Shortly after 1am Irish time, US TV networks predicted that Donald Trump would, as expected, win in Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Florida.
Vice president Kamala Harris was projected to win in Vermont, Massachusetts, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and the District of Columbia.
Polls closed in the key swing state of Georgia just after midnight. US TV networks are saying this race will be “a toss up”, with no winner projected to take its 16 electoral college votes just yet.
As of 1.15am Irish time, polls were also deemed to be too close to call in North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
By about 3am, polls will have closed in the key seven key swing states.
At that stage, all eyes will turn to the crucial battleground states of Pennsylvania and Michigan, the results from which may determine the presidency.
While a victory by either former president Donald Trump or vice president Kamala Harris would be unprecedented the winner may not be officially declared until days after Tuesday’s vote.
Officials in Philadelphia reject Trump ‘massive cheating’ claim
In a post on social media, Donald Trump claimed that there was “massive cheating” happening in Philadelphia, the largest city in the biggest US swing state, Pennsylvania.
“A lot of talk about massive CHEATING in Philadelphia. Law enforcement coming!!” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, without providing any evidence to support his claim.
“There is no factual basis whatsoever within law enforcement to support this wild allegation,” said District Attorney Larry Krasner.
“If Donald J. Trump has any facts to support his wild allegations, we want them now,” he said.
How the voting commenced
So far, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have tied with three votes each in the tiny New Hampshire town that traditionally kicks off voting on election day. Since the 1960s, voters in Dixville Notch, close to the Canadian border, have gathered just after midnight to cast their ballots.
Polls opened in Vermont just after 11am Irish time, with the north-eastern state being one of the first to open the booths on polling day.
At 5pm Irish time (7am local time), Hawaii became final state to open its polling booths.
Donald Trump cast his vote in Palm Beach, Florida, alongside his wife, Melania.
Asked by reporters whether he would concede in the event of a loss, he said he would do so “if it’s a fair election”.
If I lose an election, if it’s a fair election, I would be the first one to acknowledge it.
“So far I think it’s been fair,” the former president said.
He also criticised a reporter who asked about fears of unrest and potential violence from his supporters after the election concludes.
“Of course there’ll be no violence. My supporters are not violent people. I don’t have to tell them that. And I certainly don’t want any violence,” he said.
Mr Trump’s rival, US vice president Kamala Harris, cast her vote by mail last weekend.
Tim Walz says result is ‘razor close’
Speaking during a visit to a diner in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Kamala Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, said the US presidential election was “razor close”.
“Rule of law matters, constitution matters, the American experiment matters, our neighbors matter,” he said.
“And contrary to what this one guy[Trump] thinks, nobody is above the damn law.”
“Stay calm. Stay with it,” he added, noting that America has “the fairest, the freest, the safest elections.”
FBI says non-credible bomb threats to several states, sent from Russian domains
The FBI has said that a non-credible bomb threats have been made to polling locations in several states, many of which appear to originate from Russian domains.
Though it did not identify the states, the bureau said “none of the threats have been determined to be credible thus far.”
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said two polling locations in Fulton County were briefly evacuated Tuesday morning due to false bomb threats.
The county sought a court order to extend the two polling locations’ hours for 30 minutes past the statewide 7pm deadline to compensate for the disruption.
In Washington, a man was arrested by US Capitol police officers at the Capitol visitor center.
Police said the man “smelled like fuel” and had “a torch” and “a flare gun” when he was stopped by officers during a screening process at the center.
Our officers just arrested a man who was stopped during our screening process at the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC). The man smelled like fuel, had a torch & a flare gun.
The CVC is closed for tours for the day, while we investigate. We will provide more information when we can. pic.twitter.com/J5geNud1h2
— The U.S. Capitol Police (@CapitolPolice) November 5, 2024
Officials confirmed they had canceled public tours of the Capitol for the remainder of the day.
‘A peaceful transfer of power is the highest testament to the rule of law’
Earlier on Tuesday, a bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general across US states and territories released a statement on Tuesday urging people to remain peaceful and to preemptively “condemn any acts of violence related to the results.”
“A peaceful transfer of power is the highest testament to the rule of law, a tradition that stands at the heart of our nation’s stability. As Attorneys General, we affirm our commitment to protect our communities and uphold the democratic principles we serve.
“We call upon every American to vote, participate in civil discourse and, above all, respect the integrity of the democratic process,” they wrote.
Violence has no place in the democratic process; we will exercise our authority to enforce the law against any illegal acts that threaten it.
-Additional reporting by The Guardian and Reuters