From Pennsylvania to Arizona: In the swing states, there is calm before the storm among voters

Voting has begun in the contested states to decide who will be the next US president – ​​Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump.

Our reporters on the ground say polling stations are quiet and occasionally festive. Many were also nearly empty, thanks to the record number of early and absentee ballots this election.

In past elections, the lines grew longer as the polling stations got closer. Of the seven key swing states, Georgia will be the first to close polls at 7:00 p.m. EST (12:00 a.m. GST). They will all close at 10pm EST (2am GST), with western states closing later.

Elections in the state's largest city – Philadelphia – began this morning with a festive atmosphere. A “DJ at the polls” played music for a long line of mostly smiling voters bobbing their heads, drinking coffee and eating bagels outside a downtown church.

But there were also hiccups.

At City Hall, poll workers struggled with a stuck door, confusing a handful of potential voters. The voting booths there were empty an hour after they opened.

The entire country is watching as Pennsylvania, which went to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020, will cast its 19 electoral votes. Its mix of rural and urban voters makes it extremely competitive. Economic and abortion issues are at the forefront here.

The results should pay attention to whether Trump made up a larger-than-expected share of the state's Latino population.

– By Bernd Debusmann, Philadelphia

The wounds of Hurricane Helene in the western mountainous part of the state are still painful.

A generator-powered tent was erected as a polling place in Buncombe County after the original site was damaged by the September storm.

About two and a half hours after polls opened in North Carolina, 35 people voted here, Buncombe County's communications director said. This area saw high early voting, which exceeded the statewide average.

The region is dominated by Republicans, and whether or not voters show up here could have a big impact on who gets the state's 16 electoral votes. Trump narrowly won North Carolina in 2020, by less than 2%.

Debra and Robert Kendrick, who were rescued by canoe after Helene destroyed their local streets, both voted for Trump.

“It was an easy decision,” said Debra, standing on the muddy gravel road in front of the tent.

Robert said immigration was his biggest concern.

“I’m just glad we have a place to vote,” Robert said.

– From Brandon Drenon, Buncombe County

On an unusually warm Election Day morning in Ann Arbor, a small group of voters filed into the polling station, many having cast their ballots early. In liberal Washtenaw County, Harris is hoping for massive turnout to offset Trump's expected victories in rural areas.

Courtney Kutcher voted for Harris and believes women's participation could influence the tight vice presidential race.

“For those of us who have daughters and young children, there is a lot at stake,” she said.

In this Blue Wall State, which went to Democrats for decades until Trump won it in 2016, there are many different demographic groups that could decide which candidate gets his 15 electoral votes. They include Arab Americans and others frustrated with the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the war in Gaza, as well as the state's large group of unionized autoworkers.

Michigan returned to the Democrats in 2020.

– By Madeline Halpert, Ann Arbor

Outside a polling station in Atlanta, Georgia, the mood is calm and cheerful.

Although long lines have been a problem in the past, today people are in and out in about four minutes – a poll worker tells me that's because so many people voted early.

About 4 million votes have already been cast, representing about 80% of the electorate if turnout is the same as in 2020, when Biden won the state. Republicans took over the state in 2000 and Trump hopes to win it back this time.

The state has strict rules about what you can and cannot do when voting. A woman who entered the site wearing a Harris-Walz campaign shirt was asked to turn the shirt inside out.

But some rules have been relaxed.

Last year, a court struck down part of the law that made it illegal to hand out water or food to voters in line. Today, a bipartisan group across the street is handing out food and playing music. Their goal isn't to tell people how to vote – it's just to make sure they do.

– By Angelica Casas, Atlanta

Slowly and steadily, voters are pouring into places around Milwaukee.

At the Highland Gardens apartment complex, a DJ plays music for the line. When I ask one of them, Kornisha Lymon, if she's excited about voting, she looks at me like I'm crazy.

“Do you see me dancing?” she says. “We feel it!”

Kornisha casts her vote for Harris. To win Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes, the vice president will need a large turnout in majority-black neighborhoods like this one. Biden led the blue wall state by less than 1%.

Veteran political observer Michael Wagner of the University of Wisconsin told me that Democrats are excited about their nationwide vote-getting efforts and that the campaign has shifted in recent days.

“There is less evidence that the Trump campaign is gaining much ground,” he says.

But Wisconsin is still a bit of a mess.

Wagner suggested that surveys may be undercounting young women – but perhaps also young white men without a college education.

“They usually vote for Trump,” he said.

– By Mike Wendling, Milwaukee

In the swing state of Arizona, there is a steady flow of voters at South Mountain High School in Phoenix.

Several voters I spoke to here told me they were undecided about the election and said they didn't like either presidential candidate.

As Krystle Colter leaves the voting center, she tells me she was torn.

“I don’t want to vote for either of them,” she said of Trump and Harris.

She said after speaking with the family, she chose Harris over policies she said were intended to protect low-income families and single mothers.

Abortion was also a difficult topic for her. This year, the state is debating whether abortion rights should be enshrined in the state constitution.

“It’s hard because for the most part I don’t believe in abortion,” she told me. “But if someone was raped or it's incest, I just can't imagine it. If I were in that situation, it would be hard to be forced to have a child.”

– By Christal Hayes, Phoenix

Nevada has attracted plenty of interest from neighboring California, where Democrats are all but certain to win.

Pro-Harris Californians were among 150 volunteers and staff at a promotional event in East Las Vegas late Monday.

“I had to be physically involved in the work, not just writing checks or arguing at the dinner table,” said Peter Brock of Fairfax, California.

He said he noticed there was a lot of election fatigue among the people he knocked on the doors of. Some residents told him that they had been visited more than once by customer surveyors from both parties.

Six electoral votes are at stake.

Located in the Sun Belt of the United States, Nevada is home to vast areas of desert and ranchland. It has voted for Democratic candidates in the last six presidential elections. But in 2020, Biden beat Trump by just 35,000 votes.

The economy has been a key issue for voters this year, who regularly cite inflation and housing affordability as concerns.

Trump's “no tax on tips” proposal has resonated with some voters. Harris has since expressed support for the idea, although she would like to see it paired with the first federal minimum wage increase since 2009.

Reproductive rights are also expected to motivate voters to go to the polls. In this election, Nevadans will decide on Question 6, which proposes making abortion access a right enshrined in the state constitution.

– By Lily Jamali, Las Vegas