Long queues formed outside polling stations across the battleground swing state of Pennsylvania before doors opened at 7am on Monday.
The state carries a weighty 19 electoral votes, which could make all the difference with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris seemingly neck and neck.
It previously backed Democrat Barack Obama before swinging red for Trump in 2016, and then going blue again for Joe Biden in 2020.
Polling analysis on the eve of the election suggested both candidates remained tied at around 48% support. In Philadelphia – which typically leans towards the Democrats – Ellen Charpentier, 53, voted for Harris alongside her first-time voter son Jeanpierre, 19.
She said it was an easy choice “for reproductive freedom and because Donald Trump is dangerous for our country and the world”.
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Ellen added: “I’m feeling very nervous. There’s a lot of optimism for Kamala, however there’s also a lot of support for Trump. So a lot of nerves.
“I don’t believe he would accept the results but I believe that in the US we have enough checks and balances to make sure that the right person wins.”
Fears that Trump’s most ardent supporters may not peacefully accept an election loss were common among Pennsylvanian Democrats.
The country was shaken in 2021 when the former president’s supporters stormed the Capitol Building in Washington DC during the January 6 insurrection.
Ahead of voting beginning, Philadelphia district attorney Larry Krasner issued a bullish warning to anyone considering protesting the result or disrupting the democratic process.
He said: “I want to be clear. Anybody who thinks it’s time to play militia, F around and find out. Anybody who thinks it’s time to insult, to deride, to mistreat, to threaten people, F around and find out.
“We do have the cuffs, we do have the jail cells, we do have the Philly juries and we have the state prisons. So if you’re going to try and turn an election into some form of coercion, if you’re going to try to bully people, bully votes or voters…any of that nonsense, we’re not playing.”
Philadelphia is widely expected to back Harris but the statewide result could be decided in the suburbs and rural areas where support for the Republican is stronger.
Laura Fried, 48, said Harris was an obvious choice because “she’s way more qualified to lead”. “Trump doesn’t want to lead, he just wants to be an authoritarian,” she added.
“[Harris] is the perfect candidate for right now. She has managed to unify the Democrat party and also bring Republicans over. There are people who are voting Democrat for the first time ever. I think she can handle what’s going on in the world and beat Putin back with a stick.”
Like almost all Democrat voters the Express has spoken to in recent days, Laura said reproductive and abortion rights were a key concern that had earned her vote, alongside Harris’s housing policy to help first time buyers and a pledge to expand support for elderly social care.
She added: “I’m actually feeling pretty good and confident. In Philly, we’re always on the right side of history.”
Asked how she would feel if Trump returned to power, Laura said: “I would be looking for a way to leave the country. It would be disheartening, upsetting, depressing and bleak, very bleak. I don’t even want to think about that.”
Trump cast his ballot in Palm Beach, Florida, before spending the day at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
The Republican told reporters he was very confident about his chances of securing another term in the White House and said he believed this campaign was “maybe the best of the three” he had contested.
He added: “It looks like Republicans have shown up in force, so we’ll see how it turns out.”
Meanwhile, Harris had voted by mail-in ballot and planned to watch the results unfold at a party at her alma mater, Howard University in Washington DC.
During a final campaign rally in Philadelphia on Monday night, the Democrat promised tens of thousands of supporters “we will win”.
But she admitted “this could be one of the closest races in history”, adding: “Every single vote matters.”
