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IN BRIEF: Voting underway in US presidential election as media report first results

US media outlets expect that the election will be decided in 18 states and the District of Columbia

© Dmitry Kirsanov/TASS

WASHINGTON, November 6. /TASS/. Polling stations have closed in a number of US states but voting in the country’s presidential election is far from over. US media outlets expect that the election will be decided in 18 states and the District of Columbia.

TASS has gathered the main information about the US election.

Voting process

- Americans are electing the President and Vice President of the United States, all representatives to the House and one-third of the senators, as well as governors of 11 states and two US territories.

- Polling stations in most US states opened at 7:00 a.m. ET (12:00 p.m. GMT) on November 5.

- According to Florida State University, almost 83 mln US citizens cast their ballots early.

- The first polling stations closed in the states of Indiana and Kentucky at 6:00 p.m. local time (11:00 p.m. GMT). Voting will end once polls close in Alaska at 1:00 a.m. on November 6 (6:00 a.m. GMT).

Preliminary results

- Fox News projects that Trump will win Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, South Carolina and Arkansas. Harris, in turn, has secured victory in Vermont, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island, as well as in the District of Columbia.

- CNN expects Trump to take the lead in Texas, Ohio, Georgia, Kansas and North Carolina, while the Axios news website says the Republican hopeful will win North Dakota. Harris is in the lead in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan and Maine, CNN reports. The media also project that Trump will take Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming and Louisiana, while Harris will come first in Colorado, New York and Delaware.

- Under the law, the states must officially confirm the election results by December 19, and the Congress is supposed to endorse the outcome of the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2025. The new president’s inauguration will take place on January 20.

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