Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Kamala Harris-Alexandria Ocasio Cortez at Old San Juan Cafe in Reading, PA
Activists file ‘bad-faith’ ballot challenges, Pennsylvania officials say
One by one, they testified under oath: a military spouse who moves every three years. A man just back from six months of traveling around the country. A graduate student temporarily away for school.
All were eligible voters who had cast a mail ballot in Chester County, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, before Election Day. And they, along with more than 200 others, had their votes challenged by a single activist, who questioned whether they met residency requirements.
About 4,000 such ballot challenges were delivered to 14 election offices across the critical battleground state by Friday, the deadline. The challenges represent an escalation of a tactic that has been used increasingly since the 2020 election. Although thousands of voter registrations have been contested since then, the Pennsylvania cases could toss out votes already cast — a move election officials say they have rarely seen on this large a scale.
(NYT)
Check out Kamala Harris' emotional advertisement as counting day looms
'Are you better off now than you were four years ago?,' Trump asks Americans ahead of election day
Trump warns, if elected, he'll impose tariffs on Mexico, China over fentanyl
Donald Trump warned on Monday that, if elected, he would punish Mexico and China with tariffs unless both governments moved to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
At a campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Trump said he would move quickly to crack down on drug trafficking along the southern U.S. border with Mexico and that he would use tariffs.
Podcaster Joe Rogan endorses Donald Trump for president
Podcaster Joe Rogan, who recently interviewed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for nearly three hours, said on Monday he has endorsed the former president in the race to the White House on the eve of the Nov. 5 US election.
"For the record, yes, that's an endorsement of Trump," Rogan said in a post on X.
Australia, India say US election result won't impact Quad group
Sydney: Australia and India's foreign ministers said on Tuesday they were confident the Quad group of the US, India, Australia and Japan would continue to cooperate in the Indo-Pacific region regardless of the outcome of the U.S. presidential election.
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters in Canberra she had met Mike Pompeo, who served as Secretary of State in the previous Trump Administration, ahead of the U.S. election and had "a very good discussion".
"One of the priorities for us to discuss was AUKUS, and we are very pleased at the sort of bipartisan support that we have seen," she said, referring to the defence technology partnership between Australia, Britain and the U.S. to transfer nuclear powered submarines to Australia.
Musk's $1 million/day sweepstake can proceed through election day, Pennsylvania judge says
A state judge on Monday allowed Elon Musk’s $1 million-a-day giveaway to swing state voters to proceed in Pennsylvania with one day to go before the tightly contested U.S. presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, Musk’s favored candidate.
Tesla CEO Musk has already given away $16 million to registered swing state voters who qualified for the giveaway by signing his political petition and said the final winner will be announced on Election Day on Tuesday.
In Pittsburgh, Trump says he will put a tariff on Mexico to stop flow of fentanyl into US
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump warned on Monday that, if elected, he would punish Mexico with tariffs unless the Mexican government moved to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
At a rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Trump said he would move quickly to crack down on drug trafficking along the southern U.S. border with Mexico and that he would use tariffs. "We will immediately stop the drugs pouring across our border," he said.
Indian Americans in fray in nine Congressional races, likely to romp home in six of them
Nine Indian Americans are running for the US House of Representatives, including the re-election bid by five of them, while another three of them are having their maiden foray into Congressional politics.
Dig more here
Democrats are facing massive turnout deficit, says Trump Campaign
The early voting figures indicate that the ruling Democratic Party is facing a massive turnout deficit, the Trump Campaign claimed on Monday.
By Monday, more than 80 million registered voters have exercised their right to franchise and in some of the key battleground states, more than 50 per cent of the electors had already voted.
Early voting is considered to be advantageous to the Democratic Party given the past trend of the last two election cycles. The Trump Campaign in a confidential memo argued that that might not be the case this time.
“With early voting closed and election day on the horizon, Democrats are facing a massive turnout deficit. In every single battleground state, we see President Trump and Republicans outperforming elections past in absentee ballots and early votes cast.
US states worried about election unrest take security precautions
A security fence rings a Las Vegas building where Nevada tabulates votes. An Arizona sheriff has his department on high alert to guard against potential violence with drones and snipers on standby. Governors of at least three states have called for National Guard troops to help maintain the peace.
