U.S. election results live | Donald Trump one step closer to re-election after Florida, Ohio wins

The 2020 U.S. presidential election is on track to see a record voter turnout with 160 million votes cast as per projections. President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden have been campaigning through the final day to get more voters to the polling booths.

As it nears booth closing time in polling stations, political leaders are urging citizens to remain in line and cast their votes. Track live trends and results at our interactive map here.

 

Here are the live updates (all times IST):

Optimistic of the outcome, says Biden

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said that he is optimistic about the outcome of the election. He was speaking to supporters in Delaware, and was accompanied by his wife Jill Biden.

Biden said that the results of the election may not be known until Wednesday morning or later but he is optimistic of the outcome.

Will make a statement tonight, says Trump

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to announce that he will be making a statement "tonight."

"We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election. We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the polls are closed!" he wrote in a tweet that Twitter flagged as possibly misleading.

 

Trump wins Ohio, Iowa, Florida

In a significant step towards retaining his post, President Donald Trump has won both Florida, Iowa and Ohio. Trump had won all three States in 2016 as well.

With this, he has bagged 53 electoral votes. A victory in both these States, and Ohio in particular, is a major success for the Trump campaign.

Biden's hopes for a decisive early defeat of Trump faded as the President took solid leads in Florida, Georgia, Ohio and Texas. Fox News projected Trump would win Florida, a must-win State in his quest for 270 Electoral College votes.

All four of 'The Squad' retain their seats

Progressive Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib, popularly known as "The Squad" have secured a second term in Congress.

 

The four women were elected to the House of Representatives in 2018, and are admired on the Left for challenging the Washington status quo.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has won the election from New York, Ilhan Omar from Minnesota, Ayanna Pressley from Massachusetts and Rashida Tlaib from Michigan.

“Our sisterhood is resilient,” Omar tweeted alongside pictures of all four women as she celebrated her victory.

Fox News calls Arizona for Biden, Republicans push back

Arizona, which has 11 electoral votes, has grabbed eyeballs after Fox News called it for Joe Biden Republicans pushed back against this, pointing out that Election Day votes are yet to be counted.

Arizona has potential to swing the election — a win here could make things easier for Biden. Trump had won the 2016 election

When will the election result be known?

In ‘normal’ years, most ballots are counted by the end of the voting day, with the result being known late in the night. This despite a small number of mail-in and absentee ballots coming in later, small enough in number that they would not change the overall result.

However, given the need for social distancing and concerns over in-person voting due to the COVID-19 pandemic, up to 80 million Americans will likely vote via mail, and in nearly a third of States, votes only need to be postmarked, not received, by the election day. With the U.S. Postal Service facing slowdowns through the pandemic, the likelihood of a decisive number of ballots being counted on the same day as voting is low.

Officials in the Midwestern States of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan have said that they are unlikely to announce the winning today, according to U.S. media reports.

Surprise lead for Trump in Virginia

As per the latest report, Trump was leading in the key battleground states of Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. Biden was leading in Arizona and Minneapolis.

Biden has won in Washington, Oregon, California and Illinois, while Trump has won Utah and Idaho.

In a surprise, Trump was leading by seven percentage points in Virginia, which was considered to be a Democratic bastion.

Indian-origin congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi wins U.S. House race

Indian-origin Democratic congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has been re-elected to the US House of Representatives for the third consecutive term.

Krishnamoorthi, 47, who was born in New Delhi, easily defeated Preston Nelson of the Libertarian Party. When last reports came in, he had accounted for nearly 71 per cent of the total votes counted.

Krishnamoorthi, whose parents are from Tamil Nadu, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2016.

Meanwhile, congressman Ami Bera is seeking his fifth consecutive win from California and Ro Khanna his third term in the House of Representatives from California.

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is seeking her third consecutive term from Washington state. - PTI

Delaware elects U.S.’ first transgender State senator

Democrat Sarah McBride has won a State Senate race in Delaware, and would become the first openly transgender State senator in the country when sworn in.

 

McBride defeated Republican Steve Washington to win the seat that became open following the retirement of the longest-serving legislator in Delaware history.

She won in a heavily Democratic district stretching from northern Wilmington to the Pennsylvania border, and joins several other transgender legislators around the country but will be the first transgender State senator.

