Long lines started growing well before dawn on Tuesday with polls opening in some eastern states as early as 6am EST.
Those casting their ballots on Election Day will add to the record number of Americans - nearly 100 million - that voted early either in person or by mail.
Some who voted early were driven not only by concerns about waiting in lines on Election Day during the coronavirus pandemic but also by exceptional levels of enthusiasm after a polarizing campaign.
While there were long lines in many places, in some states lines were shorter - potentially a representation of the heavy early vote.
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In Pennsylvania, dozens of voters lined up covered in jackets and hats on an unseasonably brisk morning. Some voters in suburban Ohio and Michigan confronted the cold temperatures as they started lining up outside polling stations before the sun had even risen.
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In McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania, Martin Seylar, a 45-year-old welder who had just finished his shift, said of Trump, his preferred candidate: "He's a bit of a jerk, and I appreciate that.
"He doesn't get everything that he says done, but the way I see it is he's trying, versus where everybody else blows smoke at us."
In Detroit, Republican voter Nick Edwards, 26, cast a ballot for Biden but voted for Republican nominees for Congress.
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"Honestly, decency in the White House," Edwards said when asked about his main interest. "When someone leads the party, they need to hold those values, as well. I don't think Trump encompasses that."
Biden, the Democratic former vice president who has invested half a century in public life, has held a strong and steady lead in national opinion polls over the Republican president. But Trump is close enough in several election battlegrounds states that he could piece together the 270 state-by-state Electoral College votes needed to win the election.
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Moreover, Trump is expected to win by many people assuming that he has the most "shy" voters that stay hidden up until the very last moment.
The most closely watched results will start to trickle in after 7pm EST when polls close in states such as Georgia.
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Final national results, however, could take days if the competition is tight. Results in Florida, where mail-in ballots can be counted before Election Day, are expected to begin to come in relatively soon on Tuesday night.
But Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin will not begin counting the vast majority of mail ballots until Election Day, raising the likelihood of a lengthy vote count that could take several days.
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