Image source, Getty Images

Both Texas and Missouri have been told to allow election monitors from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to observe polling stations after US judges rejected their bids to have officials blocked.

To monitor compliance with voting rules, the DOJ had announced that they would be sending lawyers to check polling stations in 86 jurisdictions across 27 states, including some in Texas and Missouri.

It is common practice for the DOJ to send staff to monitor voting locations during national elections.

Texas and Missouri had sought to block this procedure in separate legal claims, but two different courts have rejected the states' arguments.

Gwyn Loader
Chief correspondent, Newyddion S4C, reporting from Ohio

“Have you been to the Kamala Harris store yet?” asks a customer at the Trump Store on Cincinnati’s outskirts.

“No because there isn’t one!” he chuckles answering his own question.

Underlying his joke is a serious point: what other politician, besides Donald Trump, appeals enough to voters to give rise to shops selling merchandise in their name?

In Republican-leaning Ohio, there certainly is a market for Trump gear.

We'll see if that commerical appeal will be enough to get the former president over the line in other, more crucial swing states.

It’s just past 07:00 in western US states (15:00 GMT), and polls are officially open in California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon.

The only states left to start voting now are Alaska and Hawaii.

California has 54 electoral votes - the most of any state in the US - but is considered a blue wall state as the last time it voted for a Republican candidate was in 1988.

Nevada, which has six electoral votes, is the last of the seven swing states to open polls today.

As a reminder - states award all their electoral college votes to whoever wins the majority of the state's vote.

For example, if a candidate wins 50.1% of the vote in California, they are given all of the state's 54 electoral votes. A candidate who wins a state by a landslide would still pick up the same number of electoral votes.

• You can read more about how the US voting system works here

Image source, Getty Images

As the US votes, all eyes are on the swing states that are expected to decide the election.

In presidential elections, states with more people are worth more points, or electoral college votes as they're known.

Across the entire US there are a total of 538 electoral college votes up for grabs.

The winner will be the candidate that wins 270 or more.

The seven states considered key this election hold 93 electoral college votes between them.

Read more in our visual explainer on the Path to 270.

Madeline Halpert
Reporting from Michigan

It’s relatively quiet here in liberal Washtenaw County in Michigan, a state where more than 3.2m people have cast early votes.

That’s over half of the total voters in 2020, when 5.6m people filled out a ballot.

Courtney Kutcher walked to the polls in Ann Arbor with her coffee on this warm morning, wanting the satisfaction of seeing her ballot go into the machine on election day.

She voted for Harris because she believes the candidate will “give our kids, both boys and girls, a better future in America”.

The Harris campaign is counting on moms like Kutcher to turn out in large numbers in liberal counties in the state to make up for Trump’s expected wins in more rural areas.

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from North Carolina

I’ve just arrived to a polling location in Buncombe County, North Carolina, one of the areas most devastated at the end of September by Hurricane Helene.

With little time to respond, the state’s election officials placed generator-powered “festival tents” for voters here and at six other locations in the region.

Where I am, in the Broad River Township, the wounds of the storm are still raw. Dump trucks carrying debris led the way as I made my way to the polling site on this rainy Tuesday morning.

“Just what we need, more rain,” jokes Amanda Lambert, an event staff member who’s been hired to monitor this polling site.

By 09:00 local time (14:00 GMT), roughly 35 people had made their way up the windy mountainside - past chain sawed tree trunks and crumbled concrete roadsides - to cast their votes here.

It’s been fairly slow going this morning.

But Lilian Govus, Buncombe County's communication director, estimates that western North Carolina will break its total voter turnout record of 78% that it set in 2020.

Anna Foster
Reporting from Philadelphia

Francis O’Neill has just cast his vote in Philadelphia, and tells me he chose to back Kamala Harris this time

Having voted for both Democrats and Republicans in the past, he’s exactly the type of floating voter both campaigns have been trying to win over here in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania.

