WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—Former President Donald Trump is the winner of the 2024 presidential election, according to the Associated Press.
The president-elect won the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, while leading comfortably in Michigan and Nevada.
By the time Trump took the stage at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in the early hours of Nov. 6, Republicans had already captured the U.S. Senate with victories in Ohio and West Virginia. Further buttressing his mandate, the former president was also on track to win the national popular vote.
“God spared my life for a reason,” Trump said referring to the assassination attempts on his life.
“This was a movement like nobody has ever seen before, and frankly, this was, I believe, the greatest political movement of all time. There’s never been anything like this in this country,” Trump said.
“We’re going to help our country heal. We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly. We’re going to fix our borders. We’re going to fix everything about our country.”
Earlier in the night, as Trump supporters gathered at his watch party in Florida, Cedric Richmond, co-chair of the Harris–Walz campaign took the stage in Washington, D.C., to inform the crowd that the vice president won’t be speaking that night.
“We still have votes to count. We still have states that haven’t been called yet,” Richmond said. “We want to fight to make sure that every vote is counted, that every voice has spoken, so you won’t hear from the vice president tonight.”
Exit polls by Edison Research showed Trump making significant gains with Hispanic Americans and younger voters.
As the Trump transition team prepares to take the White House, Americans can expect major changes in how the U.S. government handles foreign affairs, tax policy, and illegal immigration.
Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine before Inauguration Day and to launch the largest illegal immigrant deportation operation in U.S. history. As president, Trump will have the power to achieve both without the help of Congress. The same goes for rolling back the tailpipe emissions rule, which Republicans call a de-facto electric vehicle mandate.
The president-elect will have to work with Congress to deliver on some of his other promises, including ending taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security income and expanding the child tax credit. Other provisions in his tax plan include reducing corporate taxes from 21 percent to 15 percent, maintaining lower individual taxes, and permanently expanding the $2,000 child tax credit.
On the campaign trail, Trump has floated the idea of ending taxation altogether and funding the government through tariffs on foreign goods. He has singled out China for 60 percent import tariffs and, a day before the general election, said he would threaten Mexico with a 25 percent tariff to get the southern neighbor’s help in stemming the flow of illegal immigrants.
The president-elect plans to tackle inflation by increasing American energy production, cutting wasteful government spending, and preventing illegal immigration. He has pledged to again exit the Paris Agreement on climate action, increase oil drilling on public lands, and offer tax breaks to oil, gas, and coal producers. He also discussed a comprehensive government reform initiative, seeking collaboration with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to improve Americans’ health and with billionaire Elon Musk to reduce government waste.
Trump’s win makes him only the second president in American history to reclaim the office after losing his first bid for reelection. Grover Cleveland was the first president who won a second nonconsecutive term in 1892 after losing in 1888.
But the president-elect’s comeback story is perhaps unprecedented. During the final days of his term, and after leaving the White House in 2021, Trump was banned from several social media platforms, impeached for the second time by the House of Representatives, had his residence raided by federal agents, defended against several indictments on the state and federal levels, had his mugshot taken at a Georgia jail, and survived two assassination attempts. But despite the series of calamities, he ran a disciplined campaign, took control of the Republican National Committee, beat Republican fundraising records, and made gains with part of the electorate long-aligned with the Democrats.
Pollsters predicted a tight race leading up to Election Day. In the final weeks of the presidential campaign, Trump edged ahead of Harris in some battleground states.
While Trump was predicted to easily win the Sun Belt states—Georgia, North Carolina, and Arizona—his chances were considered lower in the so-called “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. He has made incremental gains in Nevada since 2016, and the state was up for grabs, based on polling averages on Nov. 5.
Polls showed that Harris had strong support from suburban women and voters with college degrees. Meanwhile, Trump had a significant advantage in rural areas and among non-college-educated white men. The Republican candidate gained support among younger voters, as well as black and Latino men.
In the final stretch of the campaign, Harris held a significant cash advantage over Trump, having outraised the Republican candidate nearly three-to-one in September and the first two weeks of October.
President Joe Biden and Harris raised $1 billion through the principal campaign committee currently known as Harris for President, according to records maintained by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). That figure covers all donations to the committee between Jan. 1, 2023, and Oct. 16, 2024.
Meanwhile, Trump’s principal campaign committee, Donald J. Trump for President 2024 Inc., raised about $388 million during the same timeframe, according to FEC data. Trump appears to have depended heavily on financial support from various super PACs.
Trump’s Path to the Nomination
More than a dozen Republicans challenged Trump for the party’s nomination.To win the 2024 Republican nomination, Trump defeated more than a dozen notable adversaries—and he did it without participating in any of the four Republican presidential debates.
Trump declared his candidacy in November 2022. Several contenders jumped into the race early in 2023. But by the fall of last year, the field of candidates began to shrink. In October, Trump’s former vice president, Mike Pence, withdrew from the race. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) dropped out the following month.
Trump’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, hung on until March.
