LIVE UPDATES: Election Day 2012

More than a year of stump speeches, fundraisers, presidential serenades and policy debates culminate today. All the persuading, nominating, campaign rallies, door knocking and baby kissing end with Americans heading to polls to choose their president, who will represent them on Capitol Hill, and countless other local candidates.

Refresh here for updates throughout the day and results all night.

Tune in to ABCNews.com for livestreaming coverage of Election 2012. Our Election Day show kicks off at noon, and the Election Night event begins at 7 p.m.

But before it all wraps, reflect on some of the most memorable moments of the 2012 election campaign here.

All times are in Eastern Standard Time.

1:45 p.m. - Chris Christie's Neutral Voting Tweet

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has gotten national attention for his praise of President Obama in the past week. He and Obama showcased a budding bromance last Wednesday, touring damage from Superstorm Sandy together. Putting partisan politics aside, Christie went so far as to say the people of New Jersey would not want him thinking about how the nation is going to vote.

"I don't give a damn about Election Day. It doesn't matter a lick to me at the moment. I have much bigger fish to fry than that," Christie said, before boarding a helicopter to assess Sandy's damage along the Jersey Shore .

Christie, a Romney surrogate, had at one point thought about becoming Mitt Romney's running mate. Christie said Monday he'd vote for Romney, according to the Associated Press, but President Obama had earned his praise.

With all that baggage, Christie's Election Day tweet is markedly neutral. See for yourself:

Today is a national election. Everyone should find some time today and go vote. New Jersey voices should be heard. njelections.org

- Governor Christie (@GovChristie) November 6, 2012

1:36 p.m. - Obama Makes a Call

Meanwhile, President Obama joined campaign volunteers in his hometown to make calls this afternoon.

POTUS makes stop at Chicago field office to make calls on election day twitter.com/jrpsaki/status?

- Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) November 6, 2012

1:15 p.m. - Romney, Ryan Thank Volunteers in Ohio

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan have arrived at the Richmond Heights Victory Center, according to ABC's Emily Friedman.

Romney Press Secretary Rick Gorka says the team will be thanking volunteers in the Hilltop Plaza shopping center this afternoon.

.paulryanvp and @ mittromney thanking our great volunteers in OH. #voteromney instagr.am/p/RspteVscpK/

- Rick Gorka (@Rick_Gorka) November 6, 2012

1:11 p.m. - Donald Trump Clears Up Controversy

Me voting- it really is my hair! fb.me/20J4X5Iva

- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012

12:56 p.m. - White House Dream Meals by Celebrity Chefs

ABC's Sheila Marikar reports:

Since celebrity cooks are now regulars at the White House - President Obama's state dinners have been helmed by the likes of Rick Bayless and Marcus Samuelsson - ABCNews.com reached out to some of New York's famous chefs to find out what they'd make at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, given the opportunity and no restrictions. Highlights include ricotta gnocchi, salted-caramel ice cream and a custom-made Bourbon.

Read on for more deliciousness.

12:52 p.m. - As Divided Country Picks a President, Obama Plays Basketball While Romney Rallies

ABC News' Russell Goldman reports:

The president, who voted early last month, will remain in his home state of Illinois today, doing some satellite television interviews and playing a game of basketball - an Election Day tradition that stems from superstition.

The fate of the election will rest on the outcomes in a few hard-fought swing states - Florida, Virginia, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and, most crucially, Ohio.

Victory or defeat may very well come down to Ohio, a battleground whose 18 electoral votes may be as critical this year as Florida was in 2000. Both candidates know it and have spent more time there than anywhere else.

Ohio, or possibly Wisconsin, where Romney has trailed for months, create "a very narrow path to Electoral College victory," said Matthew Dowd, a Republican strategist and ABC News consultant.

Read more from Russell Goldman here.

12:42 p.m. - Republican s Claim 62 Million 'Voter Contacts'

ABC News' Michael Falcone reports:

The Romney campaign and Republicans have been touting their intensive ground-game efforts throughout the election cycle, and today is no different. Voter contact numbers from each party are unverifiable - and depend, in part, on the definition of what a "contact" is. With that caveat in mind, here's a final tally from the Republican National Committee noting how many voters they have contacted nationally, and in the key battleground states.

"Our volunteers have made 62,200,896 voter contacts this cycle, including knocking on the doors of over 14 million doors," according to an RNC official.

