Swing states - also referred to as battleground states - are those where both candidates stand a chance of winning as power can shift from one party to another, hence the reference to swinging.

Voting in swing states is hard to predict but, in the final stretch leading up to polling day, presidential nominees Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have been spending much of their time and effort in these places.

This year's race to the White House will likely come down to seven key swing states: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada.

Voters in some of these states tell the BBC what it's like to live in a swing state during an election and who they plan to vote for.

And if you're keen to know more about the history of swing states, this handy video tracks when the term first became popularised.

As we've been reporting, Michelle Obama took to the stage yesterday at a rally in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in her first appearance on the campaign trail alongside Kamala Harris.

"If we want to help this country finally turn the page on the politics of hatred and division we can't just sit around and complain – no, we've got to do something," the former first lady told the crowd. Watch below.

Trump said yesterday that he believes Arab-American and Muslim voters can "turn the election" one way or another.

At a rally in Novi, Michigan, last night the former president was joined on stage by a number of Arab-American and Muslim community leaders, who gave him their support.

The state is home to the 'Uncommitted' movement, which does not support Trump, but has refused to endorse Harris for what they see as a failure to take a more firm stance against Israel during the war in Gaza, such as committing to a weapons ban.

At the rally in Michigan, community leaders endorsed Donald Trump, watch below.

The polls are close, and it's not clear which candidate will win.

But there's another question hanging over this election: given what happened last time, will Trump accept the election result if he loses?

In this video, the BBC's Ros Atkins talks you through what Trump said in the aftermath of his loss in 2020, and what he and senior Republicans are saying about the issue ahead of this one.

National polling averages show Democratic nominee and Vice-President Kamala Harris with a small lead over Republican nominee Donald Trump - Harris on 48%, Trump on 47%.

Towards the end of August, Harris was almost four percentage points ahead of Trump but in recent days, this margin has narrowed, as you can see in the graphic below.

And while national polls may give us a sense of how popular a candidate is across the US, it's important to consider the state polls in seven key battlegrounds states which this helpful guide by BBC's Visual Journalism and Data teams unpicks.

Katty Kay
US special correspondent

Donald Trump enjoys a huge lead among men, while women tell pollsters they prefer Kamala Harris by a similarly large margin. The political gender gap reflects a decade of social upheaval and could help decide the US election.

For the first woman of colour to secure a presidential nomination, and only the second woman to ever get this close, Kamala Harris goes to great lengths not to talk about her identity.

“Listen, I am running because I believe that I am the best person to do this job at this moment for all Americans, regardless of race and gender,” the vice-president said in a CNN interview last month.

In this piece, the BBC's US special correspondent Katty Kay delves deeper into how this November’s election has turned into a referendum on gender norms, and the social upheavals of recent years.

Good morning from London and welcome back to our live coverage of the US election and with just nine days to go until polling day, the race to the White House continues.

Last night, at a rally in Michigan - a crucial swing state - Donald Trump received the endorsement of Arab-American leaders, who he said could "turn the election".

Also in Michigan, former first lady Michelle Obama made her first appearance on the campaign trail at an event in Kalamazoo with Democratic nominee and Vice-President Kamala Harris.

In a fiery speech, Obama urged voters to "do something" and protect the country from the "dangers" of Trump, while also warning how a Trump administration could impact abortion rights.

Polls show the two locked in a tight race in Michigan, with Harris holding an extremely narrow lead 10 days before the 5 November election.

Stay with us as we bring you the latest news and analysis.

Image source, Getty Images

It has been another busy day in US politics, with just 10 days to go until the election. We'll shortly be wrapping up our live coverage, but before we go here are some of Saturday's main headlines.

