By Sam Thomson
The vote to decide the next President of the United States is getting underway. After the most expensive election campaigning in American history, candidates are still neck and neck, with virtually nothing to separate them at the polls.
Governor Mitt Romney has already cast his vote, in Belmont in his home state of Massachusetts – a state where he was formerly the governor, but one he is expected to lose to President Obama.
From here, Romney will continue to campaign during Election Day – an unusual move in American politics. Romney is to travel to the key swing states of Pennsylvania and Ohio today in one last push to win over key voters.
Obama, meanwhile, has scheduled a game of basketball with staff, before engaging in around 12 media interviews in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois.
In these final stages, opinion polls are conflicting as to which candidate will take the Presidency. While Pew Research puts Obama and Romney at 50% and 47% respectively, Gallup shows Romney has a 1% lead over Obama, who stands at 49%. Early election results from the village of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, showed Candidates at a dead heat, with 5 votes apiece.
Both candidates are readying themselves for an extremely close election, with both candidates having teams of lawyers on hand, in case swing states are too close to call after polls close. Candidates will be hoping for a decisive victory, as opposed to the chaos that ensued after the 2000 election.
The result is expected to be announced between 3AM and 7AM (GMT).