First exit-poll numbers drop after 5 p.m. ET. They tell you who voted, not who won

The first national exit-poll results come out after 5 p.m. Eastern, CNN and NBC News report. This year it is one shared survey, the "Voter Poll" run by SSRS for ABC, AP, CBS, CNN, Fox News, MS NOW and NBC, built from about 100,000 interviews, including nearly 80,000 voters surveyed before Election Day.

The early numbers describe the electorate: who turned out, what they care about and how they feel about the president. Anything that could point to a winner is held until polls close in that state, CNN says, and the numbers get reweighted all night as real results come in.

A reminder from experience: early exit polls have a long history of looking bluer than the final count. Read the 5 p.m. numbers, then wait for the votes.