Chelsea Bailey
Digital producer, BBC News

Across the street from Edward Waters College, the oldest historically black college in Florida, a steady stream of voters file into their polling place.

“I think we are at the beginning of a revolution,” local activist Kruzshander Scott tells me.

“We’re dealing with a microcosm of folks that have been mentally, systematically and historically oppressed. If Duval County (votes for Biden) tonight I believe it will give folks the faith and the courage to expect things to be equitable and fair going forward.”

If Florida does go blue, it could be thanks to high turnout from minorities and young, first time voters like 20-year-old Gerard Marc-Lipscomb.

He says he was raised to believe in the power of his vote, but years of turmoil in the black community made his choice feel more significant.

“We haven’t been treated well for the last four years,” he says. “I think the ball is in our hands so we can either make a change now, or be in the same loop.”

Results in North Carolina are set to be delayed by at least 45 minutes, after the state's elections board agreed to keep four polling stations open for longer due to technical problems earlier in the day.

Each site will make up for the delay in opening in the morning, with one centre's opening for an additional three-quarters of an hour.

The state was due to begin reporting results at 19:30 local time (00:30 GMT), but will now wait until the final voting location has closed before making any announcement.

Healthcare is one of the most important issues that drives voters to the polls in the US.

But why is the issue so politically divisive? Hear from two members of our voter panel here.

Sam Wright is a Trump supporter who works in tech.

How does healthcare policy influence your vote?

Healthcare is a big piece. Obama famously said "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor" which was clearly a bald-faced lie in retrospect.

Since the enactment of the so-called "Affordable Care Act" the amount of money I have had to pay for healthcare has skyrocketed. Additionally, a look at Veterans Affairs (VA) is proof that American government fails at healthcare.

Something about America and nationalised healthcare don't ever work together.

Therefore, I cannot in good conscience vote for Biden, a man that stood by and let the American people think they were getting cheaper healthcare and that they could "keep their doctor".

Rachel Delgrego is a recent college graduate and a Biden supporter. Her mother was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease in 2015 and consequently denied coverage by 33 different insurance companies because of her pre-existing conditions.

How does healthcare policy influence your vote?

My mother’s and my health issues have become one of the biggest influences on my vote since I turned 18 and could start voting.

She was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease when I was 17, and my first election was the 2016 election, so you can imagine how nervous I was when casting my vote that we could lose our healthcare, have premiums and copays raised, and have our rights terminated depending on what candidate was elected.

In the past 4 years I have seen that nightmare play out, and I don’t believe my mother and I would have a good chance of surviving another four years of this turmoil.

Healthcare is a key issue for many voters in the US - and the two candidates' policies are very different. Here's what they plan to do if they win the election:

President Trump wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed under President Obama, which increased the federal government's regulation of the private health insurance system, including making it illegal to deny coverage for people with pre-existing medical conditions.

He says he wants to improve and replace it, although no details of the plan have been published. The president also aims to lower drug prices by allowing imports of cheaper ones from abroad.

Mr Biden wants to protect and expand the ACA.

He wants to lower the eligibility age for Medicare, the policy which provides medical benefits to the elderly, from 65 to 60. He also wants to give all Americans the option to enrol in a public health insurance plan similar to Medicare.

Natalie Sherman
New York business reporter

Image source, Amy Fazackerley

Like many Americans, Amy Fazackerley is worried about the economy.

The 49-year-old runs a small business near Washington, DC in Virginia, which sells mats that roll up into bags - a product she invented in response to her sons' Lego mess.

Ms Fazackerley's sees mom-and-pop firms like hers closing every day, but her worries aren't changing her vote.

The Republican backed Mr Trump in 2016 and will be voting for him again, thanks to his record promoting small business and confronting China over intellectual property theft - a key issue for her business, which faces a constant battle against knock-off products.

"He's actually done what he said he was going to do," she says.

Read more here.

Earlier today, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden paid a visit to his childhood home in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and took a moment to mark the occasion.

Zhaoyin Feng
BBC Chinese, Washington DC

Virginian resident Kevin Streeter is no stranger to elections.

As part of his work in international development, Streeter served as an international election observer in several elections overseas, such as in Iraq as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina.

But this is the first time for him volunteering in a presidential election at home.

He and some 20 volunteers from the local Democratic Party will work on shifts throughout the Election Day, handing out Democratic sample ballots to voters.

“This election will be a turning point of the country,” Streeter tells me.

“It will be a return to the traditional American values and normal functioning of government.”

This polling station serves more than 2,000 registered voters, but there was no line at 09:30 ET (14:30 GMT), as many have cast their votes during the early voting period.

Poll workers at the site told me that on the first day of early voting alone, about 700 votes were cast here.

Although Election Day seems quieter than usual, Streeter took a day off from work, arrived at a polling station in Arlington, northern Virginia at 5:30 am today and plans to stay till at least 7:30 pm, half-an-hour after the polling station closes.

