Election Day 2024 has arrived as voters head to the polls to cast their ballot to send either former President Donald Trump or current Vice President Kamala Harris to the presidency.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Republican Vice Presidential candidate Senator JD Vance arrives at his polling place to cast his vote here in Cincinnati. @WLWT pic.twitter.com/SuJEwUdS17
— Steven Albritton (@StevenAlbritton) November 5, 2024
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.
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