Georgia Republican who supports QAnon wins U.S. House seat

Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who expressed racist views and support for QAnon conspiracy theories in a series of online videos, has won a U.S. House seat representing northwest Georgia.

Greene was heavily favored in the conservative district even before Democratic challenger Kevin Van Ausdal suddenly dropped out in September, saying he was moving out of state.

She has claimed in online videos that Black and Hispanic men are being held back by “gangs and dealing drugs,” alleged an “Islamic invasion” of government offices and accused Jewish billionaire George Soros of collaborating with Nazis.

She has also embraced QAnon, a far-right U.S. conspiracy theory centered around the debunked belief that Trump is fighting a secret campaign against “deep-state” enemies and a child sex trafficking ring of satanic pedophiles and cannibals.

Also read: All you want to know about QAnon

25-year-old Republican wins race, to be the youngest in Congress

 

Republican Madison Cawthorn has been elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina. At 25, he is one of the youngest candidates to be elected to Congress. Incidently, the minimum age for eligibility to the House is 25 years.

He contested against Democratic candidate Moe Davis, a former Air Force prosecutor. Crawthorn had survived a near-fatal car accident when he was 18, which left him partially paralysed.

Cawthorn's reaction to the win was succinct. "Cry more, libs," he wrote on Twitter.

 

Is Texas turning Blue?

Texas, a traditionally Republican State with 38 electoral votes, is leaning towards Democrat Joe Biden at the moment.

Trump won Texas by nine points in 2016 but polls have shown Biden still within reach in America’s biggest red state. Democrats also need to flip only nine seats to reclaim a majority in the Texas House for the first time in 20 years, and have aggressively targeted several races in Harris County in the State.

On Monday, a federal judge had rejected a last-ditch Republican effort to invalidate nearly 127,000 votes in Houston because the ballots were cast at drive-thru polling centres established during the pandemic.

Ohio results and Trump-LeBron drama

Ohio, with 18 electoral votes, is another State that is a toss-up between the two candidates. The President had famously crossed swords with the State's star NBA player LeBron James, after the latter called the President "divisive." 

In classic Trump fashion, the U.S. President took to Twitter to express his displeasure.

“Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon,” Mr. Trump posted. “He made Lebron look smart, which isn’t easy to do.”

Don Lemon is an American television journalist.

Trump then, unexpectedly, appeared to weigh in on the growing debate over who is the greatest NBA player of all time, James or Michael Jordan, by writing “I like Mike!”

Later, during a Trump campaign rally, chants of "LeBron James sucks" were heard, according to U.S. media.

Biden at 88 electoral votes, Trump at 63: US media

The first results are trickling in, with US media projecting wins for the Republican incumbent so far in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia — all States he won in 2016.

Biden has captured Connecticut, his home state of Delaware, Maryland, Illinois, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and New Jersey, as well as the three electoral votes given to the US capital Washington (District of Columbia). All were won by Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

So far, that gives Biden 88 electoral votes and Trump 63. The magic number is 270. - AFP

Donald Trump wins Arkansas, Biden leads in New York

Incumbent President Trump has won the Republican State of Arkansas, winning six electoral votes in the process.

He is projected to win in the States of Louisiana, South Dakota and Wyoming, thus netting in 14 electoral votes.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden has won in New Mexico (five electoral votes), and is set for a win in New York which has 29 electoral votes.

Trump wins Mississippi, Biden Delaware

Meanwhile, Donald Trump has taken Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma, and Joe Biden has won Massachusetts, his home state of Delaware and Virginia, a former battleground that has become a Democratic stronghold.

It was too early to call, in a tight race, the battleground of Florida as well as Georgia.

Florida votes Trump?

Florida, one of the States that is important for a Trump re-election, is still too close to call, according to U.S. media.

The key State had voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 elections, and carries 29 electoral votes. Florida is a must-win State for Trump in his quest for the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. Biden still has multiple paths to the 270 electoral votes he needs without Florida despite having spent lots of time and money trying to flip the State.

Republican Mitch McConnell wins reelection to Senate

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has won a seventh term in Kentucky.

