Polling stations have now opened across the United States, with Democrat Vice-President Harris and Republican former president Trump dead-even in the tightest and most volatile White House race of modern times.
Polling stations officially opened at 6:00 am (11h00UT) on the US east coast, with tens of millions of voters expected to cast their ballots, on top of some 82 million people who have already voted early in preceding weeks.
The bitter rivals spent their final day of the campaign frantically working to get their supporters out to the ballot boxes and win over any undecided voters in the swing states expected to decide the outcome.
But despite a series of head-spinning twists in an unprecedented campaign – from Harris's dramatic entrance when President Joe Biden dropped-out in July, to Trump riding out two assassination attempts and a criminal conviction – nothing has broken the deadlock in opinion polls.
A final outcome may not be known for several days if the results are as close as the polls suggest, adding to the tensions across a deeply divided nation.
Fears of upheaval
There are fears of turmoil and potential violence if Trump loses and then contests the result – as he did in 2020 – with barriers having been erected around the White House and businesses boarded up in Washington.
Cyber security authorities are also on high alert for disinformation or hacking the campaigns.
"Russia is the most active threat," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said Monday.
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"These efforts risk inciting violence, including against election officials," they added, noting the disruption efforts are expected to intensify through Election Day and in the following weeks.
Meanwhile, the world is anxiously watching as the outcome will have major implications for conflicts in the Middle East, Russia's war in Ukraine, and for tackling climate change – which Trump calls a hoax.
Harris and Trump are effectively tied in the seven main swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Trading partners nervous
A Trump comeback would be historic – the first non-consecutive second term for a US president since Grover Cleveland in 1893.
Trump's return would instantly fuel international instability, with US allies in Europe and NATO alarmed by his isolationist "America First" policies.
Trading partners are nervously watching in anticipation of his promise to impose sweeping import tariffs.
A Harris victory meanwhile would give the US its first Black woman and South Asian president – and signal an end to the Trump era which has dominated US politics for nearly a decade.
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Trump has said he would not seek election again in 2028.
However, Republicans still refuses to admit he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden and the trauma over his supporters' violent attack on the US Capitol to stop certification of the result is ever present.
Trump has hinted that he would refuse to accept another loss, and in the final days of his campaign brought up baseless claims of election fraud while saying he should "never have left" the White House.
(with AFP)
