2024 presidential election live updates: Polls closed in 6 states as America awaits results in Trump-Harris race
Florida: First polls are about to close in much of Florida, which reports votes quickly. The first votes released will be early in-person and mailed votes. Those have tended to favor Democrats in the past, but it's not clear that trend will hold this year. Florida adds Election Day votes soon after and counts few votes after election night, so races tend to wrap up quickly.
Georgia: Polls are about to close in the battleground state of Georgia. The first votes reported have historically included at least some cast before Election Day. We don't know if the advance vote this year will favor Democrats as it has in the past. Voters don't register by party in Georgia.
Billionaire Elon Musk said his pro-Trump super PAC will continue its work after the election, focusing on the 2026 midterms as well as local prosecutorial races. Musk discussed the future of his America PAC during a live event on his social media platform X. Musk repeated his support for Trump and said that a Trump victory would reflect an electorate eager for change.
"I think there's a sea change in the country," said Musk. "I hope I'm not wrong about that."
Phil Scott, Vermont's Republican governor, told reporters outside his polling place that he voted for Harris over Trump, his party's presidential candidate.
Scott said it was "not an easy thing to do being the Republcian sitting governor and voting against your party's nominee," according to video from NBC 5 . But Scott said he "came to the conclusion that I had to put country over party."
Scott voted for President Joe Biden in 2020.
Another metro Atlanta county has seen voting disrupted by bomb threats.
About an hour before polls were to close, officials in DeKalb County said they received bomb threats against five polling places.
Officials in the overwhelmingly Democratic suburb said voting had been suspended at those locations until police confirm there are no bombs.
County officials say they're seeking a court order to extend voting, which is routine in Georgia when a polling place is disrupted.
Some polling places in Fulton and Gwinnett counties were targeted earlier Tuesday. Those threats were found to be false.
"Rest assured that we are working quickly to ensure every voter will have an opportunity to cast their ballot despite these bomb threats," DeKalb elections director Keisha Smith said in a statement.
About 4 in 10 voters said they were very confident that their ballots would be accurately counted nationwide, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 115,000 voters in the United States.
About 3 in 4 voters said they were at least somewhat confident, while nearly 1 in 4 were not confident in the ballot counts.
Voters were more confident in the tallies in their individual states, with about half saying they were very confident.
More than a dozen Detroit police officers were milling around during late afternoon inside Huntington Place and in the area immediately outside the doors to the massive convention room where election workers were to count ballots.
Barricades are up outside the room and escalators to and from the area have been shut off. Everyone entering has to go through metal detectors. Any bags they have are being checked by security.
Detroit police said there were no reported issues inside or outside of Huntington Place. As of 6 p.m. EST, traffic outside the center was light with no protesters in sight.
"It's all hands on deck," Deputy Chief Franklin Hayes told The Associated Press last month. "We have a comprehensive plan."
Officials associated with both political parties are denying Trump's claim of "massive cheating" in Philadelphia.
On social media, one of three Philadelphia election board members, Seth Bluestein, a Republican, said there is "absolutely no truth to this allegation. It is yet another example of disinformation." Voting in the city is "safe and secure," he said.
Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro's Department of State said, "Pennsylvania counties, including Philadelphia, are running a safe and secure election."
Trump provided no details about the alleged cheating. His spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment about what he meant.
A judge in Pennsylvania's Fayette County has blocked a local judge of elections from doing a unilateral hand count of ballots in violation of the state election code.
Washington Township Judge of Election Vincent Manetta expressed his intention to "remove the ballots from the ballot box and audit or hand count the votes cast for each presidential candidate," according to an emergency petition from Marybeth Kuznik, director of the Fayette County Bureau of Elections.
Judge Linda Cordaro ordered Manetta to comply with state election law.
If he fails to comply, the judge directed the sheriff's department to escort a poll worker and voting materials to the Fayette County Election Bureau.
