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Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney has cast his vote in the 2020 election - and it's not for President Trump, according to CNN correspondent Manu Raju.

The one-time presidential candidate declined to say who he did vote for, however.

It's not an entirely surprising move, as Romney reneged from his party to vote to impeach Trump back in February - becoming the first US senator to vote to oust a president from their own party.

Back in 2016, too, Romney was no Trump fan, calling him "a con man, a fake".

Romney's among several Republicans to defy party norms and vote for someone else. On the list are Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, Vermont Governor Phil Scott and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, who said he wrote in Ronald Reagan.

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It's just after lunchtime on the east coast of the US. Joe Biden is hunkered down, prepping for the final presidential debate on Thursday. Donald Trump meanwhile addresses a campaign rally in Gastonia, North Carolina in a few hours time.

But before that, former president Barack Obama will be making his first in-person campaign appearance at a drive-in rally in Philadelphia, Pennslyvania.

Trump's running mate, Vice-President, Mike Pence, is speaking at Make America Great Again rallies in New Hampshire and Ohio.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris, Biden's pick for VP, will attend early voter mobilisation events in Asheville and Charlotte in North Carolina. The visit was postponed last week after two members of her team tested positive for Covid-19.

"Joe Biden is clearly not up to the rigours of campaigning for president, so he’s calling in Barack Obama as a reinforcement," begins a statement just out from the Trump campaign's communications director, Tim Murtaugh.

The statement also refers to allegations about Biden's son, Hunter, who previously worked for a Ukrainian energy firm while his dad was vice-president. Joe Biden has described the allegations as a "smear campaign" - but you can read more about them here.

Obama is campaigning in person today for his former running mate, and Murtaugh's statement adds: "Obama can’t help Biden defend his own record of putting foreign interests ahead of working Americans."

Image source, Reuters

More than 40m Americans have already voted - either by mail on in person - according to researchers at the US Elections Project.

In Texas, 59% of those who voted in 2016's election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have already cast their 2020 ballot. In Florida, 38% of 2016 voters have now voted.

\Wisconsin, which only kicked off in person voting yesterday, 37% of the 2016 crowd has voted.

A record number of early and postal votes are being cast this year, as citizens of the country with the highest number of Covid-19 infections in the world look for alternatives to election day voting.

Republicans claim postal voting is vulnerable to fraud, but there is little evidence that points to this. There are already lawsuits underway in several states regarding how to count ballots that are late or blemished, and the legal challenges could make election day more like election week if the vote is tight.

Read more:

When will we get a result and could it be contested?

Famed comedian Mel Brooks has just given his endorsement to Joe Biden. It's not much of a surprise, given the criticisms he's levelled at his fellow New Yorker who lives in the White House right now.

Trump, he says, hasn't done anything to tackle the coronavirus, which has kept him from having visits with his family.

"So many people have died," says the director of Young Frankenstein and The Producers. "And when you're dead, you can't do much! So I'm voting for Joe Biden."

Biden has racked up dozens, or even hundreds, more celebrity endorsements than Trump. But do they really matter?

Read more:

Will celebrity endorsements help Joe Biden?

Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi is asked about the New York Times report that President Trump has extensive business dealings with China, external. Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, says the allegations are "a national security issue".

Looking back, Pelosi actually said the same thing when the Times first published its report on Trump's tax returns, obtained by the paper last month.

Ms Pelosi said then: "This president appears to have over $400m in debt. To whom? Different countries? What is the leverage they have?... So for me, this is a national security question."

A lawyer for the Trump organization has described the latest Times report as "pure speculation".

Observers of the US election from abroad have been shocked at pictures of long queues of voters, or confused by the rows over postal voting. Voting in America is not always straightforward, and can be made harder by geography or historic legal barriers to voting.

Claims of voter suppression accompany most US elections, and this year the pandemic has added further difficulties to casting a vote.

Read about why voting is not always easy in the US.

Shloka Ananthanarayanan is a compliance analyst originally from India. She became a US citizen in 2014, and voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. She is progressive and will vote for Joe Biden this election.

Why does this election matter to you?

I was so thrilled to give Hillary Clinton my vote in 2016, and was then shocked by the results of that election. At the time, people said it wouldn't be so bad, but four years later, the people of this country are suffering and our status in the world is laughable. This election is critical to restore faith in our democracy and ensure that every citizen is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. Voting is an essential right, so I have voted in every local, state, and federal election since I became a citizen. This time around, my vote feels even more crucial than ever.

