Election 2024: Trump casts ballot, Harris said she would vote by mail (live updates)

The first votes for Election Day were cast in the small New Hampshire town of Dixville Notch. The Associated Press said the tradition of being first in the nation started back in 1960. There are only six voters in the town and they cast their ballot at midnight in the living room of Tillotson House. The count took about 15 and was split 3-3, three votes for Harris and three votes for Trump.

Astronauts voted early

Update 2:02 p.m. ET, Nov. 5: They’ve been stuck on the International Space Station for astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, they were able to vote in the 2024 presidential election, the Harris County (Texas) Clerk of Court’s Office said, according to CNN.

Wilmore and Williams flew to the ISS on Boeing’s Starliner in June when it had helium leaks and other issues with its reaction control thrusters upon approach to the station, NASA said.

Their mission was supposed to last a few days but will now stretch until February, about eight months after their eight-day mission blasted off, the AP reported.

The delay forced them to vote from space with their ballots sent to Earth through NASA’s Near Space Network, or a group of satellites that send messages to antennas on Earth, CNN explained.

FBI command post

Update 1:09 p.m. ET, Nov. 5: The FBI set up a National Election Command Post at the agency’s Washington, D.C. headquarters to monitor threats against the election process from domestic and abroad, The Washington Post reported.

In addition to the FBI the 24-hour monitoring post is made up of employees from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Secret Service; Postal Inspection Service and the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section.

It will be open until at least Saturday. There are also command centers at all 55 FBI field offices in the U.S.

Bomb threats were of Russian origin

Update 12:42 p.m. ET, Nov. 5: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that there were several bomb threats against polling places in the state that he said originated from Russia, CNN reported.

He said the threats were investigated despite thinking they were fake. In all five threats were reported and caused the polling locations to be closed for about 30 minutes, WSB reported.

“They’re up to mischief, it seems, and they don’t want us to have a smooth, fair and accurate election,” Raffensperger said. “Anything that can get us to fight amongst ourselves - they can count that as a victory.”

Raffensperger said he expects the state’s results should be available this evening with smaller counties taking until about 10 p.m. to count votes, WSB reported.

Trump casts ballot, Harris said she would vote by mail

Update 11:46 a.m. ET, Nov. 5: Trump cast his ballot at his precinct in Palm Beach with his wife and former first lady Melania Trump, CNN reported. His running mate, JD Vance cast his vote in Ohio earlier Tuesday.

Harris said on Sunday she would vote by mail. She is from California and had not returned to her home state recently, The Hill reported. Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz voted last week while in Minnesota.

President Joe Biden voted in person in Delaware last week.

NFL stadiums, NBA arenas used as voting polls

Update 10:59 a.m. ET, Nov. 5: Community voting locations usually are schools, libraries and churches, but in some areas, precincts go much, much bigger.

The AP reported that 17 stadiums and arenas are being used for polling locations or ballot drop-off locations with some teams jumping into the “I Voted” sticker game by offering their own team-branded labels.

[ Election 2024: Freebies you can get with your ‘I Voted’ stickers  ]

No games were on the NFL or NBA schedules allowing their facilities to be used. The NBA used Election Day as part of its focus on civic engagement. All 30 teams also wore warmup shirts on election eve that simply said “Vote,” the AP reported.

Forty-three sports venues were used in the 2020 election to cast votes because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sports Business Journal said.

What is the Electoral College?

Update 10:42 a.m. ET, Nov. 5: While millions of voters cast their ballots on Election Day, the count won’t be official until the Electoral College process is done. The Electoral College is a group of electors who cast their vote for the president and vice president. Their votes are then counted by Congress, according to the National Archives.

There are 538 electors and a majority — 270 votes — are needed to secure the win.

When will the electors meet? It sounds confusing. They will cast their votes in the state they represent on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December, the National Archives said. That means it will happen on Dec. 17, 2024.

[ Read more: Election 2024: What is the Electoral College and how will it select the president? ]

Vance casts ballot

Update 9:07 a.m. ET, Nov. 5: Republican Vice Presidential Candidate JD Vance arrived at his polling location in Cincinnati to cast his ballot on Tuesday morning, WLWT shared.

Where will the candidates be on election night?

Update 8:53 a.m. ET, Nov. 5: After the voting is done, the candidates and their teams will be at two locations waiting with their teams for the results to come in.

Trump will host a watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Flordia, USA Today reported.

Harris will have an event at Howard University, her alma mater, in Washington, D.C.

President Joe Biden will watch the results at the White House, CNN reported. Biden has no public events on his schedule but is expected to receive updates throughout the day.

Voters line up to cast ballots

Who can vote?

Not everyone has a right to vote in America, but the requirements are not that difficult. The federal rules state that U.S. citizens 18 and older can vote. States may have other requirements such as not allowing people in prison for a felony, the AP reported.

What will you need to vote?

Many states, but not all, require voters to be registered prior to election day. But some states such as Virginia allow same-day registration that will allow voters to cast a provisional ballot. It is likely no matter where you cast your ballot that you will have to show identification, so make sure you have an ID with you before going to the polls, the AP said.