From Trump Tower to the White House
Now 78 years old and making his third presidential run, Trump started his rise to fame and fortune in his native New York. After leaving the White House in 2021, he has lived in Florida, residing at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach.Following in the footsteps of his father, Fred Trump, he built an international real estate empire. Donald Trump became a household name during the 2000s while starring in the reality TV series “The Apprentice.” During the show, he coined his famous phrase, “You’re fired!” while axing a contestant at the end of each show. Trump also has authored several books, including “The Art of the Deal,” in 1987 that revealed principles that helped him negotiate business deals.
In 2014, Trump took steps toward running as governor of New York but decided against it. The following year, he pursued politics in earnest, ending years of speculation about a Trump presidential run.
Ever the showman, Trump launched his campaign in dramatic fashion. On June 16, 2015, he and his wife, Melania Trump, rode down a golden escalator at Trump Tower in Manhattan to announce his candidacy.
That day, he debuted his “Make America Great Again” slogan, echoing the “Let’s Make America Great Again” phrase that Republican Ronald Reagan used during his successful 1980 presidential campaign.
In 2016, Trump became the unlikely victor of the presidential election, making him the first U.S. president with no prior experience in public office or as a military commander.
Throughout the campaign season, polls showed Trump trailing Democrat Hillary Clinton, a longtime politician and wife of former President Bill Clinton.
During his presidency, Trump fought a barrage of political attacks that began immediately after he took the Oath of Office in 2017.
He became the third U.S. president to be impeached, and he stands alone as the sole president to be impeached twice. The Senate acquitted him both times.
During the first two years of his term, the president and dozens of people close to him were ensnared in the so-called Russian collusion inquiry headed by special counsel Robert Mueller. The special counsel concluded the investigation with a report that did not document any evidence of collusion. Meanwhile, the federal officials involved in investigating Trump were found to have pursued the Russia investigation largely based on a dossier of disinformation against Trump compiled by a former British spy whose work was being funded by the Clinton campaign.
In the final year of his presidency, Trump grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic as he campaigned for reelection. His Democratic opponent was Joe Biden, a longtime senator who served as vice president under President Barack Obama.
A Trump White House statement said his presidential accomplishments included a strong economy with low interest rates, “massive deregulation” to spur business growth, and taking “historic action to promote peace in the Middle East.” He was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in the Middle East.
Trump and others disputed Biden being declared the winner of the 2020 election. Tens of thousands of Trump’s supporters, concerned about election irregularities, gathered in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, to protest the impending certification of the election results. Some protesters breached the U.S. Capitol and skirmished with police.
Trump was born in New York on June 14, 1946; his parents, Fred Trump and the former Mary MacLeod, had five children. Trump himself has five children and is a grandfather of 10.
He received his education at the New York Military Academy, a private boarding school, followed by Fordham University and the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics.
Projected President-elect Donald Trump has made a number of sweeping proposals for a second term in office, outlining a wide-ranging agenda that targets federal regulations, taxes, immigration, and social issues.
As of Wednesday morning, The Associated Press projected that Trump is the winner of the election after securing enough electoral votes over his opponent Vice President Kamala Harris.
Immigration
Since 2015, Trump has made curbing illegal immigration a cornerstone of his campaigns. As president, he built or reconstructed about 400 miles of border barrier along the U.S.–Mexico border and implemented a number of rules curbing illegal migration into the country.
Former President George W. Bush on Wednesday congratulated President-elect Donald Trump’s victory during Tuesday’s presidential election.
“The strong turnout in this election is a sign of the health of our republic and the strength of our democratic institutions. Laura and I are grateful to the election officials, poll workers, and volunteers who oversaw a free, fair, safe, and secure election,” Bush said in a statement, referring to former First Lady Laura Bush.
“We join our fellow citizens in praying for the success of our new leaders at all levels of government,” the Republican former commander-in-chief added, while also thanking President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris “for their service to our country.”
Former Wyoming congresswoman and Harris campaign surrogate Liz Cheney on Wednesday responded to Donald Trump’s Tuesday night election win.
“Our nation’s democratic system functioned last night and we have a new President-elect,” Cheney said in a statement hours after Trump was projected to win the presidential election.
“Americans are bound, whether we like the outcome or not, to accept the results of our elections. We now have a special responsibility, as citizens of the greatest nation on earth, to do everything we can to support and defend our Constitution, preserve the rule of law, and ensure that our institutions hold over these coming four years.
Abortion-related ballot measures have been popular following the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision to overturn the federal right to abortion and send the issue of legislating the procedure to the states.
The ruling set off a domino effect as state after state moved to either tighten restrictions on the procedure or strengthen protections for access.
By the 2024 general election, seven out of seven states had sided with abortion advocates at the ballot box. As voters in California, Michigan, Ohio, and Vermont approved measures to cement abortion as a right, those in Kansas and Kentucky rejected initiatives to limit abortion access. Meanwhile, a referendum to require medical care for infants born alive during botched abortions failed in Montana.
The 2024 race for the White House came to a close early in the morning on Nov. 6 with former President Donald Trump winning the presidency after taking several swing states.
