Live Blog: In-Depth Election Coverage, Live State-by-State Results

Election day is here and America is currently voting for its next president. We have live results, state by state, along with a live blog, where journalists and citizen journalists discuss the race to the White House. Join the conversation now! In Digital Journal's live election coverage, we've got three important segments for everyone looking for information on the U.S. election. Scroll down, or click on one of the following selections: 1) Live Blog coverage 2) Outline of battleground states 3) An interactive map with state-by-state results

Live Blog Coverage of the U.S. Election

Live blog coverage begins at 9 p.m. EST. The format will be that of a round table discussion, where panelists discuss various questions posed by Digital Journal. As a reader, you will also be able to take part in this conversation by answering live polls and submitting your own commentary and opinion. Digital Journal will be moderating the coverage, and joining the group of panelists are citizen journalists Sadiq Green, Bob Ewing, Debra Myers, Robert Miller, Paul Wallis and Richard Sweet. We invite everyone to join in on the discussion beginning at 9 p.m. EST. An overview of how you can get active is posted below the live blog. Here is an overview of how to get active on this live blog: • Comment on what the commentators say, respond to other comments, and vote on polls created throughout the live coverage • It's not a chat room. You are on this live blog to mainly find out what the writer has to say. An open chat with thirty or more readers turns into poor, disjointed content very quickly. • Your comments are published at the Writer's discretion. The Writer can view all comments sent to them but only they can publish your comments for everyone to see. • The 'autoscroll' feature ensures you're always shown the newest content without having to refresh or scroll your screen. You can turn this on or off by using the controls at the bottom of the live blog. • Light sound effects alert you to new content as it's being published. This can also be turned on or off as needed • If you want to embed this live blog coverage on your own website or blog, click here for embed codes.

Battleground States:

By DigitalJournal.com The U.S. presidential election has several key states known as "battleground states" which could swing either Republican or Democrat. Digital Journal has prepared the following list of key states to watch: Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Colorado, Nevada and Pennsylvania. image:44369:4::0

A lot has been said about the battleground states and their impact on this election. The candidates need 270 electoral votes to claim the presidency and there are a number of battleground states that make the run to the White House interesting. If you're unfamiliar with them, they are states where, generally speaking, the division between Republican and Democratic is very close. They are typically larger states, with mixed rural and urban populations. So what are they, and why do they matter? Here's a breakdown of battleground states, chosen by DigitalJournal.com: Florida, North Carolina, Virginia: All three of these states voted for George W. Bush, so pundits believe Obama will be in good shape if he can win just one of them. Virginia and North Carolina, specifically, have large African American populations which could swing to Obama's side, but Virginia has a large population of military veterans, who typically vote Republican, in this case for McCain. Virginia has not voted Democrat since the 1960s, but the area is filling up with new, highly motivated voters. Ohio, Indiana, Missouri: These states have been called the "canaries in the mine" for election 2008. Indiana and Missouri are considered staunch red states (Republican). However, polls show they could swing Democrat in this election. Historically speaking, over the last century, Missouri has only once not elected the president. Ohio is particularly important and has been fought for fiercely in this election. Ohio played a very big role in the Democratic primaries, where Hillary Clinton won, so Obama has been campaigning to try and win back blue-collar workers. Colorado and Nevada: Both states elected bush in 2004, but polls suggest they could go Democrat. Swings to the Democrat side of the aisle are being attributed to pockets of high growth, which tend to vote democratic. These areas have been called battleground states for Obama because he's been campaigning to win service workers and Hispanics. Some pundits have said many future elections will go Democrat if Obama wins Nevada. Pennsylvania: Many new registrants in this area are heavily democratic. This area has traditionally been very Republican in the suburbs, but this election they seem they could go blue. Some believe Obama will win the election if he takes North Carolina and Virginia. Many other battleground states have been very close in numbers, and McCain has been forced to defend them rather than get out on the offensive, which many people believe held the Republicans back.

Live Election Results: