This is how election day progresses in the United States: long lines of voters

People vote at St. Andrew's Church during the U.S. presidential election in Erie, Pennsylvania, U.S., November 5, 2024. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

So far, minor incidents have been reported and candidates have assured that there will be no violence after the results are known. Election day is expected to conclude before 9 p.m. Eastern Time.

Americans will vote for their next president this November 5, in an election that promises to be close between the Republican Donald Trump and the Democrat and current vice president, Kamala Harris.

Although about 75 million Americans voted early; Many others continue to go to the polls, which are expected to close between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., Eastern Time in the United States.

From that moment, a count will begin where seven key states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin could determine the president for the next four years.

“There's not going to be any violence,” Trump said after voting in Palm Beach, Florida, before noon.

In statements to journalists, he added that he did not have to ask his followers to refrain from violent acts if he lost the elections.

“I don't have to tell them” because “they are not violent people,” he said.

While Harris has visited various local media outlets in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Atlanta, Georgia this day, seeking to convince the undecided.

“We're going to be patient,” his campaign chairwoman Jen O'Malley Dillon said during an appearance Tuesday on MSNBC.

“We are going to be very focused on what will happen in the first part of the night. But we know that some of our most contested states won't be fully counted until later in the evening or early in the morning.”

Meanwhile, without public appearances or the usual press conference, President Biden maintains a low profile today, on election day in the United States.

What has happened so far?

A team of the Voice of America He toured several voting centers in Silver Spring, Maryland, where long lines can be seen at voting centers.

Some of the people interviewed claim to have spent almost two hours waiting to vote.

The head of the voting precinct, Andrew L., told VOA that the day has been very busy.

In addition, during the opening of the polls, minor incidents were reported due to equipment failures in some polls.

In the afternoon, a man was arrested in New York state for threatening to burn down a voting center. He could not vote because he had not registered after his release, which led to an angry reaction.

He was located by the police and detained. Charges against him are still pending.

Also in Tijuana, Mexico, migrants lined up hours before their 5 a.m. appointments to legally enter the United States using an online phone app that Joe Biden's administration introduced in January 2023 to discourage illegal border crossings.

More than 852,000 immigrants have entered the United States through the CBP One application, whose future depends on the outcome of the US presidential election.

Donald Trump has harshly criticized CBP One as part of his immigration platform that includes plans for mass deportations.

Kamala Harris has given few specific details on immigration, but is expected to largely continue the Biden administration's policies, including severe restrictions on asylum seeking.

With information from journalist Tomás Guevara, from the Voice of America.