US presidential election: What's voting time, what will happen in case of tie? All you need to know about Nov 8 poll

Polling has begun in the United States on Tuesday night as eight ballots were cast in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire as part of town's tradition of being "first in the nation".

The full-fledged voting will start between 6am and 7am and close between 7pm or 8pm (Local time) - in their respective time zones - on November 8.

In Indian Standard Time (IST), the voting will start at 5:30pm on November 8 (Tuesday).

There are six different time zones across the United States, and there are 13 states operating with split time zones. Click here to know the polling time in all states in US.

Each state (plus Washington DC) is awarded a certain number of electoral college votes based roughly on size and population.

Here are the schedule of voting in all states, and other details:

Tuesday, 10.30am (IST)

At midnight local time (US), eight ballots were cast in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.

Results: Hillary Clinton got four votes, Donald Trump got two votes, two votes went for two other candidates - Libertarian Gary Johnson, and 2012 Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

Tuesday, 4:30pm (IST)

Polling will start in few states on the east coast of the country between 6am and 7am and close between 7pm or 8pm (Local time).

Most voting will take place overnight on Tuesday (Indian Time).

In every state, there will be a projection once the polling is over, which will be based on opinion polls taken throughout the day.

Wednesday, 6am (IST)

Polling will close in North Carolina and Ohio.

Wednesday, 6:30am (IST)

Voting will close in 18 states.

Wednesday, 7:30 (IST)

Polling will close 10 states.

Wednesday, 8:30 (IST)

Polling will close in Nevada, Iowa and three other states.

Wednesday, 9:30 (IST)

Polling will close in states on the west coast, including California.

Wednesday, 11:30 am (IST)

Voting will close in Alaska.

When will the winner be declared?

States in the West Coast will be the last and important region to vote at 9:30 (IST), and the US media waits until 9:30 am on Wednesday to predict the winner.

What is the magical number to reach majority?

270 is the magical number needed for a majority in the electoral college.

What if no result is declared on the election night?

In case of any issue in counting of votes, the candidates have the option to go to the Supreme Court for the final decision.
In 2000 election, George Bush challenged the decision in Supreme Court and won the presidency after a recount in Florida.

What will happen in case of tie?

If both candidates receive 269 electoral college votes, the House of Representatives decides the winner with the top three electoral vote counts.

In this scenario, each state delegation makes the decision. If there is still no winner, the job goes to the vice-president-elect. 

However, it will be up to the Senate to vote on which vice-presidential candidate is named vice-president-elect.

If we still have no winner, the presidency goes to the Speaker of the House. That is Republican Paul Ryan.

When will the winner's name be announced?

The new president and vice-president will take oath at 12pm (Washington DC time) on January 20.