Live US election 2020: Latest updates on polls, results in Donald Trump vs Joe Biden presidential race

It could be hours — or even days — before election officials across the United States are done counting ballots and are able to ascertain a winner for the presidential race between incumbent Republican president Donald Trump and his Democratic opponent Joe Biden.

This is due to the extra steps involved in verifying and counting the millions of votes received through mail ballots and drop boxes in areas where early voting sites have been made available, as well as polls cast on voting day itself — November 3 — at assigned locations.

Such differences may result in a significant lag in reporting time across the states.

Follow our live blog to keep up to date with the latest turn of events.

All times are reported in Eastern Time (ET).

1:13pm ET — Trump honoured as people rally for him in Nigeria

12:19pm ET — Man who correctly predicted past 9 US elections makes important prediction

A Jewish-American professor who has predicted the past nine US presidential victories correctly — since 1984 — has spoken yet again.

American University's Prof. Allan Lichtman has predicted Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden will defeat US President Donald Trump, saying that governance mattered more than campaigning.

Read more on what he has to say here.

11:30am ET — First lady Melania Trump casts her vote

First lady Melania Trump has cast her ballot in Palm Beach County, Florida.

The first lady voted in-person at around 10am local time. 

10:40am ET — Global stocks jump, dollar down as Americans head to polls

Global stock markets have jumped and the dollar has weakened as polls open for the US election.

Asian, European and US equities rallied, with traders betting on a Democratic sweep of both the White House and Congress that would likely herald a huge new economic stimulus package to fight the coronavirus crisis.

The dollar slid against the euro and pound, while oil prices jumped higher, clawing back some of their recent losses.

Key figures around 1430 GMT:

London - FTSE 100: UP 2.1% at 5,774.90 points

Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.9% at 12,008.14

Paris - CAC 40: UP 2.0% at 4,786.23

EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.9% at 3,077.98

New York - Dow: UP 1.1% at 27,230.77

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 2.0% at 24,939.73 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.4% at 3,271.07 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a holiday

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1713 from $1.1641 at 2100 GMT

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 104.59 yen from 104.72 yen

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3008 from $1.2917

Euro/pound: DOWN at 90.06 pence from 90.12 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.9% at $38.25 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 3.4% at $40.30

10:10am ET — Top US security official urges patience over vote count

Donald Trump's top domestic security official has urged voters to be patient in waiting for election results after reports that the president could rush to claim victory.

"Voters should be patient while waiting for the outcome of this year's election," said Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security.

"It is important to recognise that this process may require time."

Trump reportedly told confidants that he would declare victory late Tuesday if it looked like he was ahead in the voting, though he denied the accusation.

As voting opened, he told Fox News that there was "no reason to play games" over declaring victory early.

10am ET — Trump campaign believes it will be a 'landslide' victory for them

Kayleigh McEnany, introduced on Fox News as White House press secretary, but who is also a senior campaign adviser, is confident that Trump will secure a "landslide" victory in the polls.

"We believe this will be a landslide and for the Biden campaign to come out and double down on Hillary Clinton's egregious statement that no circumstance should you concede just tells you all you need to know."

McEnany was responding to a comment by Joe Biden's campaign manager who had said that under no circumstances will Trump be declared victor on election night.

09:38am ET — 'It all begins today'

Biden urges all remaining voters to confirm their polling place and "win the battle for the soul of the nation".

"We can overcome these crises. We can take our country back," he wrote on Twitter. "It all begins today."

09:30am ET — Florida: 95% of 2016 voters have already voted

About 9.1 million voters in Florida — 9,069,761 to be exact — have already cast in their ballots, CNN reports, citing state data updated on Tuesday morning.

The number amounts to around 95% of the population that voted in the 2016 election.

According to CNN, registered Democrats have about a 115,000 vote lead on registered Republicans, whereas nearly 2 million people who have no party affiliations were among those to have voted.

Poll closing time in Florida is 7pm local time.

09:05am ET — The Electoral College explained

It is the US Electoral College — and not the popular national vote — that ultimately decides who will lead the United States as its president.

There are 538 members of the US Electoral College and a presidential candidate must obtain an absolute majority of the college vote — or 270 of the 538 — to win.

Read more on the system that can sway the final results here.

08:54am ET — Trump says will declare victory 'when there's victory'

CNN reports that Trump has said that he will only declare victory "when there's victory".

"There’s no reason to play games. I look at it as being a very, a very solid chance of winning here. I don’t know how they rate the chances," Trump said on "Fox & Friends".

"I think a lot of that has to do with the tremendous crowd size."

Trump added it had been "an incredible three weeks" in the lead up to today.

08:38am — 'We had this day once before it worked out very well'

A flu-stricken sounding Trump, on a phone call with "Fox and Friends" says the "plague from China" interrupted a lot progress the country.

"We saved 2 million people and now are building back up again."

"We had the best economy — no one had ever seen anything like it — and now what happens is we build it up again and we are doing it at a record. You saw 33.1% on Thursday. We have a chance to build something that will be fantastic.

"We are coming out with vaccines the likes of which no one has seen before [...] they will be distributed and activated very quickly.

"We will ultimately get rid of the China plague.

Speaking of Election Day, he said it will be a "very interesting", "very important" and "very, very special" day.

"We had this day once before and it worked out very well.

08:33am ET — Know where to vote

Confused about where to go to cast your ballot? Here is where you can find a polling station closest to you.

08:20am ET — Trusted sources of information

The Federal Election Commission’s commissioner, Ellen Weintraub, has warned citizens to be wary of false sources of voter information.

“Just because some guy on the internet said something doesn't make it true. Make sure it's reputable source before you believe it and share it,” she said.

The following are the sources she recommends:

- Boards of elections

- Secretaries of state's offices

- Vote.org, which will give you links to your local election officials’ websites

08:16am ET — Trump calls in late for Fox & Friends interview

Donald Trump is appearing in an interview with his favourite channel Fox News on show "Fox & Friends".

The interview was scheduled to start at 7am ET but began at 7:46am, according to CNN.

08:14am ET — Biden goes for Church service

Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden, and two of his grandchildren, Finnegan and Natalie Biden, attended church service at St. Joseph’s on the Brandywine in Delaware, CNN reports.

08:09am ET — Former VP Joe Biden asks people for their 'trust once again'

Joe Biden has asked voters who have yet to go to polling stations and cast their ballot to place their trust in him again as they did when they voted him in alongside Barack Obama.

"Today, I'm asking for your trust once again — this time, in Kamala and me.

"We can heal the soul of this nation — I promise we won't let you down," he wrote.