And by the time polls close in the states tonight, the GOP says they will have contacted 14. 5 million voters in Florida, 2.6 million in Iowa, 3.4 million in Colorado, 8.6 million in Ohio, 2.9 million in Nevada, 1.6 million in New Hampshire, 6.8 million in Virginia, 4.2 million in Wisconsin and 6.4 million in Pennsylvania.

12:37 p.m. - House Races to Watch

ABC News' John Parkinson reports:

There are 435 seats in the House of Representatives, but most districts are not competitive, and voters will return incumbents. Here is a look at 25 of the top match-ups worth watching in the House of Representatives today.

Most are highly competitive and expensive races, while others are notable simply for the political characters on the ticket, including a migrant worker-turned-astronaut and an Iraq War veteran who has lost two limbs. Both are challenging GOP freshmen and stand a chance of winning. An African-American woman and an openly gay candidate have also mounted competitive challenges to knock off long-time Democratic incumbents.

In order to regain majority control, Democrats need to have a net gain of 25 seats to overcome the Republicans' 50 seat majority. Democrats are also defending a handful of districts where incumbents have retired, leaving the majority that much more difficult to attain. The verdict will be decided by the voters, but with Mitt Romney neck-and-neck with President Obama, the general consensus is that House Speaker John Boehner and his Republican colleagues will almost certainly hold onto the majority in the lower chamber.

Read full race by race analysis here.

12:15 p.m. - Reading the Signs

It's the question on everyone's mind today: who will win the presidential election? ABC News has gone through a myriad of possible factors to try to predict. Which presidential candidate is more popular with coffee drinkers? Who won the cookie contest? Might height make might?

See those answers and more in OTUS News' Election Night infographic.

11:51 a.m. - Meet Third Party Candidate Jill Stein

If you thought there were only two candidates running for president today, you thought wrong. Among a number alternative candidate, Jill Stein is running as the Green Party candidate.

Stein has been arrested at least twice during this campaign: first at the Hofstra University presidential debate where she was protesting her exclusion from the event, and second just last Wednesday when, according to the Washington Post, Stein ran up trespassing charges for distributing Halloween candy to anti-Keystone XL protesters in Texas.

At one point, fellow Green Party candidate Roseanne Barr was thought to be Stein's running mate, but Stein dispelled that rumor when she announced the virtually-unknown Cheri Honkala would be her veep.

Read more about Stein and other alternative candidates here.

11:14 a.m. - What's in a Name?

ABC's Chris Good reports:

At opposite ends of the country, two House candidates, with vastly different agendas, are running under names they made up themselves.

Voters in South Florida's 25th District will see an unfamiliar option on congressional ballots today: 32-year-old first-time candidate VoteForEddie.Com. Voters in Idaho's 1st District, meanwhile, will see a familiar choice: 72-year-old strawberry farmer "Pro-Life," who is making his fourth consecutive bid for major office.

They are the only two candidates running for federal office under such irregular names, according to the Associated Press list of nationwide candidates. They've undergone the legal name-changing ordeal, they say, with very different goals in mind.

Read more from Chris Good here.

10:50 a.m. - Senate Snapshots: The Races You Need to Know About

Democrats are bullish on their chances to keep control of the U.S. Senate. But there are a bunch of close races around the country. ABC's Sunlen Miller runs down the most important ones. There are important symbolic battles in Virginia and Massachusetts, and two races - Indiana and Missouri - where Republican candidates faltered after controversial comments about abortion.

Sunlen's full round-up, and ABC's race ratings are here.

10:45 a.m. - Poll Watching With the Lawyers (and Preparing for the Legal Battle)

ABC's Ariane de Vogue and Colleen Curry report:

When polls open Tuesday morning, a small army of thousands of lawyers affiliated with both campaigns and state party efforts will be in place in key swing states where legal action can make a difference in the outcome of the election.

In large part, the Democrats are worried about what they say are efforts to suppress the vote. Republicans say they fear instances of voter fraud.

Both sides will be concentrating on issues such as voter registration and eligibility, poll watcher activity, ballot counting, polling hours and machine malfunctioning.

At the national level, teams of lawyers will be wired in to nationwide databases, as Republican attorneys use a smartphone app to communicate problems and Democrats relay information to a database in Chicago, according to the Associated Press.

Obama officials, speaking on background, say they have recruited thousands of attorney volunteers to help recruit, train, educate and observe at polling locations across the country. They say they are not only tasked with putting legal teams in place but also having a data base of experts on voting systems, registration data bases, ballot design, student voting and provisional ballots.

More here from Ariane and Colleen.

10:32 a.m. - Let 2016 Begin - Biden Votes and Subtly Teases Run. But What About Hillary?

