In 2008, when polls closed in California at 11 p.m., Barack Obama was called the winner. It took a few minutes longer in 2012, and in the last election, longer still. This year, "it might be a little bit different," said Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball at UVA’s Center for Politics, said of election night, largely due to the effect of the mail-in ballots.