US midterm poll closing times today, state by state

The US midterm elections are continuing with relatively little drama. Talk of false flags and martial law on election day has not become reality, and disruptions at polling places have been limited, and certainly have not been widespread.

Poll closings across the country are scheduled as follows. States that cross two time zones finish voting in phases, so early calls in Indiana and Kentucky will capture only part of the vote until the rest of each state finishes an hour later.

• 6:00 pm — eastern portions of Indiana and Kentucky
• 7:00 pm — Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, New Hampshire and most of Florida
• 7:30 pm — North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia
• 8:00 pm — DC and 21 states
• 9:00 pm — Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota, New York, Wisconsin and more
• 10:00 pm — Nevada, Montana and Utah
• 11:00 pm — California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho
• 12:00 am — Hawaii and Alaska

The first reading on the night will come from the early East Coast closings. For markets, the key issue is control of the House and Senate and what it implies for the fiscal outlook. Many House contests along the West Coast will take days to resolve, and California is especially slow to count votes. Should the House margin be narrow, do not look for a clear outcome before Europe's trading session.

Prediction markets put the Democrats' odds of controlling the Senate at 73% and of controlling the House at 93%. Those odds have moved only slightly today as figures on registered voting patterns come in.

Wall Street has trimmed its earlier advance, leaving the S&P 500 higher by 24 points, or 0.3%.