An estimated 200 million eligible American voters are all set to create a new history on Tuesday as the voting to elect country's new President and Vice-President opened in east coast region in pivotal US presidential election.
The voters will cast their votes to elect the country's 45th president along with hundreds of Congressmen and members of state legislatures and local civic bodies.
Read More | US election: What's voting time, what will happen in case of tie? All you need to know
More than 42 million have already voted using the "early voting" provision of the American electoral system.
Polling was opened in United States on Tuesday night as eight ballots were cast in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire as part of town's tradition of being "first in the nation", with Democratic candidate Clinton winning the contest.
Clinton registered her first 'win' in the 2016 elections by four votes to two against her Republican rival Donald Trump soon after midnight in the remote northeastern part of the US.
Voters also cast ballots early on Tuesday in two other small New Hampshire communities, Hart's Location and Millsfield.
Earlier, Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump traded barbs in their final pitch to voters as the curtain came down on the ugliest campaign in US history and voting began on Tuesday in the knife-edge polls that will elect America's first woman president or put a political outsider in office.
Live Updates on US Election 2016 (In Indian Standard Time) -
5:15 am (IST)
A polling booth in Los Angeles, California has been reportedly locked down as there were shots fired nearby. Multiple ambulances could be seen at the spot.
4:50 am (IST)
Former president George W. Bush casts his vote. Reportedly, he did not choose to vote for Republican candidate Donald Trump.
4:10 am (IST)
Voter system issue resolved in Colorado. Voting starts again.
3:50 am (IST)
Election systems are down in the entire state of Colorado. It has caused delay in voting process. As per the local reports, they have been down for around 15 minutes. Officials are working to restore systems.
3:38 am (IST)
Hillary Clinton and her family will watch election results at the Peninsula, a very fancy hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The Peninsula is just two-minute walk-away from Trump Tower.
3:15 am (IST)
According to CNN: Utah officials report voting machine problems across entire country.
2:57 am (IST)
I will be watching the election results from Trump Tower in Manhattan with my family and friends. Very exciting!: Trump
2:38 am (IST)
Bernie Sanders casts his vote for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. “It’s kind of a special day,” Vermont senator Bernie Sanders said. “When I’m on the ballot, Jane and I usually drive around the state to kill some time and wait for the results to come in, but we have a beautiful day today. I hope we have a very large voter turnout,” Sanders said.
2:15 am (IST)
Donald Trump's son Eric has broken a New York voting law by sharing a picture of his filled-in ballot on internet. He posted the picture on Twitter which he later deleted from there.
1:50 am (IST)
The Trump campaign has filed a lawsuit complaining about the voting process. Mr Trump’s legal team is suing Joe Gloria, a registrar of voters in Nevada’s Clark County, over his decision to keep polling locations open “two hours beyond the designated closing time” on the final day of early voting, which was last Friday.
1:35 am (IST)
The Presidential election of 2016 is the first occasion in US 240 years long history that voters have a chance to elect a woman as their President. Many voters have been excited to vote for woman candidate.
1:05 am (IST)
North Carolina's Durham County requests extra voting time due to glitch in the electronic voter check system.
12:45 am (IST)
Voter turnout in 5 key states:
Colorado: More than 2.2 million people have so-far voted in Colorado.
Virginia: Election officials have said that the voter turn-out on Tuesday is "way up."
Georgia: The voter turn-out is officially the state's highest ever.
Ohio: Voter turn-out is robust but not record-breaking
Wisconsin: Voter turn-out is pretty-strong
12:25 am (IST)
Voting is going on in all states but the initial results favour Trump. Trump won by a 32-to-25 margin over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton at three small New Hampshire towns Dixville Notch, Hart’s Location and Millsfield.
12:05 am (IST)
Today is an election of enormous consequence. I hope everybody gets out to vote: Bernie Sanders
11:40 pm (IST)
According to Election Protection helpline, there are 63 cases of intimidation reported at the polling booths.
11:20 pm (IST)
There are reports of intimidating voters and problems with voting machines at some of the American states.
11.05 pm (IST)
Clintons's daughter Chelsea votes for her mother. She said that it is a proud feeling voting for mother. "One of the greatest honors of my life was voting for you today mom. As always, I'm beyond proud of you," said Chelsea.
10:50 pm (IST)
Indiana governor Mike Pence casts his vote in Indiana. Before casting his vote, he called the experience of voting for himself for vice president as "very humbling".“We are so grateful for the support and prayers of people all across the United States for Donald Trump and our firm belief that we can ‘Make America Great Again,’” Pence said.
10:33 pm (IST)
Donald Trump casts his vote, in New York. Trump has been booed as he was going to cast his vote in New York.
7:00 pm (IST)
Donald Trump says if he is defeated by Hillary Clinton, it would be a “tremendous waste of money, energy and time.” “I will not consider it great if I don’t win,” the 70-year-old Republican nominee said as Americans voted to elect a successor to President Barack Obama.
6:46 pm (IST)
6:45 pm (IST)
I hope to do the best I can: Democrat Candidate Hillary Clinton after casting vote
6:45 pm (IST)
It's the most humbling feeling, so many people are counting on me: Democrat Candidate Hillary Clinton after casting vote
6:40 pm (IST)
US Presidential Elections: Democrat Candidate Hillary Clinton, and Bill Clinton cast their vote in New York, US
6:15 pm (IST)
Real Clear Politics average of polls gives the lead to Hillary Clinton (45.5) over Donald Trump (42.2)
6:10 pm (IST)
6 pm (IST)
Voting began in Florida, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and part of Tennessee at 6:30 (Local time) on in the East Coast region of the country.
Seventeen states in total now open and voting.
5:30pm (IST)
"It is an incredible honor to vote for my father! He will do such a great job for the U.S.A," tweets Donald Trum's son Eric Trump.
4:30 pm (IST)
Last minute campaigns
Fighting for every single vote at stake, Democratic nominee Clinton and her Republican rival Trump made their last minute forceful argument before the American people with their own vision for the world's largest economy.
Clinton, 69, was joined by husband Bill as she addressed a massive rally in Raleigh in the key battle ground state of North Carolina, which was entertained by Lady Gaga.
Trump, 70, made a last minute scheduled stop in Michigan to address thousands of his supporters hoping that he might be able to swing this state from the Democrats.
The two rallies ended around 1AM (local time), just six hours before opening of the polling booths in the East Coast.
Full Coverage: US Presidential Poll 2016
"Öne of the ugliest poll campaign"
Clinton and Trump crisscrossed several stops in key battleground states on the final day of campaigning which the US media has termed as the "ugliest" and the most divisive till date.
"This election is basically between division and unity in our country. It's between strong and steady leadership or a loose cannon who could put everything at risk. It is between an economy that works for everyone or one that is even more stacked for those at the top," Clinton told a cheering crowd in Raleigh, North Carolina.
"None of us, none of us, want to wake up on Wednesday morning and wish we had done more," she said, which she repeated in her other election rallies including the one in Philadelphia, which was also addressed by US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle.
"Years from today, when your kids and grandkids ask what you did in 2016, when everything was on the line, I want you to be able to say that you did vote, you voted for an inclusive, big-hearted, open-minded country and a future that will make sure that we all keep moving together," she said.
"Because I do believe we are stronger together; and you voted for an America where we build bridges, not walls; and, maybe most importantly, you voted in great numbers to demonstrate conclusively, once and for all, that, yes, love trumps hate. Let's get out and vote," Clinton said.
Latest survey prediction
Latest poll indicated that while the election seems to have tightened in the last few days, Clinton maintains a slight lead over Trump. Almost all major polls are predicting a victory for Clinton, but Trump appeared confident of winning some of the key battleground states and thus wrest the White House from the Democrats after a gap of eight years.
Victory rally scheduled
The Republican presidential nominee would be spending the election day in New York.
His 'victory rally' has been schedule at a hotel in New York, a few kilometres away from the 'victory rally' of Clinton.
Trump's election journey has been sensational as from a rank political outsider he has come close to becoming the US President.
This year, the Republican field began with a long list of 17 candidates, including Indian-origin Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Florida governor Jeb Bush. The Democratic field, on the other hand, was not as crowded, with just Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders in the race.
Unlike India, in the US campaigning can be done even as voting continues. One of the main highlight of the last few weeks has been the electioneering blitz by Obama. In the last 10 days, he addressed as many as 17 rallies --rare for an outgoing President.
In the last phase of the campaign, the Clinton campaign also brought in popular singers, which Trump alleged was a move to attract crowd. The two campaigns have different theme. While 'Make America Great Again' is the theme of Trump, 'Stronger Together' is Clinton's slogan.
Both candidates hopeful to win
Both the candidates have said they would accept the results of the elections, but reserve the right to challenge in case of close results. The new president would be sworn in on January 20.
Till then the winner of the November 8 general election would be called president-elect and would have a transition team in place working from Washington DC.
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(With PTI inputs)
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