With a win projected in Wisconsin by the Associated Press, Trump cleared the 270 electoral votes needed to clinch the presidency.
Republicans regained control of the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House majority is still unknown, and decisions were made on important ballot measures in several states.
First-time candidate Republican Tim Sheehy has ended Montana Sen. Jon Tester’s (D-Mont.) three-term tenure in the U.S. Senate, capturing a seat that boosts the GOP’s newly-gained majority in the chamber.
The race was called at 6:26 a.m. Eastern Time on Nov. 6 by The Associated Press, with Trump-endorsed Sheehy leading 52.8 percent to 45.4 percent over Tester, the only statewide-elected Democrat in deep red Montana.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—Former President Donald Trump declared his projected election win a “victory for the American people” while addressing hundreds of jubilant guests and campaign volunteers at the Palm Beach County Convention Center at about 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 6.
Surrounded by his family, campaign staff, and allies, Trump said: “I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honor of being elected your 47th president, and your 45th president.”
Trump said he believed he would win Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, and Alaska, in addition to projected victories in the battleground states of North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. If that happens, he would secure 315 Electoral College votes, far exceeding the minimum 270 such votes needed.
Reactions from world leaders have begun to pour in, congratulating Donald Trump on winning the presidency again.
Decision Desk HQ has projected that Trump will return to the White House, being the first president to win nonconsecutive terms since Grover Cleveland in 1892.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first world leader to congratulate him.
Former President Donald Trump crossed the finish line in Pennsylvania early on Wednesday morning, taking the battleground state with the most electoral votes—19.
Adding to Trump’s wins in North Carolina and Georgia, the former president is now 3 votes away from winning the Electoral College.
Trump is leading Harris in the electoral vote 267–214 as of 2:25 a.m., per projected results.
Vice President Kamala Harris will not address her supporters at campaign headquarters tonight.
Cedric Richmond, co-chair of the Harris–Walz campaign, took the lectern instead, as results coming in from swing states paint a grim picture for the vice president.
According to a national exit poll, former President Donald Trump is doing substantially better in this election with young men in three of the Rust Belt battleground states than in previous elections. However, he has lost ground with older men.
In the National Election Pool exit poll conducted by Edison Research on Nov. 5, Trump grew his advantage among young and early middle-aged men in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.
The results are considered preliminary and will be updated as responses continue to arrive.
Former President Donald Trump has won the crucial battleground state of Georgia, The Associated Press (AP) projects. It’s the second battleground to be called for Trump after he won North Carolina earlier in the night.
AP called the race for Trump at 00:58 a.m. on Wednesday.
RICHMOND, Va.—Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) won his reelection for a third term, defeating Republican challenger retired Navy captain Hung Cao.
Virginians also handed the Commonwealth’s 13 electoral votes to Vice President Kamala Harris, who won by 4.4 percent with 88 percent of the total votes counted.
The Associated Press called the Virginia Senate race for Kaine at about 11:30 p.m. He won by 5.4 points, with 77 percent of the votes counted.
Former President Donald Trump’s youngest son, Barron, voted for the first time in the 2024 general election and cast his ballot for his dad.
Former First Lady Melania Trump shared the news late Tuesday night, as votes were tallied across the country.
The GOP has taken back the Senate winning 51 seats, projected The Associated Press (AP).
The party only needed to flip two seats, doing so in West Virginia and Ohio.
HOUSTON—Republican Ted Cruz thanked his supporters just before The Associated Press officially called his reelection victory Tuesday evening.
“Texas will remain Texas,” Cruz said to a packed room. “Texas can’t be bought.”
Cruz was referring to tens of millions of dollars poured into the race by Democrats who targeted the seat in hopes that his challenger, Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), would flip the seat blue.
Former President Donald Trump has won the crucial swing state of North Carolina.
At 11:18 p.m., The Associated Press (AP) projected that Trump will carry the state. It’s the first of seven swing states that has been called. Trump currently leads by just under 3 points in the state with around 87 percent of the vote counted.
According to the results of the National Election Pool Exit Poll, former President Donald Trump is receiving more support from Latino voters in 2024 than he did in 2020.
According to the national sample collected by the NEP Exit Poll, conducted by Edison Research on Nov. 5, Trump’s support among Latino voters grew by 13 percentage points between 2020 and 2024.
The results are considered preliminary and will be updated as results continue to arrive.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—As he and other supporters of former President Donald Trump were glued to TV broadcasts of the election returns, Blake Marnell said, “I believe that President Trump will be declaring victory...and there really won't be any argument about it after tonight. That's just my sense.”
Marnell, 60, of San Diego, is known for his eye-catching brick-motif suit signifying his support for construction of a U.S.–Mexico border wall
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—Santos Lopez, 57, said he was hopeful that Republican early voters had followed former President Donald Trump’s admonition to make the election “too big to rig,” referring to bringing in enough votes to overcome any possible irregularities.
“I think this time people are watching, and I think that's a lot more getting more involved and making sure their vote counts,” Lopez told The Epoch Times in an interview at the former president’s election night watch party at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.
