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1815GMT: AP CALLS OHIO
The AP's finally called Ohio, giving Bush victory in the electoral college with 274 votes. Logical really, if Kerry's already conceded the whole election. Only Iowa and New Mexico still to declare, with both leaning Bush.
1745GMT: KERRY SPEECH DELAYED UNTIL 1900 GMT
ABC News says Kerry's put back his concession statement
1645GMT: BUSH VICTORY SPEECH AT 2000GMT
The Kerry campaign confirms that he has indeed conceded and will speak at 1800GMT. Bush will speak two hours later and will doubtless thank Kerry for his graceful concession and his father for all the help.
1607GMT: KERRY CONCEDES IN PHONE CALL TO BUSH
Looks like it's all over. An AP news alert says Kerry 'phoned bush at 11am EST (1600GMT) to concede defeat. Aides say he'll make a statement at 1:00pm.
They'll have to call off the lawyers in Ohio.
1545GMT: KERRY AIDES SAY "UPDATE COMING"
Kerry aides say he's mulling a possible concession given the numbers in Ohio and an "update" could come soon. Kerry is still cloistered in his home in Boston.
1530GMT: MARKETS WELCOME 'BUSH WIN'
US share traders don't seem too worried by the Ohio situation. The Dow has opened up 150 points on what it sees as a clear win and UK shares are trading at two-year highs. Irwin Stelzer, the US economist, writes in a column for Times Online that it might be bad news for the chattering classes, but it's good news for business.
1330GMT: OHIO TALLY GIVES BUSH 130,000 LEAD
The official election website of Richard Blackwell, the Ohio Secretary of State, gives Bush a lead of 130,566 votes, with 100 per cent of precincts reporting. According to the same site, there were 135,149 provisional ballots cast across the state (although that number may rise).
1040GMT: WHITE HOUSE CLAIMS VICTORY
Andrew Card, the White House chief of staff, turns up at the Republican victory party in Washington to announce that Bush has won a convincing victory, in Ohio, in the Electoral College, and in the popular vote.
"The President will be making a statement later today."
0941GMT: KERRY WINS WISCONSIN
Kerry wins an extra 10 electoral votes after holding Wisconsin, so he's just two Electoral College votes behind Bush at 254 to 252. Ohio is the must-win state for the Democrats, though, and the Republicans are confident that they'll win that one, whatever the lawyers say.
0848GMT: BUSH WINS NEVADA, KERRY WINS MICHIGAN
Nevada could have gone to Kerry after Bush broke a campagian promise and gave the go ahead to an unpopular nuclear waste facility at Yucca Mountain. Some say Kerry did not campaign enough here. Bush fought hard for Michigan but 200,000 job losses in manufacturing during the Bush presidency lent imeptus to Kerry.
Votes: Bush 254: Kerry 242 (270 needed)
0808GMT: IOWA DELAYED FOR A DAY
Vote-counting machines have broken down in two small Iowa counties, delaying the final results for at least one day. Barb Huey, Iowa's Deputy Secretary of State, said that optical scan machines used to count votes in Greene and Harrison counties, which have a combined total of about 15,000 registered voters, need repairs. The state is also still in the process of counting several thousand absentee ballots. Mr Bush is reported to have a lead of 12,000 votes in the state, making it unlikely, but still just possible that Mr Kerry could win.
In Ohio the delay will be even more radical - election officials are not going to count the provisional ballots, expected to number more than 100,000, until 11 days after the election. So we might be waiting for some time before we know the identity of America's next president for certain.
Votes: Bush 249: Kerry 224
0800GMT: WHAT KERRY HAS TO DO
Without a win in Ohio, Mr Kerry would need to win Nevada, a state won by Mr Bush in 2000, and hold the undecided states of Wisconsin, Iowa and New Mexico to manage a 269-269 electoral tie. That would throw the race to the Republican-led House of Representatives, where Mr Bush would be almost certain to win.
0735GMT: HAWAII SAYS ALOHA TO KERRY
Dick Cheney, the Vice-President, may have paid a campaign visit to Hawaii last week, but it was probably more because he wanted a few hours in the sunshine than because he thought the Republicans had a serious chance of wrestling the state from the Democrats. Predictably, Kerry has won it and its 4 electoral college votes.
Votes: Bush 249: Kerry 224
0705GMT: NO TO GAY RIGHTS
Voters in 11 states have resoundingly rejected gay marriage, by backing constitutional changes that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
Referendums were held on the issue in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Utah and Oregon, alongside the presidential ballot. The margins of victory were by up to six to one.
