Associated Press
WASHINGTON: The Latest on Election Day 2016 (all times EST):
7:35 p.m.
The North Carolina Board of Elections has agreed to extend voting in eight precincts in Durham County, where Democrats have a 4-to-1 registration advantage over Republicans.
The state board voted 3-2 Tuesday night to extend voting by an hour in two precincts most affected by a computer glitch. The problem forced poll workers to check for registered voters on paper printouts, causing long lines at some locations.
The board says six more precincts can stay open for a shorter time.
The NAACP’s North Carolina chapter had asked for the eight precincts to stay open for 90 extra minutes. Hillary Clinton’s campaign also supported keeping the polls open later in Durham.
Two groups filed lawsuits seeking to keep the polls open, but a state superior court judge declined to intervene.
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7:32 p.m.
North Carolina got more attention than usual this election, and exit polls show why.
Exit polls conducted by Edison Research for national media outlets suggest a tight finish between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump for the state’s 15 electoral votes.
The polls suggest a majority of men back Trump, while Clinton won a majority among women — with the margins essentially even. The polls suggest women made up slightly more of the electorate.
About four out of five nonwhite voters backed Clinton, while about six out of 10 white voters supported Trump. But the exit polls don’t offer definitive information about actual turnout among those groups, with the estimates again pointing to a close finish.
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7:30 p.m.
Republican Donald Trump has won West Virginia and its five electoral votes.
The Mountain State was one of the billionaire’s biggest supporters in the Republican primary. He is popular for promising to bring back coal jobs. Hillary Clinton had largely been largely shunned for making comments perceived as an affront to the industry.
The dynamic has resulted in one of the few states where Republicans didn’t shy from the brash businessman and instead looked to ride his coattails. Many Democrats for congressional and other races scrambled to distance themselves from Clinton and refused to endorse her.
West Virginia has voted for Republican presidential candidates in each of the last four presidential races.
It takes 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.
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7:15 p.m.
Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams says he has found no evidence of fraud or intimidation at the city’s polls despite Republican candidate Donald Trump’s warnings about voter fraud.
Williams says no major problems have emerged among the 68 complaints his office investigated during the first half of Election Day.
Meantime, several Pennsylvania counties are reporting a handful of complaints about touchscreen machines switching votes. They say the machines are quickly being re-calibrated to fix the problem.
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Pedro Cortes says the GOP reported problems with about 25 machines, out of nearly 24,000 deployed statewide. He says in all cases votes ended up being recorded correctly.
State GOP Chairman Rob Gleason says he doesn’t see anything “nefarious” in the apparent vote switching on older machines.
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7:10 p.m.
Vast divides of race, gender and education are keeping the presidential race in two tightly fought southern states close shortly after polls close.
In both Virginia and Georgia, about 9 in 10 black voters and two-thirds of Hispanics backed Clinton, while most whites backed Trump.
That’s according to exit polls conducted by Edison Research for national media outlets.
In Georgia, large majorities of whites with and without college degrees backed Trump. In Virginia those two groups diverged. Whites without a college degree backed Trump by a large margin, while those with a degree split their votes between the two major-party candidates.
Women in both states were far more likely than men to back Clinton. Majorities of women in both states said Trump’s treatment of women bothers them a lot.
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7 p.m.
Republican Donald Trump has won Kentucky and Indiana while Democrat Hillary Clinton has won Vermont.
Trump was awarded Kentucky’s eight electoral votes and Indiana’s 11. Vermont gives Clinton three. These are the first states to be decided Tuesday in the 2016 general election.
The wins were expected.
Vermont has voted for a Democrat every election since 1988, while Kentucky has gone Republican every cycle since 2000.
Indiana is normally a Republican stronghold but went for President Barack Obama in 2008. The Republicans captured it again in 2012 and Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, is the state’s governor.
The winning candidate needs 270 electoral votes.
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6:45 p.m.
Americans who have voted already in the presidential election appear to be evenly divided on the benefits of international trade.
According to an exit poll conducted by Edison Research for national media outlets, about four out of 10 voters believe trade among nations creates jobs. Another four out of 10 say it takes jobs from Americans.