 

The 78-year-old McConnell defeated Democrat Amy McGrath, a retired Marine combat pilot who challenged him as a political outsider. McConnell is the longest-serving Republican leader in Senate history.

As President Donald Trump’s top ally on Capitol Hill, McConnell led efforts to defend the president during his impeachment acquittal in the Senate. He also worked with Trump on a tax overhaul and orchestrated Senate confirmation of more than 200 judicial appointments, including Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. - AP

Control of Senate at stake as Trump’s allies face Democrats

Tuesday's U.S. election, primarily to elect the country's next President, is also important for the Senate and House of Representatives. One third of the Senate seats are up for re-election every two years. As of now, Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the 100 seat Senate.

This year, 35 seats are being contested. To gain majority, Democrats need to win at least three seats, plus one in case of a Republican president as the Vice President can act as a tie-breaker.

No surprises as Trump takes West Virginia, Biden Vermont

President Donald Trump has won in the traditionally Republican-leaning States of West Virginia, Indiana and Kentucky, while Democratic challenger Joe Biden has won the state of Vermont, U.S. media projected Tuesday as the first election results trickled in.

So far, that gives Trump 24 electoral votes to 13 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.

Trump win predicted in Indiana as polls close

The first trends are trickling in Indiana and New Hampshire leaning towards a Republican win and Kentucky towards a Democratic win.

Polls closed in six U.S. States 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.

Highest voter turnout in a century as over 160 million votes expected to be cast

The U.S. appears to be on track to see over 160 million votes cast in the 2020 presidential election, a turnout rate of about 67%, which is higher than the country has witnessed in more than a century, as President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden campaigned through the final day to get more voters to the polling booths.

The pandemic as well as a strong drive among Americans to have their voices heard on the ballot box resulted in a record 101 million early votes cast in person and by mail before the polls even opened on Election Day.

The last time the turnout was more than 65% was 1908, according to the United States Elections Project. - PTI

Watch | How is the President of United States elected?

 

Trump or Biden? Big turnout, few hiccups as voters choose

Millions of voters braved coronavirus concerns and occasional long lines to choose between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden in an epic election that will influence how the U.S. confronts everything from the pandemic to race relations for years to come.

Those who turned out in person joined 102 million fellow Americans who voted days or weeks earlier, a record number that represented 73% of the total vote in the 2016 presidential election.

Spirits were high — and positive — in many polling places after a long, exceptionally divisive campaign.

— A.P.

Votes in SC county can't be counted immediately

More than 13,000 votes in one South Carolina county will have to wait a while to be counted because of a printing error.

Dorchester County Election Commissioner Todd Billman said at a news conference Tuesday that the mail-in ballots did not have the proper bars printed at the top so the scanner used to count the votes won’t register them. He says the error does not affect anyone’s vote.

The votes will have to be counted by hand and will not be counted Tuesday. Mr. Billman says Dorchester County’s full results will be finished by the Friday deadline to certify returns.

— A.P.

Republican Governor confesses to voting for Joe Biden

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott says he voted for Joe Biden for president, making him the first Republican governor in the nation to acknowledge voting for the Democratic presidential candidate.

The Republican governor told reporters Tuesday after casting his ballot in his hometown of Berlin, Vermont, that he had never voted for a Democrat in his life.

“As many of you knew, I didn’t support President Trump. I wasn’t going to vote for him,” Scott said. “But then I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t enough for me to just not vote. I had to vote against.”

— A.P.

Joe Biden isn’t making any predictions about election outcome

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden isn’t making any predictions about the outcome of the election as the final hours of voting tick down.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday outside a Delaware community center, Biden said he’s “superstitious” about offering predictions for election night but remains “hopeful.” He says he’s heard from aides that there’s “overwhelming turnout” among young people, women and older Black adults in places like Georgia and Florida.

He says, “The things that are happening bode well for the base that has been supporting me -- but we’ll see.” Still, he admitted, “It’s just so uncertain” because of how many states are in play.

— A.P

No apparent signs of any malicious cyber activity — at least not yet: Department of Homeland Security

The cybersecurity agency at the Department of Homeland Security says the U.S. election so far has featured the usual technical glitches and routine issues but no apparent signs of any malicious cyber activity — at least not yet.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency also says it’s too early to declare victory as polls near closing time around the nation Tuesday and with days of vote counting and certification ahead.

