LIVE | US election 2020: Trump and Biden split first states to be called as US polls begin to close

Trump and Biden split first states to be called as US polls begin to close

US President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden split the first US states to be projected in the White House race on Tuesday, with Trump taking conservative Kentucky and Indiana and Biden taking Democratic-leaning Vermont and Virginia in widely expected results.

As polls began to close in 10 states in an election held amid a pandemic gripping a deeply divided United States, Edison Research projected Trump would win Indiana and the Associated Press called Kentucky for Trump, while Fox News projected Biden would win Vermont and Virginia.

More competitive battlegrounds that could help decide the race, including Georgia and Florida, were still up in the air as polls began to close in parts of both states.

Trump wins Kentucky, Biden takes Vermont - US media

US president Donald Trump has won in the traditionally Republican-leaning states of Indiana and Kentucky, while Democratic challenger Joe Biden has won the state of Vermont, US media projected Tuesday as the first election results trickled in.

So far, that gives Trump 19 electoral votes to three for Biden. The magic number is 270. Observers expect the hotly contested race for the White House to come down to a handful of key battleground states.

- AFP

Polls close in six states, Indiana called for Trump

Polls have closed in six US states in a bitterly contested election between incumbent President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden, including in the key East Coast battleground of Georgia.

Polling places also shut statewide in Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia in a landmark contest that saw tens of millions of American cast their ballots early amid the coronavirus pandemic.

CNN and NBC already projected a win for Trump in Indiana.

The United States was in for a long night of waiting for results, as some states say they could be counting ballots for several days. Polls were to close throughout the evening, until the last votes are cast in Alaska.

- AFP

Biden appears to confuse granddaughter with son in verbal gaffe

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden briefly appeared to confuse his granddaughter with his son as he spoke in Philadelphia on Election Day, in a verbal gaffe which was swiftly seized on by the Trump campaign.

Biden, a former stutterer renowned for becoming easily tangled in his words, was introducing the daughter of his son Beau - who died of brain cancer in 2015 - to supporters in the city in Pennsylvania when he called her "none other than my son Beau Biden.

"He quickly corrected himself to say "this is my granddaughter Natalie," before realizing he had wrapped his arm around the wrong grandchild, noting his mistake and pulling over Natalie.

With campaigning wrapped up and both candidates now waiting for final votes to be cast and the election to be called, the confusion gave President Donald Trump's campaign one final blunder to offer up to its supporters as evidence of what it has long alluded to as Biden's senility.

"WATCH: Joe Biden mixes up his granddaughters," the Trump campaign posted on Twitter with an accompanying video of the incident.

Trump, 74, also makes gaffes on a regular basis, both verbally and on Twitter, but insists he has all the "best words.

"Biden mentions Beau on almost every public occasion. As Delaware's attorney general from 2007 to 2015, and an Army reservist who served in Iraq, Beau had flirted with the idea of following his father's footsteps into the Senate, and seemed destined to hit the national stage.

Biden had started the morning with a visit to the Delaware church where Beau is buried alongside Biden's first wife and daughter, who died in a car wreck in 1972.

- AFP

Coronavirus, economy top concerns for US voters - exit polls

The coronavirus and the economy were top of mind for about half of US voters as they headed to the ballot box, according to an Edison Research exit poll on Tuesday.

Two out of 10 said COVID-19, which has infected more than 9.4 million people in the United States this year and killed more than 230,000, was the most important issue to them when deciding their choice for president.

Three in 10 cited the economy as the top issue.

Edison, which compiles exit polls and live election results for the National Election Pool media consortium, found that four in 10 think that the country's efforts to contain the coronavirus are going "very badly."

- Reuters

FBI investigates robocalls that told US voters to 'stay home and stay safe' on Election Day

The FBI is investigating a series of suspicious robocalls and texts urging voters to "stay home and stay safe" during the election, a senior cybersecurity official told reporters on Tuesday.

"Robocalls of this nature happen every election" and are a "voter intimidation" and "voter suppression" tactic, an official from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said during a media call.

