US voters cast ballots with security tight as election campaign nears end

Millions of Americans person lined up astatine polling stations crossed the United States to take betwixt Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris successful a historic statesmanlike race that remains excessively adjacent to call.

Voting was nether mode connected Tuesday with nary large disruptions, arsenic some candidates spent Election Day urging their supporters to formed their ballots, stressing that the stakes could not beryllium higher.

“Today we ballot for a brighter future,” Harris wrote successful a station connected X, linking to a nationalist directory of polling sites.

Today, we ballot for a brighter future.

Polling locations crossed the state are open. Find yours astatine https://t.co/VbrfuqVy9P. pic.twitter.com/7pJzch0XJR

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 5, 2024

Harris spent portion of the time calling vigor stations successful an effort to promote her supporters to vote. “We’ve got to get it done. Today is voting day, and radical request to get retired and beryllium active,” CNN quoted Harris arsenic telling 1 vigor presumption successful Georgia.

Trump, connected his X account, told voters: “I request you to present your ballot nary substance however agelong it takes”, slamming his opponents arsenic “radical communist Democrats”.

He addressed the media aft casting his ballot successful Palm Beach, Florida, saying helium felt “very confident” astir his predetermination odds.

“It looks similar Republicans person shown up successful force,” Trump said. “We’ll spot however it turns out.”

He added: “I perceive we’re doing precise well.”

A contention churned by unprecedented events – 2 assassination attempts against Trump, President Joe Biden’s surprise withdrawal and Harris’s accelerated emergence – remained cervix and neck, adjacent aft billions of dollars successful spending and months of frenetic campaigning.

More than 80 cardinal Americans had already taken vantage of early voting options earlier Tuesday, either via message oregon successful person, and lines astatine respective polling stations connected Tuesday were abbreviated and orderly.

Some glitches of vote-counting exertion were reported successful Cambria County, Pennsylvania, and a section tribunal granted a petition by predetermination officials to widen voting hours by 2 hours connected Tuesday night.

Several states person taken other information measures to support voting places.

In Georgia, predetermination workers person been equipped with panic buttons to alert officials to imaginable information threats and violence.

In Maricopa County, Arizona, the heated country of elector fraud allegations successful the 2020 election, the elector tabulation centre present looks similar a fortress down fencing, factual barriers and information cameras and with drones and constabulary snipers.

But determination were fewer incidents reported connected Tuesday. Two polling locations successful Fulton County, Georgia were concisely evacuated aft mendacious weaponry threats.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said it was “aware of weaponry threats to polling locations successful respective states”.

Many look to originate from “Russian email domains”, it said successful a station connected X, adding that nary of the threats person been determined to beryllium credible.

Stephanie Jackson Ali, argumentation manager astatine the New Georgia Project, told Al Jazeera that threats made against polling places successful Georgia are not a danger.

“The [Georgia] caput of state’s bureau believes that they are from a Russian influencing troll farm, basically, truthful not thing that’s credible oregon local”, she said.

These threats were against polling places successful heavy Black-populated areas, she said, including Democratic-voting Fulton County, wherever Atlanta is located.

“This signifies that the powerfulness of the Black ballot successful Georgia is substantial, the powerfulness of the rising electorate is substantial.”

The “rising electorate” she said, includes Black voters, caller voters, LGBTQ voters and Latino voters, who unrecorded successful Atlanta successful higher percentages than they bash successful the remainder of the mostly blimpish agrarian areas of the state.

People cheque successful to ballot astatine 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 assemblage pupil daughter, Niemah Hogue, to ballot for Harris. Niemah said she takes commencement power to assistance modulate her period, portion her parent recalled needing country aft she had a miscarriage successful her 20s, and some feared efforts by Republican lawmakers to restrict women’s healthcare.

“For my daughter, who is going retired into the satellite and making her ain way, I privation her to person that choice,” Nakita Hogue said. “She should beryllium capable to marque her ain decisions.”

At a room successful Phoenix, Arizona, Felicia Navajo, 34, and her hubby Jesse Miranda, 52, arrived with 1 of their 3 young children to ballot for Trump.

Miranda, a national plumber, immigrated to the US from Mexico erstwhile helium was 4 years old, and said helium believed Trump would bash a amended occupation of warring ostentation and controlling immigration.

“I privation to spot bully radical travel to this town, radical that are consenting to work, radical who are consenting to conscionable unrecorded the American dream,” Miranda said.

A antheral arrives to formed his ballot successful the 2024 US statesmanlike predetermination connected Election Day astatine the Greater Immanuel Institutional Church of God successful Christ successful Detroit, Michigan [Emily Elconin/Reuters]

Trump’s run has suggested helium whitethorn state triumph connected predetermination nighttime adjacent portion millions of ballots person yet to beryllium counted, arsenic helium did 4 years ago.

The erstwhile president has repeatedly said immoderate decision could lone stem from wide fraud, echoing his mendacious claims from 2020. The victor whitethorn not beryllium known for days if the margins successful battleground states are arsenic slim arsenic expected.

No substance who wins, past volition beryllium made.

Harris, 60, the archetypal pistillate vice president, would go the archetypal woman, Black pistillate and South Asian American to triumph the presidency. Trump, 78, the lone president to beryllium impeached doubly and the archetypal erstwhile president to beryllium criminally convicted, would besides go the archetypal president to triumph non-consecutive presumption successful much than a century.

Opinion polls amusement the candidates moving cervix and cervix successful each of the 7 swing states apt to find the winner: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Reuters/Ipsos polling shows Harris starring among women by 12 percent points and Trump winning among men by 7 percent points.