The US election polls have closed, now the counting begins

Good afternoon. As US election day rolls on the current count of votes has begun to swing in favor of Donald Trump having won two key swing states in North Carolina and Georgia, even as the Republican party wins the majority of the US Senate.

Live updates below:

12:10 - The last polls in the US Election have closed

Here's where things stand in the race to 270
Based on CNN's current projections, former President Donald Trump has 246 electoral votes while Vice President Kamala Harris has 187 electoral votes.

CNN has projected that Trump will win the key battleground states of North Carolina and Georgia.

Reminder: Each candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.

Source: CNN

11:45 - 'Unreliable polls led to overconfidence in underperforming Harris'

Rick Perlstein, a columnist at the American Prospect and historian, has argued that unreliable polls and too much confidence in Republican-voting women breaking ranks with their own party cost Harris.

"There was a lot of confidence in Democrats circles that she would be outperforming the polls which build up on these rickety foundation of models which are really hard to consider entirely reliable. So people let themselves believe that certain subjective indicators led in her favour," Perlstein told Al Jazeera.

Yet, the Democratic candidate seems to be underperforming what Biden did in 2020 in almost every place, Perlstein said.

Democrats were also wrong in thinking that a high number of women supporting the Republicans would be swayed by the issue of abortion, he added. And even if there was an uptick in women voting for Harris, that was "being matched blow for blow by younger male voters who find Trump's boorishness attractive and are coming now in numbers for him," Perlstein said.

Source: Al Jazeera

10:57 - Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar cruise to re-election victory

Michigan's Tlaib and Minnesota's Omar made history when they assumed office in 2019, becoming the first Muslim women to serve in the US House of Representatives

Tlaib is also the first Palestinian American to serve in the chamber, and Omar the first Somali American.

All 435 House seats are up for election. So far, results have only come in for 293 of those races, meaning clarity on which party will control the chamber is still far off.

Source: Al Jazeera

10:46 - Which states have so far been called for Harris?

These are the places so far the AP has projected the Democrat to win:

• California
• Connecticut
• Colorado
• Delaware
• District of Columbia
• Illinois
• 1st Congressional District in Maine
• Maryland
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Washington

Source: Al Jazeera

10:40 - Which states have so far been called for Trump?

These are the places so far the AP has projected the Republican to win:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Florida
• Idaho
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Louisiana
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• 3rd Congressional District in Nebraska
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• Ohio
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• West Virginia
• Wyoming

Source: Al Jazeera

10:27 - North Carolina represents first swing state to go to Trump

The Associated Press has called North Carolina for Trump, dashing Democrats's hopes of turning the Republican-leaning state blue.

The state, with its 16 Electoral votes, had only gone to Democrats twice since 1968: In 1976 and 2008.

Still, Democratic shifts within the state, as well as its large, politically engaged Black population, had strategists believing it could be ripe for the taking.

Trump's projected victory means only six swing states remain: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona.

Pennsylvania is considered the most significant, and the key to any path to victory for Harris.

Source: Al Jazeera

10:18 - Harris wins Oregon

Vice President Kamala Harris will win Oregon, CNN projects.

There are eight electoral votes at stake in Oregon. It takes at least 270 electoral votes to win the 2024 presidential election.\

Source: CNN

10:08  - Democrat Adam Schiff wins California

Democrat Adam Schiff has won California's Senate seat, succeeding the late Dianne Feinstein, who served in the position for over three decades until her death in 2023. Schiff defeated Republican candidate and former baseball star Steve Garvey.

Previously a Los Angeles-area Congressman, Schiff led the House's 2020 impeachment of Trump, setting up a likely clash if Trump is reelected -- particularly over Schiff's progressive stances from voting rights to climate policy.

Source: Bloomberg

10:08 

Harris Wins Oregon: Networks

Source: Bloomberg

10:07

Donald Trump has an "insurmountable lead" in Georgia, based on the outstanding votes remaining, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a 10:30 pm press conference.

Source: Bloomberg

10:06 - Election momentum more for Trump than Harris

At this point in the day, the momentum appears to be on Trump's side.

The Harris campaign maintains that it is still too early to tell who will win, according to a memo to campaign staff obtained by Bloomberg News.

The memo insists that the "blue wall" states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania continue to be the campaign's clearest path to victory, and touts an overperformance in turnout expectations in Philadelphia and an overperformance in early vote expectations in Bucks County. The memo also warns that Detroit won't be reported until roughly midnight and complete results from Wisconsin won't trickle in until early Wednesday morning.

Source: Bloomberg

9:15

Republican Donald Trump on Tuesday won four more states up for grabs in the US presidential election, including key Rust Belt prize Ohio, while his Democratic rival Kamala Harris was projected to win in Colorado, US networks said.

Other states won by Trump are Kansas, Montana and Utah. So far, the key battleground states, including Georgia and Pennsylvania, have yet to be called.

Source: AFP

08:35

Trump takes Texas + 3 states, Harris wins Delaware: US networks

Republican Donald Trump has claimed four more states in the US presidential election, including Texas, while Democrat Kamala Harris has won in Delaware, US networks projected Tuesday.

Trump also won in North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming, US media said.

Many of the key battleground states in the US election have yet to be called.

Source: AFP

08:34

Florida ballot initiative to extend abortion rights fails: US media

Voters in the US state of Florida cast their ballots Tuesday against a measure that would have overturned the state's ban on abortion after six weeks and allowed the procedure until foetal viability, media reported.

The ballot initiative, which US networks ABC and NBC said had failed, was held alongside the presidential election. It had required at least 60 percent of votes cast in order to pass, a high hurdle to clear in the conservative southeastern state.

Trump, Harris notch first statewide wins as polls close in US presidential race

Republican Donald Trump won eight states in Tuesday's U.S. presidential election while Democrat Kamala Harris captured three states and Washington, D.C., Edison Research projected, but the outcome of the race remained uncertain with critical battleground states unlikely to be called for hours or even days.

The early results were as anticipated, with the contest expected to come down to seven swing states: Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin. Opinion polls showed the rivals neck and neck in all seven going into Election Day.

As of 8 pm ET (0100 GMT on Wednesday), polls had closed in 25 states.

Trump had 90 electoral votes after winning Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, Missouri and Tennessee; Harris had gained 27 electoral votes from Vermont, Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. A candidate needs a total of 270 votes in the state-by-state Electoral College to claim the presidency.

Source: Reuters