When they step into the voting booth, voters will have to decide between two candidates who offered radically opposing temperaments and visions of the world's largest economy and dominant military power.
Harris, the Democratic vice president, will be the first female president if elected. She has promised to tackle economic problems and other issues without radically deviating from the path set by President Joe Biden. Mr. Trump, the former Republican president, has promised to replace thousands of federal workers with loyalists, impose sweeping tariffs on allies and enemies alike and stage the largest deportation operation of the history of the United States.
The two candidates spent the final hours of the campaign overlapping in Pennsylvania, the largest battleground state. They tried to energize their respective bases as well as Americans who are still hesitant to vote or who are wondering if they will do so.
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“It's important, it's my civic duty and it's important that I vote for myself and that I vote for the democracy and the country that I have supported for 22 years of my life,” said Ron Kessler , 54, an Air Force veteran from Pennsylvania who said he was voting for only the second time.
Ms. Harris and Mr. Trump began election day focusing on seven key states, five of which Mr. Trump won in 2016 before switching to Mr. Biden in 2020: the “blue wall” of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as Arizona and Georgia. Nevada and North Carolina, which Democrats and Republicans respectively won in the last two elections, were also hotly contested.
The closeness of the race and the number of states in play increased the likelihood that once again the winner would not be known on election night. A warning sign came from the hamlet of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, which by tradition votes after midnight on Election Day. Dixville Notch was split between Trump and Harris, with three votes for each.
In the 2020 presidential race, it took four days to declare a winner. Regardless, Mr. Trump baselessly claimed that if he lost, it would be because of fraud. Ms. Harris' campaign was preparing for him to try to declare victory before the winner was known Tuesday night or to try to contest the result if she wins. Four years ago, Mr. Trump attempted to overturn the will of the voters, culminating in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the United States Capitol.
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Mr. Trump plans to vote in his adopted state of Florida on Tuesday, then spend the day at his Mar-a-Lago estate before attending a party at a nearby convention center. Ms. Harris has already voted by mail in her home state of California. She will host a watch party at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington.
Each candidate would take the country into new territory
Ms Harris, 60, would be the first woman, first black woman and first person of South Asian descent to serve as president. She would also be the first sitting vice president to win the White House in 32 years.
A victory would end a whirlwind campaign unprecedented in U.S. history. Ms. Harris took over as Democratic Party leader less than four months ago, after Mr. Biden, facing massive pressure from his party following a disastrous debate performance, ended in his re-election attempt.
Mr. Trump, aged 78, would be the oldest president ever elected. He would also be the first defeated president in 132 years to win another term in the White House, and the first person convicted of a crime to occupy the Oval Office.
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After leaving Washington, abandoned by some allies after Jan. 6, Mr. Trump defeated younger rivals in Republican primaries and consolidated the support of longtime allies and vocal critics within his party. He survived an assassination attempt by millimeters at a rally in July. Secret Service agents foiled a second attempt in September.
A victory for Mr. Trump would confirm that enough voters have set aside the warnings of many former Mr. Trump aides or preferred to prioritize concerns about Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris' handling of the economy or the border between the United States and Mexico.
That would all but keep him out of jail after he was convicted of hiding hush money payments to an adult film actress during his first run for president in 2016. His sentencing in that case could come sometime this year. month. Upon taking office, Mr. Trump could end the federal investigation into his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Considerable stakes for the United States and the entire world
The potential turbulence of a second term for Mr. Trump has been amplified by his embrace of the far right of the Republican Party and his disregard for long-established democratic norms.
Mr. Trump has used harsh rhetoric against Ms. Harris and other Democrats, calling them “evil,” and suggested military action against those he calls “enemies within.”
Harris, recalling warnings from former Trump aides, called Trump a “fascist” and accused him of putting women's lives at risk by naming three of the judges who overturned Roe v. Wade. In the final hours of the campaign, she tried to adopt a more positive tone and spent the entire final day of Monday without mentioning the name of her Republican opponent.
As Election Day approaches, federal, state and local officials have expressed confidence in the integrity of the nation's election systems. They have nevertheless prepared to face what they see as an unprecedented level of foreign disinformation – particularly from Russia and Iran – as well as the possibility of physical violence or cyberattacks.
Both sides have an army of lawyers in anticipation of legal challenges that will take place on Election Day and afterward. Law enforcement agencies across the country are on alert to deal with possible violence.
The outcome of the race was closely followed around the world, the future of American support for Ukraine, the United States' loyalty to its global alliances and the nation's commitment to oppose autocrats being in play.
Ms. Harris pledged to continue supporting kyiv's defense against Russia's massive invasion in 2022. Mr. Trump has sharply criticized Ukraine, praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and suggested he would encourage Russia to attack U.S. NATO allies it views as delinquents.
Voters nationwide have also weighed in on thousands of other races that will decide everything from control of Congress to state ballot measures on abortion access.
More than 82 million people voted early, lower than the record set during the 2020 pandemic, when Mr. Trump encouraged Republicans to stick to voting on Election Day. This time, he urged his voters to block their ballots in advance, which they did en masse.
