AMN / WEB DESK
Millions of voters across the U.S visited polling stations Tuesday to choose a new president, deciding whether to elevate Vice President Kamala Harris to become the country’s first female leader or return former President Donald Trump to the White House that he lost in the 2020 election.
photo VOA
Polls show that Harris, the Democratic candidate, and Trump, her Republican challenger, are locked in one of the closest contests in decades, with the winner to begin a four-year presidential term in January.
Political analysts in US are of the view that the national outcome is likely to be determined by the vote in seven political battleground states spanning the country, where surveys show the two candidates are within 2 percentage points of each other, what pollsters describe as a toss-up.
Depending on how close the vote is, and how fast the vote counting is in key states, a likely winner could emerge by late Tuesday or early Wednesday, but maybe not for several days, as occurred four years ago.
Trump, who cast his ballot in person Tuesday, is spending the day at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He is scheduled to hold an election result watch party in West Palm Beach on Tuesday night.
Harris, 60, ended her campaign at a star-studded rally in the eastern city of Philadelphia on Monday night, with pop star Lady Gaga, musical groups and former talk show host Oprah Winfrey lending their support.
Harris did not mention Trump in her remarks, telling the crowd, estimated at 30,000, that “tonight, we finish as we started, with optimism, with energy, with joy, knowing that we the people have the power to shape our future.”