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US set for final campaigning day US election: Obama and Romney push to the finish
(6 days later)
US presidential rivals Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have spent the day before the election visiting key swing states and making final pitches to voters.
US presidential rivals Barack Obama and Mitt Romney face a final sprint across swing states for undecided voters, on their last day of campaigning. Mr Romney went to Florida, where polls suggest he has the edge, and then to Virginia, New Hampshire and Ohio.
Mr Romney is in Florida, where polls suggest he has the edge, and will head to Virginia, New Hampshire and Ohio. Mr Obama appeared in Iowa, Wisconsin and Ohio, joined at rallies by Bruce Springsteen and rapper Jay-Z.
Mr Obama is scheduled to appear in Madison, Wisconsin, accompanied by Bruce Springsteen, before going on to Iowa and Ohio. The election will be decided in just a handful of states, with Ohio in particular seen as crucial to victory.
Analysts say the election will come down to a handful of swing states. President Obama closed his re-election campaign in Des Moines, Iowa - the city where his bid for the presidency began in early 2007.
Mr Obama and Mr Romney are running almost neck-and-neck in national polls. At a late-night rally, he told the crowd that Iowa had started "a movement that spread across the country".
But surveys of the nine-or-so battleground states that will determine the election show Mr Obama narrowly ahead. Mr Romney, meanwhile, was due to end his campaign with a late-night rally in New Hampshire but made the surprise announcement that he would extend campaigning into election day itself - visiting Ohio and Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
Mr Obama and Mr Romney are running almost neck-and-neck in national polls, in a campaign that has cost more than $2bn (£1.2bn).
But surveys of the nine or so battleground states that will determine the election show Mr Obama narrowly ahead.
On the stroke of midnight, the first votes were cast and quickly counted in the tiny village of Dixville Notch in New Hampshire. They resulted in a tie with five votes each for Mr Obama and Mr Romney.
Legal challengesLegal challenges
The campaign has been most intense in Ohio - no Republican has ever made it to the White House without winning that state. The race has been most intense in Ohio - no Republican has ever made it to the White House without winning there.
Mr Romney would become the first Mormon president of the US if he wins on Tuesday.Mr Romney would become the first Mormon president of the US if he wins on Tuesday.
The candidates spent Sunday addressing crowds across the country, with Mr Romney speaking in Pennsylvania, a state his aides insist he can now win on Tuesday. In Fairfax, Virginia just outside Washington DC, the former Massachusetts governor said the president had failed to make good on the promise of his 2008 campaign and it was time for a new direction.
Mr Obama held rallies in New Hampshire and Florida and carried on to Ohio and Colorado in the evening. "Look at the record," he exhorted supporters.
"Talk is cheap, but a record is real and it's earned with effort. When the president promised change, you can look and see what happened. Four years ago then-candidate Obama promised to do so very much but he's done so very little."
He summed up his pitch to voters: "Do you want four more years like the last four years? Or do you want real change?"
In Ohio, Bruce Springsteen and rapper Jay-Z helped warm up a crowd for Mr Obama before the president appeared.
"I've got a lot of fight left in me and I hope you do," Mr Obama told the rally, his voice hoarse from nearly non-stop campaigning.
"The folks at the very top in Washington don't need another champion. They'll always have a seat at the table. The people who need a champion are the people whose letters I read every day.
"We've come too far to turn back now. We've come too far to let our hearts grow faint."
Thirty million Americans have already cast their ballot through early voting across 34 states. In the 2008 presidential election, 130 million people voted.Thirty million Americans have already cast their ballot through early voting across 34 states. In the 2008 presidential election, 130 million people voted.
In Florida, Democrats have filed a legal case demanding an extension of time available for early voting, citing unprecedented demand. With the election expected to be decided by a razor-thin margin, both sides are readying teams of lawyers for legal fights.
In Ohio, Republican election officials will go to court on Monday to defend an 11th-hour directive to local election officials. Democrats in Florida have filed a legal case demanding an extension of time available for early voting, citing unprecedented demand after voters reportedly queued up for hours on Sunday,
Last month, a federal appeals court reinstated early voting on the last three days before Tuesday's election. In Ohio, Republican election officials were going to court on Monday to defend an 11th-hour directive to local election officials that tightens requirements needed for provisional ballots to be counted.
