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The US faces a close presidential election as Harris and Trump wrap up their campaigns

The US faces a close presidential election as Harris and Trump wrap up their campaigns

U.S. voters head to the polls on Tuesday in a tough presidential contest in which a handful of voters in key states are likely to decide whether to send Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump to the White House. Follow our live blog for the latest developments.

The New Hampshire hamlet scored a tie in the first votes on US Election Day

Voters in the US town of Dixville Notch opened Election Day with a tie in the first minutes of Tuesday, reflecting incredibly close national polls.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump each received three ballots in the tiny community in the northeastern state of New Hampshire, where for decades Election Day has begun promptly at midnight on Monday – hours before the rest of the country’s polls open.

In front of a gathered crowd of journalists, voting opened with an accordion performance of the US national anthem.

Dixville Notch residents voted unanimously in 2020 for then-candidate Joe Biden, reportedly only the second president to win all the votes since the midnight voting tradition began in 1960.

Trump and Harris on key issues at home and abroad

Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris offer US voters a very different future over the next four years.

While one seeks isolationism and would willingly abandon the U.S. role in international leadership in favor of a unilateral “America First” approach, the other sees stability in a global order based, as always, on partnerships and diplomacy with America the top.

Domestically, Trump is expected to focus on tax cuts for the wealthy and deregulation for corporations, including environmental deregulation, as well as taking a hard line on immigration.

A Harris presidency would likely seek to help the middle class, ensure access to health care, take action on the environment and promote social justice as part of its “opportunity economy” plans.

Harris and Trump set their sights on Pennsylvania in the last election campaign

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump ended the presidential race on Monday with a bitter battle over Pennsylvania, marking their final appearance before voters in a state that could prove pivotal in the race for the White House.

Harris ended her evening in Philadelphia on the steps of the art museum made famous by the movie “Rocky,” where she said, “The momentum is on our side.”

She also teamed up with supporters in Allentown, Scranton and Pittsburgh, and made a detour through Reading to visit a Puerto Rican restaurant and do a little self-promotion by knocking on doors alongside campaign volunteers.

Trump began the day in North Carolina and ended it in Michigan, but in between he spoke in Reading and Pittsburgh – at each stop mixing false claims of voter fraud with warnings about criminal migrants and promises to revitalize the United States.

“With your vote tomorrow, we can solve every single problem facing our country and take America, and indeed the world, to new heights of glory,” he said.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of US Election Day

In a few hours the final votes for the 2024 presidential election will be cast.

In a deeply divided country, the contest between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump is considered one of the toughest in decades, with just seven battleground states set to decide the outcome – barring a major surprise.

Big questions remain about the timing of the results, the influx of misinformation and even the possibility of political violence, with both sides bracing for a lengthy legal battle that could further complicate matters.

A presidential campaign marked by a felony trial, the ouster of a sitting president and two assassination attempts ended in a final push in a handful of swing states on the eve of Election Day.

Kamala Harris spent Monday in Pennsylvania, whose 19 electoral votes represent the biggest prize among states expected to decide the Electoral College outcome. The vice president and Democratic nominee will visit working-class neighborhoods like Allentown and conclude with a nightly rally in Philadelphia featuring Lady Gaga and Oprah Winfrey.

Donald Trump held rallies in three states, starting in Raleigh, North Carolina, and continuing with events in Reading and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Republican candidate wrapped up his campaign with a late-night event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

About 77 million Americans have already voted early, but Harris and Trump are pushing to recruit many millions more supporters on Tuesday. Any outcome on Election Day will result in a historic outcome.

More coverage of the US presidential election

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

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