#Election2020 #Joe Biden #DonaldTrump #November3rd #2020 #MikePence #KamalaHarris

Election night 2020 is unlike any American has seen before - with the presidency in the balance, and a record number of votes being counted in the teeth of the COVID pandemic.

Once polls close, the potential for chaos and crisis only begins. Here is DailyMail.com's hour by hour guide to what to look out for as the U.S. passes its verdict on whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden should be in the White House, and who controls the Senate.

All times are EST.

First polls close in parts of Indiana and Kentucky.

7PM

All polls close in Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia. The remainder of Indiana and Kentucky's polls close. Florida polls except those in the Panhandle, which is in Central Time, close.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

EXIT POLLS: The first exit polls could come within minutes - but in a pandemic year, it is unclear how accurate they will be, with at least 93 million having voted early or by mail-in ballot. A huge turnout in Georgia could mean lines still outside polling places - a problem which has bedeviled it in recent elections.

7.30PM

All polls close in North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

NORTH CAROLINA - TRUMP WON IN 2016

First results will come within minutes - but they might be very small percentages of the total vote. North Carolina expects to have about 80 per cent of its votes counted on election night, starting with in-person early voting totals and mail-in ballots received by November 2. In the hours following polls closing, the state will report the in-person election day votes. The state does allow mail-in ballots to come in until November 12, so if it's close, it may take several days to announce a final result.

Polls in North Carolina have flipped repeatedly between Trump and Biden. Trump won the state in 2016. An Emerson poll that ended surveying on October 30 shows the candidates tied. The Real Clear Politics polling average has Trump a tiny .5 per cent ahead. The Senate race is equally close fought, with Republican Thom Tillis hoping to hang on but Democrat Cal Cunningham up 2.2% in recent averages despite admitting to sexting a woman who was not his wife.