Voting has started in the United States of America to elect a new president who will lead the country for the next four years.
It is an election that is expected to either elect the first female president for the country or it will be the first time an outsider – a businessman – would become the leader of the world’s most powerful country.
Early voting closed on Friday and resumed again on Tuesday morning. Voting will end by 8PM.
Mrs Hillary Clinton of the Democratic Party is running against Mr Donald Trump who is the Republican presidential candidate.
In a tweet on her Twitter page, she urged voters to “go make some history today”.
She had cast her vote at a polling boot in New York alongside her husband.
“I know how much responsibility goes with this and so many people are counting on the outcome of this election, what it means for our country and I will do the very best I can if I am fortunate enough to win today,” she told reporters after she voted.
The atmosphere has been charged. From state to state, with voters showing their eagerness to elect a new president on this final day of voting in an election said to be different from any other in U.S. history.
Majorly, all eyes have been on the battleground states but the issues that have shaped this election are numerous.
Channels TV explains the uniqueness of the United States election and what the candidates will need to emerge victorious in the race.
“There are a lot of technicalities involved,” Channelstv said, particularly the role of the Electoral College in determining who the next US President is.
Over in Washington DC, the former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, secured the Democratic Party’s 2016 nomination for the White House on July 26, becoming the first woman to head the ticket of a major party in U.S. history.
After a tough battle with Democratic rival U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, delegates from South Dakota gave Clinton 15 votes, ensuring that she had more than the 2,383 votes needed to win the nomination during a state-by-state roll call at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia.
Donald Trump secured his Republican nomination earlier after vanquishing 16 party rivals.
The state-by-state vote to put Trump’s name in nomination took place a day after opponents staged a failed attempt to force a vote opposing his candidacy, and after a speech by his wife, Melania, drew accusations of plagiarism.
Trump’s campaign has been marked by frequent controversy over his rhetoric on Muslims, Hispanics, illegal immigration and trade, alarming many in the Republican establishment.
From allegations of sexual assault to gender insensitivity, Trump has had to deal with massive criticisms.
Clinton has also had her own issues to deal with but defending her use of a private email server for classified information when she was Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013 in the Obama administration has been her biggest challenge.
The FBI has exonerated Hillary Clinton of criminal conduct on her emails but Donald Trump has accused the agency of dishonesty.