Early Birds Are In Luck In The Mountain State

West Virginians are hitting the polls on Tuesday, as both Democrats and Republicans are holding their primaries. Luckily for any early birds interested in going to bed knowing how things panned out, the state's polls close relatively early. What time will the West Virginia primaries end?

Ballotpedia reports that polls close at 7:30 p.m. ET in the state, and open at a bright and early 6:30 a.m. During that 13-hour stretch, Democrats, Republicans, and unaffiliated voters alike can all participate in the primary election (though registered Democrats and Republicans have to vote in their respective primaries, while independents can choose which one to vote in).

At stake in the Mountain State are 34 Republican delegates and 29 pledged Democratic delegates. Though Donald Trump is the last candidate standing among the Republicans — and he actually told his supporters not to bother voting on Tuesday — there's still plenty of reason for people to vote. First, local and congressional elections are taking place at the same time. Second, suspending a campaign doesn't automatically get a candidate nixed from ballots, so people can vote for someone besides Trump if they want.

It's looking pretty good for Trump in West Virginia, where the average of polls through the beginning of May put him at 60 percent in the state. Be aware that if you vote in the state's Republican primary, you'll actually be casting a ballot for a delegate and not a presidential candidate. Delegates either declare whom they will support at the convention on the ballot or run as uncommitted.

As for the Democrats, both candidates will walk away with something, since all states allocate their Democratic delegates proportionally. Polling averages from West Virginia forecast a tight race, with Sen. Bernie Sanders at 46 percent and Hillary Clinton at 40 percent going into Tuesday. Sanders is trying to narrow the gap of nearly 300 pledged delegates between himself and Clinton, while she's working to maintain and expand it. West Virginia's small delegate haul won't change the gap too much, even if Sanders wins big in the state, but he could use all the momentum he can get.

With polls closing at 7:30 p.m. ET in West Virginia, results will likely begin trickling in shortly thereafter. We can expect to see most of them reported within a few hours. Fortunately, keeping track of the results live shouldn't keep you up too late.