The contest to be president of the US takes place across 50 states (and the District of Columbia) but it is generally won or lost in a handful of battlegrounds.
With so much riding on perhaps as few as hundreds of thousands of voters in states like these, let’s look at where they are.
We will break down each state by how many Electoral College votes it awards (a candidate needs a total of 270 to win the presidency) how it voted in 2020 (election day was on 3 November 2020) and what time polls close (all times in eastern time).
Arizona – 11 Electoral College votes – voted Democrat in 2020
Once considered a Republican stronghold, changing demographics have seen Arizona increasingly return Democrat politicians in recent years.
The shift in voting patterns culminated in Joe Biden winning the state in 2020 – only the second Democrat presidential candidate in seven decades to do so.
Polls closed at 9pm (2am UK). In 2020, the Associated Press (AP) first reported results around 10pm (3am UK) and declared Mr Biden the winner at 2.51am (7.51am UK) the following day.
It was tight – he won by less than 13,000 votes – but the win was boosted by the Democrats taking both Senate seats in the state as well.
Polls closed at 7pm (12am UK). In 2020, AP first reported results at 7.20pm (12.20am UK) but it would be more than two weeks before Biden was declared the winner.
Image: Voters cast early ballots in Detroit, Michigan. Pic: Reuters
Michigan – 15 Electoral College votes – voted Democrat in 2020
A part of the key ‘Rust Belt’ group of states, Michigan is the home state of star Democrat governor Gretchen Whitmer.
The Great Lakes state was won by Mr Trump in 2016, the first Republican to do so for many years, but won by Mr Biden in 2020.
Polls closed by 9pm (2am UK). In 2020, AP first reported results around 8pm (1am UK) and declared Biden the winner around 6pm (11pm UK) the following day.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Nevada – six Electoral College votes – voted Democrat in 2020
Most of Nevada is rural, with the population predominantly concentrated in just two counties.
Polls closed by 10pm (3am UK). In 2020, AP first reported results around 11.40pm (4.40am UK) and declared Biden the winner on 7 November.
North Carolina – 16 Electoral College votes – voted Republican in 2020
North Carolina narrowly voted for Mr Trump over Mr Biden in 2020, with less than 100,000 votes in the contest in the state, whose population is more than 10 million.
It was one of the upsets of the 2020 election, with Mr Biden previously favoured to win the Tar Heel state.
Polls closed at 7.30pm (12.30am UK). In 2020, AP first reported results at 7.42pm (12.42am UK) and declared Mr Trump the winner on 13 November.
Image: Barack Obama speaks at a rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Pic: Reuters
Pennsylvania – 19 Electoral College votes – voted Democrat in 2020
Mr Biden’s home state is a battleground in the 2024 election, particularly given the substantial amount of Electoral College votes it assigns.
The populous state – part of the Rust Belt – is home to large cities including Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
Polls closed at 8pm (1am UK). In 2020, AP first reported results at 8.09pm (1.09am UK) and declared Biden the winner on 7 November.
Wisconsin – 10 Electoral College votes – voted Democrat in 2020
A close election last time round, Mr Biden won Wisconsin by around 20,000 votes. And it could be tight again.
It’s also one of the best predictors of the nationwide winner – Wisconsin has backed the winning candidate every year since 2008.
Polls closed at 9pm (2am UK). In 2020, AP first reported results at 9.07pm (2.07am UK) and declared Biden the winner at 2.16pm (7.16pm UK) the following day.
US President Donald Trump has revoked Secret Service protection for former vice president and 2024 Democratic rival Kamala Harris.
A senior adviser to Ms Harris, Kirsten Allen, confirmed the decision. “The vice president is grateful to the United States Secret Service for their professionalism, dedication, and unwavering commitment to safety,” said the adviser.
Typically, vice presidents receive a six-month security detail from the Secret Service after they leave office, although it had been extended to 18 months for Ms Harris, according to officials.
Initially, then-president Joe Biden extended her security arrangements to one year, or January 2026, according to reports.
However, a Secret Service official told Sky News’ US partner, NBC, that Mr Biden subsequently signed an executive memorandum in January increasing the then vice-president’s protection period even further, to 18 months.
Former US presidents receive Secret Service protection for life.
Revoking Harris’ federal protection will be deemed ‘malicious’ by Trump’s critics
We don’t know why the former vice president’s Secret Service protection has been revoked – the White House gave no explanation.
We do know why former president Joe Biden extended it from the usual six months to 18 months before he left office.
Such decisions tend to be based on advice from the Department of Homeland Security, determined by the perceived threat level.
Kamala Harris isn’t just a former vice president of the United States. She was the first woman and first African American to hold that office.
In addition to that, she was the Democratic candidate in last year’s election – the battle against Donald Trump raising her profile even higher.
By early 2025, she had plans for a book tour. Her memoir, 107 Days, marking the short period of her candidature, is due out next month.
Extending federal protection would have bolstered Ms Harris’ safety during extensive public appearances.
In short, the extension reflected heightened security needs – her symbolic status and increased visibility from upcoming public engagements.
But the White House has pulled her Secret Service security detail, a move that will be deemed malicious by the president’s critics.