Many voters interviewed on Election Eve night by The Epoch Times about their Election Day plans and levels of anxiety said they plan to stay up late to watch the results and will return to their normal work schedules the following day.
Voters from Washington, Virginia, New Jersey, and Tennessee weighed in on how late they plan to stay up, with some planning to watch Election Night coverage until 3 a.m.
Several voters said they would only stay tuned to coverage if it warrants their attention.
In Maryland, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, a Democrat, defeated former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan on Nov. 5, keeping the seat blue as Democrats seek to hold their edge in the Senate, projected The Associated Press.
With her win, Alsobrooks will become the first black senator from the former slave state and Maryland’s first female senator since Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.). She takes office on Jan. 3, 2025.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said authorities are looking into “unsubstantiated reports” of bomb threats in Navajo County that may have come from Russia.
Fontes said at a televised press conference on Tuesday that there was no reason to think that voters or polling centers were in danger.
A push to legalize recreational marijuana use in Florida failed on Nov. 5 as voters rejected a ballot initiative to that effect.
At present, the state authorizes only the use of medicinal marijuana. Amendment 3 would have made it legal for adults ages 21 and older to purchase and possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana and use the drug recreationally.
By 9:30 p.m. on Election Day, with 92 percent of the vote in, the proposal had received 55.8 percent of the vote. It needed a 60 percent majority to pass.
WASHINGTON—Vice President Kamala Harris chose her alma mater, Howard University in Washington, to host her election night watch party. She is expected to be there later this evening.
Emotions have run high on campus all day and security has been increased in preparation for tonight’s event.
A fierce battle over the legality of abortion in Florida came to a head on Nov. 5, when the state’s voters became the first in the nation to reject a push to enshrine abortion in the state’s constitution since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision.
After overcoming multiple legal challenges to secure its spot on Florida’s general election ballot, Amendment 4 failed to clear the final obstacle to its passage: the voters.
A 60 percent majority was required for the measure’s adoption. At 9 p.m. on election night with 91 percent of the vote in, the measure had received 57 percent of the vote.
Former President Donald Trump secured Florida’s 30 electoral votes by becoming the first Republican to win Miami-Dade County in more than 30 years.
The Associated Press (AP) shows Trump ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris in the county by more than 120,000 votes with 93 percent of the vote counted.
DETROIT—All absentee, early ballots, and Election Day ballots should be tabulated by midnight in Detroit according to Daniel Baxter, chief operations officer for the city's Department of Elections.
About 92,000 absentee ballots have already been processed and tabulated at precincts, Baxter told reporters at the central count facility at Huntington Place, Detroit’s convention center.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.—Kwame Kilpatrick, a black man who formerly served as the Democratic mayor of Detroit, is among the supporters gathered at an election-night watch party for former President Donald Trump.
Kilpatrick, in an interview with The Epoch Times at the Palm Beach County Convention Center, said he felt optimistic that the election would turn in Trump’s favor.
Vice President Kamala Harris is projected to win Maryland, according to The Associated Press (AP). The race was called by AP at 8 p.m.ET.
Former President Donald Trump is projected to win Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina on Tuesday night, according to The Associated Press. AP called the Alabama and Mississippi races at 8 p.m. ET and South Carolina at 8:01 p.m. ET.
Former President Donald Trump has been declared victorious in Florida.
The Associated Press called the race at 8:01 p.m. ET, almost immediately as polls closed. When the race was called, Trump led the state by 11 points with 84 percent of the vote tallied.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—North Carolina’s election season has been anything but normal.
Hurricane Helene ravaged 25 counties in the western part of the state, leading former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to say that he initially thought that only half of the voters in those mostly conservative-leaning communities would head to the polls.
Instead, the North Carolina State Board of Elections reported that more than 4.2 million ballots were cast during the state’s early voting period, which ended on Nov. 3.
The GOP has flipped the open West Virginia Senate seat as Gov. Jim Justice defeated Democrat Glenn Elliott, The Associated Press has projected.
Justice, who has been governor of the Mountaineer State since 2017, was expected to win. He will succeed retiring Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.).
Manchin has served in the Senate since 2010. He left the Democratic Party earlier this year.
Voting has ended in North Carolina, the second battleground of the night where polls have closed, after Georgia.
It’s unclear when results will be available in the crucial swing state, essential to former President Donald Trump’s path to the White House.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will re-tabulate roughly 31,000 absentee ballots after finding that their tabulation machines were not properly closed, city officials told reporters hours before the polls were set to close on Nov. 5.
City spokesperson Jeff Fleming said that officials do not believe that the voting equipment was “tampered with in any way.” Nonetheless, they will err on the side of caution and start the process again.
“There have been extensive discussions with election officials here in consultation with people in Madison and our attorneys, and they said, let’s make sure there’s absolutely no question, and so that part of the process will be redone,” Fleming said.
As a protest against the Biden-Harris administration’s Israel-Palestine policy, Yaz Assaf cast a vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
“I’m a one-issue voter,” he told The Epoch Times. Assaf, a second-generation Palestinian American, said he has family who have died due to the conflict.