The ruling overturned a state law saying early voting should end on the Friday before the election, making an exception only for voters living overseas and for military personnel, who tend to favour Republican candidates. rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="/news/special/2012/newsspec_4259/css/index_fact_screen_v2.css"/>

Election Daily Diet

 5 November
Critics say this potentially favours the Obama camp. Washington Redskins predict Romney win
A href="http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/11/04/dispatch-poll-shows-ohio-a-toss-up.html" >final poll published on Sunday by Ohio's Columbus Dispatch newspaper gave Mr Obama a 2% lead - 50% to 48% - over his rival, within the margin of error. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20201749
Both candidates visited the Buckeye State on Sunday, with Mr Romney telling crowds in Cleveland that Mr Obama has failed in his pledge to be a "post-partisan" president and criticising his record. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed an order allowing residents to vote at any polling place, not just the one to which they had been assigned.
"He's been divisive, blaming, attacking, dividing and - by the way - it's not only Republicans that he refused to listen to, he also refused to listen to independent voices." The city and surrounding areas were devastated by super-storm Sandy last week. Many residents remain without power and many polling places were damaged.
Later on Sunday, he spoke in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, his first visit there in the final stages of the campaign.
"The people of America understand we're taking back the White House because we're going to win Pennsylvania," Mr Romney told the crowd in Morrisville.
Democrats say the Romney team's last-minute decision to campaign in the state is a sign of desperation, but polls do show a tightening race.
The Democrats have responded by sending former President Bill Clinton to campaign at several events in Pennsylvania for Mr Obama on Monday.
Mr Obama made another appearance in Cincinnati, Ohio, where Stevie Wonder opened a huge evening rally.
Earlier in the day at a rally in Concord, New Hampshire, Mr Obama said: "We have come too far to turn back now."
He said he would work across party lines to break the political gridlock in Washington, but would not compromise on priorities such as healthcare and college financial aid.
"It's now up to you," Mr Obama said in Concord, the state capital. "That's how a democracy works, right? That ultimately, it's up to you. You have the power. You are shaping the decisions for this country for decades to come. Right now. In the next two days."
Activists have been stepping up efforts across the crucial swing states.Activists have been stepping up efforts across the crucial swing states.
In Wisconsin, student volunteers have been putting in 14-hour days in an effort to deliver the state for Mr Obama, the BBC's Paul Adams reports from Madison.In Wisconsin, student volunteers have been putting in 14-hour days in an effort to deliver the state for Mr Obama, the BBC's Paul Adams reports from Madison.
An opinion poll on Sunday for ABC News and the Washington Post put the two candidates at 48%, with even voters who term themselves independents split evenly on 46%. The BBC News href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19415745" >average of national opinion polls shows Mr Obama heading into election day with a single-point lead among likely voters, 49% to 48%.
Mr Romney remains favoured among whites, seniors and evangelical Christians; Mr Obama among women, non-whites and young adults. Mr Romney remains favoured among whites, older people and evangelical Christians; Mr Obama among women, non-whites and young adults.
Opinion polls published on Saturday showed Mr Obama well-placed in Iowa, Nevada and Ohio, but most remain within the surveys' own margins of error. In the crucial swing state of Ohio, a RealClearPolitics.com average of polls shows Mr Obama leading Mr Romney 49.6% to 46.6%.
The election is decided by the electoral college. Each state is given a number of votes based on a mix of population and representation in Congress. The candidate who wins 270 electoral college votes becomes president. The election is decided by the electoral college. Each state is given a number of electoral votes in rough proportion to its population. The candidate who wins 270 electoral votes becomes president.
A handful of governors, the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate are also up for election on Tuesday.A handful of governors, the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate are also up for election on Tuesday.
Republicans are expected to keep control of the House, while Democrats were tipped to remain in sway of the Senate. Republicans are expected to keep control of the House, while Democrats were tipped to do the same in the Senate.
The BBC will be providing full online live results of the US presidential election on 6 November. More details here The BBC will be providing full online live results of the US presidential election on 6 November. More details here
Are you a voter in one of the swing states? Send us your comments on the election campaign using the form below.Are you a voter in one of the swing states? Send us your comments on the election campaign using the form below.