By Steve Peoples, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Election Day is approaching. In a matter of hours, the final votes in the 2024 presidential election will be cast.

In a deeply divided nation, the elections are a true face-to-face between Democrats and Kamala Harris and republican donald trump.

we know there is seven states in battle That will decide the result, barring a major surprise. But major questions remain about the timing of the results, the makeup of the electorate, the influx of misinformation and even the potential for political violence. At the same time, both sides are braced for a protracted legal battle that could further complicate matters.

Here’s what to watch ahead of Election Day 2024:

History will be made either way

Given all the twists and turns of the past few months, it’s easy to overlook the historical significance of this election.

Harris would become the first female president in the 248-year history of the United States. She would also be the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to hold the position. Harris and her campaign have largely downplayed gender and race for fear of alienating some of her supporters. But the importance of a Harris victory would not go unnoticed by historians.

A Trump victory would represent a different kind of historic achievement. He would become the first person convicted of a serious crime to be elected to the presidency of the United States, after having been convicted of 34 serious crimes in a hush money case in New York a little over five months ago.

Trump, who still faces felony charges In at least two separate criminal cases, he argued that he is a victim of a politicized justice system. And tens of millions of voters apparently believe him, or are willing to overlook his extraordinary legal baggage.

How long will it take to know the winner?

Election Day in the United States is now often considered election week, as each state follows its own rules and practices for counting votes (not to mention legal challenges) that can delay results. But the truth is that no one knows how long it will be until the winner is announced this time.

In 2020, The Associated Press declared President Joe Biden was the winner on Saturday afternoon, four days after the polls closed. But even then, the AP picked North Carolina for Trump 10 days after Election Day and Georgia for Biden 16 days later, after hand recounts.

Four years earlier, the 2016 election was decided just hours after most polls closed. The AP declared Trump the winner on election night at 2:29 a.m. (technically it was Wednesday morning on the East Coast).

This time, both campaigns believe the race is extremely close in the seven swing states expected to decide the election, barring one big surprise: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The size of the map and the closeness of the race make it difficult to predict when a winner might be declared.

Where can I find early clues about how the contest might play out?

Let’s look at two battleground states on the East Coast, North Carolina and Georgia, where results could come relatively quickly. That doesn’t mean we’ll get final results in those states quickly if the results are close, but they are the first swing states that could offer a glimpse of what kind of night we’re in for.

To dig deeper, look at the urban and suburban areas of the industrial north and southeast, where Democrats have made gains since 2020.

In North Carolina, Harris’ margins in Wake and Mecklenburg counties, home to the state capital, Raleigh, and the state’s largest city, Charlotte, respectively, will reveal how much Trump will need to squeeze out less populated rural areas. that has dominated. .

In Pennsylvania, Harris needs a big turnout in deep blue Philadelphia, but she is also looking to increase Democrats’ lead in the arc of suburban counties north and west of the city. He has campaigned aggressively in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties, where Biden improved on Clinton’s margins of victory in 2016. The Philadelphia metropolitan area, including the four collar counties, accounts for 43 percent of the Pennsylvania vote .

Elsewhere on the Blue Wall, Trump needs to curb Democratic growth in key suburban Michigan counties outside Detroit, especially Oakland County. He faces the same challenge in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, outside Milwaukee.

Where are the candidates?

Trump is likely to spend the early hours of Election Day in Michigan, where he plans to hold a final nighttime rally in Grand Rapids, as has become his tradition.

The Republican candidate plans to spend the rest of the day in Florida, where he is expected to vote in person, despite previously saying he would vote early. He plans to hold a campaign viewing party in Palm Beach on Tuesday night.

Harris plans to attend an election night party at Howard University in Washington, a historically black university where she graduated with degrees in economics and political science in 1986 and was an active member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Aside from Howard, he has not announced any public schedule for Election Day.

Harris said Sunday that she “just completed” her mail-in ballot and was “on her way to California.”

Who is left to show up on election day?

Ahead of Election Day, it is unclear which voters will show up to cast their ballots on Tuesday.

More than 77 million people participated in early voting, either in person or by mail. So many people have already voted that some officials say polls in states like Georgia could be a “ghost town” on election day.