Philadelphia authorities reject Trump claim about 'massive fraud'published at 23:52 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November

23:52 GMT 5 November

By Jake Horton

Donald Trump has posted on his social media platform, Truth Social saying "law enforcement coming" to Philadelphia because of "massive cheating” there.

Image source, Truth Social

It’s the first time he’s raised allegations of electoral fraud on Truth Social today but he hasn’t provided any details or evidence.

The Philadelphia Police Department told BBC Verify that they were not aware of what Trump was referring to. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner also published a response saying: "There is no factual basis whatsoever within law enforcement to support this wild allegation."

The Republican City Commissioner in Philadelphia posted on X saying: "There is absolutely no truth to this allegation. It is yet another example of disinformation. Voting in Philadelphia has been safe and secure."

Katty Kay
US special correspondent

I just heard from an adviser to the Trump campaign who cast doubt on the recently released early exit polls that say that the state of democracy is the issue that is most important to voters.

They suggested that aggregating the preferences of both Democrats and Republicans is not a beneficial way of interpreting the polls.

This official also suggested that Democrats are disingenuously projecting unfounded confidence in order to keep their voters buoyant in Western states where polls are still open.

Trump's campaign still believes they will win the White House tonight - and believe that Republicans will also keep control of the House of Representatives and take back the Senate.

Tom Bateman
Reporting from Pennsylvania

I’ve just been inside the vote counting centre for the city of Philadelphia, in swing state Pennsylvania.

Inside a warehouse, dozens of election workers are removing mail-in ballot papers from their envelopes. They check that they match voter ID records and prepare them to be counted by machine.

There's an immense amount of security. We had to collect our accreditation from the police station, we are escorted everywhere by an official, and have to remain in a gated area allocated for press inside the counting area itself.

Party-affiliated count watchers have to remain behind barriers and "observer rules" shown on-site list strict instructions to ensure no interference, warning "violators will be removed and have their Observer eligibility revoked".

There's a good reason for all this. In 2020 it took several days to count the mail-in votes in Pennsylvania.

With more Democrats than Republicans voting by mail, the early results - based on in-person Election Day votes – showed Trump ahead at first, but his lead shrank over the days as more mail-in ballots were counted. The time it took opened up space for him to claim without evidence that there was widespread fraud.

This time, to help rebut any similar claims, officials are keen to demonstrate the extent to which this count is being checked and secured.

Lisa Deeley, vice chair of Philadelphia's three-person board in charge of elections, tells me they also expect a much faster count than in 2020, as checks of mail-in ballot IDs have been digitised.

"Listen, this is the city where democracy was born," she says, referring to early US history. "And this is the city that will continue to uphold democracy and let it thrive."

Only a few polling locations in Kentucky and Indiana have closed so far, but we can already say that Republicans have won three House seats.

How do we know they’ve won already?

Well, Representatives Hal Rogers and Thomas Massie of Kentucky are both incumbents who ran unopposed in traditionally Republican districts, where polls have already closed.

And Marlin Stutzman in Fort Wayne, Indiana, won comfortably in the state's third district, with 61% of the vote.

Some context: All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 34 seats in the Senate are up for grabs. Republicans currently hold a majority in the House, while Democrats control the Senate, both by slim margins.

Anything can happen in election that is too close to callpublished at 23:36 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November

23:36 GMT 5 November

Katty Kay
US special correspondent

This is the first presidential election in the six that I’ve covered where almost no result would surprise me.

Given how tight the polls have been in all the key swing states – just a one or two point shift towards either candidate across the swing states could lead to a surprisingly decisive victory for one camp or the other.

But in recent days, the Harris campaign has been sounding markedly more confident than they typically have been.

Senior Democrats have told me today that the Harris campaign is going into tonight feeling confident – and that their confidence is based on data and not just vibes. Some are predicting the result will be clearer than we’ve expected and she’ll win more of the battleground states than polls might suggest.

As polls across the country close in the coming hours, we’ll have to see whether their new sense of confidence is warranted.

Ione Wells
Reporting from Michigan

This preliminary exit poll that we just told you about - which found democracy and abortion were top issues for Harris voters and the economy and immigration were most important for Trump voters - matches what I’ve been hearing from voters here in Michigan.

I spoke to some Kamala Harris voters at one polling station in Detroit earlier who told me they were voting in particular for "democracy" and because of abortion rights.

One voter, Melissa Klein, told me: "Women's rights are a huge, huge issue for me. I'm a nurse, I work in obstetrics, I'd never want to see a world where we can't help women get the life saving work they need."

