As voting comes to a close throughout the country, exit polling results will quickly follow.
Exit polls are conducted for the National Election Pool, made up of the Associated Press and the major TV networks. But how useful are the earliest numbers as indicators of who will win? Not very, especially in close races, and especially as raw data.
But once the polls close and results are weighted by precinct, they'll start to provide a clearer picture of how tonight may play out. Check back here for new information throughout the night as that data becomes available.
President Obama wins Ohio, Iowa, breaks 270 electoral votes to retain the presidency.
California, Hawaii, and Washington have been called for Obama.
Idaho and North Dakota have been called for Romney.
Oregon has not yet been called, but leans toward Obama.
| @ FixAaron : Exit polls now show Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by six points nationally. In 2008, it was seven. |
Next wave of polls to close: California, Hawaii, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon and Washington all stop at 11 p.m. eastern. Only remaining state: Alaska, which closes at 1 a.m. eastern.
| @ PoliticalTicker : Exit polls: Abortion as an election issue - http://t.co/Dfo4k6v8 |
Barack Obama holds a double-digit edge among independents in Iowa, leading Romney 55 to 41 in preliminary exit poll results. Independents made up about a third of state voters, as did Democrats and Republicans.
Obama leads among women in the state, 59 to 40 percent, while Romney leads among men, 53 to 44 percent.
The gender gap was equally pronounced among Nevada women, who favor Obama 56 to 40 in early results, with men splitting toward Romney by a more equal 50 to 46.
The Latino vote in Nevada came in around 19 percent, with 69 percent of Latino voters supporting Obama, and 24 percent Romney. Independents, who make up about a third of the Silver State electorate, are leaning toward Romney, 50 percent to 42 percent. The rest of the electorate was 38 percent Democratic, 29 percent Republican.
Among the 45 percent of Nevada voters making less than $50,000 a year, Obama led 66 percent to Romney's 29 percent in early exit polls.
| @ RonBrownstein : National exit poll shows whites drop to 73% of the electorate; have dropped in each election since 80 except 88-92. #YourVote |
Wisconsin shows early signs of swinging toward Obama, thanks in no small part to union voters, CBS notes:
While the candidates are split among non-union households, Mr. Obama has a 66 percent to 33 percent lead among the one in five voters who say someone in their household belongs to a labor union.
Early exit poll results also showed Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) at 54 percent job approval, CBS said.
UPDATE: Wisconsin has now been called for Obama.
Women split heavily for Obama in Wisconsin, according to early exit polls, favoring him 57 to 42 over Romney, while men preferred Romney by a narrower 51 percent to 47 percent.
Democrats made up 37 percent of the state's electorate, while Republicans and independents were each about a third. Independents were divided close to evenly between Obama and Romney.
Initial exit polls in Colorado showed almost no gender gap, with men and women both divided evenly between Romney and Obama.
The Latino turnout in Colorado was about 11 percent, breaking 74 percent for Obama and 25 percent for Romney in preliminary exit results.
At 38 percent, independents made up the majority of the state's electorate and split 50 to 43 for Romney. Democrats were 32 percent of the electorate, while Republicans were 30 percent.
| @ AriMelber : About 53% of all voters this year were women, same as 2008, according to national exit polls. |
Preliminary exit poll results show 55 percent of voters have a favorable view of obama, compared to 45 percent with a favorable view of Romney, the Washington Post notes.
| @ ElectProject : FL counties with 100% vote: Lafayette +.6 for O compared to 08; Gilchrist -3.3; Bradford -1. Franklin -1.9; O wins 08 +2.8. |
| @ postpolls : Exit poll interactive: In Va. 18-29 are 16% in prelim exit poll, down from 21% in 2008. They back Obama by 59%-39% http://t.co/Zg6vB9SU |
Early exit polls show Obama winning 43 percent of Ohio's white working class, compared to 35 percent of that demographic nationwide, NBC reports.
Early exit polls show a majority of Florida voters are over the age of 50.
Voters between 50 and 64 were nearly split between candidates, while those 65 and older favored Romney by 58 to 42, according to preliminary exit poll results.
Florida's voter turnout was 66 percent white, 13 percent African-American, and 17 percent Latino, according to preliminary exit poll results. White voters split 61 to 38 for Romney, while 96 percent of African-American voters and 60 percent of Latino voters favored Obama.
Democrats, Republicans and independents each made up about a third of the electorate, with independents breaking almost evenly between Obama and Romney.
Among the 62 percent of Florida voters who called the economy the most important issue, Romney was winning 53 to 47. The 17 percent who said health care was most important voted overwhelmingly for Obama, 79 percent to 20 percent.
Preliminary exit polls are out in Florida, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.
One in five voters in Florida didn't decide on their vote until after Oct. 20, preliminary exit polls show, according to CNN.
Early results showed the Sunshine State's voters split on who would best handle Medicare, with 49 percent saying Obama, and 47 percent saying Romney.
| @ rickklein : of those who approved of auto bailout in Ohio, 3/4 supported Obama, per exit polls #YourVote |
More Ohio voters say they're Democrats than Republicans, preliminary exit polls show. About three in 10 voters in the state said they were Republicans, while nearly four in 10 said they were Republicans.
Another 31 percent said they were independents, with those voters giving Romney a 10-point margin in early returns.
CNN has the latest exit poll data for Ohio and North Carolina.
Early exit polls show a Virginia electorate that's similar in demographics to four years ago - about 70 percent white and 20 percent black, according to ABC.
The preliminary results showed Democrats outnumbering Republicans, as they did in 2008, but had independents breaking 59 to 38 for Romney, which would be a less favorable showing for Obama than in the last election.
Nearly 60 percent of Ohio voters supported the auto bailout, preliminary exit polls results show, according to ABC. Voters in that state picked Obama as more favorable to the middle class, but trusted both candidates equally to handle the economy.
Polls close in Ohio at 7:30.
Preliminary exit polls from Virginia show voters largely divided by demographics.
Romney leads among men, 52 percent to 45 percent, while Obama leads among women, 52 percent to 47 percent. Romney also won 63 percent of white voters, while Obama took 94 percent of the African-American vote. Lower-income voters favored Obama 60 percent to 38 percent, while those making more than $100,000 went 55 to 42 for Romney.
Again, as CBS cautions, "These are early exit poll numbers and do not reflect the final exit poll." The results will be updated throughout the night.
Nearly two in three voters said President Obama's response to Hurricane Sandy was a factor in their vote, according to preliminary exit polls, with two in five saying it was very important.
Whether his handling of the crisis actually changed that many votes is another matter - nearly 80 percent of voters also said they made up their minds before October in early exit polls results.
Early exit polling results released by CNN show Latino turnout at around 10 percent of the electorate, Elise Foley reports.
Mitt Romney would do a better job handling the economy, according to 51 percent of people interviewed in preliminary exit polls released by CNN. Forty-seven percent of respondents said Barack Obama would better handle the economy.
Obama, however, takes the majority in a different question, early results show. Slightly over half of voters interviewed said Obama is more in touch with people like themselves.
--Colin Doms
Fifty-two percent say Romney's policies favor the rich. Thirty-six percent say he favors the middle class, while just 2 percent say he favors the poor.Only 10 percent say Mr. Obama favors the rich. Forty-three percent say he favors the middle class, while 31 percent say he favors the poor.
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Posted: 11/06/2012 5:26 pm EST Updated: 11/06/2012 6:02 pm EST