US Election 2024: What to expect on 5 November

• Voting is already underway in US election 2024

• Find out when polls close and when we could get a winner

• Follow our 2024 US Election live blog

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The presidential debate on 10 September between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump was pivotal in the election winner market on the Betfair Exchange as the former overtook the latter to become favourite to win the White House. But the outcome of the election is still uncertain and the race is going to be tight all the way to the big day.

There will be a lot happening on 5 November - election day in America - and there may be twists and turns. One minute, it might look like victory is in the bag for Harris and the next it could seem like the US is heading for a second Trump presidency.

Then there will probably be periods when it is simply too close to call.

Recent elections have shown that it is wise to keep calm and watch the Betfair Exchange markets as results come in. Of course, that is easier said than done when there is so much at stake, so here's a short guide to how the day could unfold.

When will voting start in the US election?

It's already under way. By 5 November, millions of people will have already voted in the 2024 US presidential election.

They may have voted by absentee ballot in the mail, cast a ballot in person during their jurisdiction's early voting period, or returned a ballot to a secure drop-box.

Most states offer early voting. Getting your vote in early or as an absentee means voters can avoid contending with bad weather, long queues at polling stations or unexpected conflicts on election day. Voting early is the best way to make sure your vote counts.

The first in-person votes were cast in the US presidential race between Trump and Harris on 20 September - six weeks before election day.

Virginia became the first state in the US to allow in-person voting. Early polling sites will remain open there until 2 November. On 20 September, some long queues were seen in Virginia, as voters cast ballots on national, state and local levels.

When will voting finish in the US election?

Election day in the US comes once every four years and is set by the goverment as "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November".

Voting ends at different times depending on which state you are in. New Yorkers can vote until 9pm while Indianans and Kentucky folk need to get their votes in by 6pm. In most states, voting finishes between 7 and 8pm local time.

Congressional districts within states even have different voting times. This sounds complicated to voters in Britain where polling stations everywhere are open from 7am until 10pm . Then again, America is about 40 times bigger than the UK.

For people in the UK watching US election day unfold, and who are eager to find out which candidate is winning, it is worth tuning in to coverage from around 10pm to midnight UK time to start getting an idea of the mood on the ground in the swing states and to see reports coming in about what results we might expect.

When will we know the winner of the US election?

This is the big question. If the last election is anything to go by, Trump will drag out proceedings if it looks like he is losing. Then again, if Trump looks to be ahead by a small margin, the Harris campaign could call for recounts.

Regardless, the US election is always a late night for politicos in the UK. Even in 2008, when it was obvious fairly early on election night that Barack Obama had won, we were up late, although that was in part because we knew we were witnessing an historic moment.

It is rarely wise not to see the night through though. Remember 2016? Some of us went to bed thinking America had elected its first woman president, only to wake to the news that Trump was heading for the White House.

Four years ago, it was just hours after voting ended and votes were still being counted, when Trump began making baseless claims that the election had been stolen from him. This carried on for days, with the likes of Rudolph Giuliani (type "Four Seasons Total Landscaping" into Google) and other Trump supporters making increasingly outlandish accusations in bizarre circumstances.

It was four days before Joe Biden could be declared the winner which has lead some commentators to ask whether Trump will accept defeat in 2024 if Harris beats him.

Now read Betfair US election live blog for the latest betting news