These states could decide the US presidential election

According to Reuters, the US presidential election will be decided by about a dozen states that could swing to either President Donald Trump, a Republican, or Democratic challenger Joe Biden. These states will play a critical role in delivering the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. Due to a surge in mail voting amid the coronavirus pandemic — as well as the states' varying rules for when ballots can be counted — the results may not be known on Tuesday's Election Day.

Florida | With 29 electoral votes, polls have closed, except in several counties in northwestern Florida that close at 7 pm CST. Florida has no-excuse absentee voting. Election officials can begin scanning ballots more than three weeks before Election Day, but results cannot be generated until after polls are closed. All ballots must be received by the close of polls on Election Day to be counted. Ballots flagged for signature errors can be corrected, however, until 5 pm on Thursday. Credit: AFP Photo

Georgia | With 16 electoral votes, polls have closed, except for Spalding County, where all precincts remain open until 9 pm EST, and several other counties where individual polling location hours have been extended up to 7:45 pm EST. Judges ordered the extensions after polling places in the counties opened late on Tuesday morning. Ballots can be opened and scanned on receipt, but they cannot be tallied until after the polls close on Tuesday. Credit: AFP Photo

North Carolina | With 15 electoral votes, polls close 7:30 pm EST, except in 10 precincts where the state board of elections extended voting until as late as 8:15 pm EST after the polling sites experienced interruptions in voting. North Carolina has no-excuse absentee voting. Absentee ballots can be scanned weeks in advance, but results cannot be tallied before Election Day. The state will not begin posting results until all polling places are closed statewide. Credit: AFP Photo

New Hampshire | With 4 electoral votes, polls close between 7 and 8 pm EST, depending on the jurisdiction. New Hampshire state officials have said all voters are able to cast an absentee ballot if they have concerns about Covid-19, and the ballots must be received by 5 pm on Election Day. Ballots could be pre-processed in some jurisdictions beginning on October 29, but not counted until the polls have closed on Tuesday. Credit: AFP Photo

Ohio | With 18 electoral votes, polls close 7:30 pm EST. Ohio has no-excuse absentee voting. Ballots could be scanned, but not tallied, as early as October 6. Absentee ballots are the first to be counted on election night. Mail ballots had to be postmarked by Monday and received by 10 days after Tuesday's election to be counted. Credit: Reuters Photo

Michigan | With 16 electoral votes, polls close 8 pm EST. Michigan has no-excuse absentee voting. Ballots must arrive at clerks' offices by the close of polls on Election Day. Some densely populated jurisdictions in the state, such as Detroit, began sorting absentee ballots on Monday, but the vast majority did not. Clerks can begin scanning and counting absentee ballots at 7 am on Tuesday. Credit: AFP Photo

Pennsylvania | With 20 electoral votes, polls close 8 pm EST. Pennsylvania has no-excuse absentee voting, and ballot counting can begin at 7 am on Election Day. Last Wednesday, the US Supreme Court let stand a ruling by Pennsylvania’s top court that officials in the state can accept mail-in ballots three days after Tuesday's election, so long as they were postmarked by Election Day. Credit: AFP Photo

Texas | With 38 electoral votes, polls close 8 pm EST. Voters must qualify to vote by mail. All voters can vote early in person. The population of a county determines when election officials can pre-process and count mail ballots. If the county has more than 100,000 people, the ballots may be counted after polls close on the last day of in-person early voting in the state, which was Oct 30. For military and overseas voters, that deadline is extended through the end of business on Nov 9. Credit: AFP Photo

Wisconsin | With 10 electoral votes, polls close 9 pm EST. Wisconsin has no-excuse absentee voting. The state's election officials cannot count mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, the US Supreme Court ruled on October 26. Ballots cannot be counted until polls open on Tuesday. Credit: Reuters Photo

Minnesota | With 10 Electoral votes, polls close 9 pm EST. Minnesota has no-excuse absentee voting, and ballots must be pre-processed within five days of receipt. Beginning on October 20, ballots could be opened and logged, but the results are only tabulated after polls close on Election Day. A federal appeals court ruled last week that the state's plan to count absentee ballots received after Election Day was illegal. Credit: Reuters Photo

Arizona | With 11 electoral votes, polls close 9 pm EST. Arizona has no-excuse absentee voting. All ballots must arrive by the close of polls on Election Day. Ballots could be scanned and tabulated starting 14 days before Tuesday but results not reported until after polls close on Election Day. Credit: AFP Photo

Nevada | With 6 electoral votes, polls close 10 pm EST. Nevada has no-excuse absentee voting, and ballots can be processed upon receipt. Nevada officials could begin scanning and recording ballots 14 days before the election, but results are not released until election night. Ballots postmarked by Tuesday will be counted so long as they arrive within seven days after the election. Credit: AFP Photo

Iowa | With 6 electoral votes, polls close 10 pm EST. Iowa has no-excuse absentee voting. The ballots must be received by the close of polls on Election Day, or by noon the following Monday if they were postmarked by November 2. Election officials were allowed to begin opening ballot envelopes on the Saturday before the election and begin scanning and tabulating them on Monday. Credit: AFP Photo