— A.P.

Election Day unfolds smoothly, so far defying fears of disruption

Americans by the millions waited patiently to cast ballots at libraries, schools and arenas across the country on Tuesday, in an orderly show of civic duty that belied the deep tensions of one of the most polarizing presidential campaigns in U.S. history.

The face masks worn by many voters and the sight of boarded-up stores in some city centers were reminders of two big issues shaping the 2020 election, with COVID-19 still ravaging parts of the country after a summer of sometimes violence-marred protests against police brutality and racism.

While civic rights groups said they were monitoring for any signs of voter interference and law enforcement agencies were on high alert for disruption at the polls, their worst fears had not materialized by early afternoon.

— Reuters

Kamala Harris heading heading to Wilmington, Delaware

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is heading to Wilmington, Delaware, after spending the afternoon campaigning in battleground Michigan.

She reminded voters at a Detroit church on Tuesday how slim Donald Trump’s margin of victory was in the state in 2016. She urged them to try to get two other people to vote as well.

She also urged people to remember why they are voting if they are stuck in long lines.

— A.P.

Hand Sanitizers jam ballot scanners in  Iowa

A spokesperson for the Iowa secretary of state says hand sanitizer on voters’ hands caused a ballot scanner to jam at a polling place in Des Moines.

Spokesperson Kevin Hall says some voters’ hands were moist when they handled the ballots and the buildup of sanitizer eventually caused the scanner to stop working.

The machine was fixed in an hour.

— A.P.

'Away from the noise': How Liberal Americans are coping with Election Day anxiety

Rachel Richardson, a lifelong Democrat, is spending Election Day hiking trails along the Pacific Coast with her two daughters and a fellow mom with her kids in tow.

The 41-year-old Berkeley, California, native who voted for Democrat Joe Biden early said she decided to plan a three-day camping trip to stay away from minute-by-minute election news https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-voting/with-short-lines-and-face-masks-u-s-election-day-gets-off-to-an-orderly-start-idUSKBN27J12R and keep anxiety over the potential reelection of Republican President Donald Trump and the pandemic at bay.

“I think it's now time for me to get a good night's sleep, a few nights in the fresh, clean air with no WiFi signal anywhere in sight,” she told Reuters. “Away from the noise of people's responses.”

— AP

"Call out white supremacists": Crowd gathers near White House

A crowd chanting, “ Call out the white supremacists” has gathered near the White House, north of Lafayette park which is fenced off.

— Sriram Lakshman

Trump, Biden hand their fate to voters, with robust turnout

Voters flocked to the polls on Tuesday despite the threat of the coronavirus and long lines to choose between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, in an election that will influence how the U.S. confronts everything from the pandemic to race relations for years to come.

Those who are voting in person on Tuesday are joining 102 million Americans who voted early, a record total that that represents 73% of the total turnout of the 2016 presidential election.

"The most important issue is for us to set aside our personal differences that we have with each other,” said Eboni Price, 29, who rode her horse Moon to her polling place in a northwest Houston neighborhood.

— AP

Donald Trump is the President of criminal justice reform: White house

"President Donald Trump is the President of criminal justice reform. He's fighting for public safety while ensuring that our justice system serves every American community and provides second chances for those who are ready to give back and rebuild," The White house tweeted.

"He's fighting for public safety while ensuring that our justice system serves every American community and provides second chances for those who are ready to give back and rebuild," it added.

 

Dollar slides, stocks rise as markets lean toward Biden

The dollar slid and global equity markets rose Tuesday on bets of increased stimulus if Joe Biden wins the U.S. presidential election against President Donald Trump, but gold prices gained on the prospect of contested voting results.

Stocks climbed in Asia after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut interest rates to near zero and boosted its bond-buying program, a precursor to expectations the Bank of England on Thursday will also ramp up its bond purchases.

The dollar slid on the notion a Mr. Biden victory would weaken the greenback. The former Democratic vice president is expected to boost stimulus spending and be less combative on trade, which would lift other currencies at the dollar's expense.