As a tense America votes for either Republican Donald Trump or Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for president, concerns about potential political violence have prompted officials to take a variety of measures to bolster security during and after Election Day.
Many of the most visible moves can be seen in the battleground states that will decide the presidential election, states like Nevada where protests by supporters of former President Donald Trump broke out after the 2020 election.
This year, a security fence rings the scene of some of those protests - the Las Vegas tabulation center. Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo said last week he had activated a "limited contingent" of 60 members of the National Guard to ensure a timely response to any challenges.
In Arizona, a similar metal fence has been erected at Maricopa County vote tabulation center in downtown Phoenix, a flashpoint in 2020 for rigged election conspiracy theories and threats against election officials. (Reuters)
Just in | Pennsylvania judge allows Elon Musk's $1 million voter giveaway
A state judge on Monday allowed Elon Musk’s $1 million-a-day giveaway to swing state voters to proceed in Pennsylvania with one day to go before the tightly contested US presidential election between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, Musk’s favored candidate.
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Trump, Harris rally supporters in key swing states on eve of polling day
US Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump on Monday rallied their supporters in key swing states on the eve of the polling day, Tuesday.
Harris, 60, is the Democratic presidential candidate, while Trump, 78, is her Republican rival.
Trump held four rallies, two of which were in Pennsylvania. He started the day with a campaign rally in North Carolina and was scheduled to end his campaign in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the venue of his last public event of his 2016 historic presidential elections.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, independent candidate in the presidential race before dropping out and endorsing Trump, tells voters: Don’t vote for me
Abortion rights issue influencing Indian American women's voting preference
In the upcoming US presidential election, the issue of abortion rights is emerging as a significant factor that is influencing Indian American women’s voting preferences.
This demographic group, which is a part of the second-largest immigrant community in the United States, is showing a strong inclination towards supporting candidates who advocate for reproductive rights.
Meeta Damani, an Indian American documentary filmmaker living in the New Jersey area, has been working in the community with a particular focus on women and children.
“It is a crucial issue for both men and women in the Indian American community as well. It is interconnected like if there is a woman and the child is going to be born unhealthy, that is going to affect the entire family. At the end of the day, it is about freedom and one’s choice. I feel the women voters will make their voice very clear,” she said.
US cybersecurity chief says disinformation surge hasn't impacted election
US cybersecurity agency director Jen Easterly said on Monday that her department has not seen evidence of any activity that could impact the outcome of the election, despite a surge in disinformation.
She added that the 2024 election has faced an "unprecedented" amount of disinformation from foreign adversaries.
Markets drop on uncertainty ahead of US election results
The benchmark indices - BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty - both fell on Monday on back of persistent selling by foreign institutional investors, uncertainty ahead of the United States Presidential elections, and expectations of a fresh stimulus package by China.
Donald Trump’s crowds are dwindling as his campaign winds down
Former President Donald Trump has spent parts of the past week of his campaign speaking in self-aggrandizing reverence about the arenas he has filled and the size of his enthusiastic audiences. Never again, he has said, will there be crowds like the ones he has attracted this year.
But in the closing stretch of his third run for the White House, Trump — a 78-year-old whose voice lately has strained at times, whose speech has been slurred and whose energy appears to be flagging — is not quite the candidate he used to be. And neither are his crowds.
Trump kicked off Monday, the final day before Election Day, at the Dorton Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina, where the section behind the stage still had several dozen empty seats when he finally took the stage about an hour later than expected. There were a couple thousand supporters inside, but the back of the arena had several empty rows. And there was no line outside.
During the final week of his campaign, Trump has at times been delivering boasts about crowd size in arenas that are far from packed to the rafters. And when he insists that thousands more are waiting outside, they are often not.
On Saturday, his campaign curtained off the upper bowl of an arena in Greensboro, North Carolina, that Vice President Kamala Harris had filled. Seating in the lower bowl wasn’t packed either. And whole sections of Fiserv Forum, his last stop in Milwaukee, were empty on either side of the stage Friday.