“I think Donald Trump is a bully”, he says. “I think what Kamala Harris is promising works. She’s a good woman, and that’s what we need in this country."

So much effort and energy has been made to persuade voters here, but Francis laughs and tells me all the attention has been “a pain in the neck - the phone hasn’t stopped ringing with canvassers”.

But on the result, he knows there’s a real sense of nervousness.

“I think people will hold their ground, and the law is on our side. But Donald Trump will do anything he thinks he can get away with. He's an ass."

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Philadelphia

Donald Trump's campaign has claimed that four court-appointed Republican elections workers were "blocked from the process and illegally kicked out" of a poll location in Philadelphia this morning on election day.

"This is a crime, and should not happen in a fair and and secure election as promised," a campaign statement reads. "This is an unacceptable breach of public trust, undermining transparency and Philadelphia's election."

Three of the four were added back, the statement notes.

"We demand [District Attorney] Larry Krasner and election officials to immediately act and allow our poll observers into precincts," the statement adds. "Refusing to allow Republicans into the room threatens the integrity and security of Pennsylvania's elections."

Krasner, the Philadelphia district attorney, will hold a press conference to provide an election update at 10:30 local time (15:30 GMT).

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump's running mate, JD Vance, voted in person a short time ago in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Republican vice-presidential nominee was seen arriving at a polling station there with his wife and their children.

He appeared to be in good spirits.

Rules on voter registration vary state-by-state, but in large parts of the US it's not too late for voters to register, even though today is polling day.

Nearly half the states, as well as the District of Columbia, allow for same-day registration on election day - but, again, the exact rules can vary.

In the other states, the deadline has already passed, with the exception of North Dakota, which does not require registration.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Philadelphia

As polls opened in Pennsylvania, I’ve been inundated with messages from voters I’ve met over the weeks and months of the US campaign.

One voter I've heard from is Jay Kirell, a 46-year-old Philadelphia resident. He’s a veteran, and fought in Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne Division. I first spoke to him after the fall of Kabul in 2021, when he told me about his complex feelings in the wake of the Taliban takeover.

Like many others I’ve spoken to in the last few days, Kirell says he’s “exhausted” by the election.

“The whole process lasts so long, and feels even longer,” he tells me. “I think everyone just wanted it to be over.”

“It’s certainly exciting,” he adds. “But exciting in the way running from a bear is exciting. You just wish it didn’t feel so life or death.”

Kirell predicts a Harris win, both in Pennsylvania and nationally. As a veteran, he says he wants a president who will do more for former service members, and navigate tricky situations in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Ultimately, he believes the election is "fundamentally two different Americas being fought for".

"And we’re 24 hours away from finding out which one we’re going to be, and absolutely nobody knows what’s going to happen," he says. "That’s utterly terrifying."

Will Grant
Reporting from Florida

It’s a windy morning at the polling station in West Palm Beach where Donald Trump will appear, accompanied by his wife Melania, to cast his ballot in the next couple of hours.

Ordinary voters are making their way in and out, past the large bank of cameras and reporters gathered to film the former president. He is due to arrive here, vote and - we expect - deliver some remarks afterwards.

A group of employees from the adjacent school, Palm Beach Public, are sat on the adjoining wall holding US flags and - most of them - loudly proclaiming their support for Mr Trump.

One of them, Brooke Kennedy, a teacher, says the US has been on the "wrong path" for the past four years.

She tells me that she has already voted for Donald Trump because he matches her “biblical world view” - a reminder that an amendment on whether to reverse the state's strict abortion ban is on the ballot here.

Kayla Epstein
Reporting from Palm Beach, Florida

In her effort to win every last vote on the margins, Harris has made explicit appeals to Republican voters.

She hopes that projecting an image of moderation and stability will win over some Republicans who don’t like Trump’s character or his actions on 6 January 2021.