Ahead of poll closures in Pennsylvania, Trump said on his social media platform that there was "talk about massive cheating in Philadelphia" and said law enforcement was on the way.
He did not provide details, and there was no immediate indication of what he was referring to, and his spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment about what he meant.
Election Day voting had proceeded relatively smoothly across Pennsylvania, with a few counties reporting problems with ballot tabulators.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner issued a statement responding to Trump's post, saying the only suggestion of cheating was coming from the Republican presidential nominee.
"There is no factual basis whatsoever within law enforcement to support this wild allegation," Krasner said. "We have invited complaints and allegations of improprieties all day. If Donald J. Trump has any facts to support his wild allegations, we want them now. Right now. We are not holding our breath."
Trump's allies appeared worried about turnout among men today, urging them to vote as Election Day drew to a close.
"If you know any men who haven't voted, get them to the polls," Stephen Miller, a longtime adviser to the Republican nominee, posted on X at 5:58 p.m. EST
Charlie Kirk, the leader of the conservative group Turning Point, seemed concerned earlier in the day. "Turnout is mixed and not where we want it to be," he wrote on X. "We need more people to vote. We can't let turnout flatline."
He struck a more positive note at 4:11 p.m. EST "The men are arriving," he posted. "Turnout is SURGING."
Hours before Harris arrives at Howard University, Black Greek organizations are practicing strolling for her election event. Strolling is a tradition in Black Greek organizations where students form a line and perform choreography specific to the sorority or fraternity.
Black sororities and fraternities, known collectively as "The Divine Nine," have been a source of strength for Harris. This year there was a surge in support from members of these groups, many of whom were excited by Harris' historic presidential run despite being barred from endorsing candidates.
The vice president is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., which was founded at Howard University in 1908. Harris pledged as a senior at Howard in 1986.
A technical glitch in ballot printers at more than a dozen polling places in Arizona's rural Apache County meant long waits for voters.
"Poll workers were encouraging people to leave and come back later in the day when the printer was fixed," said Zane James, who voted in the community of Wheatfields after waiting 2 1/2 hours in 40-degree weather.
The printer was fixed, "but five to 10 people left and I don't know if they are coming back," he said.
Rita Vaughan, the Apache County elections director, said technicians fixed the problem after it emerged early Tuesday. She said polling places stayed open and people voted with paper ballots or accessible voting devices used by people with disabilities or language issues.
The Native vote helped push Biden over the top in Arizona in 2020. Trump drew a diverse crowd, including Navajo families from neighboring Arizona, when he visited New Mexico last week.
After years of lingering inflation, voters expressed concern about high costs at home and in their communities.
About 7 in 10 voters said they were "very concerned" about the impact of the cost of food and groceries on their household budgets, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 115,000 voters nationwide.
Just over half said they were very concerned about health care costs, and about half said they were very concerned about housing costs. Asked about the cost of housing "within their community," roughly 6 in 10 said they were very concerned. Nationally, nearly half of voters also said they were very concerned about the cost of gas affecting their household budget.
Election officials in Milwaukee are recounting more than 30,000 absentee ballots because doors on the ballot tabulators were not properly sealed.
The recounting was being done "out of an abundance of caution," said Melissa Howard, spokesperson for the Milwaukee Election Commission. There was no reason to believe that any ballots already counted had been tampered with, she said.
Howard said they were taking the step of recounting all of the ballots in an effort to be "completely, fully transparent." The problem was due to human error, she said.
A judge has declined to grant a two-hour extension of voting hours in Kentucky's most populous county after problems with electronic poll books led to delays at some precincts.
Election officials in Jefferson County, which includes Louisville, said delays involved loading poll books to include the 113,000 early voters who cast ballots before Election Day.
Ashley Tinius, a spokesperson for the Jefferson County Clerk, said no voters were turned away and the electronic issues were resolved later Tuesday morning.
The Kentucky Democratic Party asked a judge to extend voting from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The party's motion said, "Delays caused by the e-polling books crash caused some voters to leave their place in line and forego casting a ballot."
