Voters in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, went to the polls early Tuesday morning, marking the official start of Election Day voting for the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Six registered voters of the tiny town in northeastern United States cast their ballots at midnight, following a tradition that dates back decades ago.
Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump are tied in the town in a 3-3 vote.
In D.C., Fences and barricades have been erected around the White House, and security bars have been installed on the buildings of the Capitol, the White House, and the Department of the Treasury.
Shops near the White House have also boarded up their windows with plywood.
Amid heightened security for fears of violence and chaos, the vast majority of polling stations across the country open on Tuesday morning and will remain open until the evening.
Local officials across the nation are taking elaborate measures to fortify election-related sites, including plans for snipers on a rooftop to protect a key vote-counting headquarters, panic buttons for election workers and surveillance drones buzzing overhead, according to media reports.
Voting for 2024 U.S. presidential election starts in New Hampshire
Li Xi, a senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC), on Tuesday concluded an official goodwill visit to Kenya, where he expressed commitment to fostering an even closer China-Kenya community with a shared future in the new era.
During the three-day visit, Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, met with Kenyan President and United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Leader William Ruto and held discussions with UDA Secretary General Hassan Omar.
During his meeting with the Kenyan president, Li said that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Ruto have met for two consecutive years, charting the course for developing bilateral relations. China is willing to work with Kenya, under the guidance of the important consensus between the two heads of state, to remain reliable friends and partners and firmly support each other on core interests and issues of major concern, so as to build an even closer China-Kenya community with a shared future in the new era.
China is willing to align the outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit with Kenya's Vision 2030 to support Kenya's economic development, Li said.
China appreciates and welcomes Kenya's participation in the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative, and Global Civilization Initiative proposed by the Chinese president, Li said, adding that China also looks forward to jointly safeguarding the common interests of the Global South.
For his part, Ruto said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Kenya and China more than 60 years ago, the two countries have always worked side by side and sincerely cooperated in their respective national development processes. Kenya appreciates China's support in major projects like the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway.
Ruto extended his congratulations on the successful FOCAC summit and expressed full support for the 10 partnership actions for modernization, pledging to work with China to accelerate the implementation of the summit's outcomes.
Kenya remains committed to the one-China principle and looks forward to deepening communication and cooperation with China to strengthen unity and collaboration in the Global South, Ruto said, while voicing anticipation for China's increased involvement in African affairs to foster peace, stability, and development across the continent.
In his talks with Omar, Li said that the CPC is willing to strengthen high-level exchanges with the UDA to enhance political mutual trust between the two countries.
Li said the CPC is ready to enhance the exchange of governance experiences and improve the capacity and level of governance with the UDA, promote local and cultural exchanges to consolidate public support for friendship between the two countries and strengthen solidarity and cooperation to jointly uphold international fairness and justice.
Omar said that in the over 100 years since the founding of the CPC, and especially in the 75 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, under the leadership of the CPC, China has made remarkable development achievements, setting an example for African political parties in governance and development.
The UDA is eager to learn from the CPC's governance experience, further enhance exchanges and cooperation, and strengthen mutual understanding and trust to provide a solid political foundation for the development of relations between the two countries, Omar said.
During the visit, Li introduced the guiding principles of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, along with the CPC's efforts in full and rigorous Party self-governance and anti-corruption. Li said that China is willing to enhance anti-corruption experience exchange and mutual learning with Kenya and jointly combat cross-border corruption, he added.
This has been highly commended by the Kenyan side.
Li also inspected flagship projects under the China-Kenya Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) cooperation, such as the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, and visited a coffee plantation jointly developed with Chinese partners. He also attended a symposium on integrity building in BRI projects with representatives of Chinese enterprises operating in Kenya.
Senior CPC official pledges to advance China-Kenya cooperation
