This story was updated at 11:19 a.m. on Nov. 7.

The U.S. looks to set a record for modern-day turnout as 2020 campaign comes to a close.

More than 100 million people voted early across the country–that’s almost 71% of the total votes counted in the 2016 election.

By the time polls opened at 7 a.m. across the state, 60% or 9.7 million Texans had already voted. That turnout alone was 108% of all votes cast in the 2016 election.

The campaign between President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden has been bitter. The FBI is investigating an incident from Friday in which Trump supporters surrounded a Biden campaign bus traveling from San Antonio to Austin. Gov. Greg Abbott placed 1,000 National Guard troops on standby in case of unrest.

Meanwhile Chancellor Victor Boschini sent an email to the TCU community today, asking them to respect each other and remain civil.

“I’ve been asked who we will be after the election, and how we will deal with the outcome,” Boschini wrote in the email. “My answer is this: regardless of affiliations and ideologies, we are a community, a community that is inclusive, caring, committed, and respectful of knowledge, intentional dialogue and each other.”

In earlier email sent to students Oct. 21, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Kathy Cavins-Tull conveyed a similar message.

“In this election season, we encourage everyone to honor our community values of respect, personal freedom and the dignity of all people,” Cavins-Tull wrote. “Conversations and multiple viewpoints often expand our learning – when we engage in respectful dialogue.”  

Many issues are on the table in the national, state and local elections this year–responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, strategies to rebuild the economy and race relations. The state legislature will be tasked with redistricting.

This election marks the first time many members of Generation Z are voting.

Though Baby Boomers were the first to take advantage of the 26th Amendment, which President Richard Nixon signed into law in 1971 after it was ratified by three-fourths of the states, members of Generation Z are exercising their right to vote at an earlier age than other generations.

The amendment, which lowered the voting age to 18 from 21, came 49 years ago, but the push to allow younger people to vote started decades before then, as a response to the military draft during World War II.

“Old enough to fight, old enough to vote,” the slogan read.

Now, in 2020, the youngest portion of the voting population is showing up at the polls.

According to Tufts University data, as of Oct. 27, more than 7 million people aged 18-29 had voted. In 13 states, the percentage of all early votes cast by this age group is higher than it was in November 2016.

In Texas, more than 1 million young people have voted, nearing the total 1.2 million votes by young people in the 2016 election.

This evening, TCU 360 will be reporting on the national, state and Tarrant County elections. Elections will be called according to the Associated Press.

Joe Biden wins Pennsylvania, becomes president-elect

Joe Biden won Pennsylvania, giving him enough electoral votes to become the next president of the U.S.

With Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes, Biden secured 284 electoral votes, surpassing the 270 needed to win.

Kamala Harris will become the first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent elected vice president.

Trump has not conceded, saying in a tweet Saturday morning he won the election "by a lot."

Seven states left uncalled, Nevada to announce count Thursday

Americans woke up Wednesday morning without a definitive answer to who their next president would be. 

While this election set modern-day records for voter turnout, with about 67% of the eligible voting population expected to have cast ballots, it is dwarfed by the all-time record of 81.8%, set in 1876. 

One group contributing to this year’s high voter turnout was Generation Z. Many of these individuals took an early advantage of the 26th Amendment and voted in their first election. 

As of Wednesday at noon, seven states remained to be called by the Associated Press. 

Early Wednesday morning, the AP called Arizona for Democratic candidate Joe Biden. The AP also gave three of Maine’s electoral votes to Biden and one to President Trump. 

The seven uncalled states account for 78 electoral votes. As of noon Wednesday, Biden led the race, with 238 electoral votes to Trump’s 213. Biden was also winning the popular vote.

Both campaigns said Tuesday night they were confident they were on a path to victory.  

Among the states left to be called were Pennsylvania, with 20 electoral votes, and Georgia and Michigan, each with 16. 

Nevada announced Wednesday it had stopped counting votes and would report the total Thursday. 

In the U.S. Senate, 35 seats were up for grabs, and Republicans are expected to maintain control. Democrats had flipped two seats, and Republicans had flipped one.

Democrats are expected to keep their majority in the House of Representatives, though Republicans gained some Democratic seats. 

Races tighten Wednesday morning

The day after the election, votes are still being counted.

Last night, AP called Maine and Arizona for Biden; Trump won one of Maine's electoral votes. This leaves seven states still undecided.

Those seven states carry 78 electoral votes. Both candidates believe they are set to win.

In the U.S. Senate, Republicans are expected to hold the majority. Only two Republican incumbents have lost.

Nine states remain to be called

With nine states left to be called, Biden has 223 electoral votes, and Trump has 212.

Biden needs 47 electoral votes to reach 270 to win, while Trump needs 58.

A few of the states that haven't yet been won, such as Pennsylvania, each have at least 20 electoral votes.