Why do you support your chosen candidate?

Joe Biden is a kind and compassionate man who has solid plans to deal with the various problems affecting America today. He wants every citizen to have access to healthcare and he wants to ensure the poorest among us can still afford to have a decent life. He listens to smart people and will make smart decisions. He actually cares about the citizens of this nation and wants to serve us, not just serve himself.

Shloka is a member of our US election voter panel. You met her here. You'll hear from many of our other voters throughout the week.

Join the conversation:

• We want to hear from you -what questions do you have about the US election?
• In five words, tell us what's at stake in this election.

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Senator Kamala Harris, in the running to be Joe Biden's vice-president, has broken records in the race, namely being the first black female candidate for VP.

When she faced her rival Mike Pence in the VP debate, her gender came up again and again in analysis afterwards. Clips of Harris repeating "Mr Vice-President, I'm speaking" circulated on social media as people celebrated the senator's strategy to make her voice heard. But many suggested this was only necessary because of her gender.

The rules of the race remain different for women. With analysis from Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, we look at what female candidates face.

Ritu Prasad
BBC News, Florida

We’ve been asking our readers for their most pressing questions about the US election. Now it’s our turn to respond.

Click here if you want to know more about this project or send in a question of your own.

Lakshman C, 56, from London, UK, asks: Which are the two states that don't follow the winner-takes-all rule?

Before we get to the answer, let's take a step back for those who need a refresher on the complicated way the US picks a president.

Essentially, when voters cast their ballots, they're voting for people called "electors" - representatives of each party - who will then officially submit a vote to Congress.

In all but two states, as you may have correctly gleaned from Lakshman's question, whoever wins the majority of votes in the state gets all of that state's electoral college votes.

It's winner-take-all even if the difference between the candidates is one vote or one million.

The two states that choose to differ? Maine and Nebraska, which divvy up their electoral college votes (four and five respectively) based on what proportion of the state votes each candidate received.

If you want to know more about the electoral college, check out our explainer here. We've also answered some of your top questions on the election - including the electoral system - here.

Image source, Getty Images

Here's something different that has caught our eye.

Scientists in the US have announced a new type of white paint that can cool buildings - it would reduce reliance on air-conditioning, which is very energy-intensive.

In a study, the new product was able to reflect nearly all sunlight and reduce temperatures by 1.6%.

The effect is achieved by adding different sized particles of calcium carbonate to the paint, engineers say.

Maybe one for the to-do list of the next president?

It's the last day before Joe Biden and Donald Trump face each other again for the last time on a debate stage.

Biden is spending Wednesday off the campaign trial doing his final preparations. Trump is doing what he loves best - a campaign rally, tonight in Gastonia, North Carolina.

Although millions of Americans have already cast their votes, a poor or fantastic performance by either candidate could still change voters' minds.

It's Trump's chance to turn around a flagging campaign as he is currently trailing in the polls. Meanwhile Biden will want to avoid anything - gaffs or verbal stumbles - that undermines his frontrunner status.

The debate will be held from 21:00-22:30 ET (02:00-03:30BST) at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and you can follow it live on this website. We'll be bringing you the latest news and analysis as it happens.

Read our guide to the debate here.

Image source, Getty Images

Joe Biden's campaign has convinced US Hollywood legend Sam Elliot to voice a campaign ad currently running during breaks between World Series baseball games.

With long romantic shots of American scenery accompanied by Elliot's famously deep voice, it tells viewers "there is only one America. No Democratic rivers, no Republican mountains. Just this great land".

Pushing a strong message of unity, it promises voters a clean break from Trump if they vote for Biden.

It has gone down well on social media after airing on Tuesday, but of course it's likely that its fans are partisan too.

Online there's a world full of conspiracy theories, influence campaigns and false claims. How can you spot political disinformation and foreign interference on your social media feed? The BBC's specialist disinformation reporter Marianna Spring explains.

Here's what's been happening so far and what to expect later in the day:

• Former president Barack Obama hits the campaign trail for his friend Joe Biden at a drive-in event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The state is one of the close races that could determine the election
• Donald Trump abruptly ended an interview with CBS News last night calling it "biased". He also tweeted against interviewer Lesley Stahl
• Early voting is continuing is Wisconsin, where video shows long queues of people, external
• The New York Times has revealed that Trump has bank accounts in China - the president has often criticised the country as a threat to the US, but the newspaper reports Trump has extensive business dealings in China
• And Democrat congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got together 700,000 people on streaming platform Twitch to play video game Among Us - and of course used the chance to encourage people to vote

Read More - The Countdown: AOC on Twitch and Obama's inspiration

Williams Morales is a full-time student and essential worker. He is a progressive reluctantly voting for Joe Biden.