Shares of former President Donald Trump’s social media company took a wild ride on Election Day, surging by double digits in morning trading before taking a sharp dive in the early afternoon, with the whipsaw price moves triggering repeated trading halts as investors navigated a volatile session while awaiting the results of the tight presidential race.
The price of Trump Media and Technology Group stock, which trades under the ticker DJT, rose steadily in morning trading on Nov. 5, soaring as high as 18 percent—before rolling over shortly after 2 p.m. ET and falling sharply.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—In Charlotte’s historic arts district, Highland Mill Montessori School’s voting precinct is surrounded by homes with Vice President Kamala Harris banners hanging from porches.
Christian Daniel and Renee Provost are conservatives in a Democratic Party stronghold. The couple, who recently became engaged, spoke with The Epoch Times after casting their ballots.
“We’re in a left-leaning community, and we love it here, but I’m disgusted with the direction our country has gone in the last few years. I’m proud to be a young American who has conservative values,” said Provost, who is 30.
This year, a new group is joining California’s voter base as two school districts grant 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote.
For the first time in California, teens this age in two Alameda County school districts—Berkeley and Oakland—have the right to vote in school board races this November.
“The fact that 16- and 17-year-olds now have the right to vote in Board of Education races in Oakland means they are now more engaged in our political process earlier in life, and more invested in what happens in their schools for them, their classmates, and all students who follow in their footsteps,” John Sasaki, director of communications at Oakland Unified School District told The Epoch Times on Nov. 5.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—On Tuesday afternoon, voters filed into the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections headquarters with their absentee ballots.
A mother arrived with her baby swaddled in warm clothes. A woman with a service dog handed over her absentee ballot. There were no lines, and people quickly walked in and out of the building.
Larry Snowden, president of Club 47 USA, says he considers himself to be “highly energetic” at age 78, the same age as former President Donald Trump.
“But the fact is … I don’t hold a candle to him when comparing our energy levels,” Snowden told The Epoch Times after the former president closed out his 2024 campaign with four rallies on Nov. 4, the day before Election Day.
NEW YORK CITY—One of the heaviest turnouts in lower Manhattan voting precincts on Election Day was at Public School 3 at 490 Hudson Street.
As at other polling places in the city, support for Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ran high, but voters offered a range of reasons for their choice, as well as differing assessments of Harris’s ability to unite.
“I voted for Kamala Harris, and I will be blunt and admit that I would be scared, upset, and distraught if she did not win,” said Marina Foglitta-Tereo, who works as a UX researcher in the city.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said he thinks there is a good chance that former President Donald Trump could win the Granite State, which went to Democrats the past two presidential elections.
“High voter turnout usually favors the challenger,” Sununu told CNN in an interview during the afternoon on Election Day, while polls were still open.
SANTA ROSA, Calif.–Approximately 40 people are waiting to vote in a line that is growing during the lunch hour as a steady stream of Californians arrive to cast their ballots.
The wait time is about 30 minutes, according to those who made it through the line.
A couple who cast their ballot said immigration and border security are the most important issues in this election.
Former President Donald Trump avoided telling reporters how he voted on Florida's abortion amendment.
"We did a great job, and then we brought it back to the states. As you know, I believe in exceptions as well," Trump said when first asked about the state's abortion rights ballot measure.
NARBERTH, Pa.—Local Republicans in Narberth, a small town in Montgomery County and a suburb of Philadelphia, told The Epoch Times how they are working to turn out Election Day voters using “strike lists” to contact voters who haven't yet been to the polls.
The lists contain information about Republican voters registered at a particular polling station. When a voter comes to vote, their name is checked off the list by a poll worker. Republicans can obtain information from election officials about whether a voter has voted, which enables them to contact people who haven't yet voted and urge them to turn out.
“I will just go look at the [election officials’] book and see, ‘Have they voted?’ If they haven’t voted then, from like 2:30 p.m. onwards, I’ll just call them,” said Regina, a local Republican volunteer, who was seated outside the town’s polling station at the Republican desk.
NEW YORK CITY—The Epoch Times interviewed voters at The Shed voting center in Manhattan on Election Day.
Shawn Wickens said he voted for Vice President Kamala Harris. He expects good things from her presidency, if she is elected.
MEQUON, Wis.—At the Frank L. Weyenberg Library in Mequon, Wisconsin, a father and son arrived to cast their ballots for former President Donald Trump.
“I know what Trump did in the past, and I can see what’s been going on with the Biden administration,” said John Leszczynski, 61.
MEQUON, Wis.—At polling places in Mequon—a city in Wisconsin's Ozaukee County that narrowly favored Trump in 2020—there was a steady trickle of Election Day voters in the late morning and early afternoon.
The chief inspectors there confirmed that absentee voting, whether by mail or in person, dominated the process this time.
Nancy Martin, chief inspector for the Mequon City Hall site serving wards 4 and 5, informed The Epoch Times that 1,735 absentee ballots had been received, nearly two-thirds of the registered voter pool.