— Reuters

Early vote in U.S. 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 U.S. 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

Republicans in battleground Pennsylvania sue over balloting near Philadelphia

A Republican congressional candidate in Pennsylvania on Tuesday sued election officials in a suburban Philadelphia county, accusing them of illegally counting mail-in ballots early and giving voters who submitted defective ballots a chance to re-vote.

The lawsuit against Montgomery County officials was filed by Kathy Barnette, who is seeking a House seat in Pennsylvania's 4th Congressional district, and Clay Breece, chairman of the Republican Committee in neighboring Berks County.

They are seeking to block county officials from letting voters change defective ballots, and to have mail-in ballots that are defective or have been changed be deemed “spoiled,” meaning they would not be counted.

— Reuters

U.S. 'entitled to know' winner on election day: Donald Trump

U.S. 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 November 3,” he said during a visit to Republican National Committee offices in Arlington, Virginia.

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

— AFP

Democrats push to extend control of House for two more years

Democrats pushed to seal control of the House for two more years Tuesday as they banked on their health care focus, dominant fundraising and broad suburban indignation with President Donald Trump to make their majority in the chamber even larger.

Republicans were hoping to oust some of the 29 Democrats in districts Trump won in 2016, mostly freshmen, in places like Iowa, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, rural New Mexico, upstate New York and Virginia.

But nearly all Democratic incumbents in potentially vulnerable districts were outspending their GOP challengers, often by vast margins. Democrats were also aiming millions at Republican-held seats from areas around Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston and Indianapolis, and even GOP strongholds like Little Rock, Arkansas, western Colorado and Alaska.

— AP

With short lines and face masks, U.S. Election Day gets off to an orderly start

Americans by the millions waited patiently to cast their ballots at libraries, schools and arenas across the United States on Tuesday, in an orderly show of civic duty that belied the deep tensions of one of the most polarizing presidential campaigns in the country's history.

Face masks worn by many and boarded-up stores in some city centers were reminders of two of the issues shaping 2020's elections, with COVID-19 still ravaging parts of the country after a summer of sometimes violence-marred protests against police brutality and racism.

In New York City, some voting lines snaked around blocks. But in many places lines were short or non-existent, which poll workers guessed was due to an unprecedented wave of early voting. More than 100 million ballots were cast before Election Day, a new record.

— Reuters

FBI investigating robocalls urging people to 'stay home' on Election Day

The FBI is looking into a spate of mysterious robocalls urging people to stay home on Election Day as the nation remains on high alert to ensure voting is not compromised, a Department of Homeland Security official said Tuesday.

U.S. State and local officials have been raising the alarm over at least two separate automated call campaigns as million of Americans cast their votes on Tuesday to decide between President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden.

Experts who spoke to Reuters say they are mystified by one of the campaigns, which tells people to remain home but does not explicitly mention voting.

“There's a little bit of confusion about this one across the industry,” said Giulia Porter, vice president at RoboKiller, a company that fights telemarketers and robocalls and has been tracking the campaign.

— Reuters

Brazil's Bolsonaro, a Trump fan, urged to refrain from hasty U.S. election comment

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been advised by domestic aides to wait until U.S. election results are official before congratulating his political idol Donald Trump on a win, even if either candidate declares himself winner beforehand, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

 

Mr. Bolsonaro, a far-right populist, has modeled himself on the U.S. president and delights in being called the “Tropical Trump.” The U.S. leader has not completely redrawn U.S.-Brazil relations in the way Brasilia may have hoped, but he represents a key ideological ally for Bolsonaro.

If Joe Biden wins, the Democrat could put the environment and human rights at the top of the bilateral agenda, complicating relations and jeopardizing trade, diplomats and analysts have told Reuters.

— Reuters

Don’t slow down, California—keep up this historic turnout: Kamala Harris

"12 million Californians cast their ballot before Election Day. Millions more will head to the polls today," tweeted  Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Kamala Harris.

"Don’t slow down, California—keep up this historic turnout," she added. If elected, she will become the first woman Vice-President of the country.

U.S. postal service ordered to check for delayed ballots in key battlegrounds

A judge ordered the U.S. Postal Service to sweep some mail processing facilities on Tuesday afternoon for delayed ballots and immediately dispatch them for delivery in election battlegrounds such Pennsylvania and Florida among other places.

