Washington, 5 November 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Polling stations are open across a wide area of the United States as voters choose whether Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Kamala Harris should be president for the next four years.

Voters in states including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine, Virginia, Kentucky and Indiana could begin casting their ballots as of 6 am (1100 GMT). Hour by hour more states were set to open their polling stations, with Alaska and Hawaii the last to do so.

Early voting has already been up and running for weeks in many states, allowing residents to vote in person at designated locations or by postal ballots.

US media, citing tallies from election officials and research firms, say over 75 million people have already made their choice.

In total about 240 million people are eligible to vote.