Election Day live updates: Battleground states remain in play as Trump and Harris pick up new wins
Election Day is here! Welcome to TAG24 NEWS' 2024 election hub, where you can keep up on all the latest developments in the high-stakes race for the White House.
Voters are hitting the polls this Tuesday, November 5, with Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris apparently neck and neck going into the contest.
Meanwhile, third-party candidates – including Dr. Jill Stein (Green Party), Claudia De la Cruz (Party for Socialism and Liberation), Dr. Cornel West (Independent/Justice For All Party), and Chase Oliver (Libertarian Party) – are seeing surging interest in their campaigns, particularly amid ongoing US support for Israeli attacks across the Middle East.
With climate action, racial justice, immigrants' rights, abortion access, and more on the line, the outcome of the 2024 election could not be more consequential.
In addition to the White House race, Americans also have the opportunity to make their voice heard in critical state and local elections and ballot initiatives.
This rolling coverage has now ended, but be sure to refresh our home page and follow us on social media for the most important live updates as the 2024 presidential race continues to unfold.
UPDATE, 10:13 PM ET: Battleground states yet to be called as more states roll in
Harris has added to her tally with wins in New York, Connecticut, Colorado, and Rhode Island, bringing her current total to 109, according to AP.
Trump now sits at 198 electoral votes, with new victories in Utah, Mississippi, and Montana.
With no surprises so far, the key battleground states all remain on the table.
UPDATE, 9:24 PM ET: Trump claims Texas to climb to 177 electoral votes
Trump has won Texas, per AP, adding 40 electoral votes to his total. The former president has also claimed Ohio, Louisiana, Arkansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
Harris, meanwhile, has won Illinois, New Jersey, and President Biden's home state of Delaware.
Trump now holds 177 electoral votes to Harris' 99. None of the battleground states have been called yet.
UPDATE, 8:18 PM: No surprises among Harris and Trump's early wins
According to CNN, Trump is now projected to win Florida, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, and Alabama.
Harris is projected to win Maryland, Massachusetts, and the District of Columbia.
Harris now holds 27 electoral votes, while Trump has 90.
UPDATE, 7:43 PM ET: Trump wins West Virginia as Republicans flip Senate seat
Trump is now projected to win in West Virginia, a state he won in both 2016 and 2020, per CNN. He now holds a projected 23 electoral votes.
Meanwhile, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice defeated Democrat Glenn Elliott for the state's Senate seat, flipping it for Republicans, CBS projected.
UPDATE, 7:11 PM ET: Trump wins Indiana and Kentucky as Harris nabs Vermot
Polling stations have now closed in six states – Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and the key battleground state of Georgia.
Several US networks projected Trump as the winner in Indiana and Kentucky, while Harris has won Vermont.
UPDATE, 6:45 PM ET: Milwaukee absentee ballot issues cause recount
Milwaukee election officials must now recount about 30,000 absentee ballots after issues were discovered with tabulator seals.
City spokesman Jeff Flemming said the recount will cause delays in reporting those results in a state that could make the difference.
"Because they were not fully sealed, human error, and not fully sealed, we are going to zero them all out again, the 13 machines around, and then re-run the ballots that had already been processed," he said, according to The Hill.
"We don’t know how much longer that will be:"
UPDATE, 6:10 PM ET: Elon Musk will spend election night with Trump
Elon Musk will spend Election Night with Trump in Florida at Mar-a-Lago, a source familiar with Musk's plans confirmed to CBS News.
Musk has appeared with Trump at rallies, hosted a series of town halls himself on his behalf, endorsed him earlier this year, and reportedly donated at least $118 million to his political action committee in support of the former president.
UPDATE, 5:50 PM ET: Kamala Harris makes surprise stop at Washington phone bank as Minetta, Georgia extends voting hours
Harris made a surprise stop at a phone bank at the Democratic National Committee in Washington DC on Tuesday afternoon on behalf of her campaign. She thanked volunteers and spoke to some voters on the phone, according to CBS News.
Harris will remain at home at her vice presidential residence at the Naval Observatory until at least 9:45 OM on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, a Cobb County Superior Court judge has issued two Georgia voting sites in Marietta to stay open past the standard hours. Voting precincts at the Mount Paran Church of God and Kell High School will stay open 20 more minutes after they had delayed openings this morning caused by equipment issues.
Those voting during the extended time will need to cast a provisional ballot.
UPDATE, 5:34 PM ET: Claudia De la Cruz's campaign reports "voter suppression" at New York polling stations
Third-party presidential candidate Claudia De la Cruz's campaign has posted on X that in the town of Moreau in upstate New York, "highly illegal" notices have been put in privacy partitions at its polling station stating write-in votes would not be counted.
"This is voter suppression," the campaign tweeted.
It is unclear where the signage originated.
