From coast to coast, Americans watched the results of a pivotal election Tuesday for the next president of the United States with a mix of tension, elation, relief and resignation as the votes were counted.
Young and old mingled in crowds in public spaces, such as Times Square in New York City and college campuses, seeking out communities of friends to share the night and the roller coaster of emotions as the votes were tallied.
Others sought solitude or quieter spaces, such as a darkened beach or the end of a tavern bar, where the glow of hand-held devices or neon lights illuminated the results as they trickled in.
Some prayed. Some rejoiced.
And the world watched, too. From Taiwan to Jerusalem to India and beyond, many around the globe waited for the outcome of an election and wondered just how it would affect their lives in the coming days, months and years.
Donald Trump rebuilt a vast lead over Kamala Harris in betting market forecasts as presidential election results were counted on Tuesday night.
The former president and his allies touted projections from top gambling platforms that put him way ahead of Harris in recent weeks, going so far as to suggest they were more accurate than traditional opinion polls.
While betting markets narrowed significantly in the final days of the campaign, and Harris even retook the lead on one platform this weekend, Trump surged ahead as polls closed on election day.
Betting markets have surged in popularity during this election campaign, with prominent apps like Polymarket and Kalshi surging up the app stores. By late Tuesday evening, Polymarket gave Trump a 93% chance of winning back the White House. Kalshi put Trump’s chances at 90% and Harris at 10%. PredictIt put Trump at 90%.
Bets in these markets are bids on political futures contracts. Buying a contract – like the prospect of a Harris, or Trump, presidency – drives the price of that contract, or the perceived probability of it happening, higher.
The forecasts these platforms produced for who was most likely to win the election diverged from typical opinion polls. While the polls pointed to an incredibly close contest for the White House, betting platforms have been putting Trump ahead for weeks.
Should you have turned to Polymarket on Tuesday, for example, and bet on Trump, you would receive $1 for every 93¢ you wagered if he wins the election. These returns had fallen drastically in 24 hours: Polymarket was offering $1 for every 58¢ wagered on a Trump victory the previous day.
The betting market projections shifted significantly on Tuesday evening as news outlets started issuing their first projections and calls for the election.
Read more of the Guardian’s 2024 US election coverage
New York City, US – As the sun rose over the five boroughs of New York City on Tuesday morning, a certain unspoken unease permeated the crisp autumn air.
New Yorkers — both supporters of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris — flooded polling places early on November 5 as voters in the United States began to duke it out at the ballot box.
For some, it was a chance to dismantle the status quo. For many, it was the election of a lifetime.
New York City is a Democratic stronghold. In 2020, it voted overwhelmingly against Trump, helping to deliver current President Joe Biden a critical election victory.
But each of the five boroughs has its own personality, and the pockets of voters that make up New York City paint a much more complicated picture of this year’s presidential race.
In the blue-collar neighbourhood of Ridgewood, part of the westernmost borough of Queens, 36-year-old hairstylist Adrianne Kuss expressed anxiety about the election’s eventual outcome.
“I feel nervous,” Kuss told Al Jazeera moments after casting her vote for Harris on Tuesday morning. “Nobody should be on the fence… Too many things are at stake.”
Voters leave a polling site on Tuesday in Queens, where Trump signs and banners dot lawns and windows [Dorian Geiger/ Al Jazeera]
Sporting pink hair with matching pink sunglasses, cargo pants and boots, Kuss added that the prospect of another Trump presidency frightened her.
The Republican candidate has pledged to be a dictator “for day one” if re-elected on Tuesday. Kuss also pointed out that Trump has made numerous anti-transgender and anti-immigrant comments.
“As a German American, I got this thing about fascism,” Kuss explained.
“I’m concerned about his racism, about his misogyny. But also, he is old and senile and out of touch. He’s not someone who represents New Yorkers. I mean, honestly, he’s this silver-spoon idiot.”
She pointed to the events of January 6, 2021, as fuelling her fears. On that day, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol to disrupt the certification of the 2020 election after Trump repeatedly called the results a fraud.
“I don’t want this cultish mob rearing its ugly head again,” Kuss explained. “That was absolutely terrifying. In 2020, when the insurrection happened, people’s lives were literally at risk. I don’t want to see that again.”
Alice Kokasch, 83, a retired teacher, heads into the Seneca School in Ridgewood, Queens, on Tuesday morning to cast her vote for former President Donald Trump [Dorian Geiger/ Al Jazeera] (Al Jazeera)
Queens, however, is Trump’s home borough: He was born and raised in the area, and his family’s real estate business was anchored there.
