The last voting polls in the US have officially closed after one of the most hotly contested presidential election races in living memory.
It’s an election expected to heavily impact countries all around the world, not least the UK, which still relies on its “special relationship” with the US.
So, how did the American electorate vote? Here’s what we know so far.
Which results have been confirmed?
As of 7am UK time, Harris has secured 194 electoral colleges, and Trump 265 – just five short of the 270 needed to win, meaning the Republican nominee is closing in on victory.
States like Florida and Texas were expected to turn Republican red, while Democrat strongholds like New York and Massachusetts went blue.
But Trump looks to be winning in the crucial swing states that will decide the final result.
He is also ahead with 51% of the national popular vote – which he lost in the last two elections – though many areas are yet to call.
How come we already know how some states voted?
The first polls started to close at 11pm UK time on Tuesday so counting could start immediately. The last ones – on the west coast – closed on Wednesday, at 6am, due to the different time zones, which explains why some results come earlier than others.
Many states are also expected to comfortably back one candidate, so those results can be announced quite quickly and used to give an early indication of voting patterns across the US.
Does that mean we will soon know the outcome?
Well, it’s the first nominee to reach 270 electoral votes. As of 7am, Trump is just a handful of votes away from reaching that.
Before the count began, the race was expected to be exceptionally close and in 2020, Joe Biden’s victory was not confirmed until the Saturday morning.
Trump’s campaign was expected to launch legal challenges if he lost.
What next?
All eyes will be on the results from the swing states – together they have 93 electoral college votes – which usually sway the outcome.
Trump has just won Pennsylvania and is projected to win North Carolina and Georgia.
Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are too close to call, but it may already be too late for Kamala Harris.
When will the new presidency start?
Once every vote has been counted and the result has been verified, a new US Congress will meet on January 6 next year to count the electoral votes sent in from each state.
The next president will officially be inaugurated on January 20, in the grounds of the US Capitol.