Yahoo News Exit polls from US election reveal key vote indications
The first exit polls have given an indication of the issues that will decide this year's US presidential election. Millions of Americans are voting today as they make their choice between electing Democratic nominee Kamala Harris or Republican candidate Donald Trump to the Oval Office.
Ms Harris and Former President Trump ended this year's campaign with a fierce battle for the key state of Pennsylvania yesterday. Ms Harris finished her night in Philadelphia at the art museum steps made famous in 'Rocky', where she said “the momentum is on our side”.
She also rallied with supporters in Allentown, Scranton and Pittsburgh, and she swung through Reading to visit a Puerto Rican restaurant and do a little canvassing herself, knocking on doors alongside campaign volunteers. Meanwhile, Mr Trump started the day in North Carolina and finished it in Michigan, but he spoke in Reading and Pittsburgh in between.
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The former president combined false claims about voter fraud with warnings about migrants committing crimes and promises to revitalise the United States. He said: “With your vote tomorrow, we can fix every single problem our country faces and lead America, and indeed the whole world, to new heights of glory."
While Ms Harris focused on optimism about the future and never referred to Mr Trump by name, the Republican nominee mentioned his opponent at every turn.
The first exit polls were released just after 10pm GMT on Tuesday (November 5). CNN's exit polls found that around 75% of American voters believe things are going badly in the country at the moment and only one-quarter were enthusiastic or satisfied with the state of the nation. This could spell a difficult night for Kamala Harris, who has served as Vice President in Joe Biden's administration.
However, 61% of those surveyed said that the US's best days lie ahead. The performance of incumbent Joe Biden was delivered a damning verdict in the exit polls as only four in ten voters said he had done a good job in office.
NBC News' exit poll found that 35% of voters classed democracy as the most important issue at stake in the election. 31% of people said the economy, 14% named abortion as the key issue and 11% said immigration. Meanwhile, a mere 4% of voters classed foreign policy as the primary issue.
Ms Harris and Mr Trump entered Election Day focused on seven swing states, five of them carried by Mr Trump in 2016 before they flipped to Mr Biden in 2020: the “blue wall” of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin as well as Arizona and Georgia. Nevada and North Carolina, which Democrats and Republicans respectively carried in the last two elections, were also closely contested.
If she gets the keys to the White House, the Democrat candidate would become the first female president in the United States’ 248-year history. If elected, she would also be the first black woman and person of South Asian descent to hold the office.
A Trump victory would represent a different kind of historical accomplishment. He would become the first person convicted of a felony elected to the US presidency, having been convicted of 34 felony counts in a New York hush-money case little more than five months ago.
Mr Trump voted in Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago club, and said afterwards that he was feeling “very confident”. Ms Harris, the Democratic vice president, did phone interviews with radio stations in the battleground states, then visited Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters in Washington carrying a box of Doritos – her go-to snack.