Missouri sues to block Justice Department from sending poll monitors
The Republican-led state of Missouri asked a judge on Monday to block the US Justice Department from sending lawyers to St. Louis on Election Day to monitor for compliance with federal voting rights laws, even after the city's election board agreed to permit it.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri by the state's attorney general and secretary of state, accuses the Justice Department of making an 11th hour plan that intends to "displace state election authorities" by sending poll monitors on Tuesday to locations throughout St. Louis.
Republican former President Donald Trump, who faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday's US presidential election, continues to falsely claim that his 2020 defeat was the result of widespread fraud. He has urged his supporters to turn out at polling places to watch for suspected fraud.
Missouri is one of 27 states the Justice Department said on Friday it would send staff out to monitor voting locations, as it has done regularly during national elections. (Reuters)
In Pennsylvania, Republicans stress optimism while Democrats just stress
In a park in northern York County, Pennsylvania, where rural farmland bangs into new suburban construction, busloads of Democratic canvassers on Saturday were preparing to knock on doors in a region where not long ago, their voters scarcely existed.
Thirty-four miles to the north, at a "tailgate" party in the back room of Arooga's Grille House near Hershey, Rep. Scott Perry, a close ally of Donald Trump, was more than just hopeful about the former president's chances of winning, especially in the biggest, most important swing state of the 2024 campaign.
And so it goes in the state that long ago, both Harris and Trump identified as the must-win, and where more money and manpower have been directed than any other battleground. On election eve, both sides say they are cautiously optimistic. And in typical fashion, the Republicans are playing up the optimism, the Democrats the caution.
More visuals from Trump's rally in Raleigh, North Carolina
Credit: Reuters Photo
Credit: Reuters Photo
Credit: Reuters Photo
US election crypto speculators play the prediction markets
Donald Trump is a clear favorite to beat Kamala Harris - that's if you put your faith in prediction markets, the latest frontier for the indefatigable crypto speculator.
On the eve of the US election, billions of crypto dollars are chasing bets on the two candidates on platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi. Those sites respectively gave Trump about a 57 per cent-43 per cent and 51 per cent-49 per cent lead over Harris as of Monday, in contrast to neck-and neck opinion polls. (Reuters)
'I know Harris can beat Trump...': Upbeat Biden calls on voters
In a post on X, US President Joe Biden wrote, "Tomorrow is Election Day. If you didn’t vote early, make sure you know where your polling place is for tomorrow: http://IWillVote.com."
"I know Kamala Harris can beat Donald Trump, but you have to vote," Biden added.
Arson attacks on ballot boxes spark security concerns
While authorities claim that robust measures to protect ballot boxes, recent incidents highlight the need for continued adaptation and enhancement of security protocols.
Visuals from Trump's rally in Raleigh, North Carolina
Credit: Reuters Photo
Credit: Reuters Photo
Credit: Reuters Photo
Not 'illegal lottery': Musk's lawyer defends billionaire's $1 million voter giveaway
Elon Musk's pro-Trump group does not choose the winners of its $1 million-a-day giveaway to registered voters at random, but instead picks people who would be good spokespeople for its agenda, a lawyer for the billionaire said on Monday.
Musk lawyer Chris Gober was trying to persuade a Pennsylvania judge that the giveaway was not an "illegal lottery," as Philadelphia district attorney Lawrence Krasner alleged in a lawsuit seeking to block the contest ahead of Tuesday's US presidential election.
"There is no prize to be won, instead recipients must fulfill contractual obligations to serve as a spokesperson for the PAC," Gober said in the hearing before Judge Angelo Foglietta.
The hearing in the battleground state comes just one day before Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump will square off in the tightly contested race. Musk and his political action committee are backing Trump.
Musk's offer is limited to registered voters in the seven states expected to decide the election - Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. America PAC says its two remaining winners will be from Arizona and Michigan, meaning that Musk would likely be able to continue the giveaway even if Foglietta blocks the lottery.
Since Oct. 19, Tesla CEO Musk has been giving a $1 million check every day to a randomly selected voter who has signed his petition supporting free speech and gun rights. Musk became an outspoken Trump supporter this year and has promoted the former president on his X social media platform. (Reuters)
Jobs situation will 'get far worse' under 'Kamala puppet regime', warns Musk
Will continue to take on Big Pharma as president, assures Harris
"We have capped insulin at $35/month and prescription drug costs at $2,000/year for seniors," Harris posted on X.