She feared Donald Trump wouldn't accept the result if he loses: "It's going to be a big mess. He's not going to accept it. He didn’t accept it last time, he's not going to accept it this time."

Last night, I spoke to a number of Donald Trump supporters in the queue for his final campaign rally who all mentioned the economy and immigration as top concerns, with one saying they wanted the US to "quit this frivolous spending" and another saying "we have got to close the border."

Holly Honderich
Reporting from Kamala Harris's watch party in Washington, DC

Image source, Getty Images

Meanwhile in Washington DC, supporters of Kamala Harris have congregated outside Howard University - Harris's alma mater and the venue for tonight's election night party.

Among the excited crowds is Cheryl Taylor, a fellow Howard alum, and the person who tapped Harris in her first year at the school to join Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the country's first black sorority.

Even at 19, Harris stood out as a leader. "She was amazing," Taylor said. "Beautiful, smart, a good person."

Taylor was moved by Harris’s decision to hold tonight’s gathering here, saying it was a recognition of Howard's importance in her journey, the place that showed her the power of "black excellence".

And she shrugged off attacks aimed at Harris's racial identity, including from Donald Trump, who earlier in the campaign questioned the vice-president's identity as a black woman.

"We don’t question that here," Taylor said.

"To have one of our fellow Howardites to ascend to this level, and also to be a woman… it's overwhelming," Taylor said. "I’m just so happy to be here tonight."

Nada Tawfik
Reporting from Donald Trump's watch party in Florida

The media is now set up inside the venue for Donald Trump’s election watch party, where the stage is set for eventual remarks to his supporters and the nation.

A banner hanging reads, “Trump will fix it”, his frequent campaign slogan. Sound testing is under way and large screens are projecting the different TV networks’ coverage.

Soon, invited guests will file in to watch how the night unfolds.

For now though, Trump will have dinner in Mar-a-Lago and spend the next few hours with close family, friends and donors, such as Tesla and SpaceX boss Elon Musk.

Nadine Yousif
Reporting from Washington, DC

The first polls in the US are now closed in the states of Indiana and Kentucky.

We'll bring you any results as we get them. Stick with us.

Exit polls illustrate the political dividepublished at 22:58 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November

22:58 GMT 5 November

By Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent

At first blush, the opening round of exit polls aren’t too surprising. The economy and the state of democracy are the two top issues for American voters this year - in keeping with what we've been seeing from public opinion surveys for months.

Dig a bit deeper, however, and the sharp partisan divides in the electorate make themselves apparent.

For Republicans, immigration joined the economy near the top of their concerns - an issue that hardly merited a mention from Democrats. For those on the left, abortion rights, along with democracy, were much more important.

It is a bit of a surprise that the economy wasn't a dominant top issue for American voters, given how much of the political debate has centred around the post-pandemic spike in inflation.

It could be because there were some Republicans also worried about the state of American democracy, albeit for very different reasons than Democrats.

Of course, these exit polls are rough data points that should not be treated as gospel. The real verdict in this election is yet to come.

Chris Jeavans
Senior data journalist

Here's some more from the early exit poll data about how voters feel about the electoral process and democracy in the US.

Just under three quarters of those asked said they felt democracy was "very" or "somewhat" threatened in the United States.

And about seven in 10 voters in this current data were worried about violence as a result of the election.

Our broadcast partner CBS says this is the first time in its history – going back to the 1970s – that the exit poll has asked voters about the prospect of violence as it relates specifically to a US presidential election.

Seven in 10 voters were confident that the election was being conducted fairly and accurately but this is split on voting lines with Harris supporters much more confident but Trump supporters equally divided.

This data is from the earliest wave of exit poll data, so could see these numbers shift as more data comes in throughout the night.

Katty Kay
US special correspondent

This is the sixth US presidential campaign that I’ve covered and what’s stunning to me is how much change there’s been in which states we focus on as the "key swing states."

It's not that long ago that states like Missouri, Tennessee, and Arkansas (home of Bill Clinton) were places where the Democrats could be competitive. Now they overwhelmingly support the Republicans.

Meanwhile, California, now reliably Democratic, voted Republican in most elections from 1952 to 1988.

More recently, Florida and Ohio were the states we all watched to find out who’d win the White House.

Political alignment in America can change quickly — and I imagine each candidate tonight is hoping that they can steal one or two of those "non-swing" states away from their opponent.

• Tap watch live above for more analysis from Katty

Christian Fraser
Presenter, BBC News

This is my fourth time covering a US election. And now I'm back at the touch screen - with access to some excellent maps, graphics and data.

