Ione Wells
Reporting from Grand Rapids, Michigan

A few protesters have turned up outside where Donald Trump will hold his final rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

They told me that after he came here in 2016 and 2020 they didn’t want him to “claim” this city, and said they didn’t believe the crowd outside was representative of the values of Grand Rapids.

They said they were confident that Michigan - one of the key swing states - would go blue in large part because of women’s reproductive rights and, in their words, some former Republicans finding Trump’s behaviour “vile.”

When they walked past the crowd, his supporters started chanting Trump, booing, and some even put their middle finger up.

Tom Bateman
Reporting from Philadelphia

Outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the stage is being set for Kamala Harris’s final campaign rally.

A team armed with yellow cloths is meticulously polishing the bullet-proof glass around the podium.

They’ve been at it for the last 20 minutes now, lest a smudge smear the VP at one of the most consequential moments of her political life.

Two-storey-high speaker stacks are pulsating with sound-test music and giant plasma screens beam “PHILLY” and “A PRESIDENT FOR ALL” at the gathering crowd, made up of campaign volunteers.

The ornate pillared-building in downtown Philadelphia is famous for its 72 stone steps, in front of which Harris will make her final pitch to the voters.

She’ll follow a star-studded line-up including Oprah Winfrey and Lady Gaga.

The steps are famous for the scene in the movie Rocky where Rocky Balboa runs up them training for the bout with his antagonist, world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed.

Tourists flock this site for selfies mimicking an underdog taking on a great challenge. A self-written campaign theme indeed for Harris.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Allentown, Pennsylvania

I'm making my way through the streets of Allentown - the same city where Kamala Harris held a rally earlier.

I've been speaking to the area's large population of Latino voters.

Among them is Roger Salazar, a young Ecuadorian-American who lives nearby. Like many people I've met out here, Salazar predicts an extremely close race. In his case, he believes Harris will ultimately prevail.

"It's really tight," he said. "It's going to be a tough battle."

I asked Salazar what issues matter most to people in his community. He responded without hesitation: the economy.

"The economy is pretty much it I'd say," he told me. "Life is expensive. Groceries are expensive. Salaries are low. People are unemployed. That's it. People also mention the border sometimes, but not as much."

Christal Hayes
Reporting from Arizona

In the swing state of Arizona, I just attended a news conference with election officials in Maricopa County.

The county was the centre of election misinformation in 2020 after Trump became the first Republican presidential nominee to lose the state since 1996.

About 1.5 million - 70% of total ballots - have been returned as of this morning, officials say.

The county recorder Stephen Richer says there is around-the-clock staffing to vet these ballot, and about 27,00 have been flagged by signature verification - meaning the county is contacting those voters to further verify their ballot.

Officials say by 20:00 local time on election night, between 70% to 80% of all ballots in the county will be counted and results released.

They say counting all ballots could take up to 13 days.

Richer says the county expects there will be likely litigation over the results and noted the misinformation that is already being spread about the election.

Ione Wells
Reporting from Grand Rapids, Michigan

Image source, Getty Images

Some anti-abortion campaigners have set up a stall outside where Donald Trump will later hold a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Their signs say “abortion is murder” and show very graphic images of what appear to be foetuses.

Some in the queue here tell me they support Donald Trump’s policy that it should be up to individual states to decide women’s reproductive rights.

Abortion is a key issue at the election. Not only is it on the ballot in some states, but Kamala Harris has drawn a key dividing line with Trump over the issue by promising to reinstate nationwide protections for abortion rights.

Rebecca Hartmann
Reporting from Philadelphia

The crowd here outside of the Museum of Art in Philadelphia is quickly growing despite the vice-president not being expected here for another four hours.

The steps leading up to the museum are lit up in blue and lead to a banner saying, "A President For All".

We’re expecting Lady Gaga and Oprah here tonight as part of the star-studded line up.

As we walked into the grounds there was a group of about a dozen protesters chanting "free, free, Palestine".

A Pennsylvania judge ruled today that Elon Musk's daily $1 million giveaway to swing state voters can continue with one day to go before the election.

Judge Angelo Foglietta's decision came after a day of testimony in Philadelphia in which Musk's aides acknowledged hand-picking the winners of the contest based on who would be the best spokespeople for his group America PAC.

Musk had previously said the recipients would be chosen randomly.

America PAC has been awarding $1m to a voter in one of the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina each day in the leadup to Election Day.

Musk has given away $16 million to registered voters who qualified for the giveaway by signing his political petition.

The billionaire himself did not show up in court, despite a judge's order that "all parties must be present".

Emma Vardy
Reporting from Arizona

If you need a reminder of the huge global interest in this election, in Arizona’s Maricopa county they are handing out 600 media credentials.

The eyes of the world are on Arizona because it’s a swing state, but also because it became “ground zero” of conspiracy theories in the 2020 election. Armed protestors gathered outside the counting centre, and Maricopa County election officials faced threats and intimidation.

Claims by Donald Trump and his supporters that the election was rigged spread from Arizona across America, culminating in the 6 January 2021 riots at the Capitol.

This time security has been significantly stepped up.

“We continue to prepare for everything, we can’t predict everything,” Sheriff Russ Skinner said.

"The last thing our community needs is people scared to go out and vote.

"We’ve seen this divide, this problem throughout the nation, hopefully 2024 will set a different precedent.”

But suggestions of a rigged vote in 2024 have already been laid in the months leading up to election day, by Trump and his supporters, so the idea they will simply accept Arizona’s result if it does not go their way could be wishful thinking.

Rachel Looker
US reporter

Vice-President Kamala Harris just wrapped up speaking at a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in one of her final efforts to sway the swing state's voters in her favour.

It marks one of her last campaign events in a state that carries 19 electoral votes - the most out of any other swing state in the country.

"Allentown, this is it. Just one more day left in one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime and momentum is on our side," she said to an enthusiastic crowd that frequently interrupted her speech with chants of "not going back" and "USA".

She reiterated similar messages she previously touted while on the campaign trail - speaking of being a president for all Americans, finding common ground and running a campaign of unity and optimism for the future.

"America is ready for a fresh start," she said. "And America is ready for a new way forward where we see our fellow American not as an enemy, but as a neighbour."

Mike Wendling
US reporter

A poll released on Saturday raised eyebrows, and it wasn’t even from one of those key battleground states.

The poll by Selzer & Co. for the Des Moines Register, external suggested that Kamala Harris is leading among likely voters in Iowa, 47% to 44% over Donald Trump. The poll surveyed 808 Iowans and had a margin of error of 3.4%.

The result was surprising for two reasons. Firstly, Trump won Iowa quite easily in 2016 and 2020, which is why it wasn't seen as a swing state.

Selzer & Co. is also considered an accurate pollster. For instance, they captured a big swing to Trump in Iowa in the final stages of the 2016 race.

Iowa itself is not a big prize – just six electoral votes.

However, the concern for Trump is that the poll suggesting Harris is gaining strength among women and independent voters might indicate a broader movement across the country.

The Trump campaign says the poll is wrong and remains confident of winning Iowa.

• US election polls: Who is ahead - Harris or Trump?

Ana Faguy
US Reporter

With only hours left until election day, Felicity Felgate is an American who still hasn't decided how she's going to vote.

"I have no freaking clue man. It's so hard," Felgate says. "When I voted for Trump, it came down to who would I trust with my kid alone and it wasn't [President Joe] Biden."

She voted for Trump in 2020 but says she's still undecided

"I'm going to vote for one of them," she says. "I've got no idea which one. I'm still super-duper undecided. I think I'm leaning toward Kamala over Trump, if I think about who I would trust alone in a room with my daughter."

She says she'll make up her mind when she goes into the ballot booth on Tuesday.

The Americast team were on 5 Live a little earlier answering listener questions on how to follow the US election and key timings to look out for.

They also discussed the role of TV networks in election night coverage, unpacking how the networks judge who has won and why this has become a fraught process in recent years.

And for those who will be watching along, Sarah, Justin and Marianna submitted their choices for Americast's election day bingo card.

• Listen to the latest Americast here

Kentucky election officials reject claim about markings on ballotspublished at 20:29 Greenwich Mean Time 4 November 2024

20:29 GMT 4 November 2024

By Jake Horton

An image spreading on social media purports to show a postal ballot in Kentucky which already had a mark on it next to Kamala Harris’s name, with the suggestion that voting for anyone else would render it void.

One post, viewed more than three million times, said the picture showed “weird ballot shenanigans happening”.

Image source, X

BBC Verify spoke to the Kentucky Board of Elections who rejected the claim.

They say they have mailed out 130,000 ballots so far and have not been made aware of any complaints regarding postal ballots having pre-printed marks in any candidate selection boxes.

“As no one has presented a pre-marked ballot to election administrators or law enforcement, the claim that at least one ballot may have had a pre-printed mark in Kentucky, currently only exists in the vacuum of social media,” they said in a statement.

The election board confirmed that for postal ballots in Kentucky if more than one candidate choice is marked in ink then the ballot will be counted if the voter circles their preferred choice.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Pennsylvania

Many of the Latinos here in Allentown - where I've been for the last couple of hours - are foreign-born, having immigrated to the US at some point earlier in their lives.

Most are quick to point out that Latino turnout in the area has, traditionally, been largely subdued relative to the size of the population.

But they also say that they see an energy in the area that they think was missing in 2016 and 2020.

"Pennsylvania is like a pendulum. Everyone knows that they need to get out and vote," said Francisca Mendez, an Allentown resident who came from Puebla, Mexico more than three decades ago.

"This community really needs to get out there and vote. We need accessible schools, and we need affordable housing. It's so expensive," she added in Spanish. "We need elected officials to turn around and realise we've got needs."

Mendez said she thinks people across the country will be "surprised" at how active Latino voters are in Pennsylvania.

"People are mobilised," she added. "Even people in this community who can't vote are telling people how important it is."

Holly Honderich
US reporter

Image source, Jacquelynn Buck

For the most part, Allison McCullough, 43, has been a reliable Democrat voter.

And as a black woman, McCullough has, at times, been overcome by the historic nomination of Kamala Harris.

But McCullough won't be voting for her.

Instead, in protest of the “heartbreaking” war in Gaza, she will cast her ballot for Green Party candidate Jill Stein.

It wasn't an easy decision.For months, McCullough hoped Harris would demand a ceasefire and fully acknowledge the damage caused.

But Harris has mostly stuck to the same talking points as Joe Biden, McCullough said.

“I cannot morally vote for someone who is allowing us to send millions of dollars and support somewhere where they’re actively killing women and children in the name of self defence.”

McCullough knows her vote may inadvertently benefit Donald Trump. “But I’m looking at who’s responsible for things right now,” she said.

• Read more about the moments that made up voters' minds

Image source, Reuters

Nikki Haley - the last-standing opponent against Trump in the presidential primaries - threw her support behind the former president again in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Sunday.

"I don’t agree with Mr. Trump 100% of the time," Haley wrote. "But I do agree with him most of the time, and I disagree with Ms. Harris nearly all the time. That makes this an easy call."

She has repeatedly supported Trump since dropping out of the race, being much more measured in her remarks about him than before, having previously called him "unhinged" and "not qualified" for office.

The two have yet to make an appearance together on the campaign trail, possibly indicating unhealed wounds from the primaries.

Haley has said she is on "stand by" should Trump call her to assist, but, with less than 24 hours until election day, there are no signs he intends to do so.

With hours to go, as America decides its 47th President - BBC News looks at all you need to know about a result which could change history.

Live from Washington DC we’ve got the latest on election night - with answers to all of your questions and more.

You can watch the programme live at the top of this page from 20:00GMT (15:00 ET).

Image source, Reuters

In one of her final pitches to Pennsylvania voters this afternoon, Kamala Harris has once again avoided mentioning her opponent - Donald Trump - by name.

While making a short speech to canvassers in Scranton, the vice-president said the campaign and the country are about building coalition and conversation as she seemed to lead with a message of hope and positivity.

“What you are all signing up to do today, and what you’ve been doing - like, let’s enjoy it, you know?” the vice-president said.

"We rise and fall together," she added, in what was her first of four stops in the state. "That's the strength of who we are."

Pennsylvania, a must-win for either candidate, is the swing state with the most electoral votes (19 out of 538) and it will likely prove decisive in the election's outcome.

Both presidential candidates are making stops in Pennsylvania today, with Harris finishing the day in Philadelphia and Trump in Grand Rapids, Michigan - another key swing state.

Did the Pentagon fail to send ballots to military members?published at 19:17 Greenwich Mean Time 4 November 2024

19:17 GMT 4 November 2024

By Joshua Cheetham

A post on X which has been viewed 28 million times claims “the Pentagon reportedly failed to send absentee ballots to active military service members before the election".

It references a letter to Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, written by three Republican members of US Congress, external, expressing “grave concern” over “deficiencies” in procedures for overseas military personnel to vote.

However, the letter does not accuse the Pentagon of failing to send them absentee ballots.

It is not the Pentagon’s job to do this - military personnel can vote abroad through the Federal Voting Assistance Program, external (FVAP) and ballots are sent to them by election officials where they are registered in the US.

If the ballot is in danger of not arriving before the voting deadline, personnel can vote via what is called a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB).

The letter claims an unspecified number of “service members” had requested a FWAB but were told their base had run out. However, it is possible to download and sign one through the FVAP website., external

We asked the Department of Defense for details about how many people had been affected by the issue, but it would not comment on that specifically. It did say that it had trained 3,000 Voting Assistance Officers to support people with voting worldwide.

Mike Wendling
Reporting from Milwaukee

Here in Wisconsin’s largest city, we’ve just heard a briefing from Paulina Gutierrez, executive director of the Milwaukee Elections Commission.

She’s been outlining plans for the vote count tomorrow night, which will take place in a nearby convention centre. Tabulation will involve 300 workers and 13 high-speed counting machines.

Despite those resources, Gutierrez says a process called “exporting” - verifying the vote totals and uploading them into a county-wide system - could take hours, and will likely stretch into early Wednesday.

Officials here say they’ve received 105,000 early ballots so far - that includes mail-in and in-person early votes - and ballots are still coming in. In 2020, the final figure was around 168,000.