Image source, Getty Images

It's nearly here. We have just one more sleep left until election day.

We're going to take a brief pause from our live coverage, but we will be back on Tuesday, 3 November, for up-to-the-minute news and analysis as Americans cast their ballots.

Monday's campaigning has been a blur. Here are some standout moments:

• Over 97m Americans have already cast their ballots - smashing early voting records from past elections. The country is on track to reach its highest electoral turnout rate in more than a century
• Donald Trump, who is trailing Joe Biden in national polls, spent his final hours with more whirlwind travel - hosting rallies in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. He'll host his final rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan - the same place he finished up his first presidential campaign four years ago
• Democratic candidate Joe Biden has had some star-studded support today, appearing with Lady Gaga at a Pittsburgh rally this evening. Nearby, in Philadelphia, vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris will be backed by singer John Legend
• A judge in Texas rejected a Republican lawsuit attempting to invalidate more than 127,000 votes cast in Harris County

• In Washington and other cities, stores have been boarded up in anticipation of election night rioting, revealing nation-wide anxiety after an extremely divisive election

Looking for more?

• Here's what to look for on election night
• How to follow the results on the BBC
• How is Trump doing in the polls?

Today's live page has been brought to you by: Boer Deng, Vicky Baker, Max Matza, Ritu Prasad, Holly Honderich, Sophie Williams, George Wright, Rebecca Seales, Joshua Nevett and Victoria Bisset

Polling data from the New York Times and Siena College may have given us a new way to predict a voter's presidential pick: first names.

Looking at more than 100 names, with at least 30 respondents for each, the newspaper has found some patterns, external in presidential preferences.

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, voters named Donald are considerably more likely to vote for Donald Trump - they favoured the president by a 48 point margin.

On the other hand, Karens - who found their names turned into a widespread meme, referencing a specific type of middle-class white woman - are more likely to go for Democrat Joe Biden, by a 20 point margin.

Stephanies, Elizabeths and Samuels are also inclined to vote for Biden, while Matthews, Brians and Bettys are likely to lean toward the president.

It has been three (three!) years since the presidential election began, kicked off with the start of the primaries.

Since then, there have been billions of dollars spent, dozens of candidates, two nominees and one candidate.

Here are the last three years in three minutes.

Produced by Franz Strasser and Joaquim Salles

Last month, the BBC's Chloe Kim spoke with Erica, who had yet to decide who to vote for.

Now, on the eve of the election, she has made up her mind. Laura will cast her ballot for Donald Trump.

Here's how she made up her mind:

“After I watched the final debate my decision became a little easier. I was surprised by Trump’s ability to remain calm and professional, while I thought Biden kept using fear-mongering language and placed blame instead of explaining why his abilities are better.

I believe small businesses are essential to the success of our country and a massive minimum wage increase across the country would be detrimental, so Biden’s plan to raise the minimum wage did not sit well with me. Ultimately, I am not pleased with my options but I feel I made the best decision."

A judge has rejected a request by Republicans to stop ballot counting in Clark County, Nevada.

The Nevada Republican Party and Donald Trump’s re-election campaign had filed a lawsuit last month claiming the county violated state election laws.

The lawsuit argued that aspects of the ballot counting process were not observed closely enough, so officials should stop counting and verifying mail-in ballots.

However on Monday, District Court Judge James Wilson denied the request saying that there was no evidence of improper vote counting, external.

Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald said the party has not decided if they will appeal to the state’s Supreme Court.

All voters in Nevada were sent mail-in ballots due to the pandemic.

Clark County, home to Las Vegas, is also home to 70% of Nevada’s voters.

Image source, Reuters

First Lady Melania Trump is set to cast her ballot in person tomorrow morning, according to a White House official.

Trump will vote in Palm Beach, Florida, before returning to the White House, the official told CNN.

Earlier today, the first lady took part in her final campaign appearance in Huntersville, North Carolina.

President Donald Trump voted early in Florida on 24 October.

Image source, Getty Images

Now in the final hours of his second presidential campaign, Donald Trump is continuing his breakneck sprint through several of the country's battleground states. Today alone, he has held rallies in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan - where he is speaking to supporters right now.

