After the most unusual campaign in decades, Americans expect results
On 18 August Donald Trump officially knew the name of his rival for the US elections. It was the third time that Joe Biden, aged 77, ran for president as a Democrat, and he was the winner.
What was left to happen from mid-August was a bitter campaign marked by the COVID-19 pandemic-in between Trump tested positive for coronavirus, the racial protests and the imminent recession of the American economy.
Both presidential candidates have held events for their voters. Albeit in very different ways: Biden by following health recommendations and avoiding large crowds; Trump by ignoring these and bringing together fans and supporters at his meetings in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Florida.
This Tuesday, millions of Americans went to the polls. Before Election Day, just over 100 million people cast their early votes, either by mail or in person, according to the US Election Project.
The total number of votes has broken the record and led some experts to predict that the voting rates for these elections will be the highest since 1908.
The first polls will close at 23:00 GMT, but voting will officially end at 06:00 GMT on Wednesday, when the last polls in Alaska will close.
To win, Biden or Trump need not have any more votes. It happened in 2016, Hillary Clinton got almost three million more votes, but Republican Trump got the victory because he won the electoral vote. Therefore, to win the election, at least 270 of the 538 votes in the American electoral college must be obtained.
Voters will also decide which political party will control the US Congress for the next two years, with the Democrats strongly in favour of regaining a majority in the Senate and retaining control of the House of Representatives.
"I think we're going to have a great night," Trump said during an appearance in Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, where he thanked campaign workers. "But it's politics and elections, and you never know.
"Winning is easy. Losing is never easy, not for me it isn't," Trump added.
Trump, who looked somewhat tired and admitted that his voice was "a little bit choppy" after making speeches at numerous raucous demonstrations in the final days of the campaign, said he was not yet thinking about making a concession speech or an acceptance speech.
The Democratic candidate travelled to his birthplace to spend election night in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Speaking to a couple dozen volunteers using a megaphone, Biden returned to some of the familiar themes of his campaign, promising to unite Americans and "restore basic decency and honor to the White House.
Biden, the former Democratic vice president who has spent half a century in public life, has maintained a steady lead in national opinion polls over the Republican president and appears to have a greater advantage in reaching the White House.
The first results of the whole day - which has so far passed without major incidents - were released in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, when the day had just begun.
There, the victory went to Biden, who received all five votes cast. Meanwhile, in the town of Millsfield, Trump won his first victory of the day with 16 votes in his favour, by only six from the Democrat.
Among the most controversial states expected to determine the outcome are Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia, and Democrats hope Biden can even threaten Trump in states that once looked like Republican shields such as Ohio, Iowa and Texas.
The pandemic, which has killed more than 231,000 Americans and left millions more unemployed, ensured that Election Day felt far from normal, with masked poll workers and voters and people keeping their distance. Experts predict that the total number of votes could reach 160 million, surpassing the 138 million votes cast in 2016.
Trump has claimed, without evidence, that postal ballots are subject to fraud. He has also argued that only vote counts on election night should be counted, although states have historically taken more time to complete recounts. He has suggested that he might try to use the courts to stop the count.
As a result, and in anticipation of possible protests, some buildings and shops were boarded up in cities such as Washington, Los Angeles and New York. Federal authorities erected a new fence around the perimeter of the White House.