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We're about to get the first results in the election to determine whether President Trump gets a second term or voters replace him with former Vice President Joe Biden.

The latest: The polls close at 7 pm Eastern in the critical swing states of Florida and Georgia. Ohio's polls close at 7:30 pm, while North Carolina's early and mail voting results are expected to be delayed until at least 8:15 pm due to technical glitches.

  • Trump is watching the returns from the White House. Biden is watching at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.
  • Trump is likely to speak at some point tonight, but Biden hedged Tuesday afternoon on whether he'd do so, per Axios' Alexi McCammond: "If there's something to talk about tonight I'll talk about it. If not, I'll wait until the votes have been counted the next day."

What we're watching: Tonight's contests also will determine whether Republicans keep the Senate or Democrats take control of both chambers of Congress.

  • Just how big and diverse the turnout is in key states may determine whether we're witnessing a change election, or more of a front-loading of votes in place of in-person, Election Day voting.

The big picture: The coronavirus pandemic has made this election a referendum on Trump's management of a public health and economic crisis that's so far killed 232,000 Americans and infected more than 9.3 million.

  • The virus prompted most states to expand their mail-in and early voting options. Early returns suggest we'll reach new records for voter turnout.
  • Washington, D.C. and other major cities are on guard for civil unrest.
  • Officials have warned it may be days before a winner can be declared.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.