America votes: Snapshot

CONTINUOUSLY UPDATED

11.45pm - President Bush's chief of staff Andy Card has declared victory, announcing that 'we are convinced that President Bush has won re-election' with 286 electoral votes.

He said they had won Ohio. He said Bush had decided to give Senator Kerry the respect of more time to reflect on the result of the election.


11.30pm - Wisconsin voters backed Democrat John Kerry, giving the Massachusetts senator 10 electoral votes, CNN projected. It gives Bush 254 electoral votes and Kerry 252. In the popular vote Bush had 51 per cent and Kerry 48 per cent, with 97 per precincts reporting. There was a difference of more than 3 million votes, a large margin compared to the last election.

11.10pm - George W. Bush is not expected to make an announcement tonight. After a long wait for the President in the US, networks are reporting he will be retiring for the night. The campaign chairman is expected to make a statement.

11pm - Four states, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin and New Mexico, have not been called in provisional results. CNN reported that Bush was leading in Ohio, New Mexico and Iowa and Kerry was leading in Wisconsin.

10.15pm - Bush has won Nevada according to network projections. A senior adviser has said Bush would declare victory if he also wins New Mexico.
It gives Bush 254 electoral votes and Kerry 242.
CBS, CNN and ABC said Nevada had voted for Bush. The state, which has five electoral votes, was seen as leaning toward Bush before the election.

8.50pm - CNN reports Kerry as the projected winner in Minnesota, Michigan and Hawaii, putting Kerry's electoral college tally at 242 compared to Bush's 249.

8.30pm - John Kerry's running mate John Edwards addressed the crowd in Boston to say the Democrats were not conceding.

"It's been a long night, but we've waited four years for this victory, we can wait one more night."

He said that John Kerry made a promise "that every vote would count and every vote would be counted.

"Tonight we are keeping our word, and we will fight for every vote, you deserve no less."


8.15pm - The final result for Iowa will be delayed because of machine malfunctions. Bush led with 51 per cent and Kerry had 49 per cent with 96 per cent of the Iowa precinct reporting.

8.00pm - With 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House, Bush had 249 electoral votes to Kerry's 211 votes.

7.35pm - Fox and NBC television networks projected that Ohio voters had backed President George W. Bush in the crucial swing state. But CNN reported that the state was not won with 91 per cent of the votes counted giving Bush 51 per cent of the votes and Kerry 49 per cent.

Ohio has 20 votes in the Electoral College, which selects the president based on results in each state.

6.50pm - With 72 per cent of precincts reporting, CNN says President George W Bush has 246 electoral college votes compared with 195 for Sen. John Kerry who has gained seven votes by winning the state of Oregon.

6.48pm - Maine voters have backed John Kerry in the US presidential election, giving the Democrat a swing state victory in his contest with Republican President George W. Bush, television networks projected. The Fox, CBS and ABC television networks said all four of the northeastern state's votes in the Electoral College would go to Kerry. Maine is one of two states that may apportion its Electoral College votes but that has not happened in nearly two centuries. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the White House.

6.44pm - New Hampshire voters have backed John Kerry in the US presidential election, putting a key swing state on the Democrat's side in his contest with Republican President George W. Bush, Fox television reported. Fox said New Hampshire, a traditionally Republican state that narrowly backed Bush in 2000, had voted for Kerry this time. The state has four votes in the Electoral College.

6.41pm - President George W Bush leads challenger John Kerry 246-188 on electoral college votes.

6.32pm - President George W Bush has won the major battleground state of Florida, television networks ABC and CBS projected today nearly four hours after polls closed. ABC said that with 97 per cent of the precincts reporting, Bush had 52 percent of the Florida vote compared to 47 percent for Democratic challenger John Kerry. Florida carries 27 electoral college votes.

6.18pm - President George W Bush leads the US presidential election race with 234 electoral college votes and 51 per cent of the popular vote, compared with 188 electoral college votes and 48 per cent of the popular vote to challenger John Kerry, CNN reports. Ralph Nader has 1 per cent of the popular vote and has won no states.

5.33pm - President George W Bush leads challenger John Kerry 210-200 on electoral college votes.

5.31pm - The state of California has voted for Democrat John Kerry in the US presidential election, giving him its huge cache of 55 electoral votes in his contest with Republican President George W. Bush, CNN, ABC and CBS television networks projected.

