Tomorrow marks election day, and while millions of ballots have already been cast in Ohio and across the country via early, in-person voting or absentee ballots, millions more will still make the journey to their local polling place to cast their ballots on election day, marking the culmination of one of the most wild, unpredictable elections in memory. While Americans have held elections during economic depressions and war (including a Civil War), never before has a major national election of this magnitude been conducted in the backdrop of a global pandemic.

So, what happens tomorrow and in the days that follow? Here is a breakdown of what will happen over the next few days and weeks as the 2020 election season draws to a close.

In Ohio, polls will be open on Election day from 6:30 a.m. and will close at 7:30 p.m. If you are unsure of where your polling location is, you can visit this website where you can locate where you can vote. It is also worth remembering that as long as you are in line at your polling location by 7:30 p.m., you are entitled to vote. Election officials at your polling location will remain open but will cut-off the line at 7:30, preventing anyone who does arrive after that time to vote. Only those voters who have arrived and are in line at 7:30 p.m. will be able to vote.

Nationally, the opening and closing of polls varies by state. Most states see their polling locations open between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. The map below has the times polls open per state, adjusted for Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Like opening, the time that polls close also varies from state to state. While Ohio provides a 13 hour window to vote (6:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m., most states have a 12 hour window. New York has the longest period of in-person election day voting, with polls opening at 6:00 a.m. and closing at 9:00 p.m. The map below provides closing times for polling locations in each state, again, adjusted to Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Two states, Oregon and Washington, conduct their elections completely via mail-in voting. In Oregon, A voter is able to vote on Election Day at a local municipal clerk's office. All ballots must be received by 8:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) (11:00 p.m. EST). In Washington, ballots must be postmarked no later than Election Day. They can also be returned to a designated ballot drop box or returned in person to the county elections department by 8:00 p.m. PST (11:00 p.m. EST) on Election Day.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented number of voters will have voted before election day. In Ohio, these will be among the first returns that are reported by local boards of election. In other states, mail-in-ballots cannot be counted until after the election. This could cause potentially long delays in the news media’s ability to call the election on election night. If you are planning to stay-up late and watch the returns, do not be surprised if winners are not announced until many days after Election Day because of this requirement.

For the most accurate results, check with the Ohio Secretary of State or your county board of elections, where results are posted on their websites and updated every few minutes.

Ten days after the election – November 13, absentee ballots must be received in Ohio. The requirement by law is that as long as the ballot is post-marked November 2 and received by the county board of elections, it will be counted as part of the official result. In close races, this is part of the reason for delay in contests being decided and winners announced.

21 days after the General Election – November 24 in 2020, boards of elections must complete their official canvas, or count, of the votes in the election. This is the last date that winners will be declared for races in Ohio. This is also when, if a race is too close to call or within 0.5%, that a recount can or will take place.

Races in Ohio will be certified by December 1. 14 days later, on December 14, 18 electors from Ohio, along with the other 520 electors who have been elected in the other 49 states and the District of Columbia, will meet in their respective state capitols to conduct the “official” election for President and Vice President of the United States. Because it requires 270 electoral votes for someone to be elected President and Vice President, the election on November 3 is actually for electors who will cast the official votes for those offices. Those votes will then be tabulated and certified, and sent to Washington, D.C. where Congress will meet in a joint session on January 6, 2021 and count the votes and officially declare who the next President and Vice President of the United States will be.

Only twice in history has someone not won a majority of the votes needed to be elected President. In 1800, both Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr received 73 electoral votes, three more than was needed. But the Constitution at the time stipulated that the candidate with the most votes would become President, and the second-most votes Vice President. Because of the tie, the election was thrown to the House of Representatives, where after 36 ballots, Thomas Jefferson was elected, winning the votes of 10 state delegations to Burr’s 4 (two states abstained).

In 1876, on Election Day it appeared that Samuel J. Tilden won the election, he carried the most popular votes in the contest against Rutherford B. Hayes. However, in the first election in which all of the former Confederate states were once again participating in an election since before the Civil War, the results in three southern states, Florida (4 electoral votes), Louisiana (8 electoral votes) and South Carolina (7 electoral votes) were in dispute (South Carolina recorded voter turn out that year of 101 percent). To resolve the dispute, a special committee was appointed consisting of members of the House, Senate and Supreme Court to determine who won the election. The commission voted along party lines and Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner with 185 electoral votes to Samuel Tilden’s 184.

Some observers are suggesting that the election of 2020 could be just as close and chaotic as these two contests were, and the delay in reporting of the results, particularity in several battleground states could lead to confusion about who won the election. While we are used to having races called on election night, this year will likely be very different, and it could be Thanksgiving before we know with certainty who won races up and down the ballot. The important thing is to be patient and know that whatever happens, and whoever wins, life will go on.