ABC's Arlette Saenz watched Joe Biden cast his vote for president early this morning in Delaware. While this is undoubtedly President Obama's last run for office, Biden could conceivably make another go at the top job in 2016.

When reporters asked Biden, who was chummy with other voters, if this was his last time voting for himself, his answer was interesting.

"No, I don't think so," Biden said outside Alexis I. duPont High School in Wilmington, Del. where he voted with his wife, Jill Biden, son Beau, daughter-in-law Hallie and granddaughter Natalie.

Should he decide to run in 2016, Biden, who ran for president in 1988 and 2008, would be 73 years old with nearly 44 years of politicking under his belt, and he could find himself in a 2016 matchup with another politician currently serving in President Obama's administration - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. More from Arlette here.

Hillary Clinton, who is also set to vote today, has repeatedly said she won't run for president in 2016. More on the chatter around her from ABC's Dana Hughes, who covers the State Department.

8 a.m. - Time to Vote

The day has come, and for those who didn't vote early or absentee, it's time to head into the voting booth. Wondering what time the polls open and close in your state? ABC News brings you information on poll hours in each state.

Find your state here.

1:08 a.m. - Closing arguments in Iowa, New Hampshire and on 'Monday Night Football'

ABC News was out with all of the candidates on the final night of campaigning.

Obama Returns to Iowa

President Obama shed a tear while addressing supporters in Des Moines.

ABC's Mary Bruce wrote: President Obama ended his presidential campaign Monday night with an emotional appeal to voters in the state that started it all, asking Iowans to help him finish what he started four years ago.

"We have made real progress over these last four years," the president told an estimated crowd of 20,000 standing outside in the bitter cold. "But Iowa, we are here tonight because we have more work to do. We are not done yet on this journey. We have more road to travel."

Just steps away from the campaign office set up for his improbable victory in the 2008 Iowa caucuses, a nostalgic Obama told Iowans they taught him "to bet on hope."

Read Mary's report here.

Romney - Return to New Hampshire

ABC's Emily Friedman reports from New Hampshire:

Romney's campaign was launched in Stratham, New Hampshire, in June 2011, and Romney has returned more than 23 times this year alone. He essentially camped out in the state in the days and weeks prior to the January primary. Romney, who also owns a home in New Hampshire, spent weeks in the state over the summer too.

"Together we must lead America to a better place," Romney said, his voice growing hoarse at times, the rally his fifth of the day.

Emily's full report is here.

The 'Monday Night Football' Lobby -

Devin Dwyer reports that both candidates were a not quite as emotional when they appeared in separate taped segments on "Monday Night Football."

While the New Orleans Saints and Philadelphia Eagles paused for halftime, and the candidates themselves were still on the road holding final swing state rallies, both men appeared in pre-taped interviews with host Chris Berman during the network's half-time show.

Comparing politics to sports, Berman asked Obama how he planned to "repeat" - one of the most difficult feats for a "championship" team.

"It has to do with not getting distracted by your own hype or the critics," Obama said. "It's interesting, political reporters are a lot like sports reporters. And, you lose a game, and you're a bum. You win a game, you're a God.

Berman asked Romney about the most valuable lesson he could apply in the Oval Office he learned from shepherding the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Winter Games. He cited a greater appreciation of the human spirit.

"I think most people watch the Olympics not just because of the interest in the sport itself. I mean how many people were avid fans of women's bobsled for instance before the Olympics? But they watch the bobsled event because they get to see the character of human beings if you will ? the crucible of sport," he said.

Devin's full report is here.

12:48 a.m. - It's a Tie! ? In Dixville Notch

The first votes are in!

Ten of them, anyway. And it's an Obama-Romney tie.

The small hamlet of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, distinguishes itself every primary and general election by voting right at midnight.

This year 10 voters showed up and they split evenly - five votes apiece - for President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

Obama won the Dixville Notch vote in 2008. But in elections before that, the town had stuck to more conservative candidates, twice selecting a Republican instead of Bill Clinton.

Dixville Notch and its 10 voters may be symbolic, but they're not a bellwether for the state. Obama won in Dixville Notch in 2008, but that was the first time a majority of the town went for a Dem in 40 years.

The other New Hampshire town with midnight voting- the slightly more populous (32 voters) Hart's Location- swung toward Obama tonight- 23 Obama, 9 Romney.

More here from Elizabeth Hartfield along with some video from Dixvilled Notch:

Curated by ABC's Z. Byron Wolf and Sarah Parnass

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/live-updates-election-day-2012-152330625--abc-news-politics.html

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