This year’s election may not be quite as historically epic as Obama’s win in 2008, but American voters’ decisions about the next president will likely, whether we like it or not, still affect us all. So, whether out of patriotism, citizen’s duty or morose fear, you might want to tune in. We’ve rounded up a handful of places that will be showing the election results, and will update as we hear more.

The earliest poll closing times – in states like Virginia, Vermont, Ohio – hover around 7-7.30pm Eastern Standard Time (unless you count far-flung US territories like Guam and the Virgin Islands, where timing gets a little wacky but those rarely swing the election one way or the other). And the latest major polls will close around 11pm (including California’s). There will be stragglers coming in behind that, but again, none of the major states.

In Beijing, this means coverage of election results will start rolling in around 7am on Wednesday morning, with results solidifying anywhere between noon and who-knows-when, depending on things like hanging chads, Pepsi sales and the position of Saturn vis-a-vis Neptune. So, which Beijing venues will have their TV tuned to the results?

Chef Too
They open at 11am, which means you’ll miss most of the early action, but their TVs will be showing the election news. No food or drink specials.  

Pavillion Grill
Ditto Chef Too. Open at 11am, no drink or food specials.

Brussels
“Unofficially” open early morning with a skeleton crew and elections on the big screen, though early birds watching before 8am will have to settle for coffee, tea, beer and maybe some baked goods. By 8am, kitchen staff will be on hand to serve breakfast.

Cu Ju
Open starting 8am. They’ll be doing breakfast platters and their usual offerings for lunch (the Merguez sausage sandwich, for one). They’ll also be running their unlimited drip coffee for RMB 25.

pentahotel
We’re hearing some hotels won’t be allowed to show foreign channels on any TVs in public spaces for these next few weeks, but pentahotel has a game room and though they have no events or specials planned, they are amenable to folks showing up and watching.

Anyone know of other spots to watch the US election results? If so, please leave a comment below.

Photo: Securitymarketingguru.com