America goes to the polls: Dawn voters line up to cast ballots in Trump vs Harris blockbuster election

Voters have flocked to the polls on election day despite dismal weather conditions in several southern states, after Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump made their final campaign pitches on Monday.

Umbrella-clad Texans braved wind and rain to hit the polls on Tuesday, while in Jefferson County, just outside St Louis in Missouri, polling stations are bracing for potential flooding which could cause last-minute chaos.

In the key swing state of North Carolina, people lined up before the sun rose to cast what could be the deciding ballots in the most closely-run contest for the White House in decades.

Another battleground state, Pennsylvania, also drew long lines first thing on Tuesday as election day voters scrambled to cast their ballot before work, while in Texas voters turned out despite lashing rain.

Umbrella-clad Texans (pictured) braved wind and rain to hit the polls on Tuesday, while in Jefferson County, just outside St Louis in Missouri, polling stations are bracing for potential flooding which could cause last-minute chaos

Despite heavy rain, people wait in line to vote at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center on November 5, 2024 in Houston, Texas

The first votes in the country were cast just after midnight in the small town of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. (Pictured: a resident casting their vote at the Tillotson House in the town)

Voters line up outside of a polling station at St. John’s Windish Evangelical Lutheran Church before the polls open on Election Day in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on November 5

Some voters dressed up for the occasion – with a mom and daughter duo in St Petersburg, Florida , wearing all-white with sashes which read ‘Voters for Women’. Dawn Goddard (left) and her daughter Ilene Goddard (right) said they were excited to cast their votes for Kamala Harris

Mike Samson reads the newspaper while waiting in line before the polls open at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center on November 5, 2024 in Houston, Texas

Some voters dressed up for the occasion – with a mom and daughter duo in St Petersburg, Florida, wearing all-white with sashes which read ‘Voters for Women’.

Dawn Goddard and her daughter Ilene Goddard, 18, said they were excited to cast their votes for Kamala Harris.

‘I brought her to vote in 2016 and we were very hopeful then,’ Dawn Goddard said. ‘And we are even more hopeful today.’

Meanwhile, at another polling station in the same city, voters were greeted by a life-size cardboard cutout of Donald Trump, erected by a fan close to the voting point.

The first votes in the country were cast just after midnight in the small town of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.

The results were too close to call, as the half dozen voters were split three-to-three between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

It’s actually a sharp swing from 2020, when Joe Biden swept all five who voted against Trump.

Dixville Notch has produced the first results of the first-in-the-nation primary since 1960 with its midnight vote on Election Day.

At another polling station in St Petersburg, Florida, voters were greeted by a life-size cardboard cutout of Donald Trump, erected by a fan close to the voting point

In the key swing state of North Carolina, voters lined up before the sun rose to cast what could be the deciding ballots in the most closely-run contest for the White House in decades

Pictured: Voters line up outside of a polling station at Donegan Elementary School as the polls open on Election Day in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Pictured: People vote at a polling place on Election Day in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 5

A boy watches his father voting for the 2024 U.S. presidential election, on Election Day in Asheville, North Carolina, November 5

Voters wait in a long line at the start of Election Day in Asheville, North Carolina, on November 5, 2024

It comes as a final key poll revealed that Harris entered Election Day with a 4-point lead over Trump after slashing the gender gap.

Harris, 60, has the support of 51 percent of likely voters, according to the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll. Trump has support from 47 per cent.

The survey found that Harris’ surge comes after Trump’s lead among male voters significantly declined in the final days leading up to the election.

Trump, 78, previously held a 57 per cent lead amongst male voters, but now only leads 51 per cent to Harris’ 47 per cent. However, the Democrat’s lead among women shrunk from 18 to 11 points.

Pictured: People wait in line to vote at a polling station in Smyrna, Georgia, on Election Day, November 5, 2024

Voters wait in line at a polling station on November 5, 2024 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburban community outside Pittsburgh on November 5, 2024

Pictured: People line up to vote outside of a polling station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Election Day, November 5, 2024

Pictured: Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at Scranton High School in Scranton, Pa., on Election Day

Voters wait in line at the Oakmont United Methodist Church on November 5, 2024 in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, a suburban community outside Pittsburgh on November 5, 2024

People vote as others wait in line at a polling station at Greater Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, located within Mecklenburg County, on November 5, 2024

Analysts say the top line results of the Marist poll are nearly identical to those of the 2020 election, which reported Joe Biden leading Trump 51 to 47 per cent.

The outcome of this year’s knife-edge election, which has become the closest race to White House in decades, is too close to call and could potentially come down to a few thousand votes in seven key swing states.

The survey found that Harris holds a 4-point lead over Trump nationally, which is just outside the poll’s 3.5-point margin of error.