Pennsylvania, famous for the Liberty Bell, Will Smith and the 72 “Rocky Steps”, is one of seven states that will decide the 2024 US presidential election.

Voting in swing states is hard to predict and can lean Republican or Democrat - that’s why you’re hearing so much about them as campaigning draws to a close.

It’s hard to win the White House without Pennsylvania, which carries the most electoral votes of all the swing states. Its prized 19 electoral votes make it one of the most visited states by both candidates. It is also the place where a supporter of Trump was killed at a rally, in a hail of bullets targeting the former president.

• Find out more about Pennsylvania and what voters are saying here

Pennsylvania at a glance:

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Pennsylvania

I've been in Fairhill for less than an hour, but it's clear that the comments made at Madison Square Garden last night have caused a lot of anger and confusion in this intensely proud Puerto Rican community.

A few minutes ago, for example, I spoke to Moses Santana who lives nearby. He is a 13-year veteran of the US Army and spent a total of three-and-a-half years in Iraq. He now works at a harm reduction facility focused on the area's addicts.

"He obviously doesn't know history, and how much Puerto Ricans have done for this country," he says, gesturing to his US Army hat.

"I don't think he really understands what he's talking about," Santana adds. "That's white supremacy and that ideology."

He's not sure of the impact the comments will have on voters and tells me that, traditionally, many people around here ignore elections entirely.

"Folks around here tend not to get what they ask for," he adds. "Even when they vote."

In Vancouver, Washington, a fire suppressant device failed to activate inside a ballot drop box which had been set alight, meaning hundreds of ballots have been burned to a crisp. Authorities are checking nearby security cameras to try and find those responsible.

Take a look at how authorities responded below:

Sam Cabral
US reporter

This was already one of the most closely-watched races in the fight to control the US House of Representatives - and half of the US Congress.

But the race in Washington state's third congressional district - which was shaping up to be a nail-biter - has now received a jolt: a ballot drop box in the city of Vancouver (the biggest source of Democratic votes in the district) may have been set on fire, likely destroying hundreds of ballots.

Drop boxes, which are typically placed in areas with heavy foot traffic, are often under surveillance. They were popularised in the 2020 presidential election as Americans sought to avoid crowded polling booths during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Republicans are desperate to recapture this southwest Washington seat from Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a former auto repair shop owner currently in her first term on Capitol Hill.

Perez is fending off a repeat challenge from Joe Kent, a former Army Special Forces soldier she narrowly defeated in 2022. Her victory flipped the seat for Democrats after 12 years.

Kent is a controversial figure who has embraced Donald Trump's false claims that he won the 2020 election, claimed the January 6 attack on the US Capitol looked like an "intelligence operation" and been tied to white nationalists - but his second bid for this seat comes with backing from House Republican leaders.

Both Perez and Kent are urging voters to get in touch with local election officials to find out if they have been potentially impacted by the ballot box fire and, if so, request a replacement ballot.

The FBI is "coordinating with federal, state and local partners to actively investigate" the incident, the law enforcement body said in a statement, adding that anyone with information is encouraged to get in touch.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Pennsylvania

I've just arrived in the North Philadelphia neighbourhood of Fairhill, which is about 88% Latino - the vast majority of whom are Puerto Rican.

The area is the historic hub of Philadelphia's vibrant Puerto Rican community - and its ties to the island are impossible to miss.

On every block, blue, red and white Puerto Rican flags adorn homes and businesses, along with murals.

Fairhill is home to Puerto Rican community centres, art galleries and restaurants dishing out dishes such as fried plantains, slow-roasted pork and rice and beans, sometimes washed down with a Puerto Rican beer or rum cocktail.

It's also an area that some observers have said is increasingly leaning towards Donald Trump, with many working class voters attracted by his vows to bring down inflation, cut taxes and improve the economy.

I'll be speaking to residents about how they feel about last night's joke at Trump's rally, and whether - or not - it will have any bearing on how they vote in the rapidly upcoming election.

Pennsylvania: At a glance

Image source, Getty Images

Some 46% of voters in the last presidential election voted by absentee or mail-in ballot instead of in person.

And the US Postal Service is recommending that Americans who choose to vote by mail do so soon.

It's "a good common-sense measure" for mail-in voters to cast their ballots "at least a week before their election office needs to receive them", the government-funded independent mail carrier says.

"If a ballot is due on election day, the Postal Service recommends mailing the ballot by this Tuesday (October 29)."

The USPS is currently deploying what it calls "extraordinary measures" in order to accelerate the delivery and return of mail ballots.

The outgoing president isn't the only American to partake in early voting ahead of the 5 November poll in recent weeks.

