Joe Biden is projected to win the state of Vermont. Hillary Clinton won 56% of the vote in this very Democratic New England state in 2016. It has three electoral college votes.

Image source, Getty Images

Now on to the important stuff... While they may not be able to vote, some pets have found their way to polling stations across the US.

Residents in Dixville Notch, a village in New Hampshire with a population of 12, started voting at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday. The voters, joined by this dog, unanimously backed Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

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Dogs at polling stations aren't always so well behaved, though, as this voter in Greenwich, Connecticut found as she tried to stop her dog barking while voting.

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And it's not just dogs joining in the fun, a cat has been pictured getting in on the act too.

Suzanne Kianpour
BBC News, North Carolina

We're in Charlotte, North Carolina, a swing-state that, should it go to Biden, will be a major win for the Democrats. In 2016, it went to Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton with a 3.66% winning margin.

Every Biden supporter I've spoken to has been cautiously optimistic, saying the race is tight. And such a tight race has led to fears results won't come in so quickly.

Some voting sites had delays leading to an extension - but North Carolina election official Patrick Gannon told me that this applies to just a few sites out of nearly 2,700 polling places. So there is no statewide polling extension, which would have been a potential advantage for Trump as it was expected that more of his supporters would turn out on election day rather than casting early ballots.

But at Suffolk Punch, the hip neighbourhood we are broadcasting from today, two Trump supporters sported their 'Make America Great Again' gear proudly.

"I've been nervous wearing my Trump stuff, however this was the first day I wore it and we went and voted. We’ve had to suppress our excitement,” Liz Palmer told us.

Her friend Jonathan Oberti chimed in, saying: “I really think the silent majority is a real thing.”

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America reporter

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Results from Florida’s eastern-time-zone counties are starting to report and report quickly. The early numbers are mixed – with good and bad news for both sides.

In places like Pinellas County, a populous area of the west coast near Tampa Bay, Biden is overperforming Hillary Clinton’s 2016 numbers. Donald Trump won that county in 2016 by just 1 percent. With an estimated 75% of the vote reported, Biden has a 52% to 46% lead, with 248,620 votes. Trump won the county four years ago with 239,201.

In Miami-Dade, however, it’s Trump who is beating his 2016 numbers in a Democratic stronghold. With 84% reporting, Biden only leads 54% to 45% - well off Clinton’s 63% to 33% margin.

If there’s one fundamental rule in modern US politics, it’s that Florida will be close – and this year seems no different. Why it’s close this year, however, could be a surprise.

Polling stations have just closed in North Carolina (15 electoral votes); Ohio (18 electoral votes); and West Virginia (5 electoral votes).

Ohio, which has long been a battleground state in presidential elections, will be seen as a bellwether this year. Traditionally, every Republican that has lost Ohio has lost the race.

North Carolina is emerging as a key swing state, which has seen many a recent campaign visit from Trump. Now it's time to see if all those visits paid off.

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Many eyes are peeled for the results in the swing state of Florida tonight. It's still early in the night, but so far the candidates are neck-and-neck with 58% of the votes counted.

We'll be checking in on the Sunshine State as the evening continues.

Polls will close in Florida at 20:00 ET/ 01:00 GMT (half an hour to go).

A "divided America'" has been a theme of this election, and voters remain split in their feelings about some key issues.

Another early national exit poll from Edison Research shows that 35% of voters say they think the economy is in good shape, while 31% said it's not so great.

Fewer reported the economic situation as either excellent or poor.

It's a similar story for how the US pandemic response is going.

Thirty percent of voters said the efforts are going "somewhat well", compared to 35% who say the opposite - "very badly".

The economy and the pandemic are, unsurprisingly, high on many voters' lists of concerns. Trump hoped to focus his re-election bid on a strong economy, but the coronavirus pandemic dealt his plan quite a blow - millions of Americans are unemployed. He's since highlighted how he's best equipped to bring the economy back to its previous state.

Biden, his rival, has attacked Trump's response to the virus and said it is a reason why the economy is hurting. He's argued that the failure to contain Covid's spread has worsened the economic pain felt by Americans nationwide.

