Washington. Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris secured early wins in reliably Republican and Democratic states, respectively, as Americans cast ballots in a stark choice for the nation's future Tuesday.

Polls closed in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, and North Carolina — six of the seven hotly contested battlegrounds likely to decide the election — but results there were too early to call. Voting continued in Nevada and other western states, adding to the 84 million ballots already cast early by voters choosing between two candidates with sharply contrasting visions and temperaments.

Trump won Florida, a former battleground that has leaned increasingly Republican in recent elections. He also notched early wins in GOP strongholds like Texas, South Carolina, and Indiana, while Harris claimed Democratic bastions including New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois.

The fate of democracy was a primary concern for many Harris supporters, suggesting that her persistent warnings about Trump’s “fascism” in the campaign’s closing days resonated, according to AP VoteCast. The extensive survey of more than 110,000 voters found a country grappling with negativity and eager for change. Immigration and inflation remained core issues for Trump supporters, with the former president repeatedly spotlighting these topics from the start of his campaign.

While most voters encountered smooth voting on Election Day, there were isolated reports of long lines, technical glitches, and ballot-printing errors.

Harris has pledged to collaborate across party lines to address economic concerns without veering too far from the course set by President Joe Biden. Trump, in contrast, has vowed to replace thousands of federal workers with loyalists, impose sweeping tariffs on allies and adversaries alike, and carry out the largest deportation operation in US history.

Both candidates entered Election Day focused on seven swing states, five of which Trump won in 2016 before they flipped to Biden in 2020: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Georgia. Nevada and North Carolina, which Democrats and Republicans carried in recent elections, were also highly competitive.

Trump voted in Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago estate, and later called into a Wisconsin radio station, saying, "I'm watching these results. So far, so good."

Meanwhile, Harris, who did phone interviews with radio stations in battleground states, visited Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington carrying a box of Doritos — her preferred snack. “This truly represents the best of who we are,” she told cheering staffers. She briefly took calls to voters herself and told reporters, “Gotta talk to voters.”

With a tight race and numerous states in play, the likelihood increased that the winner might not be known on election night. Trump said he had no plans to ask his supporters to refrain from violence if Harris won, describing them as “not violent people.” When asked if he would accept the 2024 election results, he said, “If it’s a fair election, I’d be the first to acknowledge it.” He visited a campaign office to thank staffers before a party at a nearby convention center.

Harris planned to attend a gathering at Howard University, her alma mater, in Washington after her DNC visit.

Federal, state, and local officials expressed confidence in the integrity of the election process but prepared for unprecedented levels of foreign disinformation, especially from Russia and Iran, and the potential for physical or cyber disruptions.

In Georgia’s Fulton County, home to most of Atlanta, 32 polling locations received bomb threats Tuesday, prompting brief evacuations at five sites, said Police Chief W. Wade Yates. The threats were deemed non-credible, but voting hours were extended at those locations. Similar threats also extended voting in Pennsylvania’s Clearfield and Chester counties.

Both campaigns readied teams of lawyers for potential legal challenges, and law enforcement agencies nationwide were on high alert for any violence.

If elected, Harris, 60, would be the first woman, Black woman, and person of South Asian descent to serve as president. She would also be the first sitting vice president to ascend to the presidency in 36 years. Trump, 78, would become the oldest president ever elected, the first defeated president in 132 years to return to office, and the first person with a felony conviction to assume the Oval Office. He survived one assassination attempt by inches during a rally in July; a second attempt was thwarted by Secret Service agents in September.

Harris has frequently labeled Trump a “fascist,” attributing the rollback of women’s rights to the justices he nominated, who helped overturn Roe v. Wade. In the final campaign hours, she avoided mentioning his name, seeking to strike a more positive tone.

Voters were also deciding thousands of other races, including control of Congress and state ballot measures on abortion rights. In Florida, a proposed measure to protect abortion access in the state constitution failed, the first such measure to falter since Roe’s reversal. Earlier Tuesday, Trump declined to reveal how he voted on the issue, rebuffing a reporter by saying, “You should stop talking about that.”

In reliably Democratic states like New York and Maryland, voters approved constitutional amendments protecting abortion rights.

JD Jorgensen, an independent voter from Black Mountain, North Carolina, which was recently struck by Hurricane Helene, expressed impatience with undecided voters. “If you’re on the fence, you hadn’t really been paying attention,” said Jorgensen, 35.

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