For more than a year, the US has suffered through what has been the most agonizing election cycle in recent history. There was name-calling from both sides of the ailse. Tawdry details on both candidates' lives slung like ammunition on debate stages. And divisive rhetoric that, at times, felt like it would tear this country apart.

And now, the wait is over. The healing can, hopefully, begin. Americans can finally cast their vote for real estate mogul and Republican Donald Trump, former Secretary of State and Democrat Hillary Clinton, Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, or other presidential candidates.

Stay with us all day — we'll be updating you on the latest happenings at the polls, the best reactions of people voting on social media, and how Trump and Clinton are spending their last day of the campaign.

2:38 A.M.: Associated Press Declares Donald Trump the 45th President of America

Donald Trump will become the 45th president of the United States after he secured the required 270 electoral college votes once Wisconsin went his way. 

2:04 P.M.: Clinton Camp Calling It a Night

Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta took the stage at NYC's Javitz center tonight where the Clinton camp had planned what it hoped was a victory party. Podesta announced that they won't make any announcements tonight because of how close several races are across the US. "They're still counting votes and every vote should count," Podesta said. He asked supporters to go home for the night, and they'd be back Wednesday with more.

1:40 P.M.: AP Calls Pennsylvania for Trump

12:24 P.M.: Clinton Wins Nevada

The total electoral votes are now 215 for Clinton and 244 for Trump.

12:04 A.M.: Utah and Iowa Go to Trump

The total tally of electoral votes, per the AP, is 244 Trump and 209 Clinton.

11:40 P.M.: 7 States Are Called

Trump wins Idaho and North Carolina while Clinton pulls off victories in Georgia, California, Hawaii, Washington, and Oregon. Clinton is at 209 electoral votes and 232 for Trump. A candidate needs 270 to win.

10:54 P.M.: AP Calls Folorida for Trump

Electoral college totals are now 131 Clinton and 197 Trump.

10:46 P.M.: Colorado and Virginia Go to Clinton

The AP totals of electoral votes are now 131 Clinton and 168 Trump.

10:24 P.M.: Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, and Missouri Are Decided

Trump has won Montana, Ohio and Missouri, while Clinton has won New Mexico. The latest AP tally has Clinton at 109 and Trump at 168 electoral votes.

9:52 P.M.: Trump: 137, Clinton: 104

Trump has won Louisana to reach 137 electoral votes; Clinton has won Connecticut to reach 104 votes. 

9:41 P.M.: Watching The Results

9:16 P.M.: What's Happening at the Clinton, Trump Election Night Parties

With a barrage of new states closing their polls, the scenes outside of both Trump and Clinton’s campaign party headquarters are becoming more and more spirited. 

Trump supporters have gathered outside of the Hilton Midtown in New York City to sing patriotic songs and wave American flags.

Hillary supporters are gathered at the Javits Center, also in New York’s Midtown, not far from Trump’s supporters.

Here at Javits watching the numbers!

A photo posted by leahlatella (@leahlatella) on

9:03 P.M.: More Votes Arrive — Trump Leads

As more polls close throughout the country, Trump maintains his lead (129 electoral votes) with wins in Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Wyoming. Clinton (97), meanwhile, secured wins in New York and Illinois, per the AP. 

8:56 P.M.: Trump Wins Mississippi, Clinton Wins Rhode Island

Trump reaches 66 electoral votes with a win in Mississippi, while Clinton hits 48 with a win in Rhode Island. 

8:53 P.M.: There's a Donald Trump Cake

We don't know who made this cake or why, really, but I think we can all agree it's awesome.

8:33 P.M.: Trump Wins Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee

By winning South Carolina, Tennessee, and Alabama, Trump now has 60 electoral votes; Clinton has 44 electoral votes. 

8:01: More Results Are In

"Clinton was awarded Massachusetts' 11 electoral votes, 10 from Maryland, 14 from New Jersey and three each from Delaware and the nation's capital, giving her 44 for the night. Trump picked up seven from Oklahoma, giving him 31," the AP reports.

7:32 P.M.: Trump Wins West Virginia

Trump has won West Virginia, the AP reports. The state has 5 electoral votes. That brings the total of electoral college votes to 24 for Trump and 3 for Clinton.