More than 43 million people have voted so far, according to the University of Florida's Election Lab tracker., external

Many states in the US, including all seven battleground states, offer early in-person voting and mail-in ballots to voters.

Democrats have surpassed Republicans so far in casting early ballots, the university's data from 25 states with party registration shows.

For registered Democratic voters:

• In total, more than 8.5 million have voted early
• Roughly 2.3 million have voted in person
• Over 6 million have cast their ballot by mail

For registered Republican voters:

• In total, more than 7.7 million have voted early
• About 2.9 million have voted in person
• And 4.5 million have cast their ballot by mail

US President Joe Biden has voted early in the presidential election, with just over a week to go before polling day.

The president, who dropped his re-election bid in July, has appeared at an early voting site in his home state of Delaware where he was seen waiting in a queue that extended outside the polling station.

After casting his ballot, he was asked by reporters about Elon Musk's daily $1m cash giveaway (now facing a legal challenge), which he described as "totally inappropriate".

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Vice-President Kamala Harris has hit out at Donald Trump's campaign rally in New York on Sunday, during which a comedian garnered bipartisan backlash for calling US territory Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage".

Trump is "focused and actually fixated on his grievances, on himself and on dividing our country", she tells reporters gathered on the tarmac as she boards a flight to campaign in Michigan, in what are her first public comments on the rally.

"Nothing about what he is saying that is actually going to support the aspirations, the dreams and the ambitions of the American people," Harris says of her Republican rival.

Americans are "tired" of division and want a president who is "uplifting the people", she adds.

Harris also talks about her own commitment to "paying attention to the needs" of Puerto Rico, including promising to set up a task force focused on the island.

The Trump campaign has distanced itself from Hinchcliffe's comments, saying they "do not reflect" Trump's views.

Sam Cabral
US reporter

Police in Washington state are investigating how a ballot drop box caught fire early on Monday morning.

The ballot box was placed at Fisher's Landing in the city of Vancouver, a 30-minute drive north from Portland, Oregon, and it sits in a congressional district that is expected to play a key role in deciding control of the US House of Representatives.

KATU News captured footage of grey smoke billowing out of the ballot box and showed first responders tossing flaming ballots onto the ground and putting them out.

A local election official told the outlet that ballots were last picked up from the drop box on Sunday morning and hundreds of ballots were inside the burning box.

Potentially impacted voters have been urged to contact the Clark County Auditor's Office for a new ballot.

Separately, in south-east Portland, arson investigators said an "incendiary device" caused a fire inside a ballot box there.

It follows a warning issued in September , externalfrom the US Department of Homeland Security that some social media users have been promoting the destruction and sabotage of ballot drop boxes ahead of the election.

Both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have been attempting to appeal to the large diaspora of Puerto Ricans living in the US mainland.

According to the latest census in 2021, at least 5.8 million Puerto Ricans lived in the US and the group accounts for about 9% of the Latino population.

Florida has the largest diaspora, with 1.2 million Puerto Ricans living there, and it's closely followed by New York, with a population of 950,000.

But the fallout from Tony Hinchcliffe's jokes could matter most in Pennsylvania - a battleground state that could swing in either direction - where 450,000 Puerto Ricans reside.

As a reminder, Puerto Rico is a US territory, but people living on the island cannot vote in the presidential election. It doesn't carry any electoral college votes, but residents are permitted to participate in the presidential primary.

Since the island is a US territory, Puerto Ricans who move to the US mainland can do so freely, without visas. They have statutory citizenship and can carry American passports.

If a Puerto Rican moves to a US state and registers to vote there, they'd be able to cast a ballot.

Image source, Getty Images

Philadelphia's district attorney is suing Elon Musk's pro-Trump fundraising group, America PAC, to halt a daily $1m lottery.

The organisation was holding a daily giveaway to registered voters that signed a petition to "protect the constitution" - a scheme that prompted warnings to Musk from the Department of Justice (DoJ) and speculation among legal analysts that the plan may be illegal.

The suit from Larry Krasner marks the first time that Musk has received a legal challenge on the giveaway.

Despite the warnings, America PAC has so far continued with the lottery, giving away $9m so far, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Nearly half has been given to residents of Pennsylvania, a battleground state that could hold the keys to the White House.

How might Trump's New York rally impact the election?published at 14:44 Greenwich Mean Time

14:44 GMT

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Image source, EPA

Donald Trump’s rally in New York City’s Madison Square Garden was supposed to be a political show of strength in the home stretch of the presidential campaign.

Instead, the Trump team is performing damage control after Tony Hinchcliffe’s controversial joke about Latinos and the US territory of Puerto Rico.

