US Elections 2016: Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton neck and neck after splitting key states

Donald Trump, 70, was ahead in key battleground state of Florida while Clinton was projected to win in delegate-rich New York

Hillary Clinton

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were locked in a dead heat with both notching up victories in key battleground states, US media projected today, as the presidential polls went down to the wire with the world on tenterhooks.

Clinton and Trump were locked in a fierce battle for the White House with razor thin margins separating the two in a series of battleground states that will determine the outcome of the presidential contest.

Donald Trump, 70, was ahead in the key battleground state of Florida while Clinton was projected to win in delegate-rich New York, the home state of both the candidates.

69-year-old Democratic nominee was leading Trump by 197 electoral college votes to 187, CNN reported.

To win the presidential election, a candidate needs 270 of the 538 electoral college votes.

CNN projected that Trump had won 21 states while Clinton emerged victorious in 16.

According to the channel, Trump won Ohio (18), North Carolina (15), North Dakota (3 electoral college votes), South Dakota (3), Nebraska (4), Kansas (6), Oklahoma (7), Texas (38), Wyoming (3), Indiana (11), Kentucky (8), Tennessee (11), Mississippi (6), Arkansas (6), Louisiana (8), West Virginia (5), Alabama (9), South Carolina (9), Montana (3), Idaho (5) and Missouri (10).

Clinton emerged victorious in California (55), Hawaii (4), Illinois (20), New York (29), New Jersey (14), Maryland (10), District of Columbia (3), Vermont (3), Massachusetts (11), Connecticut (7), Delaware (3), Colorado (9), New Mexico (5), Virginia (13), Oregon (7) and Rhode Island (4).

Virginia, won by Clinton, has a significant Indian- American population and is home to Democratic vice- presidential nominee, Senator Tim Kaine.

In terms of overall vote percentage, Trump has so far received 49.2 per cent of the votes counted so far as against 46.5 per cent gained by Clinton.

The incoming returns follow a frenzied day of voting across America marked by long lines and last-minute appeals for support from both campaigns.

While the race has tightened in recent days, the Democratic nominee still seemed to enter Election Day with the edge on the electoral map in her quest to become the first woman elected US president. But Trump, a rank political outsider, voiced confidence yesterday about his chances in key battlegrounds.

"We're going to win a lot of states," the Republican nominee told Fox News as he aims for an upset victory to cap his improbable campaign which came from behind to vanquish 16 competitors in the rowdy Republican primaries.

Sporadic complaints of equipment failures and long lines also greeted voters across the country Tuesday as they headed to their polling centers to cast their vote.

However, much of the country experienced a relatively smooth Election Day.