7:14 P.M.: Shooting Near Poll Stations in California

Police in Azusa, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, are reporting an active shooter near two polling locations. Up until now, one person has been killed and three have been injured, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

Mass shootings peaked in June of this year, according to Mass Shooting Tracker, with 104 killed in that month. On June 12, 2016, 49 were killed and 53 injured at Pulse night club in Orlando.

In December of 2015, 14 were killed and 22 injured in San Bernardino, California — a nearby suburb to Azusa.

7:03 P.M. Three States' Results Are In

Donald Trump has won Indiana and Kentucky while Clinton has won Vermont, the Associated Press is reporting. "Trump was awarded Kentucky's eight electoral votes and Indiana's 11. Vermont gives Clinton three. These are the first states to be decided Tuesday in the 2016 general election,"  the AP reports.

6:27 P.M.: The Latest From the Candidates

6:21 P.M.: Exit Polls / Readiness of voters

More from ABC News' exit polls: 74% of voters said they had made up their minds about who to vote for more than a month ago, while 24% of voters said they had made their decision in the past month. This means that the majority of voters were not affected by the release of Trump's Access Hollywood tape or by the renewed investigation into Clinton's emails. The third debate also failed to influence voters. 

 6:09 P.M.: Results From First Exit Polls / Appraisals of Candidates 

ABC News' exit polls includes information on how votes view the candidates. 

54% of voters view Clinton unfavorably / 61% of voters view Trump unfavorably. 

59% of voters view Clinton as dishonest and untrustworthy / 65% of voters view Trump as dishonest and untrustworthy.

53% of voters view Clinton as qualified for the presidency / 37% of voters view Trump as qualified for the presidency. 

5:28 P.M.: First Polls Close at 6 p.m. in Indiana & Kentucky

Believe it or not, voting in the 2016 election is about to begin wrapping up. Over the next couple of hours many of the major swing states will close their polls and begin tallying votes. In most states, anyone in line at the time the polls close will be allowed to vote.

Here are the upcoming closing times:

Voting in parts of Indiana and Kentucky ends at 6 p.m. tonight, the first districts in the nation to close the polls on Election 2016.

At 7 p.m., most of Florida, Georgia, the rest of Indiana, the western half of Kentucky, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia will close their polls.

North Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia follow at 7:30 p.m.

5:10 P.M.: Taylor Swift, Amy Schumer, Olivia Wilde & Jason Sudeikis #ShowupVote

Today is the day. Go out and VOTE 🇺🇸

A photo posted by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on

Celebs from Rihanna to Amy Poehler supported candidates and encouraged others to get out and vote today.

Check out who showed up and voted so far:

Neil Patrick Harris

Miley Cyrus

Mindy Kaling

Seth Meyers

Anne Hathaway

Amy Schumer

Olivia Wilde & Jason Sudeikis

Chance the Rapper

Katy Perry

Joe Jonas

Taylor Swift

Jessica Alba

And we haven’t seen the sticker post yet, but Beyoncé’s pantsuit was flawless. 

3:58 P.M.: Live Map Shows Long Lines, #NoPens, and Other Voter Issues

A collaborative effort between Google News Lab and Pitch Interactive maps out reports of Google Trends and searches across the country on voter intimidation, provisional voting (where votes are collected but not always counted), inactive voting (issues with ballot delivery), and voting machine issues. And in the digital age of 2016 — people sort of forgot about the whole black and blue pen requirement.

3:23 P.M.: Trump Sues Nevada For Extending Poll Hours

The Trump campaign filed a lawsuit against Clark County in the swing state of Nevada for keeping polls open two hours longer Friday, Nov. 4. The polling station had long lines for the last day of early voting and stayed open until 10 p.m., which the campaign allegedly claims aided Democratic voters.

Read the full story on Politico here.

2:11 P.M.: President Obama's Message on Election Day

The president has a word of advice for Americans today. No, it's not about tacos. But he does want everyone to go vote!

1:28 P.M.: Angela Merkel Comments on Possible Female President

Germany's first female chancellor Angela Merkel has stayed out of the US election fray, but today she did comment on the possible election of Hillary Clinton as the first female president of the US.

