Good morning, NBC News readers.
We made it. It's Election Day.
If you still haven't cast your ballot, here's our state-by-state guide on how to vote.
Here's what we're watching on this first Tuesday in November.
Trump and Biden try to rally voters in final battleground blitz
President Donald Trump and the Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden spent the frenetic final day of the 2020 campaign with rallies in key battleground states.
With nearly 100 million early votes already cast, Trump used his multiple rallies to air grievances against Democrats, Twitter and the Supreme Court while Biden called for an end to "the chaos, the tweets, the anger, the hate."
"Go out and vote — unless you are going to vote for somebody other than me, in which case, sit it out," Trump told a crowd of thousands on an airport tarmac in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
"My message is simple: the power to change the country is in your hands," Biden said at a drive-in rally in Cleveland, prompting the blaring of car horns. "The president doesn’t determine who gets to vote, the voters determine who gets to be the president."
It's now "white knuckle" time for Trump and Biden, NBC News' senior political analyst Jonathan Allen writes in a news analysis. And whether or not the outcome is clear by the time Tuesday ends, the final day of voting is a culmination of four years of political, social and cultural chaos that has further divided an already polarized nation.
Pennsylvania voting issues: 5 things to watch on Election Day
The pressure is on in the all-important battleground state of Pennsylvania where voters, as well as party and state officials, are anxiously preparing for what could be Election Week there.
The state last fall overhauled its election laws, the first major changes in about 80 years. But the new rules, combined with uncertainty over the Covid-19 pandemic and legal issues over mail-in voting, paint an uncertain picture of how the week could unfold.
From mail-in ballot processing to issues with "naked ballots," here are five things to keep an eye on in the Keystone State.
Court decisions regarding early voting continue to roll in. A federal court again refused Texas Republicans' efforts to toss 127,000 drive-thru ballots on Monday.
Harris County, the third most populous in the country, set up drive-thru voting booths during the pandemic; state Republicans have argued it's illegal. A federal judge rejected that argument.
Voters are engaged and confident heading into the election: How to follow the results
Some good news about the election: Voters are engaged.
As of Monday evening, nearly 97 million Americans had already cast their ballots, according to data from the NBC News Decision Desk/Target Smart, a Democratic political data firm. The Decision Desk projects that number could approach 100 million by Tuesday.
That early vote number represents roughly 71 percent of the total vote cast in all of 2016, when approximately 136.5 million ballots were counted.
And heading into Election Day, 50 percent of adults are confident that the election will be conducted in a fair and equal way, according to new data from the NBC News|SurveyMonkey Weekly Tracking Poll.
How can you stay on top of the election today, and in the coming days and weeks?
- Follow our live blog for all the latest twists and turns today.
- Presidential results: See the state of play as the national results come in here.
- Track the latest exit polls here.
- See the Senate and House results come in on our interactive maps.
- Watch special coverage on NBC News, MSNBC and NBCNews Now throughout the day and this evening.
But, we're still in a 'triple pandemic' of stress
The White House has been fortified, the National Guard has been called out, and gun sales are surging.
As Americans head to the polls for a momentous election, the country holds its breath in anticipation of what some fear could be a potential breakdown of law and order or democracy depending on what happens Tuesday, writes NBC News' Alex Seitz-Wald.
The election is coinciding with a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases and cooling weather, which will make it harder for people to see family and friends, and it follows months of racial reckoning. Psychologists are calling it a "triple pandemic" of stress — the virus, the election and racial reckoning — especially for people of color.
"All three of these things are melding together and producing a synergistic sense of dread and isolation," said Stephen Stein, a practicing psychologist who is past president of the D.C. Psychological Association.
So probably the only good news there is: You're not alone.
Our friends at Better have suggested these three breathing techniques to ease your anxiety during these stressful times. Not sure that will help, but we're trying...
Video: Millions of Americans are suffering from 'election stress disorder'
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Plus
- Obama spent the homestretch on the campaign trail — and in Trump's head.
- Four people are dead and at least 14 severely injured after a suspected terror attack in Vienna.
- More than 61,000 children in the U.S. were diagnosed with Covid-19 last week — a record since the start of the pandemic.
- Cries of joy greeted a Turkish toddler found alive 91 hours after an earthquake flattened parts of the city of Izmir.
THINK about it
Trump's 2020 threats are a reminder that Election Day is not the end of the election, Steve Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law,writes in an opinion piece.
Live BETTER
Don’t let cold weather — or the pandemic — keep you from socializing this winter. Here are six fun, socially-distant ways to stay connected.
Shopping
How to take advantage of early Black Friday and holiday sales this November.
One fun thing
Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, voters maintained their "First in the Nation" voting tradition at midnight on Election Day despite Covid-19.
The community's five voters produced a clean sweep for one of the presidential candidates.
Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown.
If you have any comments — likes, dislikes — send me an email at: petra@nbcuni.com
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Thanks, Petra
