US Election: queues at polling places as record turnout expected

Voters lined up throughout the day to cast their ballots as postal votes continued being counted

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  Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks at a campaign canvassing event in Scranton. AP Photo

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  President Donald Trump speaks to campaign workers at the RNC Annex in Arlington, Virginia. Bloomberg

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  A member of the Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club rides a horse down 52nd Street to encourage people to vote in Philadelphia. Bloomberg

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  A poll worker poses for a picture in the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Southeast Washington, DC. EPA

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  A jogger carries a Vote! flag as he passes a polling station in San Antonio. AP

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  Voters line up at the Trenton Town Hall during Election Day in Trenton, Wisconsin, U.S. Reuters

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  A young boy waits for his father to cast his ballot at Greenwich High School in Greenwich, Connecticut. AFP

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  Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, waves from the front steps of his childhood home, during an early visit on Election Day, in Scranton. AP Photo

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  First lady Melania Trump arrives to vote at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Centre, in Palm Beach, Fla. AP Photo

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  Voters wear face-coverings while waiting in line to vote for the 2020 US elections at the Los Angeles County Registrar in Norwalk, California. AFP

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  The White House is seen at sunrise during the election day, in Washington. Reuters

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  Voters queue at the Waterville Junior High School polling station before doors open on the election day in Waterville, Maine. Reuters

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  Voters wait in line at a polling station on election day in Winchester, Virginia, early on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. AFP

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  Selectman Les Otten drops a ballot in a box shortly after midnight for the US presidential election at the Hale House at Balsams Hotel in the hamlet of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. Reuters

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  A board shows results of ballots cast shortly after midnight for the US presidential election at the Hale House at Balsams Hotel in the hamlet of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. Reuters

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  A woman casts her vote at the Hazel Parker Playground on election day in Charleston. AFP

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  An election official stands near the ballot boxes at Ballard High School in Louisville. AFP

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  Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at John F. Kennedy Library in Miami, Florida. AFP

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  Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden departs on election day in Wilmington, Delaware. Reuters

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  A volunteer with Democracy North Carolina sits to answer questions at Waddell Language Academy in Charlotte, North Carolina, shortly after the polls opened. AFP

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  People wait in line to vote in Portland, Maine. AFP

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  Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at the old Stone School, used as a polling station, on election day in Hillsboro, Virginia. AFP

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  Voters wait in line adhering to distancing rule to cast their ballots on election day in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Reuters

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  Poll manager Susan Taylor wears shoes with the word 'Vote' as she checks people in to vote at the Hazel Parker Playground on election day in Charleston. AFP

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  Cookies representing the presidential candidates for sale at the Oakmont Bakery in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. AFP

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  A person votes in a socially distanced space in Portland, Maine. AFP

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  Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden salutes as he leaves Scranton, Pennsylvania. AFP

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  Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden(R) visits Hanks Hoagies in Scranton, Pennsylvania. AFP

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  Voters wait in a long line to cast their ballots at Church of the Servant in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Reuters

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  Donovan Faison, a 27-year-old first-time voter, wears an unusual mask and sunglasses as he feeds his ballot into a tabulator machine after voting at a polling station during the election in Durham, Durham County, North Carolina. Reuters

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  Voters mark their ballots at First Presbyterian Church on Election Day, in Stamford, Conn. AP Photo

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  An election inspector checks the names of voters as the counting of ballots begins on Election Day at City Hall in Warren, Michigan., in Macomb County. AP Photo

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  Voters line up before polls open on Election Day at a precinct in Warren, Michigan. AP Photo

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  Erin Doherty hugs her mother Susanna Dew, 61, who is voting for the first time in her life, as they wait in line at a polling place on election day in the Mid City section of New Orleans. AP Photo

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  Voters mark their ballots at Bloomfield United Methodist Church in Des Moines, Iowa. AFP

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.