Live updates on US election 2024: Voting underway in most states as Harris and Trump hope to win the presidency

Voting is underway in most of the US, including all battleground states

It's just turned 9 a.m. Eastern Time and voting is underway in most states across the country.

As of 9 a.m. ET, voting is now open in Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Nebraska, Arkansas, New Mexico, Utah, Mississippi, and some areas of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

This is in addition to polling locations that opened this morning, including Alabama, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island , Rhode Island and Wyoming.

Election Day voting opens in California and Idaho in an hour. Voting opens at 11 a.m. ET in Washington and Alaska, and polls in Hawaii open at 12 p.m. ET.

Important events

Bernard Marcus, Home Depot's billionaire co-founder and major Republican donor, has died, the company announced today.

In a statement from Home Depot on Tuesday, Marcus was described as an “inspiration,” “master dealer” and “customer service genius.”

“More than anything, he believed strongly in the company’s core values, particularly giving back,” the statement said. “He never lost sight of his humble roots and used his success not for fame or fortune, but to generously help others. In business and charity, Bernie was unparalleled in his generosity and benevolence.”

In recent years, Marcus has been an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump and Republicans.

He has donated millions of dollars to the campaigns of several Republican politicians, including the late John McCain, current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Trump, CNN reports.

In an interview last year, Marcus criticized President Joe Biden, calling him the “most divisive president we've ever seen.”

According to Forbes, Marcus' net worth was about $11 billion.

Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot, appears on “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” with host Neil Cavuto on the Fox Business Network on June 24, 2019 in New York. Photo: Richard Drew/AP

JD Vance casts his vote in Ohio

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance cast his vote in person at his polling place in Cincinnati, Ohio this morning.

CNN reported that the Ohio senator appeared “in good spirits” as he arrived at St. Anthony of Padua Church to vote. Vance was with his wife Usha and their children.

“We expect to win,” Vance told reporters outside the polling station. “But no matter who wins, half the country will be at least partially disappointed. I think my attitude is the best way to heal the divide in the country by trying to govern the country as best as possible.”

A coalition of current and former presidents of local, state and national bar associations released a letter Monday night before the election reminding attorneys and the public that the courtroom is “not a venue for baseless allegations.”“.

The letter warns other attorneys filing election-related lawsuits this election and urges them to avoid making false statements in their court filings.

“Filing election-related lawsuits without a solid factual and legal basis endangers the very institutions that lawyers are sworn to defend,” the letter said. “In a functioning democracy, lawsuits are not a weapon to spread distrust – they are instruments of justice.”

After the 2020 election Donald Trump and his legal team filed numerous lawsuits in various states alleging election fraud.

The lawsuits were largely unsuccessful, and several attorneys connected to the cases were disbarred or had their licenses revoked, the lawyers coalition wrote.

“Not only have these lawyers lost their licenses and damaged their reputations, they have also betrayed their communities and the American public,” the letter continued.

Voting is underway in most of the United States, including all battleground states

It's just turned 9 a.m. Eastern Time and voting is underway in most states across the country.

Election Day voting opens in California and Idaho in an hour. Voting opens at 11 a.m. ET in Washington and Alaska, and polls in Hawaii open at 12 p.m. ET.

This morning, some people are reporting delays and problems at polling places, such as machines not accepting ballots and systems at polling places failing.

In Wayne County, Ohio, the local election authority announced Tuesday morning that there were equipment issues at the Kidron Community Center polling station. Although voters were still being processed, these issues caused some delays.

At 8:30 a.m. ET, Wayne County officials reported that the problems had been resolved and the polling location was “back in full operation.”

Statement from Attorney General calls for “peaceful transfer of power”

A bipartisan coalition of 51 attorneys general in every U.S. state and territory released a statement Tuesday urging people to remain peaceful and preemptively condemning “any acts of violence related to the results.”

A peaceful transfer of power is the ultimate proof of the rule of law, a tradition that is at the core of our country's stability. As attorneys general, we reaffirm our commitment to protecting our communities and upholding the democratic principles we serve.

We call on every American to vote, engage in civil discourse, and, most importantly, respect the integrity of the democratic process,” they wrote. “Violence has no place in the democratic process; We will exercise our authority to enforce the law against any illegal activity that threatens it.”

Donald Trump is expected to vote in person in Florida ahead of the Palm Beach Watch Party

According to the Associated Press, Donald Trump plans to spend the day in Florida, where he is expected to vote in person.

Tonight the Trump campaign will host an election night party in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Gov. Tim Walz, along with his wife Gwen Walz, will attend a political event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania this morning, according to the Harris campaign.

Later this evening, the Harris-Walz campaign is scheduled to hold an election night event at Howard University in Washington DC, the vice president's alma mater Kamala Harris.

Joe Biden will monitor the election results from the White House

According to CNN, President Joe Biden will join first lady Jill Biden, longtime advisers and senior White House aides in watching the election results from the White House residence.

Biden has no public events scheduled for today and is expected to receive regular updates as races are reported across the country.

About 80 million Americans voted in early 2024

Before the polls opened this morning, approximately 80 million Americans had already cast their ballots and voted early.

According to the University of Florida's Election Lab, 82 million Americans voted early, including nearly 45 million in person and about 38 million early by mail.

Steve Bannon CBS has announced that Trump's now infamous “War Room” will be revived tonight at the Willard Hotel in Washington DC.

Key members of the Trump campaign, including Bannon, were at the hotel on January 6, 2021, when the Capitol insurrection unfolded nearby.

This “war room” had specific goals: to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to refuse to certify Biden's victory and send it to the House of Representatives in a contingency election, or, failing that, to postpone the joint session on March 6. to be postponed until January 2021.

“Unlike in 2020, this time we will ensure Trump’s victory,” Bannon told CBS today.

An Indiana journalist reported on voting problems in Hamilton County that now appear to have been resolved.

Angela Ganote said technical problems delayed voting across the county by about 17 minutes.

We just spoke to the electoral board.

They told us that the polling places in Sheridan had received a new code for the voting machines. It was installed in all machines throughout the county and left there.

All someone had to do was press a button to fix the problem.

Fixed the issue at all… https://t.co/f006kLaVQj

— Angela Ganote (@angelaganote) November 5, 2024