SKYWALLWhat's on the ballot
Every seat in the House of Representatives is up for election, along with a third of the Senate and most governorships:
- 435 House seats: the whole House.
- 35 Senate seats: 33 regular races plus two specials, in Florida (the rest of Marco Rubio's term) and Ohio (the rest of JD Vance's term).
- 36 governorships, 18 held by each party.
Results come in state by state as polls close, so election night runs from the early evening on the East Coast until after midnight.
When the polls close (Eastern Time)
Daylight saving time ends on November 1, so on election night Eastern Time is UTC−5. Times are when the last polls close in each state or part of a state; your own polling place may close earlier.
| ET | Polls close in |
|---|---|
| 6:00 p.m. | The Eastern-time parts of Indiana and Kentucky |
| 7:00 p.m. | Florida (Eastern), Georgia, Indiana and Kentucky (Central), South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia |
| 7:30 p.m. | North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia |
| 8:00 p.m. | Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida (Central), Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan (Eastern), Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., and the Central-time parts of Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Texas |
| 8:30 p.m. | Arkansas |
| 9:00 p.m. | Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Michigan (Central), Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the Mountain-time parts of Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Texas |
| 10:00 p.m. | Montana, Nevada, Utah, and the Mountain-time parts of Idaho and Oregon |
| 11:00 p.m. | California, Washington, and the Pacific-time parts of Idaho and Oregon |
| 12:00 a.m. | Alaska, Hawaii |
| 1:00 a.m. (Nov 4) | Alaska's Aleutian Islands |
Which networks stream it free on YouTube
These networks stream on their own YouTube channels, so anyone can watch without a TV subscription:
- NBC News NOW, NBC's free streaming news channel, plus the “Kornacki Cam” from 5:30 p.m. ET, which NBC says will stream on YouTube among other places.
- ABC News Live, ABC's 24/7 streaming channel.
- CBS News 24/7, CBS's streaming news channel, which carries CBS's coverage on YouTube.
- LiveNOW from FOX, Fox's free live channel on YouTube.
- PBS NewsHour and C-SPAN, which streamed election night on YouTube in 2024.
- For a view from outside the US: Sky News and Al Jazeera English, both live on YouTube around the clock.
Each broadcaster decides when its stream goes live, and some only start their special coverage in the evening, so check a stream a few minutes before the first polls close.
Watch several networks side by side
With Skywall (iPhone, iPad, Mac): the election-night wall puts the networks side by side, and you choose which one you hear.
- Open Skywall and tap Walls.
- Under Ready-made, pick US midterm election night 2026. It arrives on its own before the night, with no app update.
- Tap a screen to hear that network; the others keep playing in silence.
- Something big happening? Double tap a screen to fill the wall with it, and double tap again to go back.
- To watch on a TV, connect your iPhone or iPad with a cable or use Screen Mirroring to an Apple TV, then tap Use the TV.
You can also replace any screen with another channel, or watch the wall's channels one at a time on this site.
In browser windows on a Mac: open each network's live stream in its own window and arrange them. Every window plays its own sound, so mute all but one. YouTube recommends about 5 Mbps per 1080p stream, so nine streams at 720p need around 22 Mbps.
With a TV subscription (US only): YouTube TV's multiview shows up to four streams, including CNN and Fox News, on smart TVs, streaming devices, iPhone and iPad, but not in a web browser or over AirPlay. Peacock offers an NBC News multiview with the Kornacki Cam and a results board.
Tips for the night
- Set up your wall before 6 p.m. ET and check which streams are already live.
- Keep one network with sound and glance at the rest; switch the sound with a tap when another network calls a race.
- Leaving the TV on all night? Skywall's burn-in protection gently shifts the picture and dims the frames, and it can show a clock.
- Outside the US? The times above are Eastern; the event page shows them in your own time zone.
Questions
When is US election night 2026?
Tuesday, November 3, 2026. The first polls close at 6 p.m. ET, in parts of Indiana and Kentucky, and the last at 1 a.m. ET on November 4, in Alaska's Aleutian Islands.
Can I watch the midterm results for free?
Yes. NBC News NOW, ABC News Live, CBS News 24/7 and LiveNOW from FOX stream for free on YouTube. CNN, Fox News and MS NOW need a TV subscription or their own streaming services.
Is CNN's election coverage on YouTube?
CNN's live stream on YouTube is CNN Headlines, not the CNN channel. In 2024, CNN streamed election night free on CNN.com and its apps rather than on YouTube.
Can I watch several networks on one TV?
Yes. Skywall puts up to nine channels on a TV through a cable or Screen Mirroring to an Apple TV, with your iPhone or iPad as the remote. YouTube TV's multiview shows four on TV devices in the US, with a subscription.
Related
Sources
- 270toWin: 2026 poll closing times
- Ballotpedia News: governor and Senate elections in 26 states (2026-03-09)
- 270toWin: 2026 Senate election
- NBC News: Decision '26 coverage (2026-10-22)
- CableTV.com: how to watch the 2026 midterm elections
- YouTube Blog: the 2024 US elections on YouTube
- TV Tech: CNN to stream election night coverage for free (2024)
- YouTube TV Help: multiview
- YouTube Help: recommended internet speeds