Her pitch has worked on one young Republican in Florida. Alfredo Hernandez, 24, says there was a “huge morality factor” in his vote for Harris.

“Donald Trump is pushing a lot of negative propaganda, and, with Kamala Harris, I feel like there's more a message of hope,” he says.

“I want there to be more inclusion.”

Hernandez said conversations with his family members had played a role in making up his mind.

He encouraged other young voters to “keep an open mind” and do research on politicians before casting a vote.

US agencies say Russians behind another election fakepublished at 14:06 Greenwich Mean Time 5 November

14:06 GMT 5 November

By Olga Robinson

US intelligence agencies say “Russian influence actors” are behind a fake video alleging election fraud in Arizona.

The video was posted on X by a now-suspended pro-Kremlin account and viewed over 200,000 times.

It features an unnamed man claiming to be a former aide to Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, alleging he saw evidence of “massive fraud against Donald Trump”.

Fontes dismissed the claims as false.

The man’s face in the video is pixelated and his voice - which sounds robotic, monotonous and has unnatural pauses - exhibits hallmarks consistent with AI-generated audio.

The video was produced by the Russian Foundation to Battle Injustice (“FBI”), which was set up in 2021 by the late oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin. Before his death, Prigozhin was sanctioned in the US for election interference.

The organisation’s content is often amplified by the Russian influence operation 'Storm-1516', which has been linked to several suspected election fakes.

Image source, Russian Foundation to Battle Injustice

It's 07:00 in the swing state of Arizona, which means polls are opening for votes to be cast. As the only swing state along the US-Mexico border, the results in Arizona will be crucial for both presidential candidates.

The state was also at the heart of 2020 election misinformation claims and pro-Trump protests.

As well as Arizona, polls are opening in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming.

What is the current state of the race as voters in the US head to the polls? When can we expect a result? Which swing states will declare first? And what should we be reading into early results?

With polls open in much of the US, these are questions we all want to know.

The BBC's Anthony Zurcher, Sarah Smith, Justin Webb and Marianna Spring, armed with their insight and analysis, will answer all of them and more in Americast's latest episode - which is available to listen to now.

Polls are now open in Arkansas, bringing the total number of US states voting to almost 30.

It carries six electoral college votes, compared to states like California - which has 54 - and New York, which has 28.

How many votes a state gets is, in part, dictated by its population size.

Several other states, including Mississippi and North Dakota, opened their voting up about half an hour ago.

Image source, Getty Images

In the US, a presidential election day ballot can be long - two or three white pages.

They contain not just a spot to vote for Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, but also House and Senate races as well as local initiatives and proposals, such as funding for community services.

When US citizens fill ballots out, they fill in a bubble rather than ticking or marking an x in a box. It can take roughly 10 minutes to fill one out.

Sam Hancock
Live page editor

Polls are now open in more than half of US states, and as morning here in London has turned to afternoon, we've seen more and more images of Americans getting out to vote.

For readers just joining us, Donald Trump ended his campaign last night in the swing state of Michigan while Kamala Harris rounded hers off in Pennsylvania - considered the key state to win with its 19 electoral college votes. They've both since appealed to voters to get out to vote.

Speaking of the electoral college, we explained a little earlier how voting in the US actually works, which you may find helpful. We also answered a few key questions, including when we will know who's won.

Our colleagues in Washington DC will be taking over editing this live coverage before long but until then, let's continue to dart across the US where, as the BBC's Anthony Zurcher writes, voters are making a decision that could impact generations to come.

Image source, Getty Images

It's gone 08:00 on the US's East Coast (13:00 here in the UK). Voting is well under way in several states and 10 more have just begun their ballots. They are:

• Alabama
• Iowa
• Kansas (counties can be a bit flexible in this state)
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• North Dakota
• Oklahoma
• South Dakota
• Texas
• Wisconsin - a swing state with 10 electoral college votes

This means more than half of the US's 50 states are now voting.