The president of the United States doesn't win by getting the most votes nationwide in America.

Instead, the candidates are trying to win the majority of what's called the electoral college votes. These are essentially points assigned to each state based on representation in Congress, which is roughly based on population. Some have more electoral college votes (California has 55) and some have less (Alaska has three).

To be victorious, the candidate needs 270 or more electoral college votes. There are 538 in total.

In 2016, Trump received 304 electoral votes and Hillary Clinton got 227 - even though Clinton won nearly three million more individual votes nationwide.

Here’s how the system works in more detail.

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America reporter

In Florida, where early voting results will be announced almost immediately, I’ll be closely watching for Joe Biden’s performance in the Democratic strongholds of southern Florida – Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Can the Democrat post a sizable vote advantage – 30% or more – to offset the more conservative parts of the state. And what are elderly voters doing in usually Republican strongholds of central Florida, including Sumter county.

If Donald Trump posts less than a two-to-one margin, it could be a sign that he’s losing support from retirees – which were a key to his victory in the state in 2016.

Meanwhile, Georgia is a traditionally Republican state that could be trending toward the Democrats. If Biden is overperforming in the suburban counties around Atlanta, he’ll have a chance to be the first Democrat to win the state since 1992.

Florida and Georgia are simply must-win states for Trump.

If Biden can take one of them, it could be an early knockout win for the Democrat. If the president holds his own, the evening’s attention will shift north, North Carolina and the industrial mid-west states, which will hold the key to both candidates’ fate.

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A blue wave is political speak for the Democratic Holy Grail - a theoretical sweep of Democratic victories in tonight's election.

That's because blue is the party colour of the Democrats, while red is for the Republicans.

So the last person you might expect to predict such an outcome is an incumbent Republican senator.

Yet that has seemingly just happened, though perhaps by accident, as Florida senator Marco Rubio has posted a tweet urging people to "wait and see" what happens tonight, along with an image of a bright blue wave.

Celebrities including Josh Gad and Chrissy Teigen pointed out Rubio's mistake, with one person joking "it's too late to switch parties, sir".

Credit to Rubio though - he hasn't yet deleted the tweet...

Polls have just closed in a slew of states: Georgia (16 electoral college votes), the rest of Indiana (11) and Kentucky (8), South Carolina (9), Vermont (3) and Virginia (13).

Of these, perhaps the most interesting is Georgia. The so-called peach state has voted solidly Republican in all but two presidential elections since 1960.

Yet this year, Biden's campaign team believes he may have a shot.

They're betting on support from black voters, who make up at least a quarter of all registered voters in the state.

Trump pitched himself as the "law-and-order candidate", which may carry weight with white, conservative Georgians, who usually drive the state's result.

It all depends on who showed up on polling day.

Donald Trump is projected to win Indiana.

The state, home to Vice-President Mike Pence, generally votes Republican, although Barack Obama secured a narrow win in 2008. The state has 11 electoral college votes.

When will we know who’s won in Georgia and why does it matter?

In 2016, Donald Trump won the state by five percentage points. The last time Georgia voted for Democratic presidential candidate was for Bill Clinton, back in 1992.

In 2020 it is up for grabs again.

Most analysts agree that the 16 electoral college votes Georgia carries are more important for Trump than for Biden. While winning Georgia would be a boost for Biden, projections suggest he has other routes to victory.

That Trump held a rally in Georgia on Sunday, saying the election was a choice between "a depression and a boom” suggests it is no longer reliably Republican.

To win, Biden will hope that black voters and those in city suburbs - two groups that lean Democrat - will turn out in large numbers. Trump will rely on strong numbers in rural areas.

Record numbers of Georgians have already voted early, and turnout this year is expected to comfortably beat the figure from 2016.

Although a result is expected on the night, the state has had a history of problems with voting, with one family saying they queued up for 11 hours to cast their ballot in a viral video this year.

We're only minutes away from polling locations in six states closing for the night.

We'll be bringing you the latest on Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia as soon as we hear more.

