The dizzying presidential contest between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris hurtled toward an uncertain finish on Tuesday.
Different Visions
Millions of American voters lined up at polling stations to choose between two sharply different visions for the country.
The race churned by unprecedented events – two assassination attempts against Trump, President Joe Biden’s surprise withdrawal and Harris’ rapid rise – remained neck and neck.
Huge Expenditure
In the run up to the elections, billions of dollars were spent and frenetic campaigning took place.
Trump Voted Near His Home In Florida
Former U.S. President Donald Trump voted near his home in Palm Beach, Florida.
Trump has frequently spread false claims that he won the 2020 presidential election against Biden.
Attack By Trump’s Supporters
People remember how Trump’s supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“If I lose an election, if it’s a fair election, I’m gonna be the first one to acknowledge it,” Trump told reporters.
Voting Before Tuesday
More than 80 million Americans had already voted before Tuesday, either via mail or in person, and lines at several polling stations on Tuesday were short and orderly.
Glitches And Extension Of Voting Hours
Some glitches of vote-counting technology were reported in Cambria County, Pennsylvania.
A local court accepted a request by election officials to extend voting hours by two hours on Tuesday night.
False Bomb Threats
Two polling locations in Fulton County, Georgia, were briefly evacuated after false bomb threats.
Voters Of All Age Groups Turned Up To Vote
In Dearborn, Michigan, Nakita Hogue, 50 and her 18-year-old college going daughter, Niemah Hogue, came to vote for Harris.
Niemah said she takes birth control to help regulate her period, while her mother recalled needing surgery after she had a miscarriage in her 20s.
Apprehensions About Women’s Health Care
Both feared that Republican lawmakers may try to restrict women’s health care.
“For my daughter, who is going out into the world and making her own way, I want her to have that choice,” Nakita Hogue said.
“She should be able to make her own decisions.”
What Did Voters In Arizona Have To Say?
At a library in Phoenix, Arizona, Felicia Navajo, 34, and her husband Jesse Miranda, 52, arrived with one of their three young children to vote for Trump.
Miranda, a union plumber, immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico when he was four years old.
He said he believed Trump would do a better job of fighting inflation and controlling immigration.
Trump May Declare Victory On Election Night
Trump’s campaign has suggested he may declare victory on election night even while millions of ballots have yet to be counted, as he did four years ago.
The former president has repeatedly said any defeat could only stem from widespread fraud, echoing his false claims from 2020.
The winner may not be known for days if the margins in battleground states are as slim as expected.
A Historic Election
No matter who wins, history will be made.
Harris, 60, the first woman vice president, would become the first woman, Black woman and South Asian American to win the presidency.
Trump, 78, is the only president to be impeached twice and the first former president to be criminally convicted.
He would also become the first president to win non-consecutive terms in more than a century.
The Seven States
Opinion polls show the candidates running neck and neck in each of the seven states likely to determine the winner: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Harris Leading Among Women And Trump Winning Among Men
Reuters/Ipsos polling shows Harris leading among women by 12 percentage points and Trump winning among men by seven percentage points.
The contest reflects a deeply polarized nation whose divisions have only grown starker during a fiercely competitive race.
Campaign By Trump And Harris
Trump has employed increasingly dark and apocalyptic rhetoric on the campaign trail.
Harris has urged Americans to come together, warning that a second Trump term would threaten the underpinnings of American democracy.
Chambers Of Congress
Control of both chambers of Congress is also up for grabs.
Republicans have an easier path in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats are defending several seats in Republican-leaning states.
The House of Representatives looks like a toss-up.
Trump Has Demonized Immigrants
Even more than in 2016 and 2020, Trump has demonized immigrants who crossed the border illegally.
He falsely accused them of fomenting a violent crime wave and vowed to use the government to prosecute his political rivals.
Polls show he has made some gains among Black and Latino voters.
Trump’s Warning to Migrants
Trump has often warned that migrants are taking jobs away from those constituencies.
By contrast, Harris has tried to piece together a broader coalition of liberal Democrats, independents and disaffected moderate Republicans.
Trump Is Dangerous
Harris described Trump as too dangerous to elect.
Reproductive Rights
Harris campaigned on protecting reproductive rights.
This issue has galvanized women since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 eliminated a nationwide right to abortion.
Pro-Palestinian Voters Have Expressed Anger
She has faced anger from many pro-Palestinian voters over the Biden administration’s military and financial support for Israel’s campaign in Gaza.
While she has not previewed a shift in U.S. policy, she has promised to do everything possible to end the conflict.
Biden’s Decision
After Biden, 81, withdrew amid concerns about his age and mental ability, Harris sought to turn the tables on Trump.
Role Of Elon Musk
Trump countered the likes of Harris supporters Taylor Swift and Beyoncé with Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who played an increasingly visible role as a surrogate and a top donor to Trump’s cause.
Tuesday’s vote follows one of the most turbulent half-years in modern American politics.
In May, a New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to a porn star.
Biden’s Disastrous Performance During The Debate
Four weeks later, Trump and Biden met for their only debate, where the incumbent president delivered a disastrous performance that supercharged voters’ concerns about his mental acuity.