Affected by the order are central Pennsylvania, northern New England, greater South Carolina, south Florida, Colorado, Arizona, Alabama and Wyoming as well as the cities of Atlanta, Houston, Philadelphia, Detroit and Lakeland, Florida.

— Reuters

Watch: What will the US election results mean for India?

While many in India, like people around the world, are interested in the US elections just to see who will win between Donald Trump and Joseph Biden, let us take a look at what the results could mean for US ties with India.

On the strategic side of things, it is clear that relations under Mr. Trump have grown closer at a more rapid pace than before, but it is unlikely that the results in either direction will make a difference to those. What will US ties with China, the Indo-Pacific and Pakistan, especially vis-a-vis Afghanistan be?

— Suhasini Haider

Americans vote as country braces for unrest

By the time Americans started lining up at the polls on Tuesday, an unprecedented number of their fellow citizens — just under 100 million — had already voted, either by mail or via in-person early voting. Both candidates and their star campaigners dashed across swing States urging Americans to vote and to vote for their vision of the future. Also unprecedented in the modern history of a country that likes to be called the “world’s oldest democracy” was the anticipation of possible violence and civil unrest in the event of a contested election.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who wrapped up his campaign on Monday night in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as he had done in 2016 continued to question the legitimacy of some mail-in ballots. Democratic candidate Joe Biden concluded his campaign on Monday where it began — in Pittsburgh.

Mr. Biden began Tuesday with a visit to St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware, with his wife Jill and their granddaughters, visiting the graves of his late son Beau and his first wife and their daughter. Mr. Biden, then flew to Scranton, Pennsylvania, his birth place, for a “get out the vote” event.

— Sriram Lakshman

Biden releases video on voting day

Joe Biden meanwhile released a simple video on voting day encouraging people to go out and vote, with the message: "It comes down to this."

 

Trump releases video montage of him 'dancing' to "YMCA"

On voting day, pinned to the top of President Donald Trump's twitter profile is a video montage of him dancing to "YMCA", the 1978 hit of the band Village People, at various campaign rallies. Over 2 minutes and 12 seconds, Mr Trump merely does fist punches in robotic fashion, occasionally pointing his index finger to the crowds as the disco hit plays on. The video ends with the message "Get out and vote".

 

Trump's top domestic security official urges patience over vote count

Donald Trump's top domestic security official urged voters on Tuesday to be patient in waiting for election results after reports that the president could rush to claim victory.

“Voters should be patient while waiting for the outcome of this year's election,” said Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security.

“It is important to recognize that this process may require time.”

Trump reportedly told confidants that he would declare victory late on Tuesday if it looked like he was ahead in the voting, though he denied the accusation.

As voting opened, he told Fox News that there was “no reason to play games” over declaring victory early.

Officials in many states have said that counting the large numbers of mail-in votes could take at least another day, and perhaps three days.

Wolf told a press briefing that US election systems remain “resilient” despite attempts by foreign countries like Iran and Russia to hack them and to obtain voter data.

“We have no indications that a foreign actor has succeeded in compromising or affecting the actual votes cast in this election. But we do remain on high alert,” said Wolf.

Chris Krebs, the head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is in charge of election security, said he is confident that the vote results, which will only begin coming in on Tuesday evening, will be secure.

“There may be other events or activities or efforts to interfere and undermine confidence in the election,” Krebs said. “So I ask all Americans to be patient, to treat all sensational and unverified claims with skepticism,” he said.

- AFP

Trump says he feels 'very good' about chances

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

“We feel very good,” a hoarse-voiced Trump told Fox News in a phone interview. Mr Trump said he expected victory in all the key states that will decide the election, but said he would not “play games” by declaring his win too early.

“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.”

Running behind in most opinion polls, Mr Trump bashed Democratic opponent Joe Biden, “biased” media and the “extreme” left as he repeated his argument for re-election to four more years in the White House.

“Joe Biden is not prime time” he said.

Mr Trump called it “terrible” and “dangerous” that millions of votes mailed in might still not be counted on Wednesday.

But he downplayed allegations that he planned to prematurely declare victory on Tuesday evening before enough of the vote is tallied to determine the winner.

