As the final hours of voting draw to a close across the United States, poll workers in New York City are preparing for the final trickle of ballots while election observers and federal monitors maintain a heavy presence nationwide, MBC reported.
Voting across the Eastern Time Zone is wrapping up at 9 p.m. local time, exactly 14 hours behind South Korea, while polls further west in California remain open until 1 p.m. Korean time, and select western regions of Alaska continue accepting ballots until 3 p.m.
The staggered closing times mean that while early vote tabulation is already underway in eastern states, citizens on the West Coast are still casting their ballots. MBC reported that voter traffic in Manhattan’s Upper West Side slowed significantly through the late afternoon.
Washington State Deploys National Guard Members to Secure Ballot Boxes
The final hours of the election unfold amid a major deployment of federal oversight.
In response, the Democratic Party also countered with its own measures. Several jurisdictions assigned independent monitors to oversee the federal personnel, while Washington state deployed approximately 100 National Guard members to secure ballot boxes.
Technical Glitches in Westchester County
Logistical hiccups surfaced in Westchester County, north of New York City, where tabulation scanners encountered reading errors with specific ballots. Election officials directed that the affected ballots be stored securely for manual counting later.
Because Westchester County sits within a closely watched congressional battleground district, the equipment malfunction could potentially delay the final outcome for local races.
Massive Financial Stakes in Prediction Markets and Campaigns
Beyond traditional polling places, financial interest in the election was substantial. Prediction markets—platforms where participants wager money on the outcome of the race—recorded transactional volumes exceeding $1.9 billion, or more than 2.5 trillion won.
Individual financial backing also played a prominent role in the cycle. Elon Musk contributed approximately 630 billion won to support the Republican candidate and political organizations, concentrating much of his financial support on competitive races in Texas.
