Elections
When will we know who won New Hampshire? How 2020 primary results will be revealed
New Hampshire’s 2020 primary polls close on Tuesday between 7 or 8 p.m. Eastern Time, depending on the voting location, according to state officials.
Most of the state’s polls closed at 7 p.m., CNN reports.
Sen. Bernie Sanders of neighboring Vermont leads his fellow Democratic candidates in the presidential race in the pre-election average of public polls, followed by former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana. Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts are also polling fairly well in the state, as is former Vice President Joe Biden.
But now the real voting has finally begun.
So what time will a winner in New Hampshire’s Democratic presidential nomination race be clear? And what can history tell us about what time to expect projections in the first-in-the-nation primary?
Here’s what to watch for as election returns are released after the polls close.
When will results start coming in?
There are already results from a handful of small precincts that began voting at midnight — but “more results should begin streaming in shortly after 7 p.m.,” Politico reports, adding that “no news organization will project a winner until after all the polls have closed statewide at 8 p.m.”
The New York Times reports that “the secretary of state has said final results could arrive as early as 9:30 p.m.”
There will also be voting in the Republican primary, but President Trump is expected to win easily, with a FiveThirtyEight analysis of polling showing him leading former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld.
When have past winners been projected?
Sen. Bernie Sanders of neighboring Vermont beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to win New Hampshire’s Democratic primary four years ago — and it wasn’t even close. Sanders won more than 60 percent of the vote compared to Clinton’s 38, according to the New York Times.
During that 2016 primary, the Associated Press projected Sanders as the winner right after 8 p.m. when polls closed.
How can I watch the returns come in online?
Politico, The Washington Post and The New York Times have created dashboards that show live results as they come in.
Will New Hampshire results be messy and delayed like Iowa’s caucuses?
That question was on New Hampshire leaders’ minds during a news conference last Thursday.
“Getting it right is paramount,” Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said of the state’s primary, noting that it’s the first in the nation after Iowa. “We have an incredible track record of being right, reliable and on time — and this year will be no different.”
Other top officials in the Granite State are also hoping to avoid a repeat of the chaos and technology problems that plagued Iowa’s caucuses last week, delaying results for days.
“The 2020 presidential primary will take place against the backdrop of New Hampshire’s long history of conducting elections that are fair, with complete integrity, well run and with a very high level of voter participation,” New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald said at the news conference.
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The secretary of state — whose office will counts the votes in New Hampshire’s election — agreed.
“You can’t hack a pencil,” Secretary of State Bill Gardner said of the process in New Hampshire, which is more closely mirrors a regular election day than the Iowa caucuses, according to the Associated Press. “We’ve kept it simple. I’ve always preached that the more moving parts that you have in the election process, the more room there is for something to not function right.”
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