Why does this election matter to you?

This election is important to me, because it will determine the future livelihood of me and my family. I am the youngest of five, and we are first generation Americans, our parents were born in Mexico. I have seen my parents work relentlessly, but they have made little progress financially.

Currently, my dad is approaching 60, my mom is diabetic, they have no insurance, and little to no savings. As for myself, I currently have no insurance, I am a full-time student and a full-time essential worker at a grocery store. This election matters to me because if Biden were to lose and Trump successfully appoints Amy Coney [Barrett] my hopes for affordable health care, raise in the minimum wage, legal protection of minorities, the reversal of climate change, the protection of democracy, and so much more, is at stake.

What inspired you to vote in this election?

I was inspired to vote in this election, because I am scared for my future, my country's future, and the world. Currently the United State's position as a world leader is faltering, and in its void fascist rhetoric and abuse of human rights are on a rise. I don't want to see my home and the world continue down that path. If Biden is elected, then I shall have some more hope for the future.

In my area, voters are very disillusioned. For a lot of us Biden is far from our first choice. A lot of us were inspired by the progressive candidates' call for unity, reform and financial wellbeing, but now we must choose one of two candidates, both of which are more alike than different.

Williams is a member of our US election voter panel. You'll hear more from him, and many of our other voters, throughout the week.

Join the conversation:

• We want to hear from you -what questions do you have about the US election?
• In five words, tell us what's at stake in this election.

More than 245 million Americans are eligible to vote - yet only a small percentage of them will actually determine who the next president is. Who are they and where do they live?

Tara McKelvey
BBC White House reporter

Lesley Stahl and her team breezed past other reporters in the West Wing: we were all waiting for our Covid tests. A TV legend, she naturally stepped ahead of us. Once inside, she met with the same fate that others had: Trump turned on her because he thought she was not going to help his image, external – in fact, she could hurt him. Then he up-ended a legend by attacking her for not wearing a mask and threatened to release the interview before she did.

Like others who have served in the White House, Trump has tried to control the story of his presidency. Yet he has gone further: he directs the way media is rolled out and tries to destroy his critics. As always with Trump, the message is simple: he is in control. Everyone else better get out of the way, and that includes American icons such as Stahl.

His supporters love him for his iconoclastic manner. His critics – well, they already hate him. Regardless of what happens, Trump knows one thing: fights and drama are good for TV ratings. Always the showman, he plays to the crowd.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America reporter

Image source, Getty Images

With less than two weeks remaining before election day, the Biden campaign is putting one of its most valuable assets out on the field. Barack Obama remains highly popular, particularly among the Democratic base, and the choice of Pennsylvania for his first in-person campaign event suggests they recognise that the state is the most important battleground of the 2020 election.

Obama has been active in supporting the Democratic effort so far, including fund-raising, advertising and a high-profile speech at the party’s national convention. That it has taken so long for him to hit the campaign trail, however, suggests that the Democratic strategy to avoid large rallies is more than just an attempt to shelter Joe Biden from the public, as his critics suggest.

The former president will make a direct pitch to black voters, particularly men, whose support Biden desperately needs to win key industrial states, like Pennsylvania, that Hillary Clinton lost in 2016. Of course, Obama also held a major election-eve event in Philadelphia for her four years ago, to no avail.

Obama carried Pennsylvania twice when he ran for president, but there’s only so much he can do for his former running mate. This time it’s Biden’s name, not his, at the top of the ballot.

Reality Check

Image source, Getty Images

There’s been a steady stream of posts online claiming that the huge number of postal votes means this election is ripe for fraud. The weight of evidence says it’s not.

Among the latest false rumours is one that says if you have someone’s name and date of birth you can “modify” or cancel their mail-in ballot.

It emerged on the extreme message board 4chan, where users claimed to have discovered a loophole on government websites for Oregon and Washington state. And it was repeated by Epoch Times, a pro-Trump outlet linked to a Chinese religious group.

But local officials rejected the claims, telling Vice News there are strict measures in place to keep the voting process secure, external.

While it’s possible to enter official websites with someone else’s details – it’s impossible to change the way they vote.

As the election draws closer, expect more dodgy claims to fly online. We’ve made a video outlining how you can spot election disinformation.