Cable news is certainly no stranger to over-developed on-screen graphics, but this is one for the ages: Jessica Yellin speaking from the ether (Grant Park) to talk to Wolf Blitzer about what's happening in Chicago.

It's an Obi-Wan moment if there ever was one.

Are you ready? With the first results due in less than an half an hour now (less than half an hour!) here's how things will unfold:

At 6 p.m. ET, most of Indiana and the first half of Kentucky will close, with the remainder closing at 7 p.m. ET due to time zones, so we'll get the first wave of info quickly after six. Don't panic at the early Indiana numbers: In the state, the Eastern Time region will probably trend more to McCain than the state overall, with Obama strongholds like Gary coming in later in that Central Time region.

At 7 p.m., things starts to get busy, with the polls closing in most of Florida and all of Virginia and info from those states soon to follow. If a result can be called quickly in Virginia, in Obama's favor, we'll have an early sense of where the race is headed.

Then at 7:30 p.m. ET the polls close in Ohio and North Carolina. Again, any quick calls here in either direction will tell us where the race is going.

At 8 p.m. ET, the polls close in key swing states like Pennsylvania and Missouri.

At 9 p.m. ET, polls close in Colorado and New Mexico, plus John McCain's home state of Arizona.

At 10 p.m. ET, the polls close in Iowa and Nevada.

And at 11 p.m. ET, the polls close along the West Coast and in Hawaii, which brings us to a very important number to keep in mind for tonight: 77, the total number of electoral votes in California, Oregon, Washington State and Hawaii. Those states are expected to be Obama landslides, with the 77 votes assigned to him practically at the moment those polls close.

So as news networks assign Obama electoral votes from the toss-up states as they close, add the 77 number on top of what is being commonly projected. If Obama reaches 193 electoral votes or more before 11 p.m. ET, he could effectively be the President-Elect pending those poll closures.

And, of course, we'll be blogging it all here at Election Central.

Keep asking and ye shall keep receiving: Here's a fresh thread for all of you to keep telling us your voting stories.

How does it feel out there? Speak.

Ask and ye shall receive: Here's an open thread for all of you to share your voting stories.

How does it feel out there? Speak.

If Barack Obama wins all the Kerry states and their 252 Electoral College votes, as seems all but certain, and wins either Florida or Ohio, it's over. What if he doesn't win either of those states?

Here, as we await the results, are his main paths to victory.

The Virginia scenarios. If Obama takes Virginia, where the polls show him leading by anywhere from three to seven points, he gets the state's 13 electoral votes, putting him within five of the needed 270. At that point he'd only have to win one other of the following states: Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Indiana, Missouri or North Carolina.

Keep in mind that Obama is leading significantly in Iowa and New Mexico, has decent leads in Colorado and Nevada, is tied in Missouri and North Carolina, is either tied or running just slightly behind in Indiana.

The non-Virginia scenarios. Without Virginia, Obama needs to win two or three of the following states, depending on the combination: Colorado (9 electoral votes), Indiana (9), Iowa (7), Missouri (11), New Mexico (5), North Carolina (15), Nevada (5). The minimum amount he needs is 18 votes.

That's where we are.

Late Update: To clarify, the reason we broke it down into Virginia and non-Virginia scenarios is because Virginia could potentially be called early on because of its relatively earlier poll closing time. If Obama wins the state, we may know fairly quickly that Obama is the next president. If not...

Poll Closings
Here are the closing times in some of the key states: Most of Indiana closes at 6 p.m. ET, with the remainder closing at 7 p.m. ET; all of Virginia, most of Florida and most of New Hampshire close at 7 p.m. ET, with Florida panhandle and the remainder of New Hampshire closing at 8 p.m. ET; North Carolina and Ohio close at 7:30 p.m. ET; Missouri and Pennsylvania close at 8 p.m. ET; Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico close at 9 p.m. ET; and Nevada closes at 10 p.m. ET.

Obama Has Voted
Barack Obama has just finished voting, and was met by applause from other voters at his polling station.

Obama Greeting Voters In Indiana, Biden In Virginia, Then Off to Chicago
Barack Obama will be getting in his last bit of hand-shaking today, meeting and greeting voters in the Indianapolis area. Joe Biden will be meeting voters around Richmond, Virginia, and then going off to Chicago -- meaning that both members of the Dem ticket will be doing their final campaign activities in states that haven't gone Democratic in 44 years.

McCain Holds One More Rally, Palin Back In Alaska
John McCain is holding an Election Day rally -- a rare event -- at 2:15 p.m. ET in Grand Junction, Colorado. He will then greet voters in New Mexico, then spend Election Night in Phoenix. Sarah Palin will vote this morning in Alaska, and is then off to Phoenix.

Zogby: Final State Polls Paint Good Picture For Obama
The final round of Zogby swing-state polls gives Barack Obama the lead in several of the biggest swing states: Obama is up 49%-48% in Florida, 53%-42% in Nevada, 49%-47% in Ohio, 52%-45% in Virginia, and 51%-41% in Pennsylvania. McCain has a 50%-49% edge in North Carolina, a 50%-45% lead in Indiana, and the two are tied 49%-49% in Missouri.

Obama's Final Rally Gets Over 85,000 People
Barack Obama's final rally last night, held in Manassas, Virginia, had a strong turnout of more than 85,000 people. It's quite possible that the whole election could turn on tonight's result in Virginia.

McCain Held Home-State Rally Last Night
John McCain spoke to a crowd last night in Prescott, Arizona, winning last-minute votes in his home state. "We're closing in the polls," McCain said. "All we've got to do is get out the vote."

This Is It
If you are eligible but have not yet done so, please get out there and vote.