Donald Trump has made accusations of "massive cheating" as voters were still heading out to the polls across the US.
The Republican candidate wrote on social media: "A lot of talk about massive CHEATING in Philadelphia,..Law Enforcement coming!!!"
The comments earned a sharp rebuke from City Commissioner of Philadelphia Seth Bluestein, a Republican.
He wrote: "There is absolutely no truth to this allegation...It is yet another example of disinformation. Voting in Philadelphia has been safe and secure."
Donald Trump claimed there's 'cheating' going on
Reuters
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Bluestein said he was in "regular contact" with the Republican National Committee and was "responsive to every report of irregularities at the polls."
Trump then seemingly doubled down on his claim, citing problems in Detroit, Michigan, as well. He wrote: "Philadelphia and Detroit! Heavy Law Enforcement is there!!!"
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner also responded immediately to Trump's claim in a statement. He said: "There is no factual basis whatsoever within law enforcement to support this wild allegation."
He added that he was monitoring the election, inviting people to submit any concerns or complaints about the election process, saying: "If Donald J. Trump has any facts to support his wild allegations, we want them now...right now. We are not holding our breath."
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Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner slammed Trump's claims
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The contest expected to come down to seven key swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Opinion polls showed the rivals neck and neck in all seven going into Election Day.
Trump, whose supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, after he claimed the 2020 election was rigged, voted earlier near his home in Palm Beach, Florida.
"If I lose an election, if it's a fair election, I'm gonna be the first one to acknowledge it," Trump told reporters.
His campaign has suggested he may declare victory on election night even while millions of ballots have yet to be counted, as he did four years ago. The winner may not be known for days if the margins in battleground states are as slim as expected.
Trump said he would 'accept' defeat if it was a 'fair election'
Reuters
Millions of Americans waited in orderly lines to cast ballots, with only sporadic disruptions reported across a handful of states, including several non-credible bomb threats that the FBI said appeared to originate from Russian email domains.
Trump was watching the results at his Mar-a-Lago club before speaking to supporters at a nearby convention center, according to sources familiar with the planning. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a prominent Trump backer, said he would watch the results at Mar-a-Lago with Trump.
Trump attended a morning meeting about turnout but appeared bored by the data talk, according to one source briefed on the meeting. All Trump wanted to know, the source said, was: "Am I going to win?"
Harris, who had previously mailed her ballot to her home state of California, spent some of Tuesday in radio interviews encouraging listeners to vote. Later, she was due to address students at Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington where Harris was an undergraduate.