The Washington Post reported that approximately 10 million such robocalls have gone out to voters across the US in recent months.

Rand at its best level since March as markets price in a Biden victory

The rand closed on Tuesday around the R16.11/$ level - its best level since March.

The market is starting to price in a Biden victory in the US elections.

A Biden win is expected to weaken the dollar as his administration may spend big on stimulus and relax trade rules.

The gold price also strengthened amid nervousness about the US election.

US 'entitled to know' winner on election day: Trump

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday again sought to sow doubt over the counting of ballots beyond election day, saying the country was "entitled" to know who won on the day of the vote.

"You have to have a date, and the date happens to be 3 November," he said during a visit to Republican National Committee offices in Arlington, Virginia."

And we should be entitled to know who won on 3 November."

Trump was referring mainly to his disagreement with a US Supreme Court refusal to intervene in a decision allowing Pennsylvania to continue to count mailed ballots received up to three days after the election.

The move was made due to logistic complications as the country copes with the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to a flood of mailed ballots. Pennsylvania is seen as an important swing state in the election, and both Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden have repeatedly campaigned there in recent days.

"You can't have these things delayed for many days and maybe weeks," Trump said as Americans voted nationwide and with more than 100 million people having cast early ballots.

"You can't do that. The whole world is waiting. This country is waiting. But the whole world is waiting."

Asked whether he had written an acceptance or concession speech, Trump said he had not.

"You know, winning is easy," he said.

"Losing is never easy - not for me it's not."

-AFP

Six swing states likely to decide who is the next US president:

Pennsylvania

Arizona

Texas

Florida

Georgia

Wisconsin

Biden plans to declare victory if media outlets say he won - even if Trump won't concede

US Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is planning to declare victory on Tuesday night if news organisations announce him as the winner of the presidential election, even if President Donald Trump refuses to concede and contests the results. 

Biden campaign advisers told the US news outlet Axios that the former vice president wants to avoid taking a defensive posture if the president spreads misinformation about the election or moves forward with lawsuits. 

"We're not really concerned about what Donald Trump says," Biden's campaign manager, Jen O'Malley Dillon, told reporters on Monday. "We're going to use our data, our understanding of where this is headed, and make sure that the vice president is addressing the American people."

JUST IN | US judge orders sweep for any outstanding ballots at some postal facilities

A US judge on Tuesday ordered the US Postal Service to conduct a sweep of some processing facilities this afternoon to ensure no ballots have been held up and any discovered are immediately sent out for delivery.

US District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered Postal Service inspectors or designees to conduct sweeps in Central Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Detroit, Colorado/Wyoming, Atlanta, Houston, Alabama, Northern New England, Greater South Carolina, South Florida, Lakeland, and Arizona. Many states require receipt of all mailed ballots by the end of Tuesday.

-REUTERS

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

International media reports indicate that voting in at least 6 states has already topped the 2016 total.

An hour-by-hour guide to the US Elections and when to expect results

With a massive surge in mail-in voting, it's likely we won't know which presidential candidate won many states, including key battlegrounds, soon.

Here's a guide to what South Africans should watch for on Wednesday and in the days and weeks following.

Early vote in US presidential election hits record 100 million

More than 100 million Americans cast an early vote in the 2020 presidential election ahead of Tuesday's Election Day, according to the US Elections Project at the University of Florida, driving what is expected to the highest turnout in modern times.

The sharp increase in mail-in and early in-person voting was largely spurred by the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 231 000 people in the United States and continues unabated in many states as the number of cases continue to spike.

- Reuters

US Homeland Security chief says no evidence 'foreign actor' has compromised votes

The acting US Department of Homeland Security secretary, Chad Wolf, said on Tuesday there was no evidence a "foreign actor" had compromised US votes in the 2020 presidential election.

The message came as Americans begin the final day of voting in an electoral campaign dogged by worries over foreign interference.

"We have no indications that a foreign actor has succeeded in compromising or manipulating any votes in this election," Wolf told a press conference that was streamed online.