Traditionally, the borough turns out a higher proportion of voters — specifically white voters — for the former president and real estate billionaire than other pockets of the city.
In 2020, for instance, Trump carried over 26 percent of the vote in Queens, a higher number than in Brooklyn, Manhattan or the Bronx but lower than in Staten Island.
The Republican continues to have sway in areas of Queens like Ridgewood, a working-class, blue-collar neighbourhood where many Polish, German and Albanian voters live.
Retired Queens teacher Alice Kokasch, 83, is one of Trump’s supporters. Kokasch, who voted for the Republican leader in 2016 and 2020, said she had no qualms about sending Trump back to the Oval Office — despite his 34 felony convictions last May.
“He didn’t do anything that bad,” Kokasch told Al Jazeera outside Public School 88, where she taught and went to school. It had been transformed into a polling site for Tuesday’s race.
Kokasch said that, whatever Trump’s personal failings, they were no dealbreaker. “He’s not perfect, but who is, right?”
Brian, a 28-year-old Latino immigrant in Queens, also voted for Trump. Likewise, he was unfazed by Trump’s scandals and criminal history: Last year, the Republican leader became the first US president ever to face criminal charges.
“Honestly, it doesn’t bother me,” Brian, who also declined to give his name out of fear of retribution, told Al Jazeera.
“Nobody’s perfect, and I just look more towards what can he do for his country rather than his prior felony cases. I do acknowledge that that did happen. And, of course, that’s not a good look on anybody. But, you know, nobody’s perfect.”
For Brian, a customer service worker, Trump’s economic record was a mighty pull at the ballot box.
“I believe he’s the right candidate for us,” Brian said. “While he was in power, I felt like the economy was on the right track.”
Still, Brian acknowledged that Trump may not accept the election results if Harris inches ahead of him in the tight presidential race.
“Most likely not,” Brian said with a chuckle. “I know he won’t accept.”
More than one million New Yorkers cast their ballot during the early voting phase of the US election [Dorian Geiger/ Al Jazeera]
Another voter in Queens, David, a 30-year-old construction worker with a mild European accent, also voted for Trump on Tuesday alongside his father. He declined to give his last name out of fear his political leanings could affect the family business.
Like many Trump supporters, he cited the high inflation under outgoing President Joe Biden as a motivation for his vote.
“The economy’s going to sh**,” David said. “Everything is up. Inflation is at an all-time high. I think it’s time to drain the swamp. What more can I say?”
With wars ongoing in Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon, he also expressed fears that the US could be dragged into a new conflict under further Democratic leadership.
“Countless wars…,” David said, trailing off. “They want our troops to go out there and kill while they’re dining somewhere in Washington, DC, eating steak dinners.”
For him, a Harris win was inconceivable — and he echoed the unfounded election fraud claims that Trump has spread ahead of Tuesday’s election, seeking to undermine a potential Democratic victory.
“There’s a lot of spooky stuff going on,” David told Al Jazeera, citing a conspiracy theory that thousands of ballots had been hijacked off an 18-wheeler in Pennsylvania. “I’m not accepting the results.”
New Yorkers funnel into Public School 17 in north Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on Tuesday morning to cast their ballot for the next president [Dorian Geiger/ Al Jazeera]
South of Queens, in the more left-leaning borough of Brooklyn, public sentiment was slightly different.
In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a woman walking her dog and toting a yoga mat hugged a friend as the pair lined up to enter a polling station on North 5th Street.
Nearby, Brooklyn artist James Kennedy, 46, who wore a tie-dye hat with a blue Kamala pin, posed for a selfie. He told Al Jazeera he was feeling the weight of the moment.
“[I feel] pretty nervous,” Kennedy said. “I don’t know, man. It’s tough. I just wish we could all just get along again, you know? But I don’t know if it’s going to happen, but we’ll see. I just hope positivity wins over negativity.”
Brooklyn artist James Kennedy, 46, said he voted for Vice President Kamala Harris because of her stance on women’s reproductive rights [Dorian Geiger/Al Jazeera]
The divisive presidential cycles of the last decade had left him feeling depleted, he explained. Nevertheless, Kennedy, a longtime registered Democrat, said his choice was clear: He would vote for Harris. There was no way he could support Trump’s behaviour and policies.
“The way this man acts, it’s just unpresidential,” the artist said of Trump.