While civil liberties activists were bemoaning the results, faces were even longer in the Kerry camp. It is thought that this single issue was responsible for getting out the vote among the Christian Right in some of the most crucial and closely fought states - and may have helped to deliver victory to President Bush.
Votes: Bush 249: Kerry 220
0640GMT: CLEANING UP
There are only a handful of states left to declare now and most of them are foregone conclusions. It was never seriously expected that John Kerry would not win Washington state (11) or that Mr Bush would lose Alaska (3). All that remains are Hawaii (probably Democrat, with 4 electoral votes), Nevada (a swing state, with 5), New Mexico (a swing state, but probably a Bush win, with 5), Michigan (a swing state, with 17) and Iowa (7). Oh, and Ohio (20) of course.
Votes: Bush 249: Kerry 220
0635GMT: TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE?
Results are finally in from the swing state of New Hampshire (4), which earlier in the night was seen as one of the key predictors of the contest. John Kerry has won it. But with the mighty Ohio almost certainly in Bush's pocket, winning New Hampshire is not nearly enough to rescue the Democrat campaign.
Votes: Bush 246: Kerry 209
0630GMT: MOMENTUM WITH BUSH IN OHIO DECIDER
President Bush is clinging on to a two-point lead in the key swing state of Ohio (20), as the fate of the presidency all comes down to the voters of the rural mid-western state. With results in from 90 per cent of Ohio voting districts, the news agency AP puts Mr Bush on 51 per cent and Mr Kerry on 49 per cent.
The key factor appears to be the Christian right, who turned out at the polling stations in their droves - not for the Presidential race, but to vote in favour of a total ban on gay marriage.
Nationwide, though the race is still close the momentum appears to be with the Bush camp. Bush's big victory in Florida combined with a spreading band of Republican red across the US political map to dash earlier Democrat hopes. It looks like Bush will be holding on to the keys to the White House.
Votes: Bush 246: Kerry 205
0540GMT: COLORADO FOR BUSH, MINNESOTA FOR KERRY
President Bush was projected an easy winner in Colorado (9). With more than 70 per cent of the Colorado vote in, Mr Bush had an unassailable 53 per cent of the vote against 45 per cent for Mr Kerry, according to Associated Press. Minnesota (10), the Mid-Western state with strong Democrat traditions and which voted Gore in 2000, has been called for Mr Kerry.
Votes: Bush 246, Kerry 205
0519GMT: KERRY TAKES OREGON
President Bush targeted this beautiful and once Republican state in the American North West, but Mr Kerry has done enough to hang on to Oregon and its 7 electoral college votes.
Votes: Bush 237, Kerry 195
0507GMT: OHIO IS THE NEW FLORIDA
The satirical magazine Private Eye has fun at the expense of the neophiles who like to predict fashions. Tonight, however, it looks as though it is safe to say: Ohio is the new Florida, the kingmaker state which will decide the result of the presidential election.
Political analysts are starting to agree with unusual unanimity that whichever candidate takes Ohio, takes the White House. So how is the vote going in this state, where unionised workers in heavy industry prefer Mr Kerry, and whose strong Christian Right prefer Mr Bush? According to the official election website, 66.72 per cent of the votes have been counted, and Mr Bush has a five-point lead, by about 52 per cent to 47 per cent. According to AP's exit polls, it is Bush 52 per cent, and Kerry 48 per cent.
Votes: Bush 237: Kerry 188
0458GMT: BUSH 'WINS' FLORIDA
The fiercely contested swing state of Florida (27) has been won by President Bush, US television networks are now saying. The official website of the Florida count reported that with 95 per cent of returns in, Mr Bush had taken the Sunshine State with 51.8 per cent against 47.8 per cent for Mr Kerry. When confirmed, the result will be a major coup for Mr Bush's chances of re-election.
Votes: Bush 237, Kerry 188
0429GMT: FLORIDA LEANING TOWARDS BUSH
Official government websites in America are publishing interim results in the key states, and they are making good reading for Mr Bush. In the crucial swing state of Florida (27) - which delivered victory for the President in 2000 - the Florida Department of State Division of Elections says that with 91.8 per cent of the vote in, Mr Bush has 51.7 per cent and Mr Kerry has 47.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, the official Ohio (20) election night 2004 website has just over half of the vote in, but so far Mr Bush is on 52.31 per cent and Kerry is on 47.05 per cent. If both of those results come true, then Mr Bush has won his second presidential term.