More than 90 million ballots have already been submitted in an unprecedented wave of early voting. 

Facebook vows vigilance on Election Day misinformation efforts

Facebook pledged real-time monitoring of Election Day misinformation and manipulation efforts as voters began in-person balloting across the United States Tuesday.

Along with other social platforms, the company has promised to stem misinformation around the election, including premature claims of victory, seeking to avoid a repeat of 2016 manipulation efforts.

"Our Election Operations Center will continue monitoring a range of issues in real time -- including reports of voter suppression content," said a Facebook statement posted on Twitter."

If we see attempts to suppress participation, intimidate voters, or organize to do so, the content will be removed."

Facebook said its election center is also tracking other issues such as the actions by supporters of President Donald Trump to surround campaign buses for Democrat Joe Biden.

"We are monitoring closely and will remove content calling for coordinated harm or interference with anyone's ability to vote," Facebook said.

Facebook reiterated that it would place warning labels on any posts which seek to claim victory prematurely.

"If a presidential candidate or party declares premature victory, we will add more specific information in the labels on candidate posts, add more specific information in the top-of-feed notifications and continue showing the latest results in our Voting Information Center," the social giant said.

Twitter meanwhile added a warning label on a tweet from Trump late Monday for spreading misleading information. The post said a slow vote count in battleground state Pennsylvania could lead to "rampant and unchecked cheating."

"It will also induce violence in the streets. Something must be done!" he tweeted.

Both Facebook and Twitter taken multiple steps to stem the flow of false and misleading election information but have faced glitches and loopholes in implementing their policies.

Google-owned YouTube has also sought to limit the sharing of videos with election misinformation.

-AFP

When polls close on Election Day, and when we can expect results from the presidential race

After four years of politicking, advertisements, and raucous debates, Americans will soon tune in to find out the next president of the United States: President Donald Trump or Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

But despite the desires of some impatient followers of American politics, there is no one specific time that each state reports its election results.

The wealthy in the US are rushing home by private jet to vote in swing states

Private jet charter brokerage evoJets has booked "several flights for clients returning to their primary residences," according to Managing Partner Rich Palese.

Four evoJets clients specifically booked flights to vote — and all of those are headed to swing states.

Trump seems to back away from claims he'll declare victory as soon as possible: 'No reason to play games'

President Donald Trump seemingly backed away from reports claiming that he's planning on declaring himself winner on election night if he takes the lead in early results, saying that "there's no reason to play games."

In an Election Day phone call with "Fox and Friends," Trump said he would wait for solid indicators before saying he had won.

US stocks futures rise ahead of Election Day session

Futures for Wall Street stocks were higher Tuesday as voters headed to the polls in the culmination of a long and bitter US presidential campaign.

The early gains extended Monday's solid session, when all three major indices advanced and staged a partial recovery from last week's rout.

About 20 minutes before the market's 1430 GMT open, Dow futures were up 1.4% at 27 183.00. S&P Futures climbed 1.2% to 3 338.50 and Nasdaq futures increased 0.7% to 11 135.00.

Monday's session came after Wall Street stocks suffered their worst week and month since March amid worries over rising coronavirus cases, new quarantines in Europe, the failure of Congress to enact stimulus spending and anxiety over possible election-related civil unrest in the United States.

"The rebound bid will persist at today's open, and there is enough political spin right now to make a case from any angle as to why the market now seems to be in a good mood despite not knowing anything specific about the election outcome," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

- AFP

Biden, Trump could end up both claiming to be president-elect at the same time - reports

This year's election could see both President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden declare victory in the US presidential race during the same time.

The scenario emerged off the back of reports from the Axios news website. Sources from both camps described circumstances under which their candidate intends to act as if victory is theirs.

On US election day, Trump says he feels 'very good' about chances

President Donald Trump said he felt good about his chances for victory as the US election opened Tuesday, predicting that he would register big victories in key states such as Florida and Arizona.

"We feel very good," a hoarse-voiced Trump told Fox News in a phone interview. "I think we'll have victory."

