Election Day 2024 has officially arrived, and the first votes have been counted, with results set to roll in across the United States throughout the night and into Wednesday, and perhaps beyond.
The race for the White House between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is intensifying, with both candidates having spent months outlining their plans to address the economy, inflation, the Southern border, abortion rights, and a host of other issues. The two have also been relentlessly attacking each other, leading to a deeply polarized and competitive contest.
Polls are showing razor-thin margins between the two candidates. The latest Real Clear Politics average of national surveys reflects a dead heat, and the battleground states that will ultimately decide the election remain tightly contested. In key states such as Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, and Georgia, the results are too close to call, with both campaigns maintaining an air of optimism.
In the small New Hampshire hamlet of Dixville Notch, which traditionally holds the first votes of the election, the divide between Trump and Harris was palpable, with each candidate receiving three votes as of midnight—highlighting the deep divisions in the American electorate.
Donald Trump cast his ballot on Election Day, expressing confidence that he would win a second term in office.
“I feel very confident,” Trump said after voting, adding that this campaign has been the “best” of the three he’s run. “It won’t even be close,” he declared, though he acknowledged that the process of counting votes might take longer than expected.
Trump reiterated his frustration with the time it takes to tally votes, particularly in states where mail-in ballots and early voting are prevalent. He pointed to the quick pace of election results in France as a model and argued that the U.S. should adopt paper ballots and same-day voting to avoid delays.
Trump also made it clear that, while he doesn’t anticipate a challenge to the results, he would only accept them if he believes the election is fair.
“If I lose an election, if it’s a fair election, I would be the first one to acknowledge it… So far I think it’s been fair,” Trump, repeating a caveat that he has used many times on the campaign trail, told reporters after voting in Florida.
Wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap, he reiterated his previous criticism of electronic voting machines, suggesting they were less secure than paper ballots and would delay the outcome being known.
“They spend all this money on machines… If they would use paper ballots, voter ID, proof of citizenship, and one-day voting, it would all be over by 10 o’clock in the evening. It’s crazy,” he told reporters in West Palm Beach.
Later, Trump’s campaign team announced that he would be gathering a large crowd at Mar-a-Lago and a nearby convention center to await the results, confidently declaring that he appeared to have a “substantial lead” in several states.
Vice President Kamala Harris, in contrast, looked ahead to Election Night with optimism, particularly reflecting on her personal journey.
“I will be at my alma mater, at Howard University,” Harris said during an interview on Tuesday morning with Pittsburgh-based radio show “The Big K Morning Show with Larry Richert.”
“And before that, I have a tradition of having dinner with my family and so we will do that. I have a lot of my family staying with us. And during the day, I’ll be, today all day talking with folks and reminding them to get out to vote,” Harris added.
According to CNN, Harris encouraged Pittsburgh voters to head to the polls, saying: “I would urge everyone to just remember that in our democracy, the people get to decide, and your vote is your power.”
“The first office I ever ran for was freshman class representative at Howard University,” Harris shared in an interview with the Big Tigger Morning Show in Atlanta. “And to go back tonight to Howard University, my beloved alma mater, and hopefully recognize this day for what it is—really it’s full circle for me.”
Harris, who attended the historically Black college, has a special connection to the moment, knowing that if she wins, she would make history as the first HBCU alum to become President of the United States.
Both campaigns are calling for patience as election officials work to count the millions of votes cast in the 2024 election. With early voting numbers reaching record highs, especially in battleground states like Georgia and North Carolina, it is expected to take hours or even days for all the results to be tallied.
Jen O’Malley Dillon, campaign chair for the Harris campaign, appeared on MSNBC urging supporters to remain calm and patient. “We know some of our bigger battleground states are not going to be fully tallied until later in the night or early in the morning,” she said, adding that early signs from Georgia and North Carolina were positive for the Democratic ticket.
In Georgia, over 4 million early votes were cast, marking a record-breaking turnout, and in North Carolina, more than 4.4 million early votes were cast—nearly 57% of the state’s registered voters. O’Malley Dillon remained hopeful that these early voting numbers pointed to a strong showing for Harris.
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There have also been some technical challenges on Election Day. In Cambria County, Pennsylvania, a software malfunction in the county’s electronic voting system delayed ballot scanning. As a result, a Pennsylvania court ordered that voting hours be extended until 10 p.m. ET. Ballots cast after 8 p.m. will be considered provisional, but election officials assured voters that “all votes will be counted.” Cambria County, located about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh, has been working to resolve the issue, and voters were urged to continue casting ballots despite the technical glitch.
Meanwhile, in Michigan, officials are optimistic that the vote count will be completed quickly. They are hoping to have results by mid-day Wednesday, but there’s still a possibility that some votes in key districts could delay the final tally.
As the election night unfolds, both campaigns are bracing for a prolonged wait as results come in, particularly from the crucial battleground states. While both Trump and Harris have expressed confidence in their chances, it is clear that the road to the White House in 2024 remains uncertain, and the final outcome may not be clear until well into Wednesday, or possibly longer, depending on the count in states like Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Election observers and analysts will be watching closely as the results trickle in, and voters across the nation are holding their breath, hoping that a clear winner emerges soon. For now, all eyes are on the states that will determine who controls the White House for the next four years.
