When do polls close in Super Tuesday states?
Voters in 14 states are going to the polls on Super Tuesday, March 3, and more than 30% of all delegates will be awarded. There are five Democratic candidates left in the race: Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Mike Bloomberg and Tulsi Gabbard.
Sanders is the front-runner in the race so far, having won the popular vote in Iowa and then decisive victories in New Hampshire and Nevada. But Biden pulled out a big victory in South Carolina, winning nearly 50% of the vote.
Going into Super Tuesday, Sanders had a slight delegate lead, with 60 estimated national delegates. Biden had 54, and Warren had 8. Pete Buttigieg had 26 delegates before dropping out Sunday, and Amy Klobuchar, who dropped out Monday, had 7.
Poll closing times on Super Tuesday
Here is a breakdown of what states will vote on Tuesday and what time polls will close:
- Alabama: 8 p.m. ET
- Arkansas: 8:30 p.m. ET
- California: 11 p.m. ET
- Colorado: 9 p.m. ET
- Maine: 8 p.m. ET
- Massachusetts: 8 p.m. ET
- Minnesota: 9 p.m. ET
- North Carolina: 7:30 p.m. ET
- Oklahoma: 8 p.m. ET
- Tennessee: 8 p.m. ET. Due to damage from tornadoes overnight, all polling sites in Nashville will stay open until 9 p.m. ET and five "super sites" will stay open until 11 p.m. ET.
- Texas: 8 p.m. ET, except for the two westernmost counties, El Paso and Hudspeth, where polls close at 9 p.m. ET
- Utah: 10 p.m. ET
- Vermont: 7 p.m. ET
- Virginia: 7 p.m. ET
Voters in American Samoa and Democrats abroad will also cast primary ballots on Super Tuesday.
According to the latest CBS News Battleground Tracker poll, as of March 1, Sanders held the lead in both California and Texas, although these polls were taken before Buttigieg and Klobuchar dropped out and endorsed Biden. In California, Sanders holds a 12-point lead over his closest rival, Joe Biden. Polling in these two states concluded before Biden's victory Saturday night in South Carolina, though few voters said they thought those results would impact their decision.
In Texas, Sanders enjoys just a 4-point edge over the former vice president. About half of voters in both Texas and California say they have definitely made up their minds already, and many have already cast their ballots in early voting.
If these support levels hold up, it would translate into a substantial delegate lead for Sanders. CBS News estimates his current support in California would yield nearly half of the state's massive delegate prize, with Biden and Warren splitting the rest. In Texas, current poll numbers would translate into a narrower delegate lead for Sanders over Biden, with Warren trailing them. And Mike Bloomberg, who is just under the 15% delegate threshold statewide, is in position to pick up delegates in specific districts: as many as a few dozen in his better simulations.
