US Election 2016 exit polls show voters think Hillary Clinton has the right temperament to be President

Hillary Clinton gives a thumbs up to fans after casting her vote
AP
Asher McShane9 November 2016

Early exit polls in the US presidential election show voters think Hillary Clinton has the right temperament to be leader and voters are rejecting Donald Trump's more outlandish campaign pledges.

Over half of Americans who voted believe Hillary Clinton has the right disposition to serve as president, while only a third of voters say the same about Republican nominee Donald Trump.

The preliminary exit poll result, compiled by Edison Research for The Associated Press and major US television networks also found three out of ten voters thought both candidates were dishonest.

The poll results came in as Donald Trump awaited the final result from inside Trump Tower, which was surrounded by dump trucks filled with sand to ward off the threat of a terrorist attack.

It is an early indication of the qualities the people of America believe to be key in the 2016 battle for leadership of the United States.

Dump trucks filled with sand parked outside Trump Tower to thwart terrorism
Reuters

The early polls also showed most Americans don't support Trump's plan to build a wall separating the US and Mexico. Four in ten support the idea.

70 per cent of people said they would rather foriegn workers in the US were not deported, instead saying they should have a way to apply for legal status.

About a quarter support deportation.

Hillary was tonight holed up in the Peninsula, described as New York's 'ultimate luxury hotel', in Midtown Manhattan two minutes from Trump Tower, where Mr Trump was watching the result with his family.

Hillary Clinton led Donald Trump by 44 percent to 39 percent, in the last Reuters/Ipsos national tracking poll before Election Day.

A Reuters/Ipsos States of the Nation poll gave her a 90 percent chance of defeating Trump and becoming the first U.S. woman president.Early indications are that voter turnout is extremely high. Some parts of Florida were said to have seen upwards of 66 per cent turnout.

In the run-up to the close of polling, Mrs Clinton asked voters to keep the White House in Democratic hands for a third straight term by making her the first female president of the USA.

"I know how much responsibility goes with this," she said after voting.

Hillary Clinton v Donald Trump: US Presidential Election

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"So many people are counting on the outcome of this election, what it means for our country, and I will do the very best I can if I'm fortunate enough to win today."

After casting his vote, Donald Trump said: “It's a great honour, a tremendous honour."

The billionaire businessman said he was feeling confident about the outcome, adding there had been "tremendous enthusiasm" surrounding his campaign.

He also reiterated his longstanding concerns about voter fraud, commenting “we're always concerned about that."

In a final message to voters, Mr Trump said: “Make America great again. That's all it is. That's what it's all about."

Mr Trump went on to make a legal claim to officials in Nevada, accusing them of keeping a polling station open for too long.

made a bid to sue the registrar of voters in Clark County over a polling site in Las Vegas that allegedly opened two hours longer than expected to accommodate people who were lined up to vote.

The claim was quickly quashed by a judge.

Mr Trump's son Eric also flouted voting laws by tweeting a photo of his completed ballot.

The second son of the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shared a photo of a ballot paper with the oval over his father’s name filled in on Tuesday.

His tweet, which has since been deleted, read: “It is an incredible honour to vote for my father! He will do such a great job for the U.S.A!"

Ahead of polling day, 45million people had already cast their votes in what has been described as the most divisive election campaign in US history.

Voters said they had grown tired of the election being about personalities rather than policies.

Laura Schmitt, 54, from Minnesota said: "I'm tired of the mudslinging."

Emetric Whittington, 51, said: "I can't wait for this night to be over."

Mrs Clinton has denounced Mr Trump for calling Mexican immigrants "rapists" and promoting a ban on Muslims entering the US, and for his long line of remarks about women that culminated in an audio in which he bragged about grabbing their genitals. Mr Trump called his opponent "Crooked Hillary" for her use of a private email server as secretary of state and her complicated ties to the family's Clinton Foundation.

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