Kennedy, particularly, had been troubled by the undoing of Roe v Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that had previously protected the right to abortion access.
Trump has boasted on the campaign trail that it was the judges he appointed to the court that made Roe’s demise possible. In 2022, after Roe was overturned, many states took the opportunity to implement restrictions on abortion rights — if not ban the procedure entirely.
Kennedy fears further draconian laws could be imposed if Republicans seize the White House again.
“I think that’s just really what’s so important right now,” he added. “But I just think it’s ridiculous that we even have to have [that conversation].”
Harlem polling sites drew scores of African American voters on Tuesday, eager to cast votes for Vice President Kamala Harris [Dorian Geiger/ Al Jazeera]
Across the water, in the island borough of Manhattan, polling sites in the Harlem neighbourhood drew scores of primarily African American voters.
Many were eager to cast votes for Vice President Harris, who would be the first Black woman elected to the White House if successful in Tuesday’s race.
One polling site at EM Moore Public Housing drew 98-year-old lifelong Harlem resident Eula Dalton, who walked arm-in-arm with her daughter, Rose Dalton, to the polls.
“It was beautiful,” Eula Dalton said of this year’s voting process.
Both mother and daughter likened the moment to Barack Obama’s stunning 2008 presidential win. Obama became the first non-white person ever to lead the country.
Eula Dalton, 98, said casting her vote for Kamala Harris alongside her daughter, Rose Dalton, 67, was a “beautiful” moment she likened to Barack Obama’s historic 2008 win [Dorian Geiger/ Al Jazeera]
Rose, a court reporter, travelled from Connecticut to ensure her mother, who struggles with early onset dementia, could exercise her right to vote.
“I knew I wanted to bring her,” Rose said, explaining that it was difficult for Eula to vote without assistance. “She’s been inactive since Obama, I believe, because, you know, back then, she was probably 16 years younger. She was more aware.”
But the Election Day energy in Harlem was “awesome”, Rose said, calling it a monumental moment in American politics. She predicted Harris would win in a “landslide”.
“Boy, let’s wait till tonight,” she said. “We know it’s historic. It’s very historic.”
Moscow has described as “malicious slander” reports that fake bomb threats directed at polling locations in four battleground states in the United States election – Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsin – originated from Russian email domains and were part of an interference operation.
Several polling sites targeted by the scares in Georgia were briefly evacuated on Tuesday.
“None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far,” the US’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a statement, noting that many of the hoax bomb warnings “appear to originate from Russian email domains”.
An FBI official said that Georgia received more than two dozen threats, most of which occurred in Fulton County, which encompasses much of Atlanta, a Democratic Party stronghold.
Threats against 32 of the 177 polling stations in Fulton County, Georgia, led to five locations being briefly evacuated. The locations re-opened after about 30 minutes, officials said, and the county was seeking a court order to extend the location’s voting hours past the state-wide 7pm (00:00 GMT) deadline for closing.
The FBI is aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains. None of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far. https://t.co/j3YfajVK1m
About an hour before polls were to close, officials in DeKalb County, Georgia, said they received bomb threats against five polling places.
Officials in the overwhelmingly Democratic suburb said voting had been suspended at the locations until police confirmed there were no bombs. A court order would be sought to extend voting, which is routine in Georgia when a polling place is disrupted, officials said.
Bomb threats were also sent to two polling locations in Wisconsin’s state capital Madison, but did not disrupt voting, the head of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, Ann Jacobs said.
A spokesperson for Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s Democratic secretary of state, said there had been reports of bomb threats at several polling locations, but none was credible. Benson’s office had been notified that the threats may be tied to Russia, the spokesperson said.
Adrian Fontes, a Democrat and Arizona’s secretary of state, the chief election official in the swing state, said four fake bomb threats had also been delivered to polling sites in Navajo County, Arizona.
Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger laid the blame directly on Russia.
“They’re up to mischief, it seems. They don’t want us to have a smooth, fair and accurate election, and if they can get us to fight among ourselves, they can count that as a victory,” Raffensperger told reporters.
The Russian Embassy in Washington, DC said insinuations about Russian interference in the election were “malicious slander”.
“We would like to emphasise that Russia has not interfered and does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, including the United States. As President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stressed, we respect the will of the American people,” the embassy said.
US intelligence officials have accused Russia of interfering in previous US presidential elections, especially through cyber-operations in the 2016 race which the current Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, won against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
The US later indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers for their alleged roles in interfering in the 2016 election.
