A voter (center) casts his ballot in the US presidential election in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, the United States, on Nov 3, 2020. Election Day voting kicked off in the United States early Tuesday morning with first ballots cast in the northeastern state of New Hampshire. (KAREN HARRIGAN/THE NEWS AND SENTINEL/HANDOUT VIA XINHUA)

ATLANTA / WASHINGTON - Americans began casting ballots on Tuesday in an Election Day unlike any other, braving the threat of COVID-19 and the potential for violence and intimidation after one of the most polarizing presidential races in US history.

In and around polling places across the country, reminders of a 2020 election year shaped by the pandemic, civil unrest and bruising political partisanship greeted voters.

Many wore masks to the polls — either by choice or by official mandate — with the coronavirus outbreak raging in many parts of the country.

After a summer of nationwide protests against police violence and racism, businesses in several major US cities were again boarded up as a precaution against unrest, an extraordinary sight on Election Day in the United States

After a summer of nationwide protests against police violence and racism, businesses in several major US cities were again boarded up as a precaution against unrest, an extraordinary sight on Election Day in the United States.

In Atlanta, Georgia, about a dozen voters were lined up before sunrise at the Piedmont Park Conservancy. First in line was Ginnie House, shivering in the cold, waiting to cast a vote for the Democratic candidate Joe Biden, a former vice president seeking to replace President Donald Trump, a Republican, in the White House.

“I lost my absentee ballot and I’m not going to miss this vote,” said House, a 22-year-old actor and creative writing student in New York who had flown back just for this purpose. Of Trump, she said: “He’s dividing our country.”

Election Day voting kicked off early Tuesday morning with first ballots cast in Dixville Notch and Millsfield, two small towns in the northeastern state of New Hampshire.

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Voters are choosing their preferred candidates for US president and New Hampshire governor, as well as federal and state legislative seats in the midnight voting, a tradition that began in Dixville Notch in 1960.

In the makeshift "Ballot Room" at Dixville Notch's Balsams Resort, Les Otten, one of the only five local registered voters, cast the first ballot.

Otten, identifying himself as "a lifelong Republican," said that he is voting this time for the Democratic presidential nominee.

"I don't agree with him on a lot of issues," Otten said of Biden in a video posted on Twitter before the voting. "But I believe it's time to find what unites us as opposed to what divides us."

Polling stations in some major cities on the East Coast will open as early as 6 am Tuesday (1100 GMT). Then polls will open across the nation. The final polls will close in Alaska.

The voting caps a campaign dominated by the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 231,000 people in the United States and put millions out of work, and shaken by nationwide protests over racial injustice against Black Americans.

Biden, who has framed the contest as a referendum on Trump’s handling of the virus, promised a renewed effort to combat the health crisis, fix the economy and bridge America’s political divide. He has kept a relatively steady lead in national polls.

But Trump is close in enough swing states to possibly piece together the 270 state-by-state Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency. He defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election despite losing the national popular vote by about 3 million ballots.

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More than 99 million early votes had already been cast in person or by mail as of Monday night, according to the US Elections Project at the University of Florida, a record-setting pace fueled by an intense interest in the election and concerns about voting in person on Election Day during a pandemic.

Windows and doors are boarded up in preparation for possible election-related protests or looting in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, the United States, Nov 2, 2020. (PHOTO/XINHUA)

The number was equal to 72.3 percent of the entire turnout in 2016 and represents about 40 percent of all Americans who are legally eligible to vote.

Americans will also decide on Tuesday which political party will control the US Congress for the next two years, with Democrats pushing to recapture a Senate majority and expected to retain their control of the House of Representatives

States have different rules on when they are allowed to start counting mail-in ballots, which require more time to process than those cast in person. Election officials and experts have said that the country should be prepared not to know who won the White House on Tuesday night.

Trump has questioned the integrity of the election results for months, making unsubstantiated claims that mail-in voting is rife with fraud and refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses. Trump has also said votes should only be counted through election night, even though many states often take days or weeks to tally ballots.

The uncertainty and the prospect of prolonged legal battles have fueled unprecedented anxiety about the election’s outcome and aftermath. Several cities are boarding up buildings in anticipation of possible protests, including around the White House and in New York City. The famed shopping destination of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California, will be closed on Tuesday, police said.

Voters take pictures with an "I Voted" sign after voting at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Nov 2, 2020. In-person voting started for most California counties this weekend as local election officials, many for the first time, opened polling places days early in hopes of avoiding crushing crowds on Election Day. (DAMIAN DOVARGANES/AP)

Americans will also decide on Tuesday which political party will control the US Congress for the next two years, with Democrats pushing to recapture a Senate majority and expected to retain their control of the House of Representatives

ALSO READ: A US presidential election like no other

Trump, 74, is seeking another four years in office after a tumultuous first term marked by the coronavirus crisis, an economy battered by pandemic shutdowns, an impeachment drama, US racial tensions and contentious immigration policies.

Biden, 77, is looking to win the presidency after a political career spanning five decades including eight years as vice president under Trump’s Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama. He mounted unsuccessful bids for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 2008.

With inputs from Reuters