“I think we'll have victory, but only when there's victory,” he said. “Theres no reason to play games.”

- AFP

We can heal the soul of this nation: Joe Biden

"In 2008 and 2012, you placed your trust in me to help lead this country alongside Barack Obama. Today, I’m asking for your trust once again — this time, in Kamala and me," tweeted Joe Biden. The post also included two images of Mr. Biden with Barack Obama and Kamala harris

"We can heal the soul of this nation — I promise we won’t let you down," he added.

Polls open in four States

 

Polls opened at 6:00 am (16:30 IST) in the eastern states of New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Connecticut and Maine.

But the first polling stations to open in the country were in two New Hampshire villages, Dixville Notch and Millsfield, starting at midnight.

A tiny hamlet of 12 residents in the middle of the forest, near the Canadian border, Dixville Notch has traditionally voted “first in the nation” since 1960.

The vote took minutes, as did the count: five votes for Biden, and none for Trump. - AFP

Watch | Battleground USA: Inside the race to the White House

A video explainer on the 2020 U.S. Elections with The Hindu's U.S. Correspondent Sriram Lakshman

The Hindu In Focus podcast | Will there be a result on November 3?

There is a chance — in fact, a large chance — that the hugely consequential United States Presidential Election 2020 may not be straightforward. A huge proportion of voters in the U.S. have opted for early voting and mail-in voting, and in different States in the U.S there are different rules for the counting of these votes. Over the last six months, President Trump has sought to claim on Twitter that mail-in voting would lead to voter fraud and the Republicans are likely to throw in legal challenges in several States. Taking us through the scenarios and analysing the situation for each campaign as we head into our election coverage is Narayan Lakshman, Associate Editor of The Hindu and former U.S. correspondent.

 

10 states to watch out for

President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden each has a path to win the White House. The former vice president is competitive in all the battleground states Trump carried in 2016, and has put a handful of traditional Republican states, including Georgia and Arizona, in play. Trump can win by defending a wide swath of territory he won in 2016, but his hopes for reelection are heavily dependent on the swing states of Florida and Pennsylvania.

Grab the binoculars and focus on these 10 states as election returns start rolling in:

 

What to watch on Election Day in America

Election Day is finally here. Or at least what we still call Election Day, since nearly 100 million Americans had already cast ballots by Tuesday.

That’s the result of an election system that has been reshaped by the worst pandemic in a century, prompting many voters to take advantage of advance voting rather than head to polling places in person at a time when coronavirus cases are rising.

Here’s what to watch as the final votes for President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are cast:

Fearing poll-related violence, White House, U.S. businesses take additional security cover

Security has been tightened at the White House, major commercial avenues and shopping districts in the United States as officials feared street violence on election day.

Vital government installations are on high alert. The Secret Service has fortified the White House; a non-scalable high wall has been temporarily erected around the sprawling presidential complex ahead of the voting on Tuesday.

On election eve, contractors were seen busy boarding up major stores and businesses from New York and Boston in the north to southern Houston to Washington DC and Chicago in the east to San Francisco in the West.

Boarding is the commercial term used for installing wooden platforms as protective covers for windows, it includes other makeshift security measures.

 

Judge rejects GOP effort to throw out 127,000 Houston votes

 

A federal judge on Monday rejected another last-ditch Republican effort to invalidate nearly 127,000 votes in Houston because the ballots were cast at drive-thru polling centres established during the pandemic.

The ruling came in response to a lawsuit by conservative GOP activists, who have filed a battery of court challenges over moves to expand voting options during the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenges have not involved Trump’s campaign.

The Hindu Explains | What are swing States in U.S. polls?

 Why are States like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Florida crucial and will Trump get a second term?

 

Watch | How is the President of United States elected?

The United States President is elected every four years and can serve for only two terms. According to the Constitution of the U.S., the President must be a natural born citizen of at least 35 years of age and a resident for at least 14 years.

Watch | A quick look at the oldest and youngest U.S. presidents

This year, voters in the U.S. will choose between two of the oldest presidential candidates. 74-year-old Donald Trump and Joe Biden aged 77 will be the oldest in the country’s history. Trump, at the age of 70, became the oldest incoming president in 2016. On an average, U.S. presidents are inaugurated at 55 years of age.