A senior US cyber official said her agency had not seen any significant incidents on this Election Day.
Cait Conley, of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told reporters there had been little evidence of significant disruption to election infrastructure.
“At this point, we are not currently tracking any national level significant incidents impacting security of our election infrastructure,” said Conley, whose agency is responsible for protecting critical American infrastructure, including election infrastructure.
San Francisco, California – Under a gold-leaf dome in downtown San Francisco, the usual procession of wedding parties tiptoed out of City Hall with freshly minted marriage licences.
But there was a rival line stretching down the steps for a different reason: Californians had arrived in droves to participate in the pivotal 2024 United States election.
This year’s presidential race was rich with symbolism for the San Francisco Bay Area. One of the two major candidates, Democrat and Vice President Kamala Harris, considers the Bay Area home.
She was born in nearby Oakland. Raised in neighbouring Berkeley. And in San Francisco, she built a reputation as a prosecutor that saw her rocket up the political ladder.
First, she was elected the city’s district attorney, serving in City Hall from 2002 to 2011, steps away from the law school where she received her degree.
Later, she became the state’s attorney general and then its senator in the US Congress.
California is known as a Democratic stronghold, part of the “blue wall” of states that consistently vote for the party.
And as the most populous state in the country, California boasts a whopping 54 Electoral College votes. Al Jazeera spoke to voters outside City Hall on Tuesday to understand what was motivating their votes this election cycle.
Anjali Rimi campaigned on election day to support incumbent Mayor London Breed [Allison Griner/Al Jazeera]
Anjali Rimi, social service worker
Standing in the shadow of City Hall’s towering 94-metre (307-foot) dome, Anjali Rimi was hoping to encourage other voters to re-elect Democratic Mayor London Breed to a second term in office.
But the wider general election likewise weighed heavily on Rimi’s mind.
“At all levels — federal, state and the city of San Francisco — what’s at stake is democracy,” Rimi told Al Jazeera.
“What’s at stake is the lives of immigrants. What’s at stake is the lives of minority-religion people, like myself, or many of my Muslim, Sikh, non-white, non-male, non-Christian folks who need to be protected in this country.
“What’s at stake is the fundamental rights of every human being in this world that sometimes we tend to not see right here in the United States of America. And hence, this election is historic on so many fronts.”
Rimi’s words echoed critics’ concerns about Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate and former president known for nativist rhetoric.
When asked why certain voters in the US do not see those fundamental rights, Rimi was unequivocal.
“You have to give and attribute a lot of that to white supremacy. It may not look white always, but privilege and those that have a position continue to want to conquer and lead and brutalise this world, Rimi said.
“Hence, we don’t see the struggles of those that are at the margins — the many of us who have come to this country to make it our home and are just trying to live a happy and peaceful life with our families but still have a connection back to our homelands.”
She added that she hoped to “protect Black and woman leadership” this election cycle.
Melanie Mathewson wears a T-shirt that reads, ‘We are not going back’ [Allison Griner/Al Jazeera]
Melanie Mathewson, 26, political consultant
The decision to end the Supreme Court precedent Roe v Wade in 2022 was a prominent theme in this year’s presidential race.
On one hand, former President Trump campaigned on how his decisions while in office helped pave the way for the repeal of federal protections for abortion care.
“For 54 years, they were trying to get Roe v Wade terminated. And I did it,” he said in January.
By contrast, Harris has campaigned on restoring access to reproductive healthcare. “When Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom nationwide, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law,” she told a campaign rally earlier this year.
That debate helped inspire Melanie Mathewson’s vote in the general election.
“What’s driving me on a federal level is women’s rights,” she said. “I would love to have children one day, and I want to make sure, no matter where I live or where they choose to live, they have access to whatever healthcare that they need for their bodies.”
She also gave a nod to the anti-transgender, anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric that has become a frequent topic in the Trump campaign.
“Whether I have children who are transgender or I have children who are gay, I want them to feel comfortable and protected no matter where they live in this country, not just in California,” Mathewson said.
“I’m also very concerned about my Black and Brown friends and my friends who have immigrant parents who are not citizens, who are just trying to make their way.”
Christian nationalism, she added, was helping to shape many of Trump’s policies.
“With the possibility of Christian nationalism becoming the way that we rule our country if Trump wins, I’m afraid that there is not going to be freedom of religion, freedom over our bodies,” she said.
