Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have made their final pitches to voters, with polls indicating one of the closest races in US history
Americans are heading to the polls to choose between Republican former President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 race for the White House. Polls have shown Harris and Trump locked in a dead heat nationally, as well as in key swing states, with pollsters predicting one of the closest presidential races in US history.
By Monday morning, more than 78 million Americans had already cast their ballots in early voting, according to data from the Election Lab at the University of Florida. Harris and Trump spent the last full day of campaigning making a final push in battleground states, selling wildly different visions of the country’s future to voters.
Harris was a late entrant to the race, securing the Democratic nomination after President Joe Biden ended his campaign in July following a disastrous debate performance against Trump, in which he appeared confused and struggled to finish sentences.
US presidential elections are decided by the Electoral College system, meaning that a candidate who loses the popular vote can still win the contest overall. Either Trump or Harris must secure 270 out of the 538 electoral college votes to win the presidency, with each state allocated a certain number of votes corresponding roughly to its population.