• Americans woke up to a new episode of one of the most popular podcasts in the US, The Joe Rogan Show, featuring an interview with Republican nominee Donald Trump. During the interview, he revealed his "biggest mistake" while president was: “I picked a few people I shouldn’t have picked”
• Trump appeared alongside Arab leaders outside Detroit, Michigan where he received their endorsement
• In Michigan, former first lady Michelle Obama joined Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in Kalamazoo, where she gave an emphatic speech calling on voters to "do something". Obama sought to strike an emotional chord with those in attendance, as she discussed women's reproductive health and the differences in scrutiny Harris and Trump face
• At the same rally, Harris acknowledged that the election was very tight, but she repeatedly vowed to win
• Trump also urged those at a rally in Pennsylvania to get out and vote, as early voting began in four more states - Michigan, New Jersey, Florida and New York
• Both Pennsylvania and Michigan are among seven key swing states that are likelyto decide who becomes the next president

We'll be back tomorrow with the latest on the campaign trail, until then you can head here for more on this story.

Image source, Getty Images

Former first lady Michelle Obama joined Kamala Harris in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where she urged those attending the rally to "do something" ahead of the upcoming election on 5 November.

Obama, someone who Americans don't often hear from, gave an impassioned speech where she urged people not to sit around and complain - but instead go out and vote for the Democrats' nominee, Harris.

We can now bring you a bit more from Donald Trump's rally in Pennsylvania, where he says the international community feared and respected his leadership when he was in power between 2017 and 2021.

Trump went on to cite the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, saying that the war between Russia and Ukraine needed to come to an end and if he was elected on 5 November he would make that happen.

In his criticism of Kamala Harris and the incumbent Biden administration, Trump accused the Democrats of allowing "blood-thirsty criminals" from other countries to enter the US. Echoing his previous anti-immigration narrative, Trump says that if elected he is "going to have to get a lot of them [immigrants] out fast, because we're not safe".

Image source, Reuters

While Harris is speaking to a crowd in Michigan, Trump is speaking in College Station, Pennsylvania, close to Pennsylvania State University.

Trump has largely repeated many of his campaign remarks.

He spent a few minutes criticising Beyoncé's appearance on behalf of Harris last night in Texas.

Trump says the crowd at the Houston rally did not have a good turnout, and doesn't compare to the Pennsylvania crowd he is speaking to.

The Harris campaign estimated there were 30,000 people at last night's Houston's rally. Reporters on the ground in College Station estimate there are 15,000 people at today's Trump rally.

"We don't need anybody because we have common sense," he says referring to celebrity appearances the Harris campaign has seen in recent days.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the rally in Michigan

Image source, Reuters

Americans don't hear from Michelle Obama particularly often. In fact, this is her first time on the campaign trail, since Kamala Harris first became the party's official nominee during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this summer.

Her impassioned speech clearly sought to strike an emotional chord with the crowd, which alternated between sitting in silence listening and extremely loud cheers that made it difficult to hear her speak.

It’s an argument with which the Democrats and the Harris campaign believe they can win - we've been hearing it repeated at rally after rally and at town halls as Harris and running-mate Tim Walz, along with their political allies, seek to make their closing arguments to voters.

Obama also questioned why Harris is held to a "higher standard" than Trump

"We expect her to be intelligent and articulate, to have a clear set of policies, to never show too much anger," she said. "But for Trump, we expect nothing at all, no understanding of policy, no ability to put together a coherent argument, no honesty, no decency, no morals."

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the rally in Michigan

Image source, US Pool

Harris has now taken the stage-beginning with a joke about the town of "Kamala-zoo" Michigan and telling voters that there’s still "hard work" to be done.

Like Michelle Obama, Harris acknowledged that the election is very narrow - although she repeatedly vowed to win.

Her remarks, however, were interrupted by a lone - but very loud - protester calling for the Gaza war to end and calling for Harris to have "decency" when it comes to US support for Israel.

The protester was quickly escorted from the venue by police officers, while the crowd around him chanted "don’t come back!".

Afterwards, Harris’s speech continued along now-familiar lines, including promises to crack down on price gouging, swipes at Donald Trump and a "common sense" plan top lower costs for medicines and other necessities for working-class Americans.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the rally in Michigan

This has been a fiery speech from Michelle Obama, in which she has both attacked Donald Trump repeatedly and focused heavily on abortion access.

The former president, she said, could take the US back into the days before Roe v Wade, a landmark case that protected the right to abortion before it was repealed by the Supreme Court two years ago.

She also explicitly, and repeatedly, blamed Trump for the fall of Roe v Wade, remarking that the “devastating consequences” of teenage or unintended pregnancies could be felt across America.

Judges appointed by Trump to the now-conservative-leaning Supreme Court repealed Roe v Wade in 2022.

Obama also brought up a “tragic” and worst-case scenario, where she argued the repeal of Roe v Wade could lead to the death of women.

“I don’t want to be a downer, but in many cases, there is no warning,” she said.

“I’m asking y’all, from the core of my being, to take our lives seriously.”

Michelle Obama focuses in on women's access to healthcare, speaking in depth about maternal mortality, the lack of education on menopause, healthcare deserts and the effects of the overturning of Roe v Wade.

"It's not just abortion care but women's health broadly," Obama says to the crowd.

"I'm asking you from the core of my being to take our lives seriously," she says to thunderous applause.

"A vote for him is a vote against us, against our health, our worth."

She urges men to support Harris in the election, making a direct appeal: "Your rage does not exist in a vacuum ...We as women will become collateral damage to your rage."

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the rally in Michigan

Michelle Obama directly criticises Donald Trump repeatedly, including by condemning his actions around the 2021 US Capitol riot.

She's also using the words of former Trump-era officials against him, such as former Vice-President Mike Pence and former White House chief of staff John Kelly.

"That ugliness will touch all of our lives," she said of the former president.

Whether or not comments such as this have any bearing on undecided voters is unclear.

The crowd here is overwhelmingly positive about Harris - and President Joe Biden, and much of what Obama is saying has been repeated in previous appearances by Harris and others.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the rally in Michigan

It's an energetic start to Michelle Obama's speech, who is urging voters to "do something" and get out to vote for Kamala Harris.

She's also acknowledged that the election will be "too close" - and clearly is seeking to differentiate Harris from Trump, taking a series of thinly veiled swipes against for former President.

She says, for example, that Harris is "an adult" and implies there was no sense of normalcy under the Trump administration.

For the most part, however, Obama is appealing to the crowd here, telling them they have much to lose if Trump were to win.

"I'm deeply concerned that so many people are buying into the lies of people who don't have our best interests at heart," she says.

Image source, US Pool

Michelle Obama, the former first lady, has taken to the stage in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

"Doesn't it feel good to be together?," Obama asks, saying it feels good to see how energised everyone is ahead of the vote.

"This race is close," she adds, "too close for my liking".

Rowan Bridge
North America correspondent, Washington DC

Donald Trump knows that Michigan could be key to who wins the White House.

And in a race as close as this there is one group in the state that could prove decisive: Arab-Americans.

Michigan is home to the largest Arab-American community in the country, a historical trend fuelled in part by the growth of the car industry.

Joe Biden won the state in 2020 by just over 150,000 votes, but some of the 300,000 Arab-Americans living here have expressed frustration at what they see as his favouritism towards Israel amid the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.

Both sides have been trying to court the Muslim vote, which is why Donald Trump brought Muslim Mayor of Dearborn Heights Bill Bazzi, who has endorsed him, on stage with him along with other Muslim and Arab leaders.

“We as Muslims stand with President Trump, because he promises peace. He promises peace, not war,” said one speaker, who did not identify himself, praising Trump’s “commitment to promoting family values”.

Trump has a complicated past when it comes to appealing to Muslim voters, though.

One of his first moves as president when he was elected in 2016 was to introduce a travel ban covering people from several Muslim-majority countries.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Kalamazoo, Michigan

Image source, BBC/Bernd Debusmann Jr

There's an air of excitement at the Harris rally in Kalamazoo, where attendees tell me they're particularly looking forward to the upcoming appearance of former First Lady Michelle Obama.

"This is a historic moment," says Kimberly Allen, a resident of the nearby town of Grand Rapids. "I'm all for Kamala, but I love Michelle."

This isn't Allen's first rally in support of Harris. Just days ago, she drove about two hours to Detroit for another event featuring Barack Obama, as well as rapper Eminem.

"We're just full of support for her," she says, standing next to a friend. "It's great she's a woman."

Allen downplays poling which shows Harris still locked in a tight race with Trump.

"I think a lot of the information out there isn't exactly true," she adds. "I think Kamala is going to win. Even if it's close, I think she's going to come out on top."