Republican nominee Donald Trump has railed against decades of U.S. trade policy and has energized working-class voters with his promises to create more jobs at home. Democrat Hillary Clinton has historically supported U.S. trade deals, including as secretary of state.
But she has backed off her support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. President Barack Obama’s trade agreement with Pacific Rim nations is still pending.
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6:40 p.m.
OK, so forget those ballot box selfies. Bring on the “I voted” stickers!
Stuck to noses, dogs and children, the stickers are front and center on social media, including many customized by cities and states. Others were served generic designs of stars and flags.
New York City went with the Statue of Liberty. In Tennessee, there were red stickers in the shape of the state. Some Georgia voters got an orange peach, and in parts of Virginia, a fancy eagle emblem was encircled in yellow.
One of the most impressive stickers may have belonged to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where stickers featured one of the famous Blue Dogs painted by New Iberia native George Rodrigue.
But alas, not everyone went home with a sticker. Some polls ran out, prompting some to express their sadness on social media as well.
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6:35 p.m.
A majority of Americans who have cast ballots already are at odds with Republican Donald Trump on two of his signature immigration proposals.
According to the preliminary results of exit polling conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks, just four out of 10 voters say they support building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. A majority oppose the idea.
About seven out of 10 people who have voted already say they’d rather allow workers in the U.S. illegally have a way to apply for legal status than have them deported. About a quarter of voters support deportation.
Trump fueled his rise to the Republican nomination with his promise to build a border wall and deport millions of residents in the U.S. illegally.
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6:25 p.m.
Hillary Clinton is thanking members of a Facebook group called “Pantsuit Nation.”
In a message Tuesday, Clinton said the group, which was named for her signature apparel, provides a special place for supporters to build a community. She said that “for some of you, it’s been difficult to feel like you could wear your support on your sleeve.”
Clinton also joked about the group’s moniker, saying “have you ever heard a better name?!”
The Democratic presidential nominee said she was hopeful she would win the presidential contest. If she does, she said she wants “to use those pantsuits for the best occasion of all — celebrating.”
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6:05 p.m.
Guests are beginning to gather at Donald Trump’s election night party in midtown Manhattan.
The GOP nominee is holding his event in the grand ballroom of a midtown Hilton hotel, where a stage has been decorated with dozens of American and state flags.
Trump’s campaign has also set up museum-style glass displays around the venue holding campaign merchandise, including his iconic “Make America Great Again” hats and pins.
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6 p.m.
More than half of Americans who went to the polls earlier Tuesday say Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has the temperament to serve as president. About a third of voters say the same about Republican nominee Donald Trump.
But neither candidate can claim a mandate as the honest candidate according to the preliminary results of exit polling conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks.
About six out of 10 voters say they don’t view Clinton as honest. About the same proportion say Trump isn’t honest. About three out of 10 voters say they believe neither candidate is honest.
As for what percentage of voters think both nominees are honest, that number is in single digits.
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5:55 p.m.
The Colorado Secretary of State’s voter registration system went down for nearly 30 minutes during midday voting Tuesday.
The failure forced in-person voters to cast provisional ballots, and some county clerks were unable to process mail ballots that needed to have the signature verified.
Tauna Lockhart, spokeswoman for the state information technology office, says the system came back up about 3:20 p.m. She says the incident is under investigation by state officials, but there is no evidence the network was hit by hackers.
She says the IT office has been monitoring its network for activity and said “there were no blips or anything.”
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5:40 p.m.
Police say they arrested two women after they took off their tops in protest at the Manhattan polling place used by Donald Trump.
The disruption occurred Tuesday morning at a grade school gym about two hours before Trump arrived.
The women began shouting and took off their tops to reveal anti-Trump slogans painted across their bare chests before police escorted then away.
They were released after being given summonses for electioneering, a violation of rules outlawing political activity at polls.
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5:37 p.m.
At least 2,000 people are already waiting inside the New York City convention center where Hillary Clinton is scheduled to hold her election night party.
