races: New Hampshire looks likely to plump for second-time-lucky Democrat Jeanne Shaheen and Virginia will see a landslide win for former Governor Mark Warner. North Carolina could well boot out Republican Libby Dole: polls are close and the Republicans seem to have written her off. But the really exciting race is Georgia. This one was not even on the radar before October but huge black turnout already seen in early voting could remove the divisive Republican Saxby Chambliss from the Senate.
1am-2am UK time:
If it hasn't yet been decided, this hour should determine the election, even though most of the states declaring are safely red or blue.
McCain believes his road to the White House runs through Pennsylvania, which hasn't voted Republican for President since 1988. The other electoral giants of Michigan and Illinois, which should stay Democrat, will be offset by Republican Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Tennessee and Alabama.
Missouri is a toss-up: a deeply polarised state where the huge Democrat majority in St Louis and Kansas City is matched by the strongly Republican hinterland in between; Mississippi and Arkansas may be competitive if black turnout goes through the roof.
2am-3am UK time:
Results from the most strongly Republican part of the US start coming in from 2am; the geographically huge, but population-tiny western prairie and mountain states. But this is now a battleground.
New Mexico was narrowly won by Bush in 2004, but it will probably go for Obama this time. Bush also won North Dakota by almost 30 per cent in 2004; Obama could well pick this one up. Colorado has been leaning to Obama in all polls since September and been trending Democrat long before that.
Even McCain's home state, Arizona, is not completely secure for him: it too has been edging to the Democrats thanks to Hispanic registration and, if they turn out hugely for Obama, McCain will only just squeak it here. Bill Clinton won Arizona in his re-election 12 years ago.
Nebraska will vote heavily for McCain but this state allots some of its electoral college vote by Congressional district. Obama could win Omaha. McCain will easily win Wyoming.
Yet more Senate interest here. Louisiana is the one vulnerable Democrat state made more so by the displacement of so many New Orleans voters. Mary Landrieu is favoured but may not get more than half the vote, in which case there will be a December run-off.
Colorado and New Mexico should be two gains for the Democrats and, if so, both will be won by someone called Udall - Tom and Mark. Minnesota is closely contested: the Democrats' Al Franken, an abrasive liberal comedian, is in a close battle with Republican moderate Senator Norm Coleman. Democrats could gain two of the three remaining Minnesota House seats and two more in Colorado and New Mexico.
3am-4am UK time:
The rest of the inland west will declare between 3am and 4am and will generally be good news for the Republicans: Utah and Idaho are the very safest of McCain states and he should win both with more than 60 per cent.
Iowa will almost certainly choose Obama despite Bush winning here last time round. Nevada too should, really, go for Obama: more than 100,000 new Democrats have been registered here since 2004. Bush won by barely 20,000.
McCain hoped that picking Sarah Palin would lock a state like Montana up: she hasn't quite done that and if it is an Obama landslide, Big Sky will turn Democrat blue.
4am onwards UK time:
Polls in the Pacific west coast states close now. The western seaboard, like much of the eastern one, is trending heavily Democrat and Obama will win Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii. An hour later, Sarah Palin's Alaska will come in as McCain's final state.
Even if Obama hasn't won the states he was expecting in the east, as long as he is less than 73 electoral college votes behind McCain, these states will overturn that deficit.
In the Senate race, another of the Udall clan, this one a Republican. Gordon Smith is likely to go down against a distinctly average Democrat challenger in Oregon. Alaskans look likely to terminate Senator Ted Stevens' 40-year tenure after the 84-year-old Republican's conviction on seven counts of failing to report gifts received. 
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