Biden wins 209 electoral votes, Trump wins 112

The race is coming down to rustbelt swing states.

However, Democrats have maintained control of the house.

The Republicans continue to control the Senate.

Electoral votes determine the outcome of the election

Candidates need 270 electoral votes to win the election, and electoral votes are allocated by the population of each state. 

Even though Democratic candidate Joe Biden has won fewer states than President Trump, Biden has more electoral votes. 

Several of the states Trump has won have smaller populations than some of the ones Biden has. For example, Biden has won New York, which has 29 electoral votes, and Illinois, which has 20. The two states won by Trump with the highest number of electoral votes are Indiana and Tennessee, which both have 11. 

Polls close along the East Coast

Heading into today, 100 million Americans, almost half of all registered voters, had already cast their ballots. Many voted early, which if the race is close, could lead to a delay in results. 

Minority groups, especially Hispanics and Blacks, who each make up 11% of registered voters, have been historically impactful in deciding the next president. 

In Florida, half of all Latino and Black registered voters have yet to vote while more than half of white registered voters have already voted. In Arizona, two-thirds of Latino voters have not yet cast a ballot.

Gen Z is another group of voters which has been active at the polls, with over 8 million Americans aged 18-29 having voted as of Nov. 1. 

Democrat flips Texas Senate seat as GOP keeps majority

Democrat Roland Gutierrez defeated Republican incumbent Pete Flores to win the Texas State Senate District 19. 

“I would like to thank all of the people of #SD19 for putting their faith in me to work on the issues that matter most,” Gutierrez said in a tweet.

Flores conceded the election in a statement on Wednesday, saying “I send my heartfelt thanks to the people of the District. I appreciate the opportunity to serve as their State Senator for the 86th Session.”

This upset comes as Texas Democrats failed to gain political control, with Republican lawmakers keeping their hold on all statewide offices and in both chambers of the Legislature. 

As a result, Republicans will once again control the redistricting process, deciding the state district map until the next census in 2030. 

Cornyn wins fourth term

Democrat MJ Hegar conceded the Texas U.S. Senate race to Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a tweet at 8:47 p.m.

“We’ve built a powerful grassroots movement from the ground up, and I know our fight here in Texas is far from over,” she said in the tweet. 

The Cornyn campaign also tweeted about his victory; “It is the honor of my life to serve Texas in the U.S. Senate,” the tweet said. “Inspired by your trust and your patriotism, I will continue to be a strong voice for our values in Washington.” 

The Hegar campaign also released a statement following the concession, saying that, “Together, we stood up and got to work, building a powerful grassroots campaign from the ground up, shattering voter turnout records, and most importantly sending a message to a previously safe Senator that he answers to us.” 

Texans vote for state legislators during census year

Several state-wide races are being contested by both parties, including both state and U.S. Congress. 

Twelve Texas seats in the U.S. House are being watched closely, and Texas Democrats only need to net nine new seats in the state House to have a majority, according to the Texas Tribune. Republicans hope to regain two seats flipped by Democrats in 2018, and the rest are Republican-held seats Democrats hope to take tonight.

Here are the 12 U.S. House seats that both parties are watching in Texas:

• The two Democratic seats flipped in 2018: CD-7 and CD-32. 

• The 10 seats Democrats hope to flip: CD-2, CD-3, CD-6, CD-10, CD-21, CD-22, CD-23, CD-24, CD-25 and CD-31.

Voting in Texas has already seen legal challenges. A group of Republicans attempted to throw out 127,000 ballots cast in drive-thru stations in Harris County, but their request was denied by the Texas Supreme Court. 

The same group lost a similar case in federal court Monday when a federal judge rejected their claim that the ballots violated the U.S. Constitution. However, Harris County announced late Monday it would close most of the drive-thru voting locations on Election Day, as the tents used do not qualify as “‘buildings,’ which are required for Election Day voting places,” according to a tweet from Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins. 

Texas’s early voting numbers have already surpassed the total number of votes in 2016, with over 9 million votes during that period. 

Texas Democrats are hopeful they will be able to take control of the state legislature, especially since the party in the majority will get to determine the redistricting process that occurs after every census. Democratic control of the state legislature would likely undo the Republican’s gerrymandering efforts after the 2010 midterm elections. 

Here is a list of some races in the Texas state Congress to consider:

• The 12 Democratic seats that the Republicans hope to flip: House District 45, HD-47, HD-52, HD-65, HD-102, HD-105, HD-113, HD-114, HD-115, HD-132, HD-135 and HD-136.

• The 22 Republican seats that Democrats want to flip: HD-14, HD-26, HD-28, HD-29, HD-32, HD-54, HD-64, HD-66, HD-67, HD-92, HD-93, HD-94, HD-96, HD-97, HD-108, HD-112, HD-121, HD-126, HD-129, HD-133, HD-134 and HD-138.