"There were numerous instances of voters unable to be checked-in and issued ballots," the motion reads.
The state Republican Party opposed the motion, arguing that only the Kentucky General Assembly can set election times and any vote cast after 6 p.m. would be illegal.
Voters were mixed in their assessments of whether former President Trump or Vice President Harris would be better suited to handle a variety of issues, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide.
Trump held an advantage over Harris as the candidate better able to handle the economy, as well as immigration. Those issues were core to his campaign message, blaming the Biden-Harris administration for high prices and illegal crossing at the U.S.-Mexico border.
But Harris was seen as the stronger candidate on abortion , as well as health care. During the campaign, Harris talked about access to abortion and medical care for women as an issue of fundamental freedom, whereas Trump said it was a matter best left to the states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Trump said tariffs on rivals and allies alike — as well as greater oil production — would pump up the economy, while Harris said his tariffs would worsen inflation . On the question of who would better handle taxes, AP VoteCast found voters were about evenly divided between the two candidates.
Fayette County in Pennsylvania has gone to court to block a local judge of elections from doing a unilateral hand count of ballots in violation of the state election code.
Marybeth Kuznik, director of the Fayette County Bureau of Elections, said in a court filing that Washington Township Judge of Election Vincent Manetta "reported that after polls close today, he intends to remove the ballots from the ballot box and audit or hand count the votes cast for each presidential candidate."
Completed ballots are supposed to be run through tabulating equipment. Kuznik asked a judge to order Manetta to comply with state election law. The judge has yet to rule.
Bomb threats to Georgia voting sites were made over the internet and included Cyrillic letters, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said. That gave election officials a clue about the origins of the threats, he said at an early evening briefing in Atlanta.
"We jumped on it quickly and then the FBI then followed our lead," he said. He said that once the FBI released a statement about the matter earlier Tuesday, the threats "kind of tapered off."
He said of the culprits: "I guess they realized that dog won't hunt today in Georgia."
Many Howard University students are bracing themselves for the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. Harris, an alumnus of the historically Black university, is planning to visit her alma mater tonight as votes come in.
Nikkya Taliafero, a senior and student government leader, is concerned about backlash over claims of voter fraud if Harris wins. And she said if Trump wins, some students are worried about potential rights they could lose — especially as Project 2025 looms.
"There's a lot of nerves, but I'm hoping and truly think that a lot of those nerves turn into excitement and hope for our future," Taliafero said.
Ultimately though, the excitement of potentially being a part of history outweighs concerns, said Mary Betterson, a junior. "As a Howard student, we're always taught about our university's history, and so many amazing people who walked these halls but we were never personally here when those things happened," she said. "So, it just feels like a great opportunity to be able to be in the middle of history."
Taliafero and Betterson both voted for the first time in this election.
Harris senior campaign adviser Stephanie Cutter said in an MSNBC appearance that the vice president stayed focused in the final weeks of the campaign on how she aims to "make your life better" while Trump seemed consumed by grievances.
Indeed, Trump in the final stretch remarked that he wouldn't mind if an assassin had to "shoot through the fake news" to get to him. He raised eyebrows by vowing to protect women "whether the women like it or not." And his campaign had to clean up after a comedian warming up the crowd at Madison Square Garden rally referred to Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage."
"I'm not going to make any predictions," Cutter said." "But I do think that we finished very strong. And if you were making your decision in the last couple weeks of this campaign, I think, you know, by significant margins, people were deciding for Vice President Harris."
In Pinellas County, Florida, some voters couldn't go to their usual voting locations on because of the recent hurricanes.
Pinellas County, the home of St. Petersburg, was one of the areas of Florida hardest hit by hurricanes Helene and Milton in recent weeks. The storms flooded tens of thousands of homes and businesses and left debris and sand covering streets.