Matt Fitzgerald and Maddie Dunn advocated for small businesses on Election Day [Allison Griner/Al Jazeera]
Maddie Dunn, 23, and Matt Fitzgerald, 28, campaigners
The shuttered storefronts that line downtown San Francisco were top of mind for Maddie Dunn and Matt Fitzgerald, who hoped Election Day would bring good news for small businesses.
They hoped that ballot initiatives in San Francisco would result in lower taxes and permitting fees for local companies.
The city’s population plummeted by nearly 65,000 residents during the COVID-19 pandemic, and businesses took a punch as a result.
“San Francisco’s had the slowest COVID recovery in North America,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve got a lot of problems here in our downtown, with empty office spaces, closing small businesses and things like that.”
Dunn explained that her father was a small business owner, and the downturn left her worried.
“This is an issue that you can really see day to day: How well is your corner store doing? Or your coffee shop? And in San Francisco, the answer is that businesses are recovering, but they’re still struggling from decreased foot traffic, really slow margins,” she said.
Both she and Fitzgerald, however, indicated that they would throw their support behind Harris, who has promised to boost start-ups, despite scepticism from the right.
“She understands how important small businesses are to our communities. And with her economic plan, when it comes down to it, she has the approval of experts,” Dunn said.
Fitzgerald, for his part, warned that Trump represented a threat to US democracy, pointing to his actions on January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the US Capitol.
“I think the candidates could not be more different,” he said. “I mean, you have one candidate, our former president, who literally tried to overthrow our democracy on January 6th, and you have a candidate who is pro-democracy, who is pro-women’s rights and is pro-LGBTQ rights.”
This election, he added, will be “a huge fork in the road”.
Jennifer Fieber held up copies of the ‘Pissed Off Voter Guide’ on Election Day [Allison Griner/Al Jazeera]
Jennifer Fieber, 51, member of San Francisco Tenants Union
For decades, the San Francisco Bay Area has been in the grips of a housing crisis.
Housing prices are unaffordable for many residents. Rental costs have ticked up. And a January 2024 report from the city government estimated that homelessness affects at least 8,323 residents — a likely undercount. More than 20,000 sought assistance for homelessness over the course of a year.
Jennifer Fieber, a member of the San Francisco Tenants Union, pointed to the crisis as the main motivation for her vote. She indicated that she would be supporting progressive candidate Aaron Peskin in his race for mayor.
“Tenants are 64 percent of the city,” Fieber said. “I think if you stabilise their housing, it has a profound effect on the working class and the ability of people to live in the city. So we need candidates that are gonna protect tenants.”
She explained that high housing prices were forcing essential workers like nurses and teachers out of the city.
When asked which candidates had put forward platforms to address the issue, Fieber responded: “Actually, I think that they have been ignoring it to their detriment.”
That includes on the national scale, she added. “I support the Democrats, but they don’t really have a housing policy.”
Joshua Kelly hopes to ensure a local highway remains closed as the effects of climate change become more apparent [Allison Griner/Al Jazeera]
Joshua Kelly, 45, stay-at-home dad
For homemaker and stay-at-home dad Joshua Kelly, the roadway that lines San Francisco’s Pacific Coast was a motivation to get out the vote.
That four-lane road, known as the Great Highway, was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, to allow for outdoor recreation. Residents like Kelly hope it remains closed, particularly as the highway faces the ravages of climate change.
“Our plan [is] to turn a coastal highway that’s falling into the ocean into a park and promenade for the whole city,” Kelly said.
He argued that the stakes are bigger than just the fate of a road.
“What kind of a city do we want to be? Do we want to be a city that acknowledges and embraces climate change and plans for it?” Kelly asked. “Or do we want to be a city that prioritises polluting, climate-change-causing car travel and the convenience of that above everything else?”
He credited outgoing President Joe Biden with taking some steps to address the climate crisis.
“Joe Biden was able to, through the Inflation Reduction Act, create one of the biggest pieces of climate legislation. And we’re seeing a lot of renewable energy come out of that,” Kelly explained.
But he warned that continued activism would be necessary to keep the issue at the forefront of national policy, no matter the outcome on Tuesday.
“I think we’re part of a coalition that’s going to put pressure on Kamala Harris to do that if she is elected as well. And if Trump gets in, he’s going to push fossil fuels. He’s going to end subsidies for renewable energy. He’s going to send us backwards.”
Kelly also feared the violence Trump might spark if he refuses to accept a defeat at Harris’s hands.