0420GMT: RAISING ARIZONA
Arizona (10) has decided to stay in the Republican camp and has voted for Mr Bush again today. Analysts say that it will probably turn Democrat in 2008, thanks to the numbers of Hispanic and Californian people settling in the state, but the change has not happened soon enough for Mr Kerry.
Votes: Bush 210, Kerry 188
0413GMT: REPUBLICANS HOLD SENATE
The GOP remains the majority party in the Senate, after winning 50 seats in today's elections.
Votes: Bush 200, Kerry 188
0345GMT: BREAKTHROUGH FOR KERRY
The fortunes of the night just swayed back a little way in the direction of Mr Kerry. The Democrat has taken the key swing state of Pennsylvania, whose 21 electoral college votes could be vital to his chances of winning. Mr Gore narrowly won it in 2000 and Mr Kerry has preserved a narrow lead here throughout campaigning.
Mr Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz, is based in Pittsburgh and has donated a lot of money to local good causes. Aware of their importance, Pennsylvania people turned out in high numbers, and some were still queueing round the block from polling stations more than an hour after the official close of polls. As was entirely expected, California (55) has gone for Mr Kerry. Bush has won Idaho (4), the potato state.
Votes: Bush 200, Kerry 188
0338GMT: THE BELLWETHER STATE
The swing state of Missouri (11) has got it right in every single presidential election for the last 100 years. Tonight, it has voted for Mr Bush. This could be an important turning point in the fortunes of the night.
Meanwhile Bill Clinton's old state of Arkansas (6), the only Southern state where Kerry was in with a glimmer of a chance, has also gone for the President. Mr Clinton's campaigning in Little Rock last weekend was obviously not enough to do the trick.
We hear that the fifth electoral college vote in the state of Nebraska, which was previously said to be too close to call, has gone to Mr Bush, along with the other four votes.
Votes: Bush 196, Kerry 112
0307GMT: MORMONS AND MILITIAMEN
Utah (5) is the Mormon state, where the religious right has a stronger grip than anywhere in the US. Mr Bush has held it again. Last time, he won by 40.49 per cent. This time, the only real element of surprise will be whether he managed to make that 50 per cent. Meanwhile Montana (3), home of backwoods militias and survivalists who think their own Government is conspiring against them, has also voted for Mr Bush. They can't have believed Mr Kerry when he said he really, really liked hunting.
Votes: Bush 178, Kerry 112
0257GMT: BUSH'S MEDIA INVITE
It is not clear whether it was a sign of growing confidence or desperation. Whichever you believe, the President invited television cameras into the White House this evening and gave a short interview. This is apparently is unheard of on election day. Mr Bush's message was short: he said he was "very upbeat". Asked whether - unlike last time - there would be an outright winner by the end of the night, he replied: "I believe I will win."
Votes: Bush 170: Kerry 112
0241GMT: THEIR LAST MEALS?
We learn that the President ate crab cakes, lamb chops and beef tenderloin for dinner tonight in what may - if those early exit polls are right - be one of his last meals in the White House.
Mr Kerry, by contrast, was busy acting out a ritual intended to bring him luck, by eating his lucky election day meal - clam chowder, littleneck clams and a dark beer - at the Union Oyster House in Boston, his lucky election day restaurant. He was apparently wearing his lucky yellow jacket, while carrying with him his lucky hat, rosary beads, Vietnam dog tags, a guitar pick once used by Bruce Springsteen, buck-eye nut, Christian cross, medal of St Christopher and bible. So, not superstitious at all, then.
Votes: Bush 170: Kerry 112
0231GMT: SOUTH IS LOYAL TO GRAND OLD PARTY
The Southern states of Louisiana (9) and Mississippi (6) have both reasserted their allegiance to Mr Bush. The two states have a lot in common - both are dirt poor, have shocking records on unemployment, health, education and literacy, have recent histories steeped in the black civil rights movement, are formerly Democrat and now solidly vote Republican. Mr Kerry has not been campaigning hard down there.
Votes: Bush 170, Kerry 112
0221GMT: SENATE RACE GETS CLOSE
The Democrats are struggling in a Senate contest that is proving far more interesting in the early part of the night than the trickle of predictable state declarations that have come through so far in the presidential race.
