Trump wins Indiana, Kentucky, Clinton wins Vermont in early polls

Republican nominee Donald Trump has won Indiana and Kentucky, with 11 and 8 electoral votes, respectively while rival Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has won in Vermont, with three electoral votes.

A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in the U.S. reports that the results came in through exit polls, a system whereby voters leaving polling centres are asked how they voted.

As the first polls closed on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (1 a.m. Nigerian time) Clinton was projected to win Vermont’s three electoral votes, while Trump was projected the winner in Indiana and Kentucky.

South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia remained too close to call.

During the polls on Tuesday, there were long lines at many polling places.

The U.S. president is elected by Electoral College made up of 538 electors as against popular vote and to be elected president, a candidate must win 50 per cent plus one (51 per cent) electoral vote.

Kentucky and Indiana are deep Republicans state with a total of 19 electoral votes while Vermont is a solid Democrats state with three electoral votes.

The states that are “solid” Republican are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Dakota.

The others are Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming with a total of 157 Electoral College votes while the “lean” Republican states are Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Second Congressional District, Ohio and Utah totaling 47 electoral College votes.

On the other hand, the “solid” Democratic states are California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Minnesota and New Mexico totaling 200 Electoral College votes.

The “lean” Democratic states are Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin with a total of 68 Electoral College votes.

The battleground states, which have 66 Electoral College votes up for grabs are Arizona, Florida, Nevada, Nebraska Second Congressional District, New Hampshire and North Carolina.

Each of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, has a certain amount of Electoral College votes to award a candidate, based on the number of members of Congress it has.

This is roughly in line with each area’s population and the votes are given on a winner-takes-all basis, except in Maine and Nebraska.

In 2008, President Barack Obama won 53 per cent of the vote but this led to 68 per cent of the Electoral College vote.