US election: Candidates scramble for votes on eve of election day

The two presidential candidates made a last-minute scramble for votes in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on the eve of election day on Monday, amid signs that the Keystone State may play a crucial role in the outcome of the election.

US president Donald Trump campaigned in Joe Biden's hometown of Scranton – one of five election rallies he held on Monday – while the Democratic candidate and his running mate, Kamala Harris, held separate events in the state.

With 20 electoral college votes, Pennsylvania is a must-win state for candidates seeking a path to the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the election.

"We win Pennsylvania, we win the whole deal ... Tomorrow we are going to win the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and we are going to win four more years in the White House, " Mr Trump declared as he began his rally in Scranton, warning that Democrats would "confiscate your guns and indoctrinate your children with anti-American lies".

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Millions of Americans will vote on Tuesday, although millions more have already cast their vote, prompting expectations that a final result could be days or even weeks away.

Democrats hit back at the president’s claims that he may launch legal action after the election, after he again suggested that any result reached after November 3rd could be invalid. Arriving in North Carolina on Sunday night, Mr Trump declared that “as soon as the election is over, we’re going in with our lawyers”.

He described recent supreme court decisions to allow some states to accept votes that arrive after election day as “very dangerous” and “ridiculous”. “I don’t think it’s fair that we have to wait a long period of time after the election.”

Representatives in key swing states hit back at Mr Trump's suggestion. "The election ends when all the votes are counted. Not when the polls close," said Michigan's attorney general, Dana Nessel. "The voters get to determine the winner – not the candidates."

Similarly, addressing Mr Trump on Twitter, Pennsylvania’s attorney general wrote: “Our elections are over when all the votes are counted. But if your lawyers want to try us, we’d be happy to defeat you in court one more time.”

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In Texas, Democrats secured a court victory for the second consecutive day after a federal court ruled that a Republican-led request to dismiss more than 127,000 ballots that were cast via “kerbside” voting was invalid. It followed a similar ruling by the state’s supreme court on Sunday.

Twitter has also said that it will remove or attach a warning label to any premature claims of victory.

Both campaigns focused heavily on increasing voter turnout on Monday as they made a last-minute appeal to voters to cast their ballots.

Ahead of an appearance later on Monday with singer John Legend, Ms Harris urged Pennsylvanians to use their vote.

Tuesday’s election will “decide the future of this country for generations”, she said. “We’re so much better than this.”

Meanwhile, former president Barack Obama campaigned in Georgia and Florida on the eve of the election. "Georgia could be the state, Georgia could be the place where we put this country back on track," he said, adding that Democrats also had "two extraordinary candidates" running in Senate races in the state.

A new Quinnipiac University poll released on the eve of the election had positive news for Democrats, putting Mr Biden 5 per cent ahead in Florida and 4 per cent ahead in Ohio, which Mr Trump won by eight percentage points in 2016.

Mr Trump also suggested on Sunday night that he may fire infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci if he is re-elected. As supporters at a rally in Florida broke out into chants of "Fire Fauci! Fire Fauci!" Mr Trump replied: "Let me wait until a little bit after the election. I appreciate the advice."