The state of democracy, the shape of the economy and abortion are the most important issues for American voters in the US presidential election, according to the first wave of exit polls.

Almost six in 10 people ranked the state of democracy as their number one issue, according to polls released by CBS News.

It was followed by abortion as five per cent of the voters felt it was an important issue for them. Over one in 10 chose the economy as a priority issue.

Millions of Americans voted to elect the 47th President between Republican leader Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in an election billed as one of the most consequential contests for the White House in decades.

An exit poll by CNN said roughly three-quarters of the electorate holds a negative view of the way things are going in the US today.

Only about one-quarter call themselves enthusiastic or satisfied with the state of the nation, with more than four in 10 dissatisfied and roughly three in 10 saying they are angry, according to the poll.

Voters remain generally optimistic, with more than 6 in 10 saying that America’s best days are in the future, and only about one-third said that they’re already in the past, the CNN poll found.

It said President Joe Biden’s approval rating is sliding nationally with about 4 in 10 voters saying they approve of his job performance and a majority disapproving.

The race between Harris and Trump remained stubbornly deadlocked for weeks with some of the election forecasters giving 60-year-old Vice President Harris an edge over former President Trump, 78, in some of the key battleground states like Pennsylvania. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Donald Trump sought to undermine Tuesday the credibility of voting in the biggest city of must-win Pennsylvania, a soundly Democratic area that was part of the ex-president’s unsupported 2020 fraud claims.

Amid reports of exceptionally high voter turnout in Philadelphia, Trump said there was “a lot of talk about massive cheating” in the city, as an official promptly denied the claim, calling it “yet another example of disinformation.”

“Law enforcement coming!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

He provided no evidence to support his claim made as Americans voted in a tense election that polls have suggested is effectively tied between Trump and Kamala Harris.

“There is absolutely no truth to this allegation,” said City Commissioner Seth Bluestein, a Republican.

“Voting in Philadelphia has been safe and secure.”

Philadelphia police did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Trump’s claim.

Trump rejected his loss in the 2020 election to Joe Biden, a denial that culminated with supporters of the ex-reality TV star violently attacking the US Capitol in a bid to block certification of the vote.

Trump is expected to reject the result if he loses again this year, raising the specter of chaos and violence in an already tense and deeply polarized United States.

The Republican has already started raising questions about the integrity of the vote in Pennsylvania, a battleground state that is a key prize in the battle for the White House.

Pennsylvania’s Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro, in a CNN interview last week, rejected Trump’s allegations, noting that as the state’s attorney general Shapiro defeated 43 challenges to the 2020 vote count from the ex-president and his allies.

When asked Tuesday whether he would accept defeat in the 2024 election, Trump offered a qualified response.

“If I lose an election, if it’s a fair election, I would be the first one to acknowledge it. So far I think it’s been fair,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)