“Then we would come a bit closer to equality between men and women in leading positions.”

1:10 P.M.: Where and How to Watch US Election Results

Polls will start closing at 6 p.m. ET.  If you’re not already throwing a Taco Tuesday Election Night party or watching with provisions like global beer for #PostVotingStressRelief, here are the best places to stay tuned in as election results begin to trickle in.

This guide from the New York Times will tell you what time we could officially have a new president. Ranges between 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. with a helpful explanation why. Politico will also have a live map fill-in here.

Where to watch:
You can watch televised results on basically every major news channel: ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, CNBC, Fox, Fox News, MSNBC, PBS NewsHour and Univision starting at 7 p.m. ET. Election results will be livestreaming on YouTube on NBC News, PBS, MTV, Bloomberg, Telemundo, and The Young Turks.

1:01 P.M.: Who Are You Dedicating Your Vote To?

Across Twitter, people are sharing who they are dedicating their vote to. It's a heartwarming hashtag to peruse, as people recall loved ones in their lives and communities of people they support. Take a look at it here.

12:53 P.M.: Reports of Problems at the Polls

Across the US, there are reports of long lines and malfunctioning equipment. One polling station's machines broke in Texas, while some people in Utah will have to use paper ballots. And there are reports of voter intimidation.

The AP reports: "Officials with Election Protection, a national voter helpline, said they had received about 63 reports of possible intimidation from callers in Pennsylvania as of 11 a.m." Read more here.

12:49 P.M.: Strong Leader Wanted

Early exit polls from POLITICO show that voters really want a strong leader to take over the White House.

"Asked what characteristic is most important for the next president, 36 percent of voters say they want a 'strong leader,' 29 percent want 'a vision for the future,' 16 percent want someone who 'cares about people like me' and another 16 percent said they want someone who 'shares my values,' the site reported. Read more here.

11:46 A.M.: People Are Flocking to Susan B. Anthony's Grave

No matter what happens as votes are tallied, today is a historic day — a woman is running for president of a major political party. And voters in Rochester, New York, are celebrating by visiting suffragist Susan B. Anthony's gave. See the photos here.

11:25 A.M.: Donald Trump Casts His Vote

The Republican presidential nominee arrived at his polling station — a public school in Manhattan — with a big contingency of security gaurds and his wife Melania.

11:15 A.M.: Why Tacos Are the Real Winners

Global Citizen writer Phineas Rueckert makes a great point. It's Taco Tuesday and it's Election Day. These two themes merge in the form of the 2016 election, where tacos have been a running theme. Read more here.

via GIPHY

10:43 A.M.: Early Voting Results Are In!

New Hampshire has a few polls which open at midnight on Election Day, and the results of the very few ballots that are cast there are in. Fewer than 100 residents can vote in these rural polling stations, and the majority of those votes have gone to Donald Trump. Read more here.

10:30 A.M.: Voting on Twitter

It's only a few hours into Election Day, and already a few voting related hashtags are dominating Twitter. Check out these hashtags. With the exception of Prince Harry, every trending hashtag in the US is related to Election Day.

9:49 A.M.: Long Lines at the Polls

What are you seeing at your polling stations? Tag us in your tweet with the hashtag #ShowupVote and we'll include your photos here. 

8:32 A.M.: Hillary Clinton Casts Her Vote

Hillary Clinton and husband Bill Clinton cast their ballots at a polling station near their home in Westchester, outside of New York City. 

"I know how much responsibility goes with this," Clinton said. "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."

8:15 A.M.: Trump Calls Into Fox News

"I see so many hopes and so many dreams out there that didn't happen, that could have happened, with leadership, with proper leadership," Trump said by telephone on the show "Fox & Friends." "And people are hurt so badly." He also said he got a call from Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady giving him his support yesterday.

TopicsvotingDonald TrumpDemocracyHillary Clinton2016 ElectionsElection 2016Election Day#ShowupVote

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Live Updates: US Votes for Its Next President

By Meghan Werft,  Colleen Curry,  Phineas Rueckert,  Cassie Carothers  and  Joe McCarthy