The US is set for a record turnout as Americans queued to vote on Tuesday in the presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Thousands of in-person voters at polling stations joined the more than 100 million Americans who voted early or by mail.
By Tuesday morning, 100,286,748 people had voted early, more than double the number of early voters in 2016, and 73 per cent of 2016’s total turnout.
There were long lines early in the day and sporadic reports of polling places opening late, along with equipment problems in counties in Georgia and Ohio. Conversely, other polling centres reported far fewer voters than usual.
Given that a few states, including Texas, already exceeded their total 2016 vote count, experts were predicting record turnout this year.
“Come hell or high water. It feels like that has been the attitude voters have needed to make sure their voices are heard this year,” said Kristen Clarke, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
The pandemic that has claimed more than 230,000 lives in the US cast its shadow over the election as the number one issue for voters, and also played a part in how they cast their ballot.
Even with Mr Biden favoured in polls by voters to handle the pandemic, the race remained competitive in swing states.
Queues of voters were reported in Florida as polls opened on the East Coast.
Guillermo Grenier, a professor at Florida International University, described Florida’s burden as the highest-value state that could plausibly swing either way in today’s presidential vote.
“I’m concerned, I think most Floridians are concerned. You can feel the anxiety that we’re all under,” said Mr Grenier, a Cuban-American academic.
“People are really worried because we all know that Florida is a critical state. But we also know that it’s a state that is very unpredictable,” said Mr Grenier.
The sunshine state is a dynamic melting pot of 21.5 million people and has a track record of delivering surprises on nail-biting election nights thanks to its diverse and fragmented electorate.
The first results to be reported were from the town of Dixville Notch in New Hampshire that has followed a tradition of voting first at midnight for 60 years. Mr Biden took all five votes available
But for the rest of vote counts across the US, no results will be announced until Tuesday evening, after the polls close. In Georgia, Florida, Indiana, Vermont, Kentucky and South Carolina, the polls close at 7pm ET.
Pennsylvania and Michigan, crucial swing states which could decide the winner, close at 8pm ET, while Wisconsin, Texas and Arizona don’t close their polls until 9pm local time.
Shenita woke up at 5.30 this morning to make sure she was the first in line at her local polling station in Detroit, Michigan.
“It worked. I was first in and first to cast my ballot. It was a smooth process,” she said.
About two million Michiganders are expected to vote on Tuesday today on top of more than three million early voters.
The candidates are making use of election day to push their final message.
Mr Biden and his Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris are heading back to Pennsylvania for a last round of campaigning in a state Democrats lost in 2016. Ms Harris later flew to Detroit on a last-ditch charm offensive.
“We want to remind everybody obviously that the polls close at 8 o’clock tonight and it’s important that everyone votes,” Ms Harris said.
“So I’m just here to remind people in Detroit that, that they are seen and heard by Joe and me, and also that they may actually decide the outcome of this race.”
President Trump visited his campaign headquarters, to cheers from staff and volunteers.
He predicted his victory, but acknowledged he could lose.
“I think we’re going to have a great night, but it’s politics and it’s elections and you never know,” Mr Trump said.
He said his campaign was doing well in states such as Florida, Arizona and Texas, and noted the importance of winning Pennsylvania.
“Winning is easy. Losing is never easy,” he said. “Not for me it’s not.”
The First Lady Melania Trump visited a polling place in Palm Beach Florida to cast her ballot on Tuesday, waving and smiling at reporters on the way in.
ill be spending the day at the White House, but called in to TV programme Fox and Friends to talk about the race.
"Well, we feel very good," he said of the campaign, adding he felt he had a "solid chance of winning" another four years in the White House.
Mr Biden also attended an early election-day mass on Tuesday in Delaware before visiting his son Beau Biden's grave.