A bomb threat that targeted a polling location in Georgia was traced back to Russia and wasn't credible, said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Tuesday.
“We’ve heard some threats that were of Russian origin,” Raffensperger said at a news conference on Tuesday, adding that “in the interest of public safety, we always check that out, and we’ll just continue to be very responsible when we hear about stuff like that.”
Passwords for Colorado’s voting systems were online for four months, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said in a Nov. 4 statement.
Vice President Kamala Harris raised far more money than former President Donald Trump in the final days before the 2024 general election.
As required by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the principal campaign committees backing both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees disclosed each donation of more than $1,000 received between Oct. 17 and Nov. 4. The totals showed that Harris’s account pulled in nearly three times as much as Trump’s.
According to the sum of the 48-hour notice documents filed by the FEC, the principal campaign committee Harris for President raised about $29.2 million between Oct. 17 and Nov. 4. By comparison, the principal campaign committee Donald J. Trump for President 2024 Inc. raised about $10 million over the same period.
HOUSTON—It worked out well for Christy Munger, 52, who showed up in a white trash bag to vote on a rainy election day.
“This trash votes,” said Munger while holding her coffee and chatting at a Washington Heights voting location in Houston.
Former President Donald Trump cast his ballot on Tuesday at a polling site in Palm Beach, Florida, and encouraged supporters to stay in line to vote on Election Day.
Speaking beside his wife, former First Lady Melania Trump, he told reporters that “many more Republicans” appear to be voting than Democrats.
“I’m hearing that we’re doing very well everywhere,” he said, referring to Election Day voting.
CHESTER, Va.—Lou Tetreault, 72, a retired human resources professional, has been volunteering for elections at his precinct for 16 years.
On Tuesday, he checked in at the Harrowgate Elementary School at 4:45 a.m. to prepare for polls opening at 6 a.m. He will stay until the end of voting at 7 p.m., helping people vote at the curbside.
NEW YORK CITY—Voter turnout is strong in New York City’s legendary Greenwich Village neighborhood. People wearing Harris–Walz pins, buttons, and shirts milled around and lined up to vote.
Some did not want to speak on the record, but others were very vocal about their views on which candidates represent the best choice for New York City, the state, the nation, and the world.
BELGIUM, Wis.—The line to vote on Election Day at the village hall in the Village of Belgium, Wisconsin, stretched out the door earlier in the morning, according to the municipal clerk, Theresa Bartley.
“They wanted to be No. 1—so they were,” she said.
By roughly 9:45 a.m., 158 voters had cast ballots in the community, which is located in a more rural section of Ozaukee County, north of metropolitan Milwaukee. The voting site was near a museum dedicated to the local Luxembourgish community and a bust of Henri, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.—Voter traffic was steady at mid-morning in Precinct 18 on the northwest side of Grand Rapids, where abortion and the economy were driving issues for several voters.
“Our business depends on Trump getting in office,” Nathan Koets, 56, told The Epoch Times.
DOYLESTOWN, Pa.—For Election Day voters in Pennsylvania, representatives of a political party might be who they're met with before they walk in the polling station door.
Political parties in the state are allowed to set up tables outside polling places and speak to voters waiting in line to cast their ballots. Many representatives are handing out “sample ballot” papers that list the candidates from their party to help voters make their choices, as well as answer any remaining questions.
LAS VEGAS—Joe and Merrie Wolfe from “just around the corner” were first in line to cast their ballots at the Nellis Crossing Shopping Center voting site on the east side of Las Vegas when polls opened on Nov. 5 at 7 a.m. PST in Nevada.
“We’ve been here since 5 o’clock,” Joe said. “Lot of things to do, a busy day ahead, but this is important. I’ve been waiting to do this for a long time.”
Voting hours have been extended in Pennsylvania’s Cambria County after what officials described as a software problem disrupted the casting of ballots on Nov. 5.
“The Cambria County Board of Election learned early this morning that a software malfunction in the County’s Electronic Voting System has prevented voters from scanning their ballots,” county commissioners said in a statement to news outlets on Tuesday morning.
After the board filed to the Court of Common Pleas for an extension, the court extended the poll closing time from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., local media reported.
ATLANTA—Mother-daughter team Betty Fondal, 80, and Tracy Coleman, 50, spoke to The Epoch Times just after casting their early morning vote in Atlanta.
Fondal was mum about her vote but said she was most concerned about property tax increases, especially as she prepares to acquire a new home.
PITTSBURGH—The Pennsylvania Senate race between millionaire businessman Dave McCormick, the GOP nominee, and incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) has tightened, according to polls.
McCormick attributed his momentum to more people paying attention after Labor Day.
LAS VEGAS—More than 1 million Nevadans—nearly 53 percent of the state’s registered voters—have already cast ballots in the 2024 election, with Republicans turning out in higher numbers than Democrats in a triple-tier battleground state where nonpartisan voters will decide the Nov. 5 election.
According to the Nevada secretary of state’s daily 9 a.m. update on Nov. 4, 1,072,640 registered Nevadans had voted either by mail or during the Oct. 19–Nov. 1 early voting period.