Virginia was considered a swing state in the Obama era, but according to polls, the state appears to be a solidly blue state in this election.

Standing next to road signs of democratic local and presidential candidates, Streeter says he is confident that there will be a “blue wave” in Virginia tonight.

Image source, EPA

A federal judge has ordered the United States Postal Service (USPS) to check its processing facilities for any undelivered ballots by 15:00 EST (20:00 GMT) on election day.

District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered searches in a number of USPS districts, including areas in key battleground states, such as Central Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, South Florida and Arizona.

Rules surrounding postal voting vary by state, but many require that all mailed ballots be received by the end of election day.

The decision was first reported by Reuters news agency.

Many states have allowed more people to vote by post during this election due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Throughout the campaign, however, President Donald Trump has repeated claims that postal voting leads to widespread fraud, even though there is no evidence for this.

Billions of dollars spent, dozens of candidates, two nominees, one pandemic.

What started with a little-known congressman in the summer of 2017 ended as the most expensive US presidential election of all time.

It featured 26 candidates for the Democratic Party nomination, the first black and Asian-American woman vice-presidential nominee, and some other historic firsts.

Image source, EPA

President Donald Trump has visited RNC offices in Arlington, Virginia,

Sounding hoarse after an intense week of rallies across the country Trump thanked campaign workers.

The president reiterated his criticism of a Supreme Court decision allowing the counting of postal ballots received up to three days after election in Pennsylvania, as long as they were postmarked by election day because of postal delays.

Trump claimed that "a lot of shenanigans happen" when votes are counted after election day, although there is no evidence for this and Twitter has hidden a similar claim made by Trump.

"I think we're going to have a great night," the president said, adding that his campaign was doing "very well" in Florida and Texas.

Advertising is always a major part of election campaigns in the US and this year is no exception.

Democratic nominee Joe Biden's campaign has spent more than $638m (£481m) on adverts, with his campaign spending almost as much money on TV adverts alone as President Donald Trump's total advertising budget of $472m (£356m).

That's according to figures from Kantar/CMAG for advertising spending up until the morning of the election.

Trump may have dedicated $43m more to digital advertising than his rival, but Biden outspent Trump on Facebook adverts encouraging people to vote in the last week of the campaign - although Facebook policies meant that none of these adverts were new.

Biden has also focused his spending on the key battleground states, outspending Trump by more than two-to-one in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Michigan. The figures were even higher in Pennsylvania.

While we'll have to wait for the election results to see what impact these adverts had on voters, you can find out more about campaign spending in the US in our video below.

Image source, Rivero brothers/EPA

A few personalities and accounts on both sides of the political divide dominated social media during the campaign. They may not be the faces you'd expect.

Dan Bongino is ex-NYPD and Secret Service and also worked as presidential protection for two presidents - George W Bush and Barack Obama. Now a prolific right-wing commentator, in the last two months his Facebook posts have attracted more shares than those of Fox News and CNN, combined.

Occupy Democrats, a progressive page founded in 2012 by immigrant twin brothers Rafael and Omar Rivero, amasses millions of Facebook shares every month with its highly partisan memes. The page had more shares than Donald Trump's official account this month.

Strong and opinionated voices took advantage of the divisive political landscape, and have resonated with audiences in a way even politicians and media organisations have not.

Click here to read the full story

Jeff Wilson lives in California but never received his postal ballot for his home state of Texas.

But that didn't stop him from voting.

Kerry Allen
BBC Monitoring, Chinese Media Analyst

For months, China’s media has been dominated by a focus on Trump. Papers have consistently been critical on his handling of the coronavirus, racial tensions in the US, and his comments towards China.

That’s not to say that China doesn’t want Trump to win – China sees Trump as a weak political opponent on the international stage, and people in China love to hate him.

But with little time to go before the election now, media have suddenly shifted their focus, and outlets are dominated by coverage on Biden.

State-run international affairs paper Global Times today notes Biden wants to “hire” rather than “fire” Dr Anthony Fauci, which has won him praise in China, given the country's criticism of Trump's Covid-19 handling.

Lady Gaga also has a huge fanbase in China, so Global Times’ sharing of her video endorsement for Biden has equally won praise.

Image source, Reuters

The paper’s chief editor Hu Xijin says he believes Biden has “an obvious advantage” today.

He voices concern that, in his view, Trump supporters are the more “radical and aggressive”, and the official broadcaster CCTV signals similar concerns about fanaticism under Trump’s leadership.

Today, its news channel has aired footage warning of a “gun-buying wave” in many areas of the US ahead of the election. It shows an interview with a woman in a Biden face mask, who says she has “concern for our seniors” coming out to vote today who “have to worry about seeing a bunch of people outside with guns”.

Read more about China and the US election here.

Image source, Getty Images

There are a lot of terms that get tossed around in election coverage and we're here to make sure you understand them - and can even explain them to friends and family.

