The final day of voting in the US is here, after tens of millions have already cast their ballots

By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY and ALI SWENSON, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Election Day 2024 arrived Tuesday — with tens of millions of Americans having already formed their ballots. Those see grounds numbers successful Georgia, North Carolina and different battleground states that could determine the winner.

The aboriginal turnout successful Georgia, which has flipped betwixt the Republican and Democratic nominees successful the erstwhile 2 statesmanlike elections, has been truthful robust — over 4 cardinal voters — that a apical authoritative successful the caput of state’s bureau said the large time could look similar a “ghost town” astatine the polls.

As of Monday, Associated Press tracking of beforehand voting nationwide showed roughly 82 cardinal ballots already cast — somewhat much than fractional the full fig of votes successful the statesmanlike predetermination 4 years earlier. That’s driven partially by Republican voters, who were casting aboriginal ballots astatine a higher rate than successful caller erstwhile elections aft a run by erstwhile President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee to antagonistic the Democrats’ longstanding vantage successful the aboriginal vote.

Despite agelong lines successful immoderate places and a fewer hiccups that are communal to each elections, aboriginal in-person and message voting proceeded without immoderate large problems.

That included successful the parts of occidental North Carolina hammered past period by Hurricane Helene. State and section predetermination officials, benefiting from changes made by the Republican-controlled legislature, pulled disconnected a herculean effort to guarantee residents could formed their ballots arsenic they dealt with powerfulness outages, deficiency of h2o and washed retired roads.

By the clip aboriginal voting successful North Carolina had ended connected Saturday, over 4.4 cardinal voters — oregon astir 57% of each registered voters successful the authorities — had formed their ballots. As of Monday, turnout successful the 25 occidental counties affected by the hurricane was adjacent stronger astatine 59% of registered voters, authorities predetermination committee Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said.

Brinson Bell called the voters and predetermination workers successful the hurricane-hit counties “an inspiration to america all.”

Besides the hurricanes successful North Carolina and Florida, the astir worrisome disruptions to the predetermination play truthful acold were arson attacks that damaged ballots in 2 driblet boxes adjacent the Oregon-Washington border. Authorities determination were searching for the idiosyncratic responsible.

The lack of immoderate significant, wide problems has not stopped Trump, the Republican nominee, oregon the RNC, which is now nether his sway, from making galore claims of fraud oregon predetermination interference during the aboriginal voting period, a possible prelude to challenges after Election Day.

He has mischaracterized an probe underway successful Pennsylvania into astir 2,500 perchance fraudulent elector registration applications by saying 1 of the counties was “caught with 2600 Fake Ballots and Forms, each written by the aforesaid person.” The probe is into registration applications; determination is nary denotation that ballots are involved.

In Georgia, Republicans sought to prohibit voters from returning mailed ballots to their section predetermination bureau by the adjacent of polls connected Election Day, votes that are allowed nether authorities law. A judge rejected their lawsuit over the weekend.

Trump and Republicans besides person warned astir the anticipation that Democrats are recruiting masses of noncitizens to vote, a assertion they person made without evidence and that runs antagonistic to the data, including from Republican secretaries of state. Research has consistently shown that noncitizens registering to ballot is rare. Any noncitizen who does faces the imaginable of felony charges and deportation, a important disincentive.

One lawsuit of noncitizen voting was caught during aboriginal voting past period and resulted successful felony charges successful Michigan aft a pupil from China cast an amerciable aboriginal ballot.

This is the archetypal statesmanlike ballot since Trump mislaid to Joe Biden four years agone and began assorted attempts to circumvent the outcome and stay successful power. That climaxed with the convulsive Jan. 6, 2021, onslaught connected the U.S. Capitol to halt certification of the results aft Trump told his supporters to “fight similar hell.”

Even now, a solid majority of Republicans believe Trump’s lie that Biden was not legitimately elected, despite reviews, audits and recounts in the battleground states that each affirmed Biden’s win. A survey past period from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed Republicans remain much much skeptical than Democrats that their ballots volition beryllium counted accurately this year.

Seeking to rebuild elector assurance successful a strategy targeted with false claims of wide fraud, Republican lawmakers successful much than a twelve states since 2020 person passed caller voting restrictions. Those rules see shortening the model to use oregon instrumentality a message ballot, reducing the availability of ballot driblet boxes and adding ID requirements.

On the past play earlier Election Day, Trump continued to falsely assertion the predetermination was being rigged against him and said a statesmanlike victor should be declared connected predetermination night, earlier each the ballots are counted.

Vice President Kamala Harris urged voters not to autumn for Trump’s tactic of casting uncertainty connected elections. The Democratic nominee told supporters at a play rally successful Michigan that the maneuver was intended to suggest to radical “that if they vote, their ballot won’t matter.” Instead, she urged radical who had already formed ballots to promote their friends to bash the same.

Through 4 years of election lies and voting-related conspiracy theories, section predetermination officials person faced harassment and adjacent decease threats. That has prompted high turnover and led to heightened information for predetermination offices and polling sites that includes panic buttons and bullet-proof glass.

While determination person been nary large reports of immoderate malicious cyberactivity affecting predetermination offices, overseas actors person been progressive successful utilizing fake societal media profiles and websites to drum up partisan vitriol and disinformation. In the last weeks, U.S. quality officials have attributed to Russia multiple fake videos alleging predetermination fraud in statesmanlike plaything states.

On the eve of Election Day, they issued a associated connection with national instrumentality enforcement agencies informing that Russia successful peculiar was ramping up its power operations, including successful ways that could incite violence, and apt would proceed those efforts good aft the votes person been cast.

Jen Easterly, the nation’s apical predetermination information official, urged Americans to trust connected authorities and section predetermination officials for accusation astir elections.

“This is particularly important arsenic we are successful an predetermination rhythm with an unprecedented magnitude of disinformation, including disinformation being aggressively peddled and amplified by our overseas adversaries astatine a greater standard than ever before,” she said. “We cannot let our overseas adversaries to person a ballot successful our democracy.”

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