The president is trailing Joe Biden in national polls, but you wouldn't know it looking at his crowds. He's been met with cheering supporters and packed stadiums nearly every step of the way.

Trump will finish his day in Grand Rapids, Michigan - the same place he ended his campaign four years ago. This time around, a trail of cars is still waiting to enter for their last look at their man before election day.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

BBC has been speaking to voters around the US to get their perspectives on the election. Today, we hear from women around the country.

Rachel Tillman is an Independent from southern Illinois who now lives in Indiana. She voted for independent presidential candidate Evan McMullin in 2016 and she thinks she will most likely vote for Joe Biden this election.

Why does this election matter to you?

I'm a millennial substitute teacher and the reason why I teach is that I hate the division in the US today and I don't want kids growing up to be so divisive. I want a world where it's not a "sin" to be bipartisan and work with the other side towards a common goal. This is why this election means a lot to me.

Does being a woman impact your vote?

Yes and no. I was probably more appalled than the average man at Trump's taped "locker room" remarks last election, but I think my biggest personal thing is unity. And because of those and other similar remarks, I don't think Trump can provide unity. I'm not sure Biden can either, but I think he's got a much better shot than Trump.

These are members of our US election voter panel. You'll hear more from them 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.

Zhaoyin Feng
BBC Chinese, Washington DC

The nation’s capital is gearing up for the presidential election not by organising rallies or canvassing, but by putting up boards and fences.

I took a walk around Washington DC downtown today, and the city was eerily quiet.

At the Trump International Hotel, fences have been installed around the hotel entrances. Only a driveway with enhanced security was open to allow guests to come in and out.

There are few on the streets on this chilly, windy day, but a man on a scooter passes by and shouts: “Trump 2020!”

Along the Black Lives Matter Plaza, one block away from the White House, it’s hard to tell whether anything is open for business, as storefronts are all covered up with plywood, in case of civil unrest on the election night and after.

The fences wall that off the White House and nearby Lafayette Square are covered with anti-Trump signs. Through the fences, I saw a crane lifting construction materials, said to be preparing to put up more fences around the White House.

Demonstrators and journalists gather in front of the White House, and tomorrow night they will return in greater number.

The world will be watching closely - not only for whether Biden or Trump will be residing here in the next four years, but also for whether the US democratic institutions can withstand the challenges it is facing.

Image source, Reuters

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says people with coronavirus and those currently self-isolating can vote in person as long as they follow safety guidelines.

Those who have the virus or are self-isolating must stay six feet away from others, wear a mask and wash their hands before and after voting.

"Voters have the right to vote, regardless of whether they are sick or in quarantine," the CDC says, external, but the should inform poll workers of their situation and bring their own supplies of pens, tissues and hand sanitiser.

Although this rule is in place, the CDC has advised that alternative methods of voting such as kerbside voting should be made available where possible.

It is being called the most divisive election in modern US history, but amidst the contentiousness, there are still some heartwarming stories.

Tim Place is one of the few Joe Biden voters in his Wisconsin neighbourhood. When his Biden-Harris sign was stolen, he got some unexpected help - from a Trump-supporting neighbour.

As the sun sets on the last day of campaigning before election day, the closing images of supporters in masks and cars mark out a most unusual 2020 election in the shadow of coronavirus.

Here are some pictures from Democrat Joe Biden's drive-in event in Cleveland, Ohio earlier today. He will end the day in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania later tonight - the city where he first announced his 2020 bid in a crowded union hall.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

A record 97m people have voted early in the election - more than two-thirds of the number of votes cast in the entire 2016 election.

Texas and Hawaii have already seen bigger voter turnout than the whole of the last presidential election, while the crucial battlegrounds of North Carolina, Georgia and Florida have over 90% of the 2016 turnout.

It is looking increasingly likely that the 2016 record of 139m votes will be smashed this time.

Could the US reach 100m votes cast before election day tomorrow? All eyes are peeled on the numbers...