Here are some of the words you'll be hearing a lot today:

• Bellwether state:Places like Ohio and Missouri where voters have proven reliable at choosing the national winner
• Exit poll:Interviews with voters after they have voted. Only a small number of voters are interviewed, so the exit poll result can turn out to be different to the official count.
• Electoral college:Each state gets a number of electors, roughly in proportion to its population. In most cases, whichever candidate wins a state also wins all that state's electors, who meet later to choose the president and vice-president. Because there are 538 electoral college votes, each candidate needs 270 to win. There'sa full explanation of the system here.

• Swing state or battleground state:These states lack a clear party affiliation, meaning they are up for grabs for both Democratic and Republican candidates.
• Red state v blue state:These states tend to vote with a particular party - Republicans in red states and Democrats in blue.

Read more about what to look out for on election night here.

Marianna Spring
Disinformation and social media reporter

Unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud, poll watchers and voter intimidation are going viral on social media.

Experts worry disinformation about voting could undermine faith in the election result - and even lead to unrest.

It comes after weeks of unsubstantiated allegations about fraud and the unreliability of mail-in voting.

Nina Jankowicz, a disinformation fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, a think-tank, told me we’re in uncharted waters.

“Voters will think - can I really trust that my vote will be counted?” she says.

“That’s unprecedented in the United States. Everyone has always trusted the democratic process.”

How can you spot false and misleading claims about voting and conspiracy theories on your social media feeds today?

Think about bias and the motive behind the post, interrogate the source and pause before you share.

Here are some tips.

Katty Kay
World News America presenter

I covered my first election in America in 2004, so this one is my fifth, and it is hands down the most extraordinary.

We have one of America’s most unusual presidents ever. The coronavirus has made it one of the most unusual campaigns ever. And it’s the most tense polling day I’ve ever covered here.

I have never had to walk past rows of boarded up shops to get to work on Election Day because store holders are afraid there may be violence on the streets after the vote. As one veteran US commentator put it to me, this one feels like a "rule or die" election of the kind he is used to covering in the Middle East.

Image source, EPA

And the world is watching, as it always does. But because this is the Trump presidency, and everything is oversized, the amount of global attention is through the roof too.

The world is waiting to see if US voters want four more years of America First or if, tonight, we will be writing the final review of Donald Trump’s time in the White House.

What of Joe Biden, and what he means for the rest of the world? If he wins you will hear more about that.

But on this day it’s all about Donald Trump. Let’s be honest, this election has been all about Donald Trump. It’s a personality contest and there’s really only one person on the stage.

For much of the world, I guess it feels it’s been that way for the past four years.

As Americans go to the polls, we asked Trump and Biden voters from across the US - what's the worst that could happen if your candidate loses?

It's fair to say feelings are running high...

In 2016, Donald Trump shocked with how well he performed with women voters in the election. Over 50 percent of white women backed him, despite his competitor being the first female presidential candidate in history.

But after four years in office, are women behind him? Here's what two voters from our panel had to say.

Bessy Clarke is an immigrant from Honduras who will vote for Joe Biden.

Does being a woman impact your vote?

Definitely. As a woman, I could never vote for someone like Donald Trump who has consistently been so degrading to women.

I am very conscious about who I vote for and making sure they’re trying to expand on women’s rights and equal pay, and reiterating that women are powerful and deserve to be in powerful positions.

I think Trump has really undermined that.

Taylor Golden, a small business owner, is proudly voting for Donald Trump.

Does being a woman impact your vote?

No. I know of some women that refuse to vote for Trump because of his past -- I am so thankful that I am not judged on my past, I am far from perfect.

He may have said or behaved sexist in the past and he may not be someone you’d invite to dinner, but he’s the best president this country has ever seen.

Vote for the policy not the person. No one is perfect. We can’t be hypocrites when it comes to the future of our nation.

It’s time to be logical, unbiased, and honest with ourselves.

Tara McKelvey
BBC News

Suburban women are an important voting bloc, with the power to determine who the next president of the US will be. These female voters explain what the two candidates get right - and wrong - about them.

Kimberly Kriebel shows me a house she wants - a lovely brick home near her mother-in-law's place in East Norriton, a suburb of Philadelphia. Kriebel and her husband live in an apartment that is about a mile away, and she is pining for a place with a small lot for their dog.

Image source, Jose Moreno

Kriebel, 46, says she admires Trump's pro-business policies and thinks that she and her husband will have a better chance at buying a house if Trump stays in office.

"Definitely he's handled the economy well," she says. She admires him for other reasons, too. She grew up in a Christian home, and she appreciates his position on abortion and the way that he supports religious freedom: "We have been impressed."

Her positive views of Trump are echoed by others in the neighbourhood. But not all.

Meryl Daly-Parker, 54, a registered nurse, comes outside.

Image source, Jose Moreno

When I ask her about Trump, she lets out a laugh. It is a short one. She says she is concerned about systemic racism, the virus and high unemployment: "There are so many things that we as a nation are struggling with," she says. In her opinion, Trump has made things worse.

Two suburban women - two distinct views of the president.

Read the full story here.