UPDATE 3 PM: Pennsylvania called for Trump, handing him a total of 266 electoral votes. The race is all but over with Trum maintaining comfortable leads in Michigan and Wisconsin. Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta addresses Democrat crowds in New York and asks them to 'go home'.
-- Hillary Clinton will not speak to supporters tonight and Podesta says the more updates will follow in the day.
UPDATE 1.30 PM: Hillary Clinton WINS Nevada, which has six electoral votes.
UPDATE 1.15 PM: With the Presidential race all but sealed, the Republicans will also hold on to their majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate as well. The latest projections show they are holding on to the near-60 seat majority in the House of Representatives.
UPDATE 12 NOON: TV networks call Florida and North Carolina for Donald Trump. Now Clinton's best chances to win tonight depend on three large battleground states - Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin .
UPDATE 11.30 AM: Tight race in several battleground states such as Florida, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Trump leads Clinton among white voters in Florida counties. Trump also leads in New Hampshire and North Carolina. Clinton takes lead in Pennsylvania. Results in Michgan becomes crucial as Trump wins neighbouring Ohio,
UPDATE 11 AM: Donald Trump wins Ohio, according to TV networks. This is a big win for the Republicans tonight as the battleground state hands 18 crucial electoral vctes to Trump.
UPDATE 9.50 am: Trump clings on to lifeline Florida lead -- his lead there remains substantial. A win in Florida critical for Trump, but not so for Clinton.
-- Clinton wins Rhode Island as per network projections.
UPDATE 9.20 am: Trump wins Tennessee, S Carolina, Clinton sweeps East Coast strongholds, Florida close to call
UPDATE 9.15 AM: Trump projected to win South Carolina, Republican Marco Rudio wins Senate re-election in Florida.
UPDATE 9.10 AM - Clinton sweeps through Blue strongholds Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware and the DC
UPDATE 8.40 AM: Polls close in North Carolina and Ohio
UPDATE 8.35 AM: Early signs fom counting in key state of Florida shows Clinton ahead comfortably in Orange County while Trump leads in Tampa Bay.
-- West Virginia goes to Trump
UPDATE 8.15 AM: AP calls Kentucky and Indiana for Trump; Clinton wins Vermont. Pretty much on expected lines.
-- Also, incumbent Democrat senator Patrick Leahy wins in Vermont while Senator Rand Paul has been re-elected in Kentucky.
-- And polls close in three other states – Florida, South Carolina and New Hampshire. Interesting to watch what networks say for Florida.
UPDATE 7.55 AM: Democrats in New Hampshire file motion to extend voting hours in Dover. They say email was sent to as many as 250 residents with incorrect information about poll closing time.
UPDATE 7.50 AM SINGAPORE: A key exit poll says the majority of voters last night disapprove of the way the federal government woks. That's quite portentous in this leection, with Donald Trump pitchng himself as a total outsider to a corrupt system. Have to wait to see if that ominous suggestion in the preliminary results of an exit poll conducted for Associated Press is a sign of bigger bad news for Hillary Clinton.
-- Earlier reports said Trump leads Clinton in Indiana and Kentucky as per initial exit polls. That's however, not a significant lead on how this election is going to turn as these are traditional Republican 'Red States'.
The divisive and rancorous US presidential election 2016 has entered its last Act, with the electorate starting midnight ballot casting on the east coast. The result will make history -- it will be the first woman president in Democrat Hillary Clinton or the first business/entertainment in Republican Donald Trump, to assume the highest office in the land.
A deeply polarized and emotionally strained nation is looking at sewing up the election baggage that bursts at seams with anger, frustration, disbelief and even a seminal impulse to challenge a negative verdict. Observers say whoever collects 270 electoral college votes, the real winner will be the negative votes -- Almost 60 percent of the electorate are displeased with both the candidates.
And the world is watching with baited breath. A US presidential election definitely has consequences for everyone on earth. But this time they also follow the election for the salacious side dishes it has generated.
Here's a summary of things that people in Singapore and Southeast Asia must know as November 8 election results start unfurling.
When will first results come in if you are in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand?
Singapore:
If you are in Singapore, the first strands of the results will be up for those in Singapore at around 8am. The first exit polls will be available at 7pm ET, which is 8 am SGT, November 9, Wenesday.
As the polls close at each state, the exit polls will be released giving a clear indication about where the results lean. This is especially important for the crucial swing states of Ohio, Arizona, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire and North Carolina.
The next four hours will see the most intense and anxious moments of the US election 2016 -- results from various states will be called in favour or against the leading republican and Democrat candidates by the major US TV networks. By the time Singaporeans amble around for the morning cuppa, the TV networks, campaign teams and the pundits will have made their own calls for or against Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.
By 12 noon GST, the winner of US presidential election 2016 will have been known for all you know -- if not officially called by a prominent network, or claimed or conceded by the candidates themselves.
In Malaysia-Kula Lumpur and Brunei when do you get to kn ow the US election 2016 result?
The exit poll results in the US presidential election 2016 will start coming in at 8 am local time for Malaysians. Stay glued to the TV for the next four hours to watch where the unpredictably close election swings. By 12 noon local time in Malaysia you will probably know if it's going to be Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump who will take the White House for the next four years.
In Thailand-Bangkok, at what you can get US election results on Nov 9:
In Thailand, the early signs of the US election results can be watched online by 8 am in the morning when the exit poll results start turning in. The actual results on how the 50 US states have voted will be trickling throughout the next four hours, you will get a clear idea about the winner by around noon local time.
IN Jakarta-Indonesia when do you get early election results?
Like in Bangkok, you will have to get up and stay tuned to TV networks from 9 am local time to get the earliest strands of the US election results on November 9. The election could be called for either candidates by a little after noon.
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia what's the earliest time you can know US election results?
People in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia can watch the earliest results at 9 am local time when the US states open exit polls, Full results will arrive in the next four hours.
Which results are crucial and which states should you watch closely?
The US presidential elections are decided in the swing states or the battleground states. These are the states that you should watch keenly to find which way this election will go. The states highly in play this year are Florida which has 29 electoral college votes, Ohio with 18 votes, North Carolina with 15 electoral college votes, and Arizona with 11 votes. Virginia, New Hampshire etc are in play as well this time.
When do you get early results in the key battleground states?
In southeast Asia, you must be tuned in by 23:00 EST or 04:00 GMT or 7 am SGT.
Here are the some of the key states where Counting begins at around 8 am SGT:
Virginia, Goergia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina and Vermont. Among these what must be watched keenly is the early lead status from Virginia. This is a key battleground state in 2016 but in 2012 Barack Obama won here. If Virginia goes to Donald Trump, that will set off grim, tense moments in the Democratic camp.
8.30 am Singapore time.
Around this time polls will be closed in at least two more key battleground states and the counting begins. These are Ohio with 18 electoral college seats and North Carolina which has 15 seats. The Midwestern states are mostly too close to call in any tight presidential race but you must specially watch Ohio as it has the burden of history. Since the World War II, in all but one election, the winning candidate carried Ohio. So stay tuned to for the exit polls and early lead status in Ohio.
9.am SGT:
Around this time most of the New England states will close polls and the counting will begin here. However, the east coast is a traditional Democratic turf and you can't expect many surprises in states like Maine (4), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (11), New Jersey (14), Rhode Island (4), Delaware (3), Connecticut (7) and the District of Columbia (3).
Polls close and counting begins in the supremely important battle ground state of Florida around this time as well. The hotly contested state, which was at the centre of a long drawn post election lawsuit between George W Bush and Al Gore in 200, has crucial 29 electoral college votes as well. So watch especially for the exit poll results in Florida. For Donald Trump camp, a loss of lead, and eventual loss in Florida will signal defeat in this high stakes election of 2016.
Pennsylvania (20) and New Hampshire (4) are also key swing states this time round and you will get early leads from these states around this time.
9.30 am Singapore time:
A clutch of key Republican states will start courting around this time. These are Mississippi (6), Missouri (10), Alabama (9), Tennessee (11) and Oklahoma (7), Illinois (20) and Arkansas.
10 am Singapore time:
The bunch of states that follow next to the counting table now include the all important battleground state of Texas. Also Results from other states like Kansas (6), Louisiana (8), North Dakota (3), South Dakota (3), Minnesota (10), Wyoming (3), Nebraska (5), Colorado and Michigan will also start trickling in.
10.30 Singapore Time:
Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Iowa, Montana will start counting the votes. Arizona is a key swing state in the election 2016, Interestingly Bill Clinton was the last Democrat to have won Arizona in 1996.
11 am Singapore time:
Around day break in Singapore, the results from the mighty Democrat stronghold of California will start coming in. California is decidedly liberal and Democrat, and it carries the prize catch of a humongous 55 electoral college seats that Hillary Clinton has all but bagged this time.
Trump clings on to lifeline Florida lead, Clinton adds Rhode Island
