First results of US presidential election are in as voting gets underway

The first results of the 2024 US presidential election have been counted as voting begins. With voting underway, pollsters have generally avoided saying whether it's more likely that Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will enter the White House as the election appears to be on a knife edge.

While there is still a long way to go yet one result has already been reported. It seems to be in keeping with the general consensus that this will be a close election.

The results have come in from the tiny town of Dixville Notch in New Hampshire. There, the votes of six people have been declared.

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And the result? In a moment which feels like a fitting microcosm of this election, there are three votes for Harris, and three for Trump.

Located in the north of New Hampshire on the US Canada border, Dixville Notch is the first place to formally declare a preference for president, or not as it seems in this case. Despite not being a harbinger of the election overall the small unincorporated town has a electoral tradition where all the voters gather at midnight before the polls open to cast their vote in a secret ballot.

From there, it doesn't take long to count the votes. While this year the votes have been evenly split that's not always been the case.

Back in 2020 all five votes from the town were cast for Joe Biden. Meanwhile, in 2016 two votes went to Donald Trump, four to Hilary Clinton, and one to Gary Johnson.

The tradition of everyone in the town gathering at midnight to vote stretches back some 65 years. These are the first in person ballots to be counted, with mail ballots already being sent out.

In Grand Rapids, Michigan attendees at Donald Trump's final rally of the election were kept waiting by their favoured candidate by some two hours. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris attended a rally at Philly, before leaving for DC.