Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, currently leads incumbent president, Donald Trump, in a tight United States presidential election.

Americans finally trooped to the polls on Tuesday, November 3 to vote in an election many consider to be a pivotal moment in the history of the country.

After hours of election result announcements in a dozen of states, Biden leads with 205 electoral votes to Trump's 165, with the winner expected to hit 270.

The result in key battleground states, including Florida, are yet to be announced and analysts believe they will have a huge impact on how the election swings.

A historic haul of mail-in votes is expected to delay the official announcement of the winner for longer than usual.

"We're going to have to be patient until every vote is counted, but we're feeling good about where we are," Biden told supporters on Tuesday night.

Shortly after his vote, Trump repeated his claim that Democrats are trying to steal the election.

"We will never let them do it," he tweeted.