What Time Does the New Hampshire Primary End? When Do We Know Who Won?

New Hampshire primary polling locations have been open since 6 a.m. Eastern in some locations today. Just when will we find out who won the Democratic Primary in New Hampshire? Here’s the best estimate that we have so far.

We Could Start Hearing Some Results as Early as 8 PM Eastern

Unlike a caucus, the New Hampshire primary works like any other election, where people vote at their polling locations during a specified time period. Polls open at different times, depending on the location. Some don’t open until 11 a.m. Eastern, but others open as early as 6 a.m. Most close at 7 p.m. with 13 cities staying open until 8 p.m. Eastern.

Gov. Chris Sununu guaranteed that primary results will be available on Tuesday night on time, Boston Herald reported. Results are typically known within an hour of the polls closing, which means we could know the results as early as 8 p.m. Eastern in some locations, with other locations reporting in by 9 p.m. Eastern. We’ll likely have a general idea of who won as early as 10 p.m. Eastern or sooner, depending on how things proceed.

However, the official results won’t be shared until Wednesday. Results will be known fairly quickly once they’re announced by moderators at each polling location. But Secretary of State Bill Gardner’s office won’t announce the official results until Wednesday, February 12, after his office receives them and tabulates them, Union Leader noted.

More Details About the Primary

In New Hampshire, 24 pledged delegates are at stake. The state has a total of 33 delegates. The 24 delegates are pledged based on the voting results in the primary, as long as a candidate gets at least 15 percent of the vote.

Sixteen district delegates are pledged proportionally based on primary results in the congressional districts, The Green Papers explains, and then eight are pledged based on the primary vote statewide (five at-large National Convention delegates and three pledged PLEOs.) On top of that, there are nine unpledged PLEOs (these are essentially superdelegates, but they don’t vote in the Democratic National Convention until the second ballot.) These unpledged delegates include five DNC members and four members of Congress (two Representatives and two Senators.)

Candidates are only viable (and can only be allocated delegates) if they earn more than 15 percent of the vote. Delegates will be awarded proportionally. This is not a winner-takes-all state.

The candidates on the New Hampshire ballot for the Democratic primary will include a number who have already dropped out. According to The Green Papers, the list on the ballot includes:

• Michael Bennet
• Joe Biden
• Cory A. Booker
• Mosemarie Dora “Mosie” Boyd
• Steve Bullock
• Steve Burke
• Pete Buttigieg
• Julián Castro
• Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente, III
• John Kevin Delaney
• Jason Evritte Dunlap
• Michael A. Ellinger
• Tulsi Gabbard
• Ben “Gleib” Gleiberman
• Mark Stewart Greenstein
• Kamala Harris
• Henry Hewes
• Amy Klobuchar
• Tom Koos
• Lorenz Kraus
• Rita Krichevsky
• Raymond Michael Moroz
• Deval Patrick
• Bernie Sanders
• Joseph A. “Joe” Sestak, Jr.
• Sam Sloan
• Tom Steyer
• David John Thistle
• Thomas James Torgesen
• Elizabeth Warren
• Robert Carr “Robby” Wells, Jr.
• Marianne Williamson
• Andrew Yang

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