FACTBOX | Results of national exit poll on US presidential election

Democrat Kamala Harris faced Republican Donald Trump on Tuesday in the US presidential election after the two candidates vied for support by staking positions on issues including abortion, the economy and foreign policy.

Following are preliminary results from an exit poll conducted by Edison Research. Results will be updated as additional poll responses are gathered.

• Harris wins 54% of women voters nationwide; Trump wins 44%. Trump's share is up 2 percentage points from a 2020 exit poll.
• Trump wins 55% of white voters nationwide; Harris wins 43%. Trump's share is down 3 percentage points from a 2020 exit poll.
• Harris wins 86% of black voters nationwide; Trump wins 12%. Trump's share is unchanged from a 2020 exit poll.
• Trump wins 45% of Hispanic voters nationwide; Harris wins 53%. Trump's share is up 13 percentage points from a 2020 exit poll.
• Trump wins 59% of white men voters nationwide; Harris wins 39%. Trump's share is down 2 percentage points from a 2020 exit poll.
• Harris wins 47% of white women voters nationwide; Trump wins 52%. Trump's share is down 3 percentage points from a 2020 exit poll.
• Harris wins 78% of black men voters nationwide; Trump wins 20%. Trump's share is up 1 percentage point from a 2020 exit poll.
• Harris wins 92% of black women voters nationwide; Trump wins 7%. Trump's share is down 2 percentage points from a 2020 exit poll.
• Trump wins 53% of Hispanic men voters nationwide; Harris wins 45%. Trump's share is up 17 percentage points from a 2020 exit poll.