UPDATE, 4:50 PM ET: Man arrested at US Capitol with torch and flare gun
A man was arrested at the visitor center of the US Capitol in Washington DC on Tuesday who "smelled like fuel" and was carrying a torch and flare gun, Capitol Police said in a post on X. They described the suspect as a white male who put his bags through security for screening around 12:30 PM local time.
The visitor center was closed and all tours cancelled following the incident.
It is unclear whether the incident is related to the election, as an investigation is still underway.
UPDATE, 4:30 PM ET: Joe Biden will not make any in-person appearances on Election Day
President Joe Biden is spending Election Day in the White House and is not planning to make any public appearances.
On Tuesday, he made several posts on X urging Americans to vote.
"Polls are still open, folks. Don’t sit this election out," he wrote. "Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are are ready to serve on Day One."
UPDATE, 3:50 PM ET: Bomb threats at polling stations reportedly have come from Russia
The FBI warned of bomb threats at polling stations in "multiple" states on Election Day, adding that none were credible, but many appeared to have originated from Russia.
Authorities in Georgia said bomb threats had briefly disrupted voting there Tuesday, which Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said were also apparently "from Russia."
FBI spokeswoman Savannah Syms urged the public to "remain vigilant."
An official in Fulton County said polling places were briefly closed as the threats were investigated.
UPDATE, 3:20 PM ET: Local voters in New York and New Jersey speak out
Voters live outside the polls in New York and New Jersey said they were feeling "hopeful" overall on Election Day, as many young voters cast their vote for the first time.
Read TAG24's local coverage here.
UPDATE, 1:50 PM ET: Pennsylvania Trump county experiences polling "glitch" and extends hours
Cambria County Court of Common Pleas in Pennsylvania has ordered voting hours to be extended from 8 PM to 10 PM tonight local time, after voting machines there experienced a software glitch earlier on Election Day.
Pennsylvania is considered the key swing state in the election and could have a heavy influence on results. The county heavily favors Trump.
The case was brought by the local board of elections, who said a "software malfunction" at electronic voting machines had "prevented voters from scanning their completed ballots" and resulted in delays.
UPDATE, 12:30 PM ET: Donald Trump casts vote
"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," Trump, repeating a caveat that he has used many times on the campaign trail, told reporters after voting in Florida.
Wearing a red "Make America Great Again" cap, he reiterated his previous criticism of electronic voting machines, suggesting they were less secure than paper ballots and would delay the outcome being known.
Asked about fears of unrest after the election and whether he would call on supporters to avoid violence, he criticized the question.
"I don't have to tell them that, that there'll be no violence. Of course, there'll be no violence. My supporters are not violent people," Trump said.
UPDATE, 10:30 AM ET: JD Vance casts vote
Donald Trump's running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, spoke to reporters after casting his ballot in Cincinnati this morning.
Saying he expected to win, he nevertheless assured those who "vote the wrong way" that he would still "love" them and fight for their dreams.
Vance has also repeatedly refused to unequivocally accept the results of the 2020 election.
UPDATE, 9:00 AM ET: Attorneys general issue call for peaceful transition
As in-person voting was up and running in all but five states (California, Idaho, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii), the National Association of Attorneys General issued a statement urging a "peaceful transition of power" and warning against any election-related violence.
"We call upon every American to vote, participate in civil discourse and, above all, respect the integrity of the democratic process," the statement said.
As Houston Chronicle reporter Taylor Goldstein pointed out, the attorneys general of Texas, Indiana, and Montana – Republicans Ken Paxton, Todd Rokita, and Austin Knudsen – did not join the call.
Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly suggested they would not accept the results of the race if he loses.
To this day, the ex-president refuses to accept the legitimacy of the 2020 election and has continued spreading lies that led directly to his supporters storming the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
UPDATE, 7:00 AM ET: Polls open in more than half of US states
Polling stations across the East Coast officially opened at 6 AM, with Virginia, North Carolina, New York being followed an hour later by crucial swing states such as Georgia, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Altogether – with exceptions in some counties – polls are now open in 27 states.
Tens of millions of voters are expected to cast their ballots, on top of the more than 86 million who have already voted early in the preceding weeks.
UPDATE, 1:00 AM ET: New Hampshire hamlet tied in first Election Day votes
We have the first results of Election Day 2024! As is tradition, voters in the New Hampshire hamlet of Dixville Notch kicked things off in the first minutes of Tuesday, and they delivered with a tied vote.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump each got three ballots in the tiny community, hours before the rest of the country's polling stations open.
Joe Biden swept the vote 6-0 in 2020.
UPDATE, 12:00 AM ET: Voters to hit the polls after massive early turnout
The 2024 race is going down to the wire as voters prepare to hit the polls on Election Day. More key states are effectively tied at this point than in any comparable election.
The decisive day opens as over 78 million people have cast early votes, around half of the total ballots cast in 2020.
According to NBC News, around 41% of those ballots were cast by registered Democrats and 39% by registered Republicans, with 20% listed as "other."
Cover photo: Collage: Ryan M. Kelly / AFP & ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP