The Latest: Joe Biden wins New York as polls close in state
NEW YORK (AP) — The latest developments in New York's general election:
9 p.m.
Democrat Joe Biden has won the presidential race in New York.
Biden’s victory in New York over Republican President Donald Trump was widely expected and was called by The Associated Press shortly after the polls closed at 9 p.m. The former vice president takes the state’s 29 Electoral College votes.
New York is a reliably Democratic state.
Presidential candidates don’t often lose their home states, but Trump made little effort to win over voters in his hometown, instead relentlessly attacking New York City as a “ghost town” and an “anarchist jurisdiction.”
The results of more tightly-contested races for Congress and the state Legislature might not be known for some time because absentee ballots won’t be counted in New York for at least a week.
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4 p.m.
New York City police are keeping an eye on election-related protests but say they don’t anticipate the kind of unrest that unfolded in the city after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd earlier this year.
NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan told reporters Tuesday that the department has not uncovered any information suggesting people are looking to inflict mayhem because of the election.
He said thousands of officers are at the ready to respond if there are problems.
Many businesses in Manhattan boarded up their windows as a precaution in the days ahead of the election.
About halfway through voting Tuesday, Monahan said, “It’s been relatively quiet and a normal election day, so far,” with only one minor incident: a skirmish outside a polling place between a Trump supporter and a Trump detractor.
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6 a.m.
An unprecedented Election Day has gotten under way in New York, with polls now open statewide.
It’s unclear how crowded polling places will be Tuesday.
A record 3.5 million votes were cast in the state before the polls even opened Tuesday.
That included at least 1 million absentee ballots and 2.5 million ballots cast in the early voting period that ended Sunday. Any ballots postmarked by Tuesday will be counted.
This is the first presidential election where New York has had early voting or widespread voting by mail.
A range of offices are on the ballot, including president, Congress and the state Legislature. The results of some contests might not be known for days or weeks because of the time expected to take to count absentee ballots.
Polls close at 9 p.m.