"As president, I will continue to take on Big Pharma to make prescriptions more affordable—and we will cap the costs of insulin and prescription drugs for all Americans," she added.
LIVE: Trump holds a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina
'Vote for an exciting future with Trump', Musk posts on election eve
Musk became an outspoken Trump supporter this year and has consistently promoted the former president on his X social media platform.
Harris’ and Trump’s closing messages, as seen through their ads
In the final days of the tightly drawn presidential campaign, the last messages to voters in the seven swing states that will decide the election continue to flood televisions, computers and smartphones.
From Harris and her supporters, those messages cover a mix of kitchen-table issues on the economy and taxes, the fate of legal abortion and the dangers posed by a return of Trump to the White House.
For Trump and his allies, one message dominates: Defeating Harris is a matter of life and death. Your death, to be specific.
Child care costs are swallowing their paychecks, and these voters want solutions
Child care is an overshadowed issue in presidential politics, dwarfed by talk of inflation, immigration, reproductive rights and foreign policy.
But in battlegrounds like Wisconsin this year, concerns about the issue feel acute, and there’s an emerging sense that the candidates for president are no longer ignoring the role that child care can play in the lives of voters, especially women.
Musk won't be 'bullied' over $1 million voter giveaway, lawyer says as hearing continues
Elon Musk will not be "bullied" over his $1 million-a-day giveaway to registered voters ahead of the US presidential election, his lawyer said on Monday, as a Pennsylvania judge weighed whether to stop the contest.
The hearing in the battleground state comes just one day before Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump will square off in the tightly contested race. Musk and his political action committee are backing Trump.
Since Oct. 19, Tesla CEO Musk has been giving a $1 million check every day to a randomly selected voter who has signed his petition supporting free speech and gun rights.
Democratic Philadelphia District Attorney Lawrence Krasner sued Musk and his political action committee in state court on Oct. 28 to try to block the giveaway. Krasner, a champion of progressive causes, called the program an illegal lottery that violates state consumer protection laws.
"We don't allow our rights to be trampled upon by partisan agendas masquerading as legal arguments," Musk lawyer Chris Gober told reporters outside the courtroom where the hearing was taking place. "Truth will not be bullied and neither will my client."
Musk's offer is limited to registered voters in the seven states expected to decide the election - Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Musk became an outspoken Trump supporter this year and has promoted the former president on his X social media platform. (Reuters)
'Should scare everybody': Harris campaign shares clip by Trump's nephew
"There are no guardrails anymore stopping Donald Trump. There is no General Kelly. There is no General Mattis. It is now only Stephen Miller, Tom Homan, and Rudy Giuliani. That should scare everybody in America," Trump's nephew was quoted as saying by MSNBC.
US Supreme Court to hear fight over Louisiana voting map with more Black-majority districts
The US Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a bid by Louisiana officials and civil rights groups to preserve an electoral map that raised the number of Black-majority congressional districts in a legal challenge by a group of voters who called themselves "non-African American."
The justices took up appeals of a decision by a panel of three federal judges that found that the map laying out Louisiana's six US House of Representatives districts - with two Black-majority districts, up from one previously - likely violated the US Constitution's promise of equal protection. The Supreme Court in May allowed the map to be used in Tuesday's election that will decide control of the House. Its decision to hear the appeal does not change that. The court is expected to hear arguments in the case and issue a decision by the end of June.
The boundaries of legislative districts across the country are redrawn to reflect population changes every decade. The Louisiana case is the latest in a series of legal disputes over racial issues arising during this redistricting process.
The Republican-controlled Louisiana legislature approved the map in January after US District Judge Shelly Dick in 2022 ruled that a map it previously had adopted containing only a single Black-majority congressional district in the state unlawfully harmed Black voters.
Dick concluded that this previous map likely violated the Voting Rights Act, a landmark 1965 US law that bars racial discrimination in voting. Black people comprise nearly a third of Louisiana's population. The Supreme Court in 2023 left Dick's ruling in place.
In January, 12 Louisiana voters identifying themselves in court papers as "non-African American" sued to block the redrawn map in Louisiana. A lawyer for the plaintiffs did not respond to a request to provide the racial breakdown of the plaintiffs.