Tom Daschle, the Democrat leader in the Senate, is in the fight of his political life to hold on to his seat in South Dakota. The Democrats have already lost a Senate seat in Georgia that was vacated by Zell Miller, the firebrand politician who abandoned his party to campaign for President Bush.
But the Republicans are facing an upset of their own as Jim Bunning, a famous baseball player, is trailing behind an ear, nose and throat doctor named Dan Mongiardo. Mr Bunning lost a huge lead in Kentucky through bizarre gaffes such as saying that Mr Mongiardo looked like the son of Saddam Hussein.
Votes: Bush 155, Kerry 112
0210GMT: CLOONEY UNLUCKY
Having a famous surname is not a guarantee that the voters will like you. Nick Clooney, the father of a certain George Clooney, the Hollywood heart-throb, has failed in his attempt to hold a Senate seat in Kentucky for the Democrats. Kentucky is a rural and religious state where Mr Bush did extremely well in 2000.
Votes: Bush 155, Kerry 112
0200GMT: THE NEXT CLUTCH...BUT STILL NO CLUES
The satellite channel CNN gets very excited seconds before the hour and the half hour. A clock ticks down the seconds, and on the dot the news station releases its next batch of projections. This time we learn - seconds before the Associated Press confirms them as genuine results - that Mr Bush will hold his own home state of Texas (34), along with tiny rural North Dakota (3), South Dakota (3), Wyoming (3) Nebraska (4 out of 5) and Kansas (6). Meanwhile Mr Kerry will hang on to New York (31) and Rhode Island (4).
Votes: Bush 155, Kerry 112
0148GMT: SOUTH CAROLINA FOR BUSH
It has taken a long time for the final confirmation but Mr Bush has definitely held South Carolina and its eight electoral college votes. As results squeeze out with painful slowness, Dan Rather, the veteran CBS news anchor, has this to say on the tightness of the contest: "This presidential race is hotter than the devil's ankle." Never heard that one before. Go, Dan.
Votes: Bush 102, Kerry 77
0141GMT: BUSH HOLDS VIRGINIA
Polls closed in Virginia (13) at midnight, but is only now that the television stations are reporting that Bush has held the state that in 2000 he won by 8.03 per cent. The state has been solidly Republican since Nixon in 1968. Scenting defeat here, Kerry scaled back his campaign in Virginia early last month.
Votes: Bush 94, Kerry 77
0137GMT: SENATE: BARACK OBAMA WINS
America has just elected only its third black senator in history - Barack Obama, the son of a Kenyan father and an American mother, has won a seat in Illinois. The Democrat will replace a Republican senator. Mr Obama is picturesquely described as having grown up on the beaches of Hawaii and the streets of Indonesia, rising in a classic American rags-to-riches tale. He is seen as a new star in the Democratic party, and will now be praying even harder that Mr Kerry wins the race to the White House.
Votes: Bush 81, Kerry 77
0135GMT: BUSH RETAINS NORTH CAROLINA
It has taken a long time for the US television networks to report that North Carolina voters have backed Mr Bush, giving him another 15 electoral college votes. Last time, he won the state by 12.83 per cent - does the length of time in declaring a normally safe state suggest that Bush's vote is not holding up as well as it could? It is still too early to say, with exit poll results still only in the safer states.
Votes: Bush 81, Kerry 77
0135GMT: ILLINOIS STAYS DEMOCRAT
Another state with a sizeable chunk of electoral college votes, the Rust Belt state of Illinois (21), has gone with John Kerry as predicted, according to the television exit polls. Illinois used to be seen as the ultimate swing state, backing John F Kennedy in 1960 and Richard Nixon in 1968, but these days it is solidly Democrat. Job losses in the 2001 US recession have helped to drive it even more firmly into John Kerry's arms.
Votes Bush 66, Kerry 77
0110GMT: MORE EXIT POLLS - NO SURPRISES
More exit polls show safe states going the predicted way. Now is the time that the New England states are declaring, where Boston-based John Kerry is expected to do well.
Sure enough, the projections say he has won Connecticut (7), Delaware (3), the District of Columbia - that's the DC in Washington DC - (3), plus Maine (3 out of 4), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (12) and New Jersey (15). New Jersey is apparently going to be a particularly big win for Mr Kerry. Last time, Mr Gore took it by 15.8 per cent. Those wins will bring Kerry's total up to a more respectable 57. Mr Bush has, as expected, held the Southern states of Alabama (9), Oklahoma (7) and Tennessee (11).
Once more, the pollsters - who got caught last time - refuse to predict Florida or Pennsylvania, which are both key states.
Votes: Bush 66, Kerry 56
0037GMT: WEST VIRGINIA TO BUSH
President Bush has claimed an early victory in the swing state of West Virginia. In 2000 Mr Bush won here by 6.33 per cent, taking it from the Democrats. Mr Kerry badly wanted to win it back, and made it his first stop after he won the Democratic nomination in March. But it is a strongly pro-military state where the President's record on the War on Terror went down well - and that has translated into votes.
Votes: Bush 39, Kerry 3
0010GMT: THE FIRST RESULTS
Here we go. President Bush has won the electoral college votes of Georgia (15), Indiana (11), and Kentucky (8). Kerry has won Vermont (3). All exactly as expected.
Votes: Bush 34, Kerry 3
Midnight GMT: DOW JONES UNIMPRESSED
The American stock market has fallen slightly on the news of the early exit polls reported by Matt Drudge and several other bloggers. The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 18.66 points lower at 10,035.73, according to Reuters. Currency traders also cited talk of a Kerry victory as a reason for the dollar's rapid slide against other major currencies in afternoon trading.
"Apparently the blogs are saying that Kerry is ahead in one or two of the swing states and that's why the market dipped," said Lisa Hansen, head trader at Transamerica Investment Management.
2350GMT: THE BOOKIES' FAVOURITE
It's not just the Security Moms who are allegedly abandoning Mr Bush, it is the British punter. Betting shops report that gamblers are shifting their money quickly in favour of a victory for Mr Kerry, who was evens throughout this afternoon, British time, while Mr Bush's nose was slightly ahead, at 8-11 on. A flurry of bets however saw Mr Kerry's odds slashed to 1-3 a few hours later, with the President pushed out to 9-4. "If money talks, Kerry wins," said Warren Lush, a spokesman for Ladbrokes. "We have taken a huge amount of money on the Democrats in recent hours." Maybe they are simply reading the same exit poll predictions as everyone else.
2340GMT: THE SECURITY MOM FACTOR
More evidence of a high voter turnout from the latest exit poll reports, which say that one in seven people standing in line at the polling booths are reporting that they did not vote in 2000. If that is true, it means that voter numbers could be 10 per cent higher or more than in the last election.
The polls are at this stage also reporting that the so-called Security Mom effect has abandoned Mr Bush. Women, who traditionally tend to vote Democrat, but defected to the Bush camp last time, are said to be returning to type and backing Kerry. There was also apparently some evidence that voters did not see the war in Iraq as the most important issue, and were instead voting on the economy - and backing Kerry.
2335GMT: KERRY GETS EARLY MOOD
The veteran muckraker Matt Drudge is reporting that John Kerry is "competitive in key states" - putting him ahead by 1 per cent in Florida, 1 per cent in Ohio, 2 to 4 per cent in Pennsylvania and by 4 per cent in Wisconsin. Another much-read US website, Slate.com, is saying the same.
If they are right, it is extremely important. These are the key swing states where both candidates have been spending huge amounts of time in the final days of campaigning. States whose large number of electoral college votes are crucial to both men's chances of election. In a nutshell, the candidate who wins two out of three of Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin, wins the election.
2330GMT: REPUBLICAN GLOOM
Surprising words from a Republican. Frank Luntz, the Bush campaign's pollster, has told BBC's Newsnight programme in Washington that: "It seems like there has been a tilt for the Kerry campaign."
Mr Luntz had seen some exit poll figures, and said that they suggest that John Kerry "is in slightly better shape than he has been in recent days".
We can't rule out Mr Luntz crying wolf in order to make it look better for Bush when he scrapes through. But he isn't the only person saying this. Maureen Dowd, the veteran New York Times columnist, told Newsnight that she'd also seen some exit polls and: "It's looking exceptionally good for Kerry....it's just a personal rejection of Bush."
2320GMT: A RECORD TURNOUT?
Throughout the day the talk has all been of the record voter turnout. To call it a record is overstating it - it won't be hard for American voters to beat the record low turnouts of 1996 and 2000.
But the television news bulletins are full of images of Americans queueing round the block, waiting in line for several hours to exercise their democratic right. US election monitors are surprised at how many young voters and single women are among them - a positive sign for the Kerry campaign, which has been targeting these groups.
