Polling stations have opened in a number of states across the United States, with the votes deciding not only who the country’s next president will be but also the makeup of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Election Day on Tuesday is the culmination of weeks of early voting in some locations. Several states began early voting – whether by mail or in person – as far back as September.

Nearly 81 million voters already cast their ballots before Election Day, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab.

Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican rival Donald Trump are going head-to-head in a race that remains too close to call.

Whatever the outcome, the result will define US politics and policy for the next four years. It will also be historic as voters will either elect the first female president in Harris or the first convicted felon in Trump.

The vote will also ultimately reveal the full extent of the changing demographics of the US electorate.

The first voting site technically opened just after Monday at midnight Eastern Time (05:00 GMT Tuesday) in the tiny New Hampshire town of Dixville Notch.

Once the polls close in the evening, the results may take hours or days to be tabulated. States cannot begin reporting their vote counts until polls close.