Key Points
- Kamala Harris and Donald Trump spent the final day of campaigning in key battleground states.
- The US presidential election is being held on Tuesday but it could take days for the winner to be announced.
- As voting opened, the two candidates remained virtually neck-and-neck in the polls.
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are making their last pitches as voting begins in the United States election, with one candidate saying they will be a “president for all Americans” and another claiming the vote is “ours to lose”.
and remain virtually neck-and-neck in the polls of the tightly contested presidential election.
Over 80 million voters across the US cast their ballots ahead of election day.
Both Trump and Harris used the final hours of campaigning to target voters in that will ultimately determine the next occupant of the White House.
Harris focused her attention on Pennsylvania and its 19 electoral votes — .
Speaking at a rally in Allentown, Harris told supporters she would be “a president for all Americans”.
“We have momentum on our side. Can you feel it?,” she said on Monday.
“The race is not over … we need to finish this strong.”
Harris and Trump are virtually neck-and-neck in the polls. Source: SBS News
Harris said the last decade of US politics had been driven by hate and division, largely due to Trump.
“I am not looking to score political points, I am looking to make progress,” she said.
“I then ask you: are you ready to make your voices heard? Do we believe in freedom? Do we believe in opportunity? Do we believe in the promise of America? And are we ready to fight for it? And when we fight, we win.”
Harris ended the day with a star-studded rally in Philadelphia, including appearances from singers Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, and television personality Oprah Winfrey.
Trump, meanwhile, started his day in North Carolina, before heading to Pennsylvania.
In the first of his four election eve rallies, he appeared confident of victory, saying the election is “ours to lose.”
“This is the end of the journey but a new one is starting, ” Trump told supporters in Raleigh, North Carolina on Monday.
“If we get everybody out and vote there’s not a thing they can do.”
Trump used the rally to highlight his tough stance on migration.
“The day I take office the migrant invasion ends and the restoration of our country begins,” he said.
“Together we will fight, fight, fight and win, win, win.”
Trump closed out the day in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which was also the final stop in his two previous presidential campaigns.
Judge rejects legal challenge to Elon Musk voter giveaway
A judge is allowing to proceed in Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Judge Angelo Foglietta’s decision came after a surprising day of testimony in Philadelphia state court in which Musk’s aides acknowledged hand-picking the winners of the contest based on who would be the best spokespeople for his super PAC’s agenda, despite the billionaire’s assertion that they would be chosen randomly.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, on 28 October sued to block the contest in Pennsylvania, alleging the payouts amounted to an illegal lottery with hazily defined rules.
Musk, an outspoken Trump supporter, has already given away US$16 million ($24 million) to registered swing state voters who qualified for the giveaway by signing his political petition.
His group, America PAC, announced a winner from Arizona on Monday and said the final winner, from Michigan, would be announced on election day on Tuesday.
The giveaway is open to registered voters in seven key battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — who sign a petition pledging to support free speech and gun rights.
Joe Rogan endorses Donald Trump
Podcast host Joe Rogan, who recently interviewed Trump, endorsed the former president on the eve of the election.
“For the record, yes, that’s an endorsement of Trump,” while posting a clip of his latest podcast episode; an interview with Musk.
Rogan said in his post that Musk made the “most compelling case for Trump.”
Trump’s interview with Rogan lasted about three hours and was released on YouTube and Spotify in late October. It has been viewed over 45 million times on YouTube.
With reporting by Reuters news agency