As a result, 25 polling places in the county were relocated, according to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections. Voters showing up at their usual polling places on Tuesday were greeted by volunteers who redirected them to their temporary polling places.
The lights on the Manhattan icon will change color every time The Associated Press declares a victor in one of the decisive swing states, according to a post on its official account on X, formerly Twitter.
The 103-floor skyscraper's tower lights will shine blue for five minutes if Harris claims one of the battlegrounds and shine red for five minutes if Trump wins one.
When one of the candidates reaches the winning threshold of 270 electoral votes, the Art Deco landmark will again be lit up to correspond to the victorious political party: red for Republican Trump or blue for Democrat Harris.
Barring a major surprise, the seven states where the race for the White House will likely be decided are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The four NASA astronauts living at the International Space Station requested absentee ballots ahead of Election Day.
Two astronauts — Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams — have been at the space station since June.
They flew up as test pilots aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule.
But their mission went from eight days to eight months after NASA opted to bring the problem-plagued capsule back empty and switch them to a SpaceX ride home next year.
Rudy Giuliani was not shy as he drove up to a polling station in Palm Beach, Florida, in a blue Mercedes that appeared to be the one a federal judge ordered him to turn over to the two Georgia election workers who won a defamation lawsuit against the former mayor of New York. Sitting in the passenger seat of what appears to be a 1980 Mercedes-Benz 500SL, Giuliani smiled and waved to supporters and photographers at the polling place where Trump cast his ballot as he tried to reclaim the presidency.
It could not be immediately confirmed if Giuliani was riding in the same car he was supposed to turn over. The judge gave the staunch Trump supporter until October 29 to do so. U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman has ordered Giuliani to appear in a New York courtroom on Thursday to explain why he missed a deadline.
"Our lawyers have requested documentation to transfer over the title of the vehicle, and haven't heard back from opposing counsel," said Giuliani spokesman Ted Goodman.
Immigration has risen in importance since the last presidential election, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide.
Support for tough immigration policies has grown, too.
About 2 in 10 voters now say immigration is the primary problem the U.S. is facing, a considerable increase from 2020.
And fewer voters now say immigrants who are living in the U.S. illegally should be offered a chance to apply for legal status.
More want them to be deported to the country they came from.
The future of U.S. democracy was especially likely to factor into voters' decisions at the ballot box, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide.
About half of voters said that democracy was the most important factor to their vote – more so than other factors including high prices, abortion, the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border, assassination attempts on Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump or the legal cases against him.
Four in 10 voters said high prices were the main driver of their votes, and about 3 in 10 said that about the future of free speech in the U.S.
Voters said the economy and immigration are the top issues facing the country, but the future of democracy was also a leading motivator for many Americans casting a ballot in Tuesday's presidential election.
Voters were feeling sour about the economy as they went to the polls this year.
About 4 in 10 voters said "the economy and jobs" is the top issue facing the country, up from about 3 in 10 in 2020.
That's according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide.
More voters this year described their family's financial situation as "falling behind" and fewer said they are "holding steady" than in 2020.
About 6 in 10 voters described the condition of the U.S. economy as "not so good" or "poor," roughly in line with the share who said that in 2020.
Four years ago, COVID-19 was the dominant issue for voters as they went to the polls — but this year, immigration and abortion are at the top of more voters' minds, although they both still fall behind the economy and jobs.
That's according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide.
Immigration and abortion barely registered for voters in the last presidential election, but this year about 2 in 10 voters said immigration is the top issue facing the country, and about 1 in 10 said the same about abortion.
Both issues have taken center stage in the presidential campaign , with Trump emphasizing tough immigration policies and Harris stressing her support for abortion rights after the 2022 Supreme Court decision that ended the constitutional right to abortion.
The last time there was a down day on Wall Street on Election Day during a presidential year was Nov. 2, 2004, and it was nominal. The Dow fell 18.66 points that day to 10,035.73.
Kamala Harris used her visit to a phone bank hosted by the Democratic National Committee on Tuesday to both thank the supporters working to turn out the vote and make calls herself.
