Hillary Clinton in the lead against Donald Trump as New Hampshire village of Dixville Notch takes to the polls
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton inched ahead in the fight for the White House this morning within minutes of Americans taking to the polls in the Presidential election.
Clinton swept to victory against her Republican rival Donald Trump in the village of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, where eight voters cast their ballots.
While Clinton took four votes, Trump gained support from two local residents, and Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and Republican Mitt Romney both gained one vote.
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The village opened polls slightly after midnight and the residents' votes were cast within minutes.
Polls across America are due to open at 10.30am UK time and will mostly close around midnight, though some of the latest close at around 3am GMT.
An hour later, at about 4am GMT, is when the election result is first expected to be declared either way.
Expectations of a Clinton win have buoyed stock markets across the world since Sunday, when the FBI announced it had found no evidence that criminal charges should be brought against her following a reopened investigation into her emails while serving as secretary of state.
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A poll by the Economist and YouGov released this morning showed Clinton ahead of her Republican rival Donald Trump by four percentage points.
The survey of 3,677 likely voters was conducted from Friday to Monday and showed Clinton had 45 per cent of voters' support, while billionaire tycoon-turned-politician Trump trailed slightly behind with 41 per cent in a four-way race.