Hope... and fear

Tens of millions of voters went to the polls in America yesterday, seesawing between anxiety and hope, to send one of the closest and most consequential presidential elections hurtling towards an uncertain finish.

- David Smith

The Democrat Kamala Harris and the Republican Donald Trump appeared to have hardly any daylight between them in opinion polls that have barely budged in weeks.

From coast to coast, in sprawling cities and small towns, in churches and school gyms, people waited patiently in line to play their part in the world's most powerful democracy and choose between two sharply different visions for America.

They mostly encountered a process that ran smoothly. Isolated reports of hiccups included queues, technical issues and printing errors.

Harris, 60, was among the 82 million people who voted early, having mailed her ballot to California. From her vice-presidential residence in Washington, now secured by 2.5-metre high metal fences, she conducted phone interviews with radio stations in battleground states. Harris then took part in a phone bank event at the Democratic National Committee headquarters.

Meanwhile Trump, 78, voted yesterday near his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, and said he was feeling "very confident".

Wearing a red "Make America Great Again" cap, he told reporters: "It looks like Republicans have shown up in force." The former president said he had not prepared a speech about the outcome, adding: "I'm not a Democrat. I'm able to make a speech on very short notice." Trump was told by some advisers that he should prematurely declare victory on election night if he is sufficiently ahead of Harris in battleground states such as Pennsylvania, according to people close to him.

The New York Times reported that Elon Musk, the world's richest man, who has spent at least $119m in support of Trump, would watch the results with him at Mar-a-Lago.