President Re-elected in Tight Race
Sen. Kerry to Concede Election, Call for Unity
November 3, 2004 11:30am EST
Hours after a provisional ballot dispute threatened to throw the election results into turmoil, Senator Kerry decided to concede the campaign to the president, saying he hoped to begin healing the division in the nation and saying he saw no way to overcome Mr. Bush's 140,000-vote lead in the key battleground state of Ohio.

The senator called President Bush just after 11 a.m. EST to inform the Republican of his decision.

Sen. Kerry, D-Mass., has scheduled a speech in Boston for 1 p.m. to discuss his decision. The president will reportedly follow with a national address at 3 p.m.

Bush Camp Declares Victory Despite Ohio Ballot Dispute
November 3, 2004 6:15am EST
Update: The race for the White House appeared to be at a stalemate early Wednesday morning with President Bush's chief of staff saying the president had clearly won reelection and Sen. John Kerry's campaign claiming it would not concede defeat without the counting of provisional ballots in Ohio.

"We are convinced President Bush has won reelection with a lead of 286 electoral votes and he also has a margin of more than 3-and-a-half million popular votes," White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card told the president's sleepy supporters gathered at the Reagan Building in Washington just before 6 a.m. EST on Wednesday.

However, the Kerry campaign indicated it would demand the count of provisional ballots in Ohio, where President Bush appeared to hold a narrow lead of around 130,000 as of early Wednesday morning.

Kerry Camp Calls for Provisional Ballot Count in Ohio
4am EST
Update: The campaign of Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., indicated it would not concede the presidential election pending the count of provisional ballots in Ohio, where President Bush appeared to hold a narrow lead as of early Wednesday morning.

"We have waited for four years for this victory, we can wait one more night," Senator Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., told a crowd of campaign supporters in Boston at around 2:30 a.m. EST Wednesday.

Earlier, Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill issued a statement alleging some 250,000 votes, including thousands of provisional ballots, were yet to be counted and could affect the outcome.

President Bush Captures Pivotal Florida
1:20am EST
Update: President Bush reportedly won Florida late Tuesday, edging Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., by a few percentage points in the state and taking a substantial lead in the overall electoral vote count.

Early reports indicate that the widespread voting system problems that plagued Florida during the 2000 election were largely avoided. The presidential race is still close in some remaining swing states, most notably Ohio.

RealAudio: Pollsters and political scientists assess the importance of the Florida vote.

RealAudio: Campaign officials offer their take on where things stood as of 11 p.m. EST.

Pivotal State of Ohio's Votes Continue to Trickle In
RealAudio: Early in the evening, historians discussed the importance of the Ohio vote.
RealAudio: Pollsters from Ohio and Pennsylvania offer reports from the trenches.

Sen. Kerry Wins Pa.; Fla. and Ohio Too Close to Call
11:20pm EST As polls closed on the West Coast Tuesday evening, President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., remained locked in a close race for the presidency.

President Bush did well in the South and the Mountain West while Senator Kerry showed strength in the Northeast, on the West Coast and in some mid-Atlantic states. Both candidates won some swing states but election outcomes in the crucial states of Ohio and Florida remained up in the air.

RealAudio: Gwen Ifill discusses other key races with two Congress watchers.

Eleven States Approve Ban on Gay Marriage
Voters approved constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Ohio, Oregon and Utah late Tuesday night.

Voting Closes in Half of U.S., Swing States Remain Tight
8:15pm EST Half of the states had closed their polls as of 8 p.m. EST, with President Bush doing well in the South and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., winning a number of states in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions.

Some crucial swing states, including Florida, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Missouri were still too close to call.

President Wins Handful of Southern States, Indiana
7:40pm EST As the first state polls closed in the East on Tuesday, President Bush appeared to have won a handful of states including Georgia, Kentucky Indiana, and the swing state of West Virginia. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., was projected to have won the state of Vermont.

Past voting trends and polling indicated that President Bush would do well in most Southern states, while Sen. John Kerry's strongholds would be the Northeast and the West Coast.

RealAudio: Jim Lehrer discusses the election with NewsHour regulars, columnists Mark Shields and David Brooks.

RealAudio: Gwen Ifill speaks with two election experts about the potential impact of heavy voter turnout.

Provisional Voting Questions Loom Over Election
The legal and political fight over allowing people not clearly registered to cast a so-called "provisional" ballot may be one of the major issues that affects the results in this year's closely fought election.

Voters Turn Out In Record Numbers to Cast Ballots
Voters trying to beat the crowds turned out early to cast ballots in many precincts on Election Day, forming long lines, standing in rain and snow and even bringing chairs for anticipated long waits.

Officials have estimated as many as 160 million people may cast ballots in the deadlocked race between President Bush and Democratic Sen. John Kerry.

Media Revamps Methods for Reporting Results
To avoid a repeat of the disastrous election night coverage of 2000, news organizations are vowing to be more cautious on Tuesday and have implemented several election night reforms.

Democrats, GOP Poised for Legal Battle
The Republican and Democratic parties have vowed to take disputes over voting and vote counting to the courts.

Candidates Diverge on Terrorism, Security
From combating al-Qaida and the war in Iraq to plans for Social Security, taxes and health care, compare the candidates' positions on the critical issues.