Hour by hour: A guide to keeping track of the election results tonight

WASHINGTON -- Election watchers won't have to wait for polls to close in the West to know how things are going. The first clues will come early, when voting ends in Georgia, Indiana and Virginia.

If Democrat Barack Obama wins any of the three, he could be on his way to a big victory. If Republican John McCain sweeps them, he could be headed for a comeback. And if any of these three are too close to call quickly, that could indicate a long night ahead -- and, perhaps, a squeaker of a result.

Here's a timetable for armchair election watchers, all given in Central Standard Time:

• 6 p.m.: The last polls close in Georgia, Indiana and Virginia, new battlegrounds this year offering a combined 39 votes, as well as in Kentucky and South Carolina, GOP country and 16 votes McCain should easily win, and Vermont, three, a sure thing for Obama.
• 6:30 p.m.: Ohio and North Carolina, both are critical for McCain. A loss in Ohio would be difficult for McCain to weather. He has few options to make up the 20 electoral votes elsewhere, while Obama probably could sustain a defeat here. North Carolina, with 15 votes, is another GOP state Obama targeted for a pickup.
• 7 p.m.: Final voting ends in 15 states and Washington, D.C. For Obama, the biggest prizes among them are Florida and its 27 votes and 11-vote Missouri. Obama can afford to lose both, but McCain can't. Should the Republican stumble in those states or others, he hopes to make up any deficit in Pennsylvania, which offers 21 votes and hasn't voted for a Republican since 1988.
• 7:30 p.m.: Arkansas should be called for McCain shortly after its polls close. It has six votes.
• 8 p.m.: Another big wave of states closing. The ones to watch are Colorado and New Mexico, where Obama hopes Democratic-leaning Hispanics will lift him to victory. McCain could withstand losing the 14 votes these two offer -- as long as he wins just about everywhere else he's competing.
• 9 p.m.: Voting ends in Iowa, Montana and Nevada, a combined 15 votes. Losing these would be a setback for McCain, while winning them would be a boon for Obama.
• 10 p.m.: Four states -- California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington -- are expected to quickly give Obama a combined 77 votes, while Idaho is expected to award its four votes to McCain.
• 12 a.m.: Capping off the night is Alaska, where GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is governor. The Republican ticket is a shoo-in for those three votes.