Ms Harris, who lost the 2024 presidential election to Mr Trump, is due to start a book tour for her memoir, 107 Days, shortly.
She was the Democratic nominee for 107 days after Mr Biden exited the race in the weeks following a challenging debate against Mr Trump.
Mr Trump has also ended federal security protection for others, including former national security adviser John Bolton. Last week, FBI agents raided Mr Bolton’s Maryland home.
In March, the president ended protection for Mr Biden’s children, Hunter and Ashley Biden.
Ms Harris has not ruled out a possible presidential run in 2028. She announced in July that she would not run for governor of California in 2026.
Thailand’s prime minister has been sacked after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was Thailand’s youngest PM, has been dismissed from office by the country’s Constitutional Court after only a year in power.
The court found Ms Shinawatra, 39, violated ethics in a leaked June telephone call, during which she appeared to kowtow to Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen as the bordering countries were on the verge of an armed conflict.
She also criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.
Fighting erupted weeks later and lasted five days. At least 35 people were killed and more than 260,000 were displaced.
Ms Shinawatra, who was new to politics when she took office in August last year, apologised over the call and said she was trying to avert a war. She was suspended in July.
Image: Ms Shinawatra arriving at Government House in Bangkok ahead of the verdict on Friday. Pic: Reuters
She is now the fifth Thai PM from, or backed by, the billionaire Shinawatra family to be removed by the military or the judiciary in 17 years, amid a battle for power between the country’s warring elites.
The ruling thrusts Thailand into more political uncertainty at a time of public unease over stalled reforms and a stuttering economy.
The decline of Thailand’s most powerful political dynasty
This is a damning verdict for the Thai prime minister.
Paetongtarn Shinawatra said she “acted with the purest of intentions” and that she hoped for political unity.
But with one phone call, she has pushed Thailand to the brink of a political crisis.
It was a naive and explosive mistake. And it couldn’t have happened at a worse time.
Right now, the kingdom is facing massive insecurity.
Border tensions with Cambodia could erupt again at any point and it is just weeks since the two sides were exchanging fire.
Thailand needs strong and definite leadership. Instead, it now has months of jeopardy.
Paetongtarn is now the fifth leader to be removed from office by the constitutional court in just 17 years.
But her particular ouster is part of a much bigger story – the decline of Thailand’s most powerful political dynasty.
Last week, her father Thaksin was cleared of insulting the monarchy.
But he faces more court cases and the misstep by his daughter threatens to severely weaken their political domination as a family.
Pateongtarn crossed a red line for Thais – insulting the all-important military.
She clearly trusted “uncle” Hun Sen. She shouldn’t have.
His revenge leak has unseated her and her nation.
Now comes a messy grappling to fill the power vacuum she leaves behind.
Speaking after the court’s decision, the exiting PM said “all sides” in Thai politics now “have to work together to build political stability and to ensure that there won’t be another turning point again”.
The focus will now shift to who will replace Ms Shinawatra.
Her influential, billionaire father, Thaksin Shinawatra, who also once served as Thailand’s PM, is expected to be at the heart of a flurry of bargaining to keep the ruling Pheu Thai party in power.
Follow The World
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The leader of the main opposition People’s Party has called for the next prime minister to dissolve parliament once they are installed.
The deputy PM, Phumtham Wechayachai, and the current cabinet will act as government caretakers until a new leader is elected by parliament. There is no time limit on when that must take place.
The Russian president thinks he’s winning this war, and it’s hard to escape the conclusion that he’s using diplomacy to play for time while he carries on beating down the Ukrainians’ will to win.
And at the moment, no one is stopping him
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
4:40
At least 14 killed in Kyiv attack
Ukraineis hitting back, particularly at Russia‘s oil installations, more of them going up in thick black smoke, after being hit by long-range Ukrainian drones.
It is taking a heavy toll on Putin’s ‘Achilles heel’, but on its own, analysts don’t expect it will be enough to persuade him to end this war.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
2:00
British Council building hit in Kyiv
The West can wring its hands in condemnation.
But it’s divided between Europe that wants a ceasefire and much more severe sanctions, and Donald Trump, who, it seems, does not – strangely always willing to sympathise with the Russians more than Ukraine.
He’s back to blaming Ukraine for starting the war, saying earlier in the week that Kyiv should not have got into a war it had no chance of winning.
It is a grotesque perversion of history. Ukraine, of course, had no choice but to fight to defend itself when it was invaded in an act of unprovoked aggression.
Every time the US president has condemned Russia for these kinds of attacks, he has never followed through and done nothing to punish them.
Image: Rescue workers carry an injured woman after a Russian strike on Kyiv, Ukraine. Pic: AP
More worryingly for the Ukrainians, the Russians are getting the upper hand in the drones war, taking Iranian technology and souping it up into faster-moving drones that the Ukrainians are having increasing difficulty bringing down.
They expect as many as a thousand drones a night coming their way by the winter, and many, many more innocents to die.
A war that began as one man’s mad idea has, in three and a half years, metastasised into a titanic struggle between east and west, fought increasingly with machines in a dystopian evolution of war.
If Mr Trump is not prepared to use his power to bring this war to an end, what will another three and a half years of his presidency bring?