Republicans sweep five state house districts in Tarrant County

All five state house districts in Tarrant County that were targeted by Democrats as potential gains have been called for the Republican candidate. 

In the two open seat races that Democrats were most bullish on, Jeff Whitfeld conceded to Republican Jeff Cason in State House District 92, and David Cook’s victory in District 96 was called by the AP. 

In District 97, which includes TCU, Democrat Elizabeth Beck released a statement conceding to Republican incumbent Craig Goldman. 

Another Republican incumbent in Tarrant County, Matt Krause, declared victory in the District 93 race. 

Elsewhere in the county, 3rd Precinct Commissioner Gary Fickes was re-elected along with Sheriff Bill Waybourn. 

In the race for president, Donald Trump holds onto a lead of less than 3,000 votes in Tarrant County. 

Trump currently holds 49.35% of the vote to Biden’s 49.08%. 

The 49.35% share would be the lowest a Republican president has received in Tarrant County this century. 

Tinderholt declares victory in southeast Tarrant district 

State Rep. Tony Tinderholt released a statement declaring victory in House District 94 over challenger Alisa Simmons. 

Tinderholt currently holds a 6-point lead, 51% to 45%, over Simmons. 

His seat was one being targeted by the Texas Democratic Party in their attempt to flip the Texas State House. 

If Tinderholt is declared the winner, he will return to the legislature for his fourth term.

Nearing 800,000 votes cast, Trump holds slim lead

President Trump is leading by just under 5,000 votes in Tarrant County with more than 790,000 votes cast. 

Trump holds 49.52% of the vote while Biden has 48.91%. 

The two open state house seats continue to lean to the Republicans, as Jeff Cason and Matt Krause each hold leads above five points. 

Incumbent State Rep. Craig Goldman, whose district includes TCU, is leading Elizabeth Beck 52.96% to 44.76%. 

County Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks is on his way to winning re-election for a fifth time as he holds a 21-point lead over challenger Roy Lozano. 

Sheriff Bill Waybourn is also leading by seven points over challenger Vance Keyes.

Granger, Veasey win re-election handily 

Republican Rep. Kay Granger has won re-election for the 13th time, according to the AP. 

Granger’s district includes TCU and most of western Tarrant County. 

Democratic Rep. Marc Veasey also won re-election, according to the AP.

Veasey’s district includes parts of Fort Worth and Dallas. 

Both Granger and Veasey won by double-digits.  

The Tarrant County election results have not been updated since the initial update at 7 p.m.

Trump, Biden separated by less than 1 point in early returns

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are nearly tied in Tarrant County as the first election results begin to come in. 

Trump has 49.22% of the vote and Biden 49.12%. 

700,651 total votes have been cast so far, representing 59% of registered voters in the county. 

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, has a 5 point lead over Democratic challenger MJ Hegar. 

Republicans Jeff Cason and Matt Krause are holding slim leads in the two open seat state house districts, 92 and 93.

Tarrant County has long been a bellwether for Texas politics and will likely continue that trend in the 2020 election. 

Tarrant County had been the nation’s largest Republican-leaning urban county until 2018, when former Rep. Beto O’Rourke flipped it blue in his bid to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz. 

O’Rourke’s victory in the county was seen by some as indicative of larger trends occurring in Texas, namely the growth of a younger and more diverse electorate.  

These trends have only continued in the two years since his victory. Texas has seen record-breaking youth voter turnout in the runup to the 2020 election, and over 1.4 million voters from minority communities have registered to vote in the state since 2016. 

Tarrant’s continued push to the left is something Democrat operatives at the local, state and federal levels are leaning on as they hope to make Texas blue. 

Five state house districts that include portions of the county have been targeted by the Texas Democratic Party as they attempt to gain control of the state legislature. 

Of those five, two are open-seats (HD 92, 96), and three are held by Republican incumbents (HD 93, 94, 97)

The political forecasting group CNalysis has districts 92 and 96 rated as “Tilt Democratic” in their most recent forecast and 93, 94, and 97 as “Tilt Republican.” 

Tarrant County residents will also be voting on district judges, a sheriff, county constables and two of the four county commissioner seats. 

Precinct 1 Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks, whose jurisdiction covers TCU, is running for his fifth term. 

An emergency meeting of the county election board was called Monday morning after Elections Administrator Heider Garcia said a number of mail-in ballots were being deemed “unreadable” by the system that is meant to count them. 

To make sure these votes are counted, they must be manually “re-created” under the watch of representatives from each party. 

The board approved the addition of 56 new people who will help with this process at Monday’s meeting. 

Garcia also said he expects more than 900,000 total votes will be cast in Tarrant County, breaking the county’s record. 

Updates on the Tarrant County results will be provided as the votes come in.