Photo: Matt H. Wade / CC BY 3.0 (Albany archive)
New York voters have until 9pm Eastern Standard Time to cast ballots Tuesday, while Florida polling places close at 7pm local time. With voting still underway this afternoon, the clearest guide to the races readers are watching is the official timetable and the pre-election landscape, not a declared winner.
Republican Rep. Mike Lawler’s New York 17th Congressional District race, the New York governor’s contest and Florida’s open governor’s race all remain to be decided by voters. The ratings below are named forecasters’ assessments issued before Election Day. They are not exit polls, vote counts or results.
Lawler’s district: a pre-election toss-up
The Cook report, in its House ratings dated November 2, placed NY-17 in the Republican-held Toss Up category. Cook defines toss-ups as the most competitive races, where either party has a good chance of winning. That describes the forecaster’s view of competitiveness, not evidence that either candidate is ahead in Tuesday’s ballots.
Lawler is facing Democrat Cait Conley. Decision Desk HQ’s race page lists both candidates and a 9pm EST poll close. Its unfilled daytime results display should not be read as an election-night count.
New York governor: polls close at 9pm
The state board says polls are open statewide from 6am to 9pm on November 3. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republican Bruce Blakeman are the major-party contenders, as listed by NBC News.
Cook’s October 29 governor ratings classified New York as Solid Democratic. That is a pre-election rating, not a projection based on votes cast today. Poll closing marks the end of scheduled voting, not a guarantee that a winner can immediately be called.
Florida governor: watch the two time zones
Florida’s candidate list identifies Byron Donalds as the Republican nominee and David Jolly as the Democratic nominee for governor, alongside minor-party and nonparty candidates. Cook’s October 29 ratings classified the open seat as Lean Republican, meaning the race is competitive but the forecaster sees an advantage for that party.
Florida polls close at 7pm local time, the state says. Voters waiting in line at 7pm can still cast a ballot. Because the state spans Eastern and Central time zones, the final scheduled poll closing is 8pm EST.
In its election-readiness guidance, the Florida department said preliminary unofficial results would not be posted to the statewide Election Watch site before 8pm EST. County canvassing boards must begin reporting within half an hour after their local polls close and continue at 45-minute intervals until reporting is complete.
Readers can use those deadlines to plan their evening without confusing forecasts with outcomes. Early unofficial returns, later race calls and final certification are separate stages. This guide reports no winner in any of these three contests.
JBizNews Desk | New York
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