UPDATE - Trump, Harris secure early wins as more polls close across US

UPDATES STORY THROUGHOUT

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Republican nominee Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger, Kamala Harris, secured more wins Tuesday evening as the first key battleground state was called in favor of the ex-president.

Trump is currently leading Harris in the race to reach 270 Electoral College votes 230-192. The vice president most recently put California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington in her win column while Trump took Idaho, Iowa, Kansas and North Carolina, according to The Associated Press.

Either candidate needs to win 270 Electoral College votes to claim victory. Electors are allocated to states based on their population, and most states give all of their delegates to whichever candidate wins the state in the general vote.

The winner-take-all model is not followed in Nebraska and Maine, however, which instead allocate their votes based on the outcome in congressional districts, as well as the state’s popular vote winner.

Polls have officially closed across all US states except Hawaii and Alaska, which are slated to shutter at midnight Eastern Time (0500 GMT) and 1 a.m. Eastern Time (0600 GMT).

Anyone who is in line at the closure time will be allowed to cast a ballot so long as they remain in line, however. The practice has led to polls shuttering doors significantly later than their official closing times in past elections.

The race is all but certain to come down to the seven key battleground states -- Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- where the nominees are facing narrow contests with spreads well within the margins of error in several surveys.

Polls have now closed in each of the states, though only North Carolina has been called by The Associated Press.

Both candidates spent the final week before the election campaigning hard in swing states, with Harris visiting Pennsylvania for a series of rallies in multiple cities Monday. Trump spent the day there before a late-night rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

It is highly unlikely that major media organizations will declare a victor Tuesday night, as had been the norm up until 2020, due to the closeness of the races in the battleground states.