Throughout the night, we'll track the vote in real time as it comes in, in every state, and in every county.

We'll show you how that vote compares to 2020 and 2016, with enough granular detail to track how each candidate is performing in the crucial battleground states.

We'll be able to see where there are ballots still to be counted, and have live data on the Congressional races, keeping you up to date throughout the night with those crucial Senate and House races that will determine how much power the next president wields.

• Press watch live now to follow our election special from 5:40 pm EST (22:40 GMT)

Caitlin Wilson
US live editor

While we continue digging through the exit poll data, we're about to kick off the BBC's US election special coverage - press watch live above for all the breaking news lines and top analysis throughout the night.

BBC presenters Caitriona Perry, Sumi Somaskanda and Christian Fraser will guide viewers through the major moments of the night, bringing you reporting from our journalists stationed around the US, along with interviews with experts.

The programme begins at 17:40 EST (22:40 GMT).

Let's get some more detail from those early exit polls.

While the state of democracy and the economy were the top issue across all voters - it's a different picture when looking at Trump and Harris supporters.

Among those who voted for Kamala Harris:

• Almost six in 10 people ranked the state of democracy as their number one issue, according to our US news partner CBS
• That was followed by abortion, which was picked by about one in five
• Just over one in 10 chose the economy

Among Donald Trump voters:

• Half said the economy was their number one issue
• One in five said immigration was top
• Just over one in 10 people said they cared most about the state of democracy

Chris Jeavans
Senior data journalist

The first wave of exit polls has just been released - and voters have named the state of democracy as the most important issue when deciding who to vote for as president.

Around a third of people asked said it was their top concern, out of the five options given.

The economy ranked second, with three in ten voters choosing it, according to this preliminary data.

Abortion and immigration were the next most important issues and foreign policy was the least picked option.

The economy has previously come top of the list of issues motivating voters and was ranked first in the exit poll for every presidential election since 2008. It remains within the margin of error.

These are early numbers and are likely to change as we get more waves of exit poll data throughout the evening from voters across the country.

Caitlin Wilson
US live editor

We're about to get our first major insight into the issues motivating voters' choices in today’s election.

This will come from the first exit polls - you can learn more about how they work from my data journalist colleague Chris Jeavans here.

Then in the next half an hour, our election programming special will begin - which you'll be able to watch by pressing watch live at the top of the page. Time to dig out the popcorn.

Jamie Moreland
BBC News

Joe Lenski is the executive vice-president of Edison Research and leads the team conducting the US exit poll on behalf of the TV networks, including the BBC.

A picture is framed on the wall in his New Jersey office from the 1948 US election. It shows former president Harry Truman smiling with a newspaper headlined "Dewey defeats Truman".

Except, the paper had called it too soon. It was Truman who had actually won the presidency.

"I keep it here to remind me what we don't want to do on election night. That's the nightmare for us (that) we don't want to repeat," Lenski says.

Lenski is at the centre of some of the biggest election night decisions.

Exit poll data is used alongside other data, such as actual votes counted by officials, to project the outcome in each state.

"If it is a landslide election, we may only need some exit poll data and a little bit of vote data to project an election quickly. In many of the close states, we may need a lot of data", he says.

"I think everyone right now is expecting a really close election and I expect the exit polls to confirm that."

In a few minutes, we're going to get results from the first exit polls.

How do exit polls work in the US? What can they tell observers about voters, the issues that motivate them and what that could mean for the final result?

Watch the video below to find out.

Daniel Wittenberg
reporting from Florida

Image source, Reuters

While we were in the crowds of broadcast crews waiting for Donald Trump to vote in Palm Beach, Florida, earlier today, who else rolls up but his former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, in a convertible Mercedes-Benz.

Pointing a camera at reporters who promptly turned theirs towards him, he said he expects Trump to win handsomely and “do miracles with foreign policy” during a second term in the White House.

So will the election be fair, I asked him.

“I don't know. I have learned not to underestimate the ability of them to be dishonest and crooked,” he claimed.

Some of the false statements Giuliani made about the last presidential election resulted in him losing a defamation claim against two election workers. He owes them 150 million dollars, including a car that looks somewhat like the one he was sitting in.

The former New York City mayor's spokesperson all but confirmed that it was the same vehicle, according to a statement obtained by CBS News, BBC's US partner.

"Our lawyers have requested documentation to transfer over the title of the vehicle, and haven't heard back from opposing counsel," they said in a statement.