American voters head to polls in Harris-Trump tight race for US president - LIVE
The highly anticipated day - Tuesday, November 5 – which marks Election Day across the United States, has started.
Biden will watch results from White House residence
President Joe Biden’s name won’t appear on the ballot Tuesday, but the stakes are high for the 81-year-old president and his legacy as he waits to see whether the country will send his predecessor or chosen successor to the White House next year, News.Az reports, citing CNN.
The president has kept a relatively low profile in recent days and is expected to do the same today. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will watch the election results from the residence of the White House with long-time aides and senior White House staff, a White House official said. Biden, who has no public events on his schedule, is expected to receive regular updates as races play out across the country.
Today’s election looks far different than what the Bidens envisioned a few months prior as he hoped voters would elect him to a second term in the White House — and the result could help determine how the president is remembered.
Biden’s team has felt his quick endorsement of Harris after dropping out the race helped set the path for the party to quickly coalesce around her candidacy. A Harris win would keep Donald Trump, whose divisive presidency is what drove Biden to run in the 2020 race, from returning to the White House. But a Harris loss could prompt a round of questions within the party over whether Biden clung to his candidacy for too long and jeopardized Democrats’ chances.
“We’ve made a lot of progress, and Kamala will build on that progress,” Biden said at a carpenter’s union hall in Scranton on Saturday. “We’ve asked a lot of each other, unions and I – unions and me. And I ask you one more thing. I’m asking you – for your support for Kamala and for Tim Walz. I’m not just asking it for me. I mean, I’m going to be gone.”
Even as he’s been cast to the sidelines, Biden has continued to warn of what a second Trump presidency could hold for the country. And the White House has worked to protect some of his key accomplishments in the event Trump were to win and seek to undo many parts of the president’s legacy.
“I have vast disagreements with Trump and his personality,” Biden said Saturday. “What will happen? What will happen if you trade in my administration for his?”
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When will we know who's won?
Polls close at different times in different states, but by 23:00 on the East Coast in the US (04:00 GMT) all states will have closed their polls - except for Hawaii and Alaska where polls close a little later, according to BBC.
Traditionally, it was soon after the close of voting at 23:00 in California that the race as a whole was called for one candidate or the other. But few observers are expecting a speedy resolution this year, with some suggesting it could take days, rather than hours, to know the victor.
Early tallies may also be misleading. A candidate who takes an early lead through in-person votes may end up being overtaken when postal votes and other types of ballots are added later. This happened in Michigan in 2020 - Trump took an early lead through in-person votes but was later overtaken by Biden.
Basically, it's a bit of a waiting game, but we'll be here to guide you through the latest until, during and after the moment the result is announced.
US election officials reaffirm commitment to vote integrity amid conspiracy theories
Election officials across the United States, particularly in key swing states, have committed to maintaining the integrity of the electoral process while urging voters to remain vigilant against misleading conspiracy theories, News.Az reports, citing CNN.
“Here in Georgia, it is easy to vote and hard to cheat,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Monday. “Our systems are secure and our people are ready.”
The 2024 election has already featured allegations from Trump and other Republicans that the vote is “rigged.” Trump has made repeated false claims that Democrats are cheating in the election, and he’s twisted isolated problems with voting in an effort to prime his supporters to believe the election is not legitimate if he loses.
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Overview of the 2024 Presidential Candidates
Kamala Harris, U.S. Vice President
Age: 60
Party: Democratic Party
Campaign Promises: Harris’s slogan, "We are not going back," emphasizes a rejection of former President Donald Trump's policies. She advocates for abortion rights, aims to implement an economic plan to ban price gouging at grocery stores, and pledges to "end America's housing shortage."
Major Moment of 2024: Harris delivered a headlining speech at the Democratic National Convention in
August, shortly after Joe Biden exited the race.
Donald Trump, Former U.S. President
Age: 78
Party: Republican Party
Campaign Promises: Trump has vowed to "seal the border" to prevent illegal immigration, promised tax cuts across the board, proposed a 10% tariff on all U.S. imports, and is committed to increasing domestic energy production with the slogan "drill, baby, drill."
Major Moment of 2024: Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, which left a lasting image of him with his fist raised and blood on his face.
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US Election Day voting begins with Harris and Trump in tight race
The highly anticipated day - Tuesday, November 5 – which marks Election Day across the United States, has started.
Millions of voters are heading to the polls today, joining over 80 million who cast their ballots early or by mail, to determine control of the White House, Congress, and various state and local governments, News.Az reports.
All eyes are on the presidential showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. The outcome may hinge on seven crucial swing states—Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—where polls indicate a neck-and-neck race. According to 538's forecast, both candidates have an approximately equal chance of victory.
Beyond the presidential race, significant stakes are involved. Republicans are poised to potentially flip the Senate as Democrats defend seats in Republican-leaning states like Montana and Ohio. Additionally, all 435 districts in the House of Representatives are up for election, with control of the House appearing to be a toss-up. Eleven states will elect new governors, and several ballot measures could introduce new state laws concerning abortion, voting rights, drug policy, and more.
Polling stations will close for the first time at 6 p.m. Eastern, with initial results expected shortly after. However, it may take days to count enough votes to project a winner.
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