Wire reporting: (AFP, via Dawn)

Polling places opened Tuesday, Nov. 3, across the United States for the 2026 midterm elections, on hours that differ by state and, in some states, by time zone^1,3,6.

CBS News said the earliest openings were in Vermont, as early as 5 a.m. Eastern, followed at 6 a.m. ET by Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Virginia¹. Al Jazeera reported that voting had begun in some parts of the country, including Vermont, New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut and Kentucky in its account of the start of the day³. Dawn, carrying AFP, said polls had opened on the East Coast⁶.

CBS listed later openings by Eastern Time: 6:30 a.m. in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia; 7 a.m. in a band that includes Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania and South Carolina; 8 a.m. in states including Alabama, Texas and Wisconsin; and noon ET in Hawaii¹. Wisconsin Examiner said Wisconsin's legal hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time, which is 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET⁵.

The first closings, CBS said, are at 6 p.m. ET in the eastern parts of Indiana and Kentucky¹. At 7 p.m. ET, CBS listed Georgia, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, the rest of Indiana and Kentucky, and most of Florida¹. North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia follow at 7:30 p.m. ET¹.

CBS grouped a large set of closings at 8 p.m. ET, including Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island¹. Later Eastern-time closings on its list include 9 p.m. for New York and Wisconsin among others, 11 p.m. for California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, midnight ET for Hawaii, and 1 a.m. ET for Alaska, with a note that most of Alaska closes an hour earlier¹.

CBS said voters who are in line when a polling site closes have the right to remain in line and vote¹. Wisconsin Examiner stated the same rule for Wisconsin⁵.

CBS said 47 states and the District of Columbia offered early voting, with Alabama, Mississippi and New Hampshire as the exceptions, and that more than 57 million people had already voted before Election Day¹. Al Jazeera said all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot³. Hours can vary inside states that span time zones; CBS advised checking local election offices¹.