“I am concerned about the potential for violence,” Kelly said. “If the election becomes sort of contested, there is a good chance that the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court would conspire to give the election to Trump, despite him losing the votes in the Electoral College.”
Voters cast their ballots outside San Francisco’s City Hall on November 5 [Allison Griner/Al Jazeera]
Millions of Americans have lined up at polling stations across the United States to choose between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris in a historic presidential race that remains too close to call.
Voting was under way on Tuesday with no major disruptions, as both candidates spent Election Day urging their supporters to cast their ballots, stressing that the stakes could not be higher.
“Today we vote for a brighter future,” Harris wrote in a post on X, linking to a national directory of polling sites.
Harris spent part of the day calling radio stations in an effort to encourage her supporters to vote. “We’ve got to get it done. Today is voting day, and people need to get out and be active,” CNN quoted Harris as telling one radio station in Georgia.
Trump, on his X account, told voters: “I need you to deliver your vote no matter how long it takes”, slamming his opponents as “radical communist Democrats”.
He addressed the media after casting his ballot in Palm Beach, Florida, saying he felt “very confident” about his election odds.
“It looks like Republicans have shown up in force,” Trump said. “We’ll see how it turns out.”
He added: “I hear we’re doing very well.”
A race churned by unprecedented events – two assassination attempts against Trump, President Joe Biden’s surprise withdrawal and Harris’s rapid rise – remained neck and neck, even after billions of dollars in spending and months of frenetic campaigning.
More than 80 million Americans had already taken advantage of early voting options before Tuesday, either via mail or in person, and lines at several polling stations on Tuesday were short and orderly.
Some glitches of vote-counting technology were reported in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, and a local court granted a request by election officials to extend voting hours by two hours on Tuesday night.
Several states have taken extra security measures to protect voting places.
In Georgia, election workers have been equipped with panic buttons to alert officials to possible security threats and violence.
In Maricopa County, Arizona, the heated scene of voter fraud allegations in the 2020 election, the voter tabulation centre now looks like a fortress behind fencing, concrete barriers and security cameras and with drones and police snipers.
But there were few incidents reported on Tuesday. Two polling locations in Fulton County, Georgia were briefly evacuated after false bomb threats.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it was “aware of bomb threats to polling locations in several states”.
Many appear to originate from “Russian email domains”, it said in a post on X, adding that none of the threats have been determined to be credible.
Stephanie Jackson Ali, policy director at the New Georgia Project, told Al Jazeera that threats made against polling places in Georgia are not a danger.
“The [Georgia] secretary of state’s office believes that they are from a Russian influencing troll farm, basically, so not anything that’s credible or local”, she said.
These threats were against polling places in heavily Black-populated areas, she said, including Democratic-voting Fulton County, where Atlanta is located.
“This signifies that the power of the Black vote in Georgia is substantial, the power of the rising electorate is substantial.”
The “rising electorate” she said, includes Black voters, new voters, LGBTQ voters and Latino voters, who live in Atlanta in higher percentages than they do in the rest of the mostly conservative rural areas of the state.
People check in to vote at Reno High School, Reno, Nevada, November 5 [Godofredo A Vasquez/AP]
‘The American dream’
In Dearborn, Michigan, Nakita Hogue, 50, was joined by her 18-year-old college student daughter, Niemah Hogue, 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, and both feared efforts by Republican lawmakers to restrict women’s healthcare.
“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.”
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 US from Mexico when he was four years old, and said he believed Trump would do a better job of fighting inflation and controlling immigration.
“I want to see good people come to this town, people that are willing to work, people who are willing to just live the American dream,” Miranda said.
A man arrives to cast his ballot in the 2024 US presidential election on Election Day at the Greater Immanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ in Detroit, Michigan [Emily Elconin/Reuters]
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.
No matter who wins, history will be made.
Harris, 60, the first female vice president, would become the first woman, Black woman and South Asian American to win the presidency. Trump, 78, the only president to be impeached twice and the first former president to be criminally convicted, would also become the first president to win non-consecutive terms in more than a century.
Opinion polls show the candidates running neck and neck in each of the seven swing states likely to determine the winner: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Reuters/Ipsos polling shows Harris leading among women by 12 percentage points and Trump winning among men by seven percentage points.
Republican Mike Haridopolos won election to a U.S. House seat representing Florida on Tuesday. The 8th District, which is east of Orlando and covers Florida’s Space Coast, is the state’s only open seat this cycle.