Kentucky and South Carolina are almost certainly a lock for Trump, while Vermont is expected to go for Biden, and Virginia is a likely Democratic win.

The real question remains Georgia. If Democrats can flip this normally ruby red Republican state, it will be a coup for the party and for Biden.

Mazzi Ingram is 17 years old - too young to vote in the 2020 US election - but she wanted to make sure her voice was heard.

So she has been volunteering with a local group on Election Day.

She has been encouraging residents in her North Philadelphia neighbourhood to vote, helping them find polling locations and thanking them for casting their ballots.

She can’t vote, but "this election means everything for my future," she says.

"As a young black woman, the outcome will determine what kind of jobs I have access to and what black entrepreneurship will look like."

All of her friends and family who are old enough to vote have cast their ballots, she says.

Natalie Sherman
New York business reporter

Financial markets around the world have risen for a second day in a row ahead of the US presidential election.

The gains – including a 2% jump in the Dow -– reflected surging anticipation from investors that the uncertainty about the race that has weighed on share prices will soon be resolved.

Many analysts are betting on a win for challenger Joe Biden, banking on indicators like the Democrat's bigger lead in the polls.

But there’s more caution among investors than in 2016, when Donald Trump’s victory shocked many, driving strong market swings, says Brian Gardner, chief Washington policy strategist at investment bank Stifel.

“There are still some scars from 2016,” Gardner told me.

“Investors, like the public, are taking more of a wait and see attitude. They’re not dismissing the possibility of a Trump re-election. Because of that I don’t think you see the same volatility. That’s not to say you’re not going to see volatility, it’s just not going to be as extreme as 2016.”

Our special coverage of the 2020 US election is under way. Katty Kay in Washington and Andrew Neil in London will be bringing you results and a host of correspondents and experts to explain what's happening.

You can watch it via the live stream right here, at the top of the page (press the play button).

If you're in the UK you can also watch the programme on BBC One, the BBC News Channel and on BBC iPlayer.

Internationally, the programme will be shown on BBC World News

Find out more about following the 2020 US election with us.

Shrai Popat
BBC News, Washington

Image source, Courtesy Angela Maloney

Angela Maloney, 19, is a poll worker in Madison, Wisconsin - it's the first time she’s worked the polls at a general election.

She’s currently stationed at her university’s polling station, where her day started at 06:00 ET (11:00GMT).

And Angela doesn’t plan to stop until 21:00 ET - an hour after polls close in the state.

“I’m feeling motivated to finish out this election,” she told the BBC.

“We’ve had a lot of absentee ballots and overall a really high turnout. The poll workers are having fun processing absentees ballots and feeding them into the machine. It makes the election feel very real with each ballot fed in and counted.”

She added: “Between both poll workers and voters, you can really feel the nervous excitement in the air."

Angela also stressed how crucial young volunteers have been during this election.

The coronavirus pandemic has meant that many older people don’t always feel safe or comfortable working the polls.

“It’s been a long road to get to election day, and I’m feeling a sense of calm that I have done everything possible to support democracy and everyone’s access to their vote this election season,” she said.

“Being a poll worker is investing in the health of our democracy so that it can work for everyone.”

We've just seen some of the first polls begin to close.

Parts of Kentucky, where long lines of people waiting to vote were seen earlier this evening, and Indiana - the home state of vice president Mike Pence - have just closed.

Trump is expected to win both traditionally Republican states.

Tara McKelvey
BBC News, Washington

The White House looked different this afternoon: the weather was beautiful, and reporters were crowded in front of the West Wing.

It looked like the old days, the ones before the pandemic.

Journalists from all over the world came here today because of Trump.

They want to know how he will do at the polls.

The outcome of this election may not be announced for some time, perhaps days or even weeks, but one thing is certain: Trump is an object of fascination for journalists, commentators and TV audiences.

Eventually he will leave, and someone else will move into the White House – either in January or at a later date. Standing in the West Wing driveway, it was hard for me to imagine the place without him.

Looking around, I wondered: what will everyone talk about?