According to US media partner CBS, one campaign adviser expressed frustration that Hinchcliffe’s remarks are overshadowing the former president’s intended closing message.

Trump has been assiduously courting Latino voters – particularly men – during this election season, and polls suggest he has made inroads into a typically Democratic constituency.

While rare, this is not the first time during this election cycle that the Trump campaign has disavowed controversial comments made by a supporter.

In mid-September, conservative activist Laura Loomer – who had been travelling with the former president – made derisive comments on social media about Kamala Harris’s Indian heritage. Trump would ultimately say that he disagreed with her statements, even as she had the right to “say what she wants”.

With just eight days until the election, however, every twist on the campaign trail at this point is magnified. The latest news – for good or bad – is often at the top of voter minds when they head to the ballot boxes.

In a tight race like this, small shifts in voter sentiment could be the difference between victory and defeat.

Image source, Reuters

US President Joe Biden will cast his early-voting ballot in the upcoming presidential election today at a polling station in Delaware.

He'll join the millions of other Americans who have cast their ballot already, as early voting by mail or in-person is available in most states.

The outgoing president ended his re-election bid earlier this year and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor.

A Trump campaign adviser has told the BBC's US news partner, CBS News, they are frustrated that controversial remarks made by a comedian – and the public backlash that has followed – have upstaged the Republican's candidate's intended messaging at his New York rally.

As we've been reporting, during one of the warm-up acts at the Madison Square Garden event on Sunday, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe referred to the US territory of Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage".

The comment has drawn bipartisan condemnation, and the Trump campaign has said it does "not reflect" its views or the views of the former president.

The rally was billed as an opportunity for Trump to put forward his closing argument of the campaign.

Get in touchpublished at 13:52 Greenwich Mean Time

13:52 GMT

Are you an American with questions about how the US election could impact other countries?

Our experts will be answering your questions on Tuesday, right here on BBC's news website.

You can get in touch in the following ways:

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Donald Trump's rally last night started with a series of warm-up acts who have stirred controversy in their speeches.

As we've been reporting, the Trump campaign has since distanced itself from the comments made by the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe who referred to the US territory of Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage".

Other speakers used derogatory language to describe Kamala Harris.

One of the speakers, Trump's friend David Rem, called Harris "the antichrist", while businessman Grant Cardone said Harris "and her pimp handlers" would destroy the country.

Image source, Getty Images

Puerto Rico Governor Pedro Pierluisi has slammed vulgar remarks made by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and urged Americans of Puerto Rican origin to "show the strength of our people at the polls and every day".

Pierluisi, a Democrat who has endorsed Kamala Harris, reposted Hinchcliffe's comments on X and wrote: "Garbage is what came out of the mouth of @TonyHinchcliffe, and everyone who cheered him on should be ashamed of themselves for disrespecting Puerto Rico like this.

"These remarks highlight the prejudice and racism still alive in our Nation, and how important it is to elect leaders that reject and combat this bigotry," he added. "America is better than this and deserves better."

His predecessor, Ricardo Rossello, also condemned the remarks as "egregious" and "insulting".

Speaking to NewsNation, the former governor noted that New York is home to more than a million Puerto Ricans. Rossello said Hinchcliffe's comments "will cost President Trump if he does not address this".

Image source, Getty Images

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has described Donald Trump's rally in New York City on Sunday night as a "hate rally" during an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe this morning.

The New York congresswoman, who is Puerto Rican, was asked about offensive jokes made at the Madison Square Garden rally by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe - including one where he described the US territory as a "floating island of garbage".

The Trump campaign has since said that comment does "not reflect" the Republican candidate's views.

"This was not just a presidential rally, this was not just a campaign rally," she says. "I think it's important for people to understand these are mini January 6 rallies, these are mini Stop the Steal rallies," she adds, referencing a slogan that became popular with Trump supporters after the 2020 election.

The congresswoman goes on to accuse Trump and his allies of wanting to take this election "by force" if the former president doesn't win the US election.

"That's what they mean and that's what they're doing when they are inciting violence and hatred against Latinos, black Americans, against Americans who don't have children," she says.

Image source, Reuters

As we've been reporting, there has been bipartisan criticism after a comedian addressing a Trump rally called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage".

Tony Hinchcliffe, speaking from the stage as a warm-up act, said "there is literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now", before adding the punchline, saying: "I think it's called Puerto Rico".

Among the Republicans criticising the remark is Florida senator Rick Scott, who posted on social media: "This joke bombed for a reason. It's not funny and it's not true.

He added: "Puerto Ricans are amazing people and amazing Americans!"

Other Republican members of Congress have called the comedian's remark "racist" and "in poor taste" – you can read that reaction from earlier in our coverage here.