"This truly represents the best of who we are," Harris told the supporters making calls at the phone bank. She was then handed a cell phone and joined in the phone bank.
"I am well," Harris told the person. "Have you voted already?"
The person responded, to which Harris said, "You did? Thank you."
"The path to the White House runs through North Carolina," Harris said in an interview on Raleigh's Foxy 107.1. "And it's a tight race. We are tied. Every vote matters."
Harris told host Karen Clark she plans to work the phones until polls close to get out every vote she can.
"This is about turning the page and bringing in a new generation of leadership for America," Harris said.
The phone bank was inside the DNC headquarters just off Capitol Hill in the nation's capital.
Phone banks run at all times around an election, but on Election Day those phone banks are often focused on reaching people who have yet to cast a ballot or low-propensity voters who could be pushed to the ballot box by a call.
In Richmond, Virginia, the local Electoral Board held an emergency meeting to remove a precinct chief.
Board Chair Starlet Stevens said in a telephone interview that 11 voters were given ballots that only had the presidential race and not local races.
Because they cast the ballots, they were unable to redo their votes with the correct ballots.
Stevens said the Board voted to remove the precinct chief not for the error but because the chief was being "disrespectful."
The Board also received a complaint that the precinct chief refused to help a person who wanted to vote curbside, something that Virginia law allows for anyone 65 and older or physically disabled.
Cordelia Moyse, left, and her husband, the Rev. David Peck, talk with attendees after the weekly "Contemplative Citizenship" service at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pa., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
People sit in meditation during a "Contemplative Citizenship" service at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pa., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Lissa Olson places her hands on her lap during a meditation centered around the Jesus Prayer, an Orthodox Christian prayer, at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pa., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
People gather at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pa., for a "Contemplative Citizenship" service, on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
The Rev. David Peck, rector of St. James Episcopal Church, leads a "Contemplative Citizenship" service in Lancaster, Pa., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Cordelia Moyse, left, and her husband, the Rev. David Peck, talk with attendees after the weekly "Contemplative Citizenship" service at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pa., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Cordelia Moyse, left, and her husband, the Rev. David Peck, talk with attendees after the weekly "Contemplative Citizenship" service at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pa., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
People sit in meditation during a "Contemplative Citizenship" service at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pa., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
People sit in meditation during a "Contemplative Citizenship" service at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pa., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Lissa Olson places her hands on her lap during a meditation centered around the Jesus Prayer, an Orthodox Christian prayer, at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pa., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Lissa Olson places her hands on her lap during a meditation centered around the Jesus Prayer, an Orthodox Christian prayer, at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pa., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
People gather at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pa., for a "Contemplative Citizenship" service, on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
People gather at St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pa., for a "Contemplative Citizenship" service, on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
The Rev. David Peck, rector of St. James Episcopal Church, leads a "Contemplative Citizenship" service in Lancaster, Pa., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
The Rev. David Peck, rector of St. James Episcopal Church, leads a "Contemplative Citizenship" service in Lancaster, Pa., on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)
Three out of four American adults believe this election is vital for the future of democracy. They believe that the stakes are high — and for some, so are their stress levels.
But there's more you can do than doomscroll and hold your breath between news alerts.
Some experts advise using meditation and mindfulness to ease their stress. Headspace, a mental health company and app, has a whole series of guided meditations called its "politics without panic" collection.
It's also important to be mindful of news intake and social media use and vetting news sources to ensure you're not consuming inflammatory misinformation. Experts said "self-care" is critical, too, including eating well, exercising and getting enough sleep.
Churches also are drawing on meditation and breathing practices to help their congregants.
At an Episcopal church in Pennsylvania's heartland , the Rev. David Peck has led a weekly gathering called "Contemplative Citizenship," in which guides apply ancient techniques of prayer and meditation that enable people to respond to conflict more deliberately.
