Election Night, As the Polls Close
November 7, 2000

Major Parties' Benchmarks for Success

On Election Day, November 7, the first states to close their polls will be Indiana and Kentucky. Exit polls and raw numbers from those states will be available shortly thereafter. Here is a guide to election night that is grounded in the Center for Voting and Democracy's past reports on congressional elections and presidential elections.

Note that the percentages and House districts listed are not predictions. Rather, they are the benchmarks that will indicate what kind of night it will be for the major parties in their struggle for control of the White House, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House. Given recent polls, the election almost certainly will be very close. If one of the presidential candidates consistently succeeds in meeting the benchmarks provided here, you can predict with some certainty that this candidate will win relatively comfortably. If the results are mixed, settle in with your popcorn -- and perhaps your sleeping bag -- for a long night. For those concerned about control of the U.S. House and Senate, a long night may be necessary regardless, although we will know a great deal by the time of the network projections after the 9 pm poll-closing periods. (Note that all poll-closing times are Eastern Standard Time.)