Image source, Getty Images

As many as 13,000 Floridian felons could be eligible to vote after celebrities spent millions of dollars to pay off court fines for them.

Figures including businessman Michael Bloomberg and basketball star LeBron James have helped contribute about $27 million (about £20 million) to the nonprofit Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.

Florida used to prohibit felons from voting, but that was changed through an amendment to the state's laws. However, suffrage is only restored after those convicted have served their time and paid any fines they owe, which can be substantial.

Polls are showing a tight race in Florida, a crucial battleground - and a boost of new voters could make the difference in who wins this election.

“We want communities to get better by having more voices heard, and the quicker people are able to be reintegrated into the community, the better,” Neil Volz, deputy director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, told The Tampa Bay Times., external

"If people choose to engage in that moment or not, that’s on them.”

Read: The 750,000 people you didn’t know could vote

Trump may not have a dog of his own, but one of his loyal followers in Scranton, Pennsylvania, brought his cute pooch out to stump for Trump today.

Our North America Editor Jon Sopel spotted the wig-wearing waggler as he awaited Trump's rally in the city of Biden's birth.

Image source, Getty Images

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris has penned an election eve op-ed, addressing fellow black women in America.

"Black women hold the power in this election," Harris wrote in Essence, a magazine for African-American women. "Generations of black women marched and organised and fought to give us this right... knowing that, one day, black women would be a force in our democracy."

Harris is the first black female vice-presidential candidate for any major US party. And the California senator's historic nomination is set amid a national reckoning following a summer of protest over racial inequities.

And this year, turnout from African Americans could shift the vote in a number of key states, namely Georgia, where Harris has been spending a lot of time as of late. The state's status as a solid Republican territory may be challenged this year amid historic turnout from black voters.

Every 30 seconds, a Latino in the US turns 18 and becomes eligible to vote. If they turn out, young Latino voters could swing the outcome of the election.

So we talked to five of them from around the country about what issues they care most about, and which presidential candidate they will be voting for.

Image source, AFP/Reuters

On the last day before the election, Lady Gaga got involved in an unusual debate.

That is one of the more quixotic pieces of news we're following in The Countdown, where we summarise the day's election happenings in four sentences:

1. After sweeping through five states on Sunday, Donald Trump is hitting four more on Monday - they are either swing states, or states he won last time but where polls are now showing a very close race.

2. "If I don't sound like a typical Washington politician, it's because I'm not a politician" - Mr Trump has used one of his favourite lines when speaking to supporters in North Carolina, and many of them like to think of their president as an outsider.

3. Joe Biden is focused on Pennsylvania, an important state in his path to the White House, but one which will only start counting postal votes on election day - something Mr Trump has said he could challenge in court.

4. "Fire Fauci" was a chant heard at a Florida Trump rally on Sunday and the president hinted he might like to do just that after the country's top infectious diseases expert criticised the White House's virus strategy as cases grow in the US., external

Keep up with our countdown here, including how Lady Gaga has made it into Trump's mentions.

James Clayton
North America technology reporter

With all of the controversy around voting in this election – is there a better way to vote?

Voting digitally – by your phone or your email – might seem a little far-fetched. But it is actually been tested in a limited way in this election.

States like Oregon, South Carolina and West Virginia are trialling digital voting for the armed forces and for people with disabilities.

The idea is if you can do your banking and your tax returns online, why not vote online?

But there are major security concerns about voting online.

If a system was hacked it could undermine the legitimacy of an election.

Even so there are some believe that new technologies mean we could see an e-election in the years to come.

A court in Texas has rejected a Republican effort to throw out nearly 127,000 ballots that had been submitted at drive-in voting places in Harris County, the third largest county in the US.

The Texas Supreme Court did not give a reason for their decision on Monday.

A record 1.4m votes have already been cast in Harris County, home to the city of Houston. Republicans have railed against expanded voting access measures that have been put in place due to the pandemic.

It's been 40 years since Texas voted for a Democrat as president, but Biden and Harris are feeling lucky this year. On Friday, Harris was in the state for an improbable campaign visit, and on Monday, the campaign got an endorsement from native Houstonian, Beyoncé: