Polls open as Americans vote to elect next president

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) – Millions of Americans in the eastern U.S. began voting for the country's next president early Tuesday.

Roughly 90 million Americans are expected to vote in addition to millions of others who voted early.

Polls will open in waves moving west across the United States as local times reach either 6 a.m. or 7 a.m. depending on state regulations. Voting will end on a state-by-state basis anywhere from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time in each state.

Going in to Election Day, most polls have Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton leading Republican Donald Trump by a narrow three- to five-point margin.

But two early polls Tuesday showed Trump leading Clinton by two and three points respectively, highlighting uncertainty heading into the election’s final hours.

The election has been one of the most divisive on record with backers of either major party nominee steadfastly defending their choice.

In the Eastern Market neighborhood of Washington, D.C., Laura Babinski, a 29-year-old resident of the nation’s capital said she voted for Clinton because she is “excited to see the first woman president.

“Beyond that I respect her and the work she's done throughout her life and I like her policies," she told Anadolu Agency.

For Max Charnley, also a 29-year-old district resident, his support for the Democratic nominee was personal.

"I feel like she represents my interests as a person of the LGBT community, as well as a person who values immigrants in this country,” he said. “I find that kind of acceptance and tolerance is an important choice in who is elected president."

Initial results will begin rolling in Tuesday evening as Americans across the country prepare to find out who will sit in the nation's highest office for the next four years.