Registered Republicans had cast 405,602 of those votes, 43 percent of the tally, with 247,263 voting in-person early and 158,339 voting by mail, according to the state data. That is approximately two-thirds—67 percent—of the state’s 600,000 registered Republicans.
The teams are ready to deal with “issues seen in previous cycles,” such as extended polling location closures, ballot shortages, and improper extension of voting hours, according to Paxton’s office.
“Similarly, the OAG will prepare to take defensive action against activist groups who might attempt to influence the election through litigation,” Paxton’s office said in its statement. “The Election Day Rapid Response Legal Team will coordinate with the Texas Secretary of State to ensure that all issues are addressed immediately, and that Texas elections are fair and secure.”
The Epoch Times caught 10-year-old Miles Cage exiting the polls in Georgia Tuesday morning with his parents.
Although Mom and Dad were reluctant to speak about the election, Miles was eager to discuss the important issues.
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) cast his ballot at a polling site in Cincinnati on Tuesday.
As he cast his vote, Vance told reporters that he felt “good about this race” and noted that he also “felt good” about his winning senate bid race in the 2022 midterms.
A top election official in Georgia’s Secretary of State’s office said the voting results will be mostly complete by 8 p.m. ET during the Nov. 5 contest.
Georgia Deputy Elections Director Michael Barnes said in an on-camera interview on Monday that “come eight o’clock tomorrow night, we may have a very good picture of what the results might be.”
ATLANTA—Ludwidg “Lulu” Louizaire, Miss Georgia 2024, made an early appearance outside the Buckhead Library in Atlanta Tuesday morning.
She was tight-lipped with reporters about her vote, and she joked that as a former journalism major, she couldn’t be tricked into giving details.
PALM BEACH—On Election Day, voters Ben and Susan hope to see the country come together after the "division" has been "ugly and upsetting."
Both said they support Vice President Kamala Harris but would have voted for "anyone but Trump."
Despite observing a divided nation, Ben and Susan have been open about their views, and "most people are respectful," they told The Epoch Times.
BUCKS COUNTY, Pa.—At the Trevose Fire Company near Bensalem, Pennsylvania, two queues trail around the building as voters line up to vote in the presidential election. Many of them arrived as soon as the polls opened at 7 a.m.
“[I waited] an hour and a half,” said George Greenhouse, a voter who arrived right as the polls opened.
NEW YORK CITY—At an elementary school in Hell’s Kitchen, Kariyma Reid voted for Proposition 1.
This ballot measure would expand an anti-discrimination provision in the state’s Constitution to include discrimination based on "sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive health care and autonomy."
MINT HILL, N.C.—Outside the lavish Mint Hill Town Hall, volunteers from the Mecklenburg County Republican and Democratic parties manned tables and talked to voters.
On the GOP side, Debby Presson and her husband, John Presson, stood next to a life-size cardboard cutout of former President Donald Trump adorned with a Make America Great Again hat.
CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa.—At Cranberry Highlands Golf Course, Veronica Plantania took a swing and cast her ballot for former President Donald Trump.
She said she appreciated his policies on the economy and public safety when he was president and is “ready for him to do it again.”
HOUSTON—Even in a light rain, more than 25 voters were standing in line before polls opened at 7 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church in downtown Houston.
Tony Green, a black Houston resident, drove up in his van with several coworkers around 6:45 a.m.
Federal judges have rejected bids by Missouri and Texas officials to block U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) poll monitors.
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk on Nov. 5 rejected a motion for a temporary restraining order that was lodged by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
MILWAUKEE—Jerrold O’Sullivan was the first person in line to vote on Election Day at the Brookfield Conference Center in Brookfield, a suburb west of Milwaukee.
O’Sullivan had moved a flight around to be able to vote on Nov. 5.
“I couldn’t not vote. It’s so important to me,” the retired academic administrator told The Epoch Times.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Just before daybreak, cars started to arrive at the Olde Providence Elementary School voting precinct in Charlotte, a city typically won by Democrats in state and federal elections.
Sarah Pierrie, 37, was one of the first voters in line. She was prepared to cast her ballot for Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I have two young daughters, so preserving their rights to make decisions for themselves about their health and their body is important to me,” Pierre told The Epoch Times between sips of coffee on a rain-soaked morning.
ATLANTA—Elizabeth Gonzalez, a 61-year-old instructor, was first in line at the Buckhead Library polling location in Atlanta, Georgia. She arrived shortly after 5 a.m. because she said this election was especially important.
“I’ve just always been part of history because I've been to Afghanistan twice, that's part of history,” she said.
She was reluctant at first, but waited almost two hours to cast her vote early.
PITTSBURGH — Bill Wekselman is an older-looking man decked out in political campaign pins, including one for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrat presidential nominee.
Wekselman, a Democrat committeeman, described former President Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, as “dangerous,” and pointed to Trump challenging the 2020 election results.
He told The Epoch Times that abortion and foreign policy are the issues he cares most about this election.