Most people are sitting on the floor in an area the size of an airplane hangar. A handful of women are wearing pantsuits to honor Clinton.
Barnard College senior Madeline Walsh is wearing a black pantsuit. She says the garment means its wearer is more than just a woman.
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5:35 p.m.
A spokesman says former President George W. Bush did not vote for Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Freddy Ford says the most recent Republican president voted “none of the above for president and Republican down-ballot.” That means Bush voted for Republicans in congressional and local races.
It’s not a complete surprise. The Bush family includes the two most recent Republican presidents but neither endorsed nor campaigned for the billionaire businessman who captured the party’s nomination. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was a one-time favorite to win the GOP presidential nomination until Trump got into the race and branded him with a name that stuck: “Low energy.”
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5:30 p.m.
Preliminary presidential exit polls results suggest that a clear majority of Americans going to the polls Tuesday have at least a moderate amount of confidence that votes will be counted accurately.
About half of those polled for The Associated Press and television networks told Edison Research they are very confident in the results. Another third said they are somewhat confident.
Fewer than one out of five say they’re not very confident or at all confident in the vote count.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has railed against the electoral system. He’s called it rigged and suggested without evidence there is widespread voter fraud that could affect the outcome.
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5:25 p.m.
Just more than half of voters going to the polls Tuesday approve of the job President Barack Obama is doing. But a majority is still upset with the way the federal government is working.
That’s according to preliminary results of the exit poll conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research.
Just under half of those surveyed say they’re dissatisfied with the government’s performance. About a quarter say they’re angry.
About four out of 10 voters said the top quality they’re looking for in a candidate is change. That outranks good judgment, the right experience and caring about people like you as the preferred qualities in a president.
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5:22 p.m.
Arizona’s most populous county may not know its vote totals today, which could leave in doubt the presidential race in the traditionally Republican-voting state.
Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, expects to have more than 350,000 uncounted early ballots by the time the polls close. Roughly 1.1 million voters in the metropolitan county had returned early votes as of Tuesday, up 140,000 from 2012.
Election workers had counted roughly 800,000, leaving more than 200,000 to count. Roughly 150,000 are expected to have been dropped off at polling sites around the county.
Elizabeth Bartholomew, communication manager for Maricopa County Recorder’s office, says, “If there’s a large enough gap in votes, you might not be able to call some races.”
Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton were running neck-and-neck in Arizona, carried by Republicans in all but one election since 1952.
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5:20 p.m.
Neither Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton is able to claim favorable standing with a majority of the U.S. electorate.
Six of 10 voters say they are somewhat bothered or bothered a lot by Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state, according to preliminary results from exit polling conducted by Edison Research for The Associated Press and television networks.
More than seven out of 10 presidential voters say they are irked by Trump’s treatment of women.
Trump hammered Clinton for how she handled classified information at the State Department. The FBI twice said it had no cause to pursue criminal charges.
Clinton blistered Trump after disclosure of a 2005 video that captured Trump discussing sexually predatory behavior toward women.
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5:10 p.m.
Fewer than half of voters who cast presidential ballots say they made their choice out of a strong preference for their candidate.
That’s according to preliminary results of the exit poll conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research.
The early exit polls found both Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton are viewed unfavorably by a majority of the presidential electorate. A majority of the electorate also distrusts each of them.
A third of voters said they have reservations about the candidate they backed. A quarter of voters say their vote was mostly about opposing another candidate.
In 2012, the presidential electorate was more optimistic about their choices. That year, about two out of three voters said they strongly backed their candidate.
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5:05 p.m.
Seven in 10 Americans going to the polls Tuesday say they think immigrants now in the country illegally should be allowed to stay. Just a quarter say they should be deported.
More than half say they oppose building a wall along the Mexican border to stop illegal immigration, according to preliminary results from the exit poll conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research.
But immigration isn’t necessarily at the top of the minds of most voters. Just 1 in 10 say immigration is the most important issue facing the country.
Republican Donald Trump made cracking down on immigration a top item on his agenda.
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5 p.m.
Most voters going to the polls Tuesday have a pessimistic view of the U.S. economy.
