A tense vote count in the US presidential election got under way on Tuesday night as Donald Trump and Joe Biden started to notch expected state wins.

The president won Kentucky, which carried eight votes in the electoral college, and several other southern states, while Biden captured the safely Democratic state of Vermont and several others on the east coast. Results in the crucial battleground states were not expected for several hours at least.

From New York to Phoenix, from Detroit to Los Angeles, even as coronavirus cases surged in swing states, citizens waited patiently to determine whether Trump will serve a second term in the White House or make way for his Democratic challenger.

A record of