RICHMOND, Va.—Two dozen voters lined up at the Shenandoah Community Association polling station in Richmond before the polls opened at 6 a.m.
The precinct—a swing zone in its own right—is located in a solid red Congressional District (VA-1) and voted for a Democratic candidate by a 5 percent margin in 2022. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin won the precinct by 2.5 percent in 2021.
There are 77 days between the Nov. 5 election and the Jan. 20, 2025, inauguration of the next president, during which the president-elect will ready his or her administration to take over from President Joe Biden.
While Americans’ attention has mostly been focused on the top-of-the-ticket presidential race, the contest between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris isn’t the only one that will determine the balance of power in 2025.
The two major parties are also competing for control of the House, seen as a toss-up, and the Senate, which Republicans are favored to win. More than 140 ballot measures will also be considered across the United States.
Presidential Race
Seven states are expected to determine the outcome of the presidential race: Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada. Three others—Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district, which awards one electoral vote, are rated toss-ups by RealClearPolitics.
Results will start rolling in at 6 p.m. EST on Election Day.
Starting with Kentucky, which closes at 6 p.m. EST, and ending with Alaska and Hawaii, which close at midnight, results will come in every hour.
The largest set of states close their polls at 8 p.m. Every time listed in this article is Eastern Standard Time.
As polls close on Nov. 5, Americans will be eager to learn the result of the presidential election. Sometimes experts are able to accurately predict a winner on election night or early the next day, usually when the result is lopsided.
What Are the Battleground States?
Battleground states—also called swing states—are those that will likely determine which presidential candidate wins the White House, depending which way they swing.Technically, that’s true of all states. Yet some states have reliably favored one party or the other for decades, so there’s little doubt about who will win in 2024.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly said that the U.S. economy is “the envy of the world.” That message, however, doesn’t seem to be resonating with many voters who are heading to the polls to elect the next president on Nov. 5.
In battleground states, dozens of voters interviewed by The Epoch Times said that the economy is one of their top concerns and discussed how their lives have been affected by rising costs over the past four years.
Maria Orozco, a nurse from Fort Valley, Georgia, is a supporter of former President Donald Trump who says the economy is her single most important issue.
More than 82 million Americans have already voted in the 2024 general election, according to data collected by the UF Election Lab. Millions more will add their ballots to the mix as polls open across the country on Tuesday.
Here’s a rundown of everything voters should know:
- Every state and territory—except North Dakota—requires voter registration. Voters can verify their registration status here.
- Many states also require voters to present some form of identification to vote. A list of state requirements can be found here.
- Polls close at different times, depending on the state. The Epoch Times has compiled a schedule.
- Former President Donald Trump will vote in the morning at his local polling location in Palm Beach, Florida. His election watch party will be held at the Palm Beach Convention Center.
- Vice President Kamala Harris has already voted by mail. She will hold her watch party at Howard University, her alma mater, in Washington.
- A day before the election, RealClearPolling averages showed the race as a dead heat.
- The Epoch Times website will track election results in real time from 6 p.m. Eastern.
Early voting has exploded in popularity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but some voters still prefer to cast their ballots in person on Election Day.
When Is Election Day?
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.Am I Eligible to Vote?
Only U.S. citizens ages 18 or older are permitted to vote in federal elections.Additionally, all states and territories except North Dakota require voter registration.
Podcaster Joe Rogan has formally endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on the eve of Election Day.
In a Nov. 4 statement posted on X, accompanying a video of his interview with Elon Musk, Rogan said during the podcast the billionaire had made the “most compelling case for Trump you'll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way.”
ATLANTA—Voters in Georgia have been inundated with appeals for their support—campaign rallies, texts, and calls encouraging them to donate to one candidate or the other, and perpetual advertisements—for months now.
Billboards, yard signs, and bumper stickers expressing support for one candidate or the other litter Buckhead, a neighborhood to the north of Atlanta’s city center.
Several Atlanta residents told The Epoch Times they’re sick of it, and look forward to the end of the election season.
The 2024 road to the White House has been riddled with more potholes, landmines, and detours than anyone could have imagined.
Amid a string of historic events, a few stand out as the most pivotal. The Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, faced multiple criminal and civil court cases, and survived two assassination attempts. His opponent for the majority of the two-year campaign, President Joe Biden, exited the race after a difficult debate; then the Democratic Party chose Vice President Kamala Harris as a last-minute replacement to oppose Trump.
With the hours ticking down to the 2024 presidential election on Nov. 5, many voters on both sides of the political aisle worry about the outcome, they told Epoch Times reporters dispatched across the country.
It’s no wonder. It’s been a long—and unusually chaotic—election cycle.
After being beaten as the incumbent in 2020, former President Donald Trump announced his intention to run again in mid-November 2022, just shy of two years before Election Day 2024.
For more than a year, Epoch Times journalists have followed presidential campaigns and candidates across the country.
From the attempt on the life of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, to violent protests outside the Democratic National Convention to “spin room” drama after Trump’s debate with President Joe Biden, we were there covering the news for you.