According to preliminary results of an exit poll conducted by the Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research, about 6 in 10 describe the state of the economy as not so good or poor.
But that economic unhappiness isn’t as high as it was in 2012, when three-quarters called the economy not so good or poor.
Among voters today, 3 in 10 say their personal financial situation has gotten better in the last four years, while nearly as many say it’s gotten worse.
More than half of voters say the economy is the most important issue facing the country, over terrorism, foreign policy and immigration.
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4:50 p.m.
Authorities have beefed up Election Day security for Donald Trump by parking dump trucks filled with sand outside his Trump Tower building on Fifth Avenue.
Police said Tuesday that similar precautionary measures were being taken at other sites around midtown Manhattan where Trump and Hillary Clinton plan to spend election night.
Authorities say the heavy trucks could block an attempted car bombing. They say there are no confirmed terror threats.
The NYPD had previously said it will deploy more than 5,000 police officers to keep order on election night. The deployment also includes police helicopters, mobile radiation detectors and bomb-sniffing dogs.
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4:40 p.m.
A state judge in Nevada has denied a request from the Donald Trump campaign to preserve ballots and voting materials related to what the campaign alleges were irregularities during early voting.
Clark County District Court Judge Gloria Sturman said Tuesday that making the names of poll workers part of the court record could expose them to “public attention, ridicule and harassment.”
She says the county registrar is already required to keep the records, and the Nevada Secretary of State is responsible for investigating the complaint.
Trump campaign attorney Brian Hardy told the judge he wants to preserve records from the final day of early voting at four locations in the Las Vegas area.
The campaign says allowing people to vote past closing time was illegal, but the county says they were accommodating people already in line.
The Trump campaign lodged a separate complaint with the secretary of state.
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4 p.m.
A software glitch that indicated scores of voters showing up at the polls had already cast ballots has led to voting delays in one of North Carolina’s most heavily Democratic counties.
North Carolina Board of Elections lawyer Josh Lawson says officials in Durham County quickly concluded that there was a problem with their electronic poll books and began relying on paper rolls to confirm voter registrations. Attempts to vote twice are rare.
Lawson says there’s no indication “nefarious activity” caused the computer problems. Rather, he said it could have been a failure to clear out caches of votes cast during the primaries.
About two dozen other counties using the same software have not reported problems.
Lawson said those in line when the polls close will still be allowed to vote.
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3 p.m.
President Barack Obama is hitting the radio airwaves to encourage Americans to go to the polls to vote for Hillary Clinton.
The White House said Obama gave Election Day interviews to six radio stations that target listeners in Orlando, Detroit and Philadelphia. The cities are in states where the race is believed to be close between Clinton and Republican Donald Trump.
Obama told syndicated host Jana Sutter that continuing the work of the past eight years depends on having a “steady, smart, serious” president follow him into office.
He praised Clinton and reiterated his view that Trump is unfit to be president.
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2:45 p.m.
Donald Trump is rekindling his unsubstantiated concerns about a rigged election system.
Asked Tuesday afternoon on Fox News if he would accept the election results, Trump continued to demur.
The Republican presidential nominee said: “We’re going to see how things play out.”
He said. “I want to see everything honest.”
Concerns about voter intimidation and fraud led to a flurry of lawsuits in the run-up to Election Day. New voter regulations in more than a dozen states also held the potential to sow confusion at polling places.
But at least in the early going, most of the problems at polling places appeared to be routine — the kinds of snags that come every four years, including long lines, machines not working properly, and issues with ballots or voter rolls.
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1:30 p.m.
President Barack Obama says his faith in the American people hasn’t wavered.
Asked whether he was feeling nervous about the presidential election outcome, Obama said “I think we’ll do a good job” as long as the American people vote.
Lines were long in some areas as voters chose between Democrat Hillary Clinton, Republican Donald Trump and some third-party candidates.
Obama said he hopes everyone has “voted early. If not, get out there.”
Obama supports Clinton and voted early last month in his Chicago hometown. He spoke while walking from the White House residence to the Oval Office, following his Election Day tradition of playing basketball with friends.