5.30pm - Colorado voters have backed President George W. Bush in the US presidential election, giving the Republican an important swing state in his contest with Democrat John Kerry, CBS network projected. Bush also won Colorado in 2000. The state also voted on Tuesday against a new plan to apportion its electoral votes, ABC and CNN said. As a result, all nine of Colorado's electoral votes will go to the winner. The Electoral College selects the president based on results in each state. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the White House.

5.29pm - Pennsylvania voters have backed John Kerry, giving the Democrat a victory in one of the most important swing states in his contest with Republican President Bush, television networks projected. NBC, CBS and CNN said Pennsylvania had voted for Kerry. The state, which backed Democrat Al Gore in 2000, has 21 votes in the Electoral College that selects the president based on results in each state. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the White House.

5.10pm - Projections - ELECTORAL VOTE: The wins so far gave Bush an electoral vote count of 196, while Kerry held 133. A candidate must get 270 electoral votes out of a possible 538 to win the presidency.

BUSH: Twenty two states including Missouri, Arkansas, Montana, Utah, Mississippi, Louisiana, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia, West Virginia and the Carolinas voted for Bush, according to US television networks.

KERRY: Twelve states including Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and Rhode Island voted for Kerry, they said.

* The races in Ohio, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota and New Mexico were too close to call.

* President George W. Bush and Democratic Sen. John Kerry racked up wins, mostly in states where they were already favored, though Kerry won a hard-fought battle to take Pennsylvania, one of the big battleground states that will decide the cliffhanger election.

* Republicans won the Senate seat from South Carolina long held by retiring Democrat Ernest Hollings and also captured the previously Democratic-held Senate seat in Georgia as they battled to retain control of a sharply divided Congress, the networks projected.

* Rising Democratic star Barack Obama won a Senate seat in Illinois and will become only the third black ever popularly elected to the chamber, according to the networks.

* Last polls close in Alaska and Hawaii at midnight EST/6pm NZ time.

* Far more are expected to vote than the 105 million who voted in 2000. More than 5 million already have voted in states that allow early voting.

* Polls find many American lack confidence their votes will be recorded properly -- and expect legal challenges and ballot disputes similar to 2000 which delayed result for weeks.

* Oil prices rebounded to over $50 a barrel, stocks edged up on global markets and the dollar strengthened as Bush took the lead in early vote counting though the race is still wide open.

QUOTES

* "We're very upbeat, thank you. I believe I will win." - Bush.

* "The president just keeps looking at you and saying, 'It's hard work, it's hard work, it's hard work.' Well today and tomorrow, Mr. President, millions of Americans are going to help me to do what we need to do, which is to relieve you of that hard work and set America in a new direction" - Kerry.

CAMPAIGN ISSUES

* Rebels bracing for a US-led assault on their Falluja and Ramadi strongholds show their muscle with a bloody car bombing, strikes on oil pipelines and attacks on Iraqi security forces.

* The United States begins to increase its troops in Iraq to provide security for January elections there. About 4,000 new troops have begun arriving to join about 138,000 already there, and the departure of some has been delayed.

* A candidate must get 270 electoral votes out of a possible 538 to win the presidency.

LATEST POLLS

* Nov. 1 - Reuters/Zogby (likely voters): Bush 48 per cent, Kerry 47 per cent. Margin of error plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

* Nov. 1 - ABC (likely voters): Bush 49 per cent, Kerry 48 per cent. Margin of error plus or minus 2 percentage points.

* Nov. 1 - Wall Street Journal/NBC News: Bush 48 per cent, Kerry 47 per cent, independent Ralph Nader 1 per cent. Margin of error plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

* Nov. 1 - Fox News/Opinion Dynamics (likely voters): Kerry 48 per cent, Bush 46 per cent, Nader 1 per cent. Margin of error plus or minus 3 percentage points.

* Nov 1 - Reuters/Zogby battleground states (likely voters): Colorado, Bush led 49-47 per cent; Florida, tied at 48 per cent; Iowa, Kerry 50-45 per cent; Michigan, Kerry 52-46 per cent; Minnesota, Kerry 51-45 per cent; Nevada, Bush 50-45 per cent; New Mexico, Kerry 51-48 per cent; Ohio, Bush 49-43 per cent; Pennsylvania, Kerry 50-46 per cent, and Wisconsin, Kerry 51-45 per cent.