Trump said he expected victory in all the key states that will decide the election.

"We think we are winning Texas very big. We think we are winning Florida very big. We think we are winning Arizona very big," he said.

"I think we are going to do very well in North Carolina. I think we are going to do well in Pennsylvania. We think we are doing very well everywhere."

- AFP

Joe Biden leads in polls going into US Election Day but battlegrounds tight

Democrat Joe Biden leads in the national polls and most of the battleground states going into Election Day but US President Donald Trump is insisting they're wrong and he'll repeat his upset victory of 2016. Biden, the 77-year-old former vice president, has enjoyed a solid lead over Trump, 74, in the national polls for months, at times reaching double digits.

The dollar could fall by 15% by the end of 2023 whether Biden or Trump wins, Goldman Sachs says

The US dollar could decline by as much as 15% by the end of 2023, but a larger move is "certainly possible," Goldman Sachs said. The trajectory of the pandemic, the development of a successful vaccine, and the election outcome are factors affecting the timing of the dollar weakness, Goldman Sachs economist Zach Pandl said.

Trump's campaign booked out YouTube's homepage for Election Day - but says it won't happen again

YouTube confirmed to CNBC on Monday that from next year, it won't let advertisers book out its main homepage slots — also known as its masthead — for days at a time.

Donald Trump's YouTube ad strategy became apparent in February, when he reserved the banner ads on YouTube's homepage for the days leading up to, and including, Election Day. Per the New York Times, it costs roughly $2 million per day to book that slot, also also known as YouTube's "masthead."

US Election Day begins as voters decide on Trump's fate

The United States started voting Tuesday in an election amounting to a referendum on Donald Trump's uniquely brash and bruising presidency, which Democratic opponent and frontrunner Joe Biden urged Americans to end to restore "our democracy".

The country is more divided and angry than at any time since the Vietnam War era of the 1970s - and fears that Trump could dispute the result of the election are only fueling those tensions.

Despite an often startlingly laid-back campaign, Biden, 77, leads in almost every opinion poll, buoyed by his consistent message that America needs to restore its "soul" and get new leadership in the midst of a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 231 000 people.

Despite the bad poll numbers, the 74-year-old Republican real estate tycoon counted on pulling off another upset.

"We're going to have another beautiful victory tomorrow," he told the Michigan crowd, which chanted back: "We love you, we love you!"

"We're going to make history once again," he said.

- AFP

What you need to know right now

- As the tumultuous US election campaign draws to a close, Americans head to the polls to decide who will occupy the White House for the next four years - incumbent Republican President Donald Trump or his Democratic rival, former vice president Joe Biden.

- Millions of Americans will cast ballots on Tuesday in an Election Day unlike any other, braving the threat of Covid-19 and the potential for violence and intimidation after one of the most polarizing presidential races in US history.

- While both Trump and Biden scoured the battleground states for final votes on Monday, their campaigns prepared for post-election disputes and a possible court battle that could prolong the final result.

- For many Americans, this is the coronavirus election. The pandemic which has killed more than 230 000 people in the United States and destroyed millions of jobs has defined the final year of Trump's presidency and became a rallying cry for Biden.

- A federal judge in Texas denied a bid by Republicans to throw out about 127 000 votes already cast in the US presidential election at drive-through voting sites in Houston.

- Hundreds of legal battles over how to vote in the midst of a global pandemic coupled with record-breaking numbers of mail-in ballots and early voters have made the 2020 US presidential election one of the hardest to predict. 

- The US presidential election will be decided by about a dozen states that could swing to either Trump or Biden. A look at the key battleground states that will decide who is the next US president.

- Reuters

Only 10 US presidents have not won reelection, and polling suggests Trump could join them

In recent US history, incumbent presidents have often enjoyed a significant boost in popularity while running for reelection.  

Polling from Gallup in September and October shows Donald Trump's approval rating fluctuated between 42% and 46%, averaging 44%.For months, election polling has suggested Trump's chances of reelection have been dwindling during the economic recession and the president's disastrous response to the Covid-19 pandemic.