The three-judge panel in a 2-1 ruling on April 30 temporarily blocked the map as an unlawful "racial gerrymander." The panel decided that the manner in which the districts were drawn likely violated the Constitution's 14th Amendment equal protection provision because race had been the legislature's predominant consideration in the map's design.
The amendment, ratified in 1868 in the aftermath of the American Civil War, addressed issues relating to the rights of formerly enslaved Black people.
Gerrymandering involves the manipulation of the geographical boundaries of electoral districts to marginalize a certain set of voters and increase the influence of others. In this case, the judicial panel sided with the plaintiffs who claimed the disputed Louisiana map unlawfully reduced the influence of these non-Black voters. Two judges appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump were in the majority in the panel's ruling, with a judge appointed by Democratic former President Bill Clinton dissenting. Black voters tend to support Democratic candidates.
The panel had directed Louisiana's legislature to devise a new map by June 3, though the Supreme Court stepped in to allow the disputed map to be used in the 2024 election.
In their Supreme Court appeal, Louisiana officials urged the justices to approve the disputed map and finally resolve the intense redistricting litigation, which it described as "an endless game of ping-pong (where) the state is the ball, not a player." The Supreme Court in May made it harder to prove racial discrimination in electoral maps in a major ruling backing South Carolina Republicans who moved out 30,000 Black residents when they redrew a US House district. (Reuters)
Trump shares clip of his '20 promises to America' on election eve
'Will never stop fighting for middle class': Harris shares clip from childhood
Kamala Harris' ancestral village in India to pray for her election victory
A Kamala Harris poster seen in Thulasendrapuram, Oct 25, 2020. For representational purposes.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
Residents in US Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris' ancestral village in southern India were preparing to hold prayers on election day on Tuesday in a Hindu temple more than 8,000 miles (13,000 km) from Washington.
Harris' maternal grandfather P V Gopalan was born more than a century ago in the leafy village of Thulasendrapuram in what is now southern India's Tamil Nadu state.
"There will be a special prayer on Tuesday morning at the temple," G Manikandan, a villager who runs a small store near the temple, said. "Celebrations will follow if she wins."
At the temple, Harris' name is engraved into a stone that lists public donations, along with that of her grandfather. Outside, a large banner wishes "the daughter of the land" success in the election.
Gopalan and his family migrated a few hundred miles to the coastal city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu's capital, where he worked as a high-ranking government official until his retirement.
The village received global attention four years ago, when its residents prayed for victory for Harris' Democratic Party in 2020 before celebrating her inauguration as US Vice President by setting off firecrackers and distributing food.
Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump were scrambling to get supporters to the polls in an historically close contest, which means it could take days for the winner to emerge. (Reuters)
'Make America healthy again, end forever wars, protect civil liberties': Robert F Kennedy Jr lists reasons to vote for Trump
"VOTE TRUMP. No matter what state you live in, do NOT vote for me. Let's get President Trump back in the White House and me to Washington so we can Make America Healthy Again, end the forever wars, and protect our civil liberties," Kennedy Jr posted on X.
Elon Musk also shared Kennedy Jr's post, writing, "Let’s go, America!!".
Harris campaign releases clip of top general exposing Trump's 'election lies'
In the clip, General Mark Milley is heard saying, "We were in the Oval, there was a discussion going on and [Trump] says words to the effect of ‘Yeah, we lost.’"
Milley was commenting on the 2020 US Presidential elections which ended in chaos following Trump's refusal to acknowledge defeat.
'Vote for Trump to revive national self-confidence', says Republican Vivek Ramaswamy
"A Pennsylvania voter wearing a 'Trump 2024' hat asked me to make the case for voting for Trump. To opponents, I usually cite the border, economy, and avoiding war. But I gave this young man the deeper answer: it’s about reviving our national self-confidence," Ramaswamy posted on X.
Musk trains guns on philosopher Sam Harris who called Trump 'abnormal'
Reacting to a post on American author, philosopher, and neuroscientist Sam Harris' voting preferences, Musk wrote, "Sam Harris is, ironically, irrationality personified."
For those unaware, the author recently had a debate with Ben Shapiro on the Trump vs Kamala Harris debate and described the former US president as an "abnormal person, psychologically" on his own podcast.
'[Would] be fair to all...': Musk says only discriminating factor should be merit
Responding to a post sharing his speech in Philadelphia from October 18, Elon Musk on Monday said a system that only discriminated between people on the basis of merit would "be fair to all".
"I think the government should be actively saying that it's illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, gender or anything else other than merit. It's illegal. It's not right. It's not morally right, it's not legally right," Musk had said in Philadelphia.
Trump's racist rhetoric 'flipped a lot of people': Upbeat Harris campaign shares clip
"Undecided Latino voter in Nevada says he is now voting for Kamala Harris after the Trump campaign’s racist rhetoric: 'That alone flipped a lot of people… The rhetoric it's kind of scary, especially for Latinos here in Vegas'," the Harris campaign posted on X, sharing an interview with a voter from CNN.
'Reproductive freedom on the ballot': Harris issues rallying cry on election eve
US Vice-President Kamala Harris—the Democratic presidential candidate—on Monday sought to rally voters around the issue of abortion rights.
"Reproductive freedom is on the ballot," VP Harris posted on X, urging voters to make a plan to vote to decide on the future of the US.
'Fight for America': Trump campaign appeals for people to vote en masse
Trump posts video highlighting 'love for country'
'Make our voices heard': Harris appeals to voters
America on edge: How voters are dealing with election stress
Credit: Reuters Photo
The US electorate seems to be on edge: Worried how the country will look should their preferred candidate lose. Worried the other side will make trouble. Worried the political divide will only grow deeper.
For dealmakers, regulatory chaos would undercut Trump's pro-business tilt
Executives expect a Trump administration would also bring with it policy uncertainty, trade wars, protectionism, and inflationary pressures, which will slow down mergers and acquisitions activity, interviews with bankers, lawyers and consultants show.
Pennsylvania judge weighs challenge to Elon Musk's $1 million voter giveaway
Credit: Reuters Photo
Since October 19, Tesla CEO Musk has been giving a $1 million check every day to a randomly selected voter who has signed his petition supporting free speech and gun rights.
Trump's tariffs would reorder trade flows, raise costs, draw retaliation
It could be a much worse rerun of the Republican former president's 2018-2019 trade war with China that hit US farm goods with retaliatory tariffs and shifted Beijing's purchases to Brazil and Argentina.
Who has Trump threatened to prosecute if he becomes president again?
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has vowed to investigate or prosecute political rivals, election workers and left-wing Americans if he becomes president again.
Democratic candidate Kamala Harris says that if Trump wins Tuesday's presidential election, he will seek extreme and unchecked powers.
Key seats to watch as Republicans defend narrow House majority
Republicans in the US House of Representatives are defending a narrow majority in Tuesday's presidential and congressional elections. Democrats need to flip just four seats to win control of the lower chamber.
Ten US Senate races to watch in Tuesday's election
Democrats face a tough fight in Tuesday's US election to preserve their narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate, as they are defending several incumbents in Republican-leaning states.
Trump and Harris campaigns race to get the vote out on eve of US election
Credit: Reuters Photo
A presidential election unlike any other in US history enters its last full day on Monday with Donald Trump, Kamala Harris and their campaigns scrambling to get supporters to the polls in a contest each portrays as an existential moment for America.
Even after the astonishing blur of events the last few months, the electorate is divided down the middle, both nationally and in the seven battleground states expected to decide the winner on Tuesday, although the closeness of the contest means it could take days for a winner to emerge.
Trump, a 78-year-old Republican, survived two assassination attempts, one by millimeters, just weeks after a jury in New York - the city whose tabloids first elevated him to national fame and notoriety - made him the first former US president to be convicted of a felony.
Harris, 60, was catapulted to the top of the Democratic ticket in July - giving her a chance to become the first woman to hold the world's most powerful job – after President Joe Biden, 81, had a disastrous debate performance and three weeks later dropped his reelection bid under pressure from his party.
For all of that turmoil, the contours of the race have changed little. Polls show Harris and Trump running neck and neck nationally and in the battleground states.
More than 77 million voters have already cast ballots, but the next two days will provide a critical test of whether Vice President Harris' or former President Trump's campaign does the better job of driving supporters to the polls. (Reuters)