As the United States embarks on its 2024 Election Day, millions of Americans are heading to the polls to decide between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump for the nation's highest office. Both candidates need at least 270 electoral votes to secure the presidency, and the nation’s eyes are on a handful of crucial battleground states where the final results could be decided. Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin are expected to play critical roles in shaping the election outcome, as they have in recent election cycles.

Early voting turnout has been record-breaking in many of these swing states, with states like Georgia and North Carolina seeing particularly high participation. In Georgia, which has alternated between Republican and Democratic victories in the last two presidential elections, more than 4 million voters have already cast their ballots. This unprecedented early turnout led a senior official in Georgia’s Secretary of State office to remark that Election Day might feel like a “ghost town” at polling stations, as so many have already voted.

Across the country, polling locations are gradually opening, and voters are arriving to cast their ballots throughout the day. In keeping with a longstanding tradition, the small New Hampshire community of Dixville Notch opened and closed its polling location just after midnight Eastern Time, with Harris and Trump each receiving three votes in a symbolic tie. The moment, though largely ceremonial, highlights the unique customs that mark Election Day across the United States.

Both Harris and Trump concluded their months-long campaigns with late-night rallies in key swing states, underscoring their strategies to capture undecided voters. Harris, after 107 days on the campaign trail, held a star-studded rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a state that could be pivotal in deciding the outcome. Trump, meanwhile, wrapped up his campaign with a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan — a city where he has ended three of his presidential campaigns. Each candidate made their final appeals, with Harris calling for unity and progress, while Trump emphasized his record on the economy and national security.

The intense focus on battleground states is a testament to the closely divided nature of this election, as both campaigns have targeted these regions in hopes of tipping the balance in their favor. The outcome remains uncertain, and Americans are now left to wait for the results that will shape the country’s future for the next four years.