US: Voting begins in key states with Trump and Harris neck and neck in polls

Summary

Election day voting has begun in the United States, with Donald Trump and Kamala Harris vying to become the next president

Harris has advocated for abortion rights and pledged to lower food and housing costs for working families

Trump has vowed to seal the border and has proposed tax cuts worth trillions

Americans aren’t just choosing the president – they’re also picking members of the US Congress, and some states are voting on abortion rights

More than 82 million people voted before election day – check our poll tracker here

When will we know the winner?It could take days – or it could be soon after polls close

How BBC Verify will be fact-checking on election daypublished at 07:2907:29

By Merlyn Thomas

Over the last week, there seems to have been an upsurge in claims going viral on social media alleging election fraud – particularly in the all-important swing states.

BBC Verify has been investigating some of these. They include a video claiming that illegal voters were queuing for mail-in ballots in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania – which election officials rejected as false.

We also investigated a video of a man apparently tearing up mail-in ballots for Donald Trump – which was likely the work of Russian disinformation, according to the FBI.

BBC Verify found evidence linking two fake videos flagged by the FBI to a Russia-based operation that has produced hundreds of fakes directed at the election in recent months.

Expect to see more claims on election day and beyond.

BBC Verify will be monitoring social media to see which ones are going viral and whether any of the evidence they provide – when they do provide any – actually checks out.

What else are Americans voting on today?published at 07:1707:17

It’s not just a choice between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump today – voters in America have plenty else to decide on:

Abortion rights are on the ballot in 10 states – including the battleground states of Arizona and Nevada

One third of the US Senate – 34 of its 100 seats – is also up for grabs. Democrats currently control the Senate by a one-seat margin

In the US House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Congress, all 435 seats are up for election, as they are every two years. Republicans currently have a slim majority

Recreational or medical marijuana use is also on the ballot in four states – Florida, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota

Referendums on voting and elections – in some areas, voters will also choose how they want their elections to be run