Polls show tight race, with Clinton edging ahead

The latest polls and projections the day before Americans vote shows the race remains close, but with Hillary Clinton slightly ahead.

The Democratic presidential candidate’s lead over her Republican rival Donald Trump has widened to 3.2 percentage points in an average of polls by the website RealClearPolitics.

Several US media sites, projecting the likely distribution of electoral votes, also predict victory for the former first lady.

NBC predicts she will win 274 electoral votes compared to 170 for Trump, saying polls in states holding the remaining 94 electoral votes were too close to call. However, that would be enough for Clinton to get past the finish line of 270 electoral votes needed to win a majority.

The influential news website FiveThirtyEight.com on Monday gives Clinton a 68.3 percent chance of winning compared to 31.6 percent for Trump, based on the polls and predictions.

A Quinnipiac University survey shows an extremely tight race in the crucial swing states of Florida and North Carolina. But it also gives Clinton the lead with 46 percent in Florida compared to 45 percent for Trump, and 47 percent in North Carolina against Trump’s 45 percent.

— AFP