A man votes on Nov. 5, in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.John Tully/Getty Images
Nearly three-quarters of voters in Tuesday’s presidential election believe American democracy is under threat, according to national exit poll data from Edison Research, reflecting the deep anxiety that the nation faces after a contentious campaign between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.
Democracy and the economy ranked by far as the most important issues for voters, followed by abortion and immigration, the data showed. The poll showed 73% of voters believed democracy was in jeopardy, against just 25% who said it was secure.
The figures reflect just a slice of the tens of millions of people who have voted, both before and on Election Day, and the preliminary results are subject to change through the course of the night as more people are surveyed.
The two rivals were hurtling toward an uncertain finish after a dizzying campaign as millions of American voters waited in calm, orderly lines on Tuesday to choose between two sharply different visions for the country.
A race churned by unprecedented events – two assassination attempts against Trump, President Joe Biden’s surprise withdrawal and Harris’ rapid rise – remained neck and neck after billions of dollars in spending and months of frenetic campaigning.
Trump, who has frequently spread false claims that he won the 2020 presidential election against Biden and whose supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, voted near his home in Palm Beach, Florida.
“If I lose an election, if it’s a fair election, I’m gonna be the first one to acknowledge it,” Trump told reporters.
Harris, who had earlier sent in her ballot by mail to her home state of California, spent some of Tuesday in radio interviews encouraging listeners to vote. Later, she was due to address students Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington where Harris was an undergraduate.
“To go back tonight to Howard University, my beloved alma mater, and be able to hopefully recognize this day for what it is is really full circle for me,” Harris said on a radio interview.
National exit-poll results provide an important window into the thinking of the nation, but may not directly align with the seven battleground states expected to decide the presidential election.
Exit polls capture variations among turnout in various demographic groups, such as men vs women voters or college-educated vs non-college educated voters, and can provide insights into how turnout has changed from past elections.
One key advantage of exit polls is all the people surveyed, by definition, are people who cast ballots in this election.
Opinion polls before the election showed the candidates running neck and neck in each of the seven states likely to determine the winner: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
No matter who wins, history will be made.
In the heart of northern New Hampshire, the small town of Dixville Notch kicked off the U.S. Election Day with its traditional midnight vote early Nov. 5, with a divided ballot for the president between its six residents a reflection of just how tight the race is this time.
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Harris, 60, the first female vice president, would become the first woman, Black woman and South Asian American to win the presidency. Trump, 78, the only president to be impeached twice and the first former president to be criminally convicted, would also become the first president to win non-consecutive terms in more than a century.
The contest reflects a deeply polarized nation whose divisions have only grown starker during a fiercely competitive race. Trump has employed increasingly dark and apocalyptic rhetoric on the campaign trail. Harris has urged Americans to come together, warning that a second Trump term would threaten the underpinnings of American democracy.
Control of both chambers of Congress is also up for grabs. Republicans have an easier path in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats are defending several seats in Republican-leaning states, while the House of Representatives looks like a toss-up.
During the campaign, Trump hammered first Biden and then Harris for their handling of the economy, which polls show is at the top of voters’ concerns despite low unemployment and cooling inflation. But he showed a characteristic inability to stay on message, at one point questioning Harris’ Black identity and vowing to protect women “whether they like it or not.”
Even more than in 2016 and 2020, Trump has demonized immigrants who crossed the border illegally, falsely accusing them of fomenting a violent crime wave, and he has vowed to use the government to prosecute his political rivals.
Harris has sought to piece together a broader coalition of liberal Democrats, independents and disaffected moderate Republicans, describing Trump as too dangerous to elect.
She campaigned on protecting reproductive rights, an issue that has galvanized women since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 eliminated a nationwide right to abortion.
Harris has faced anger from many pro-Palestinian voters over the Biden administration’s military and financial support for Israel’s campaign in Gaza. While she has not previewed a shift in U.S. policy, she has said she will do everything possible to end the conflict.
After Biden, 81, withdrew amid concerns about his age and mental ability, Harris sought to turn the tables on Trump, pointing to his rambling rallies as evidence he is unfit, and has tried to court young voters, seen as a critical voting bloc.
Trump countered the likes of Harris supporters Taylor Swift and Beyoncé with Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who played an increasingly visible role as a surrogate and a top donor to Trump’s cause. Musk was expected to spend Tuesday night with Trump at the former president’s home in Florida.
Tuesday’s vote follows one of the most turbulent half-years in modern American politics.
In May, a New York jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records to hide hush money payments to a porn star. Four weeks later, Trump and Biden met for their only debate, where the incumbent president delivered a disastrous performance that supercharged voters’ existing concerns about his mental acuity.
In July, Trump narrowly escaped a would-be assassin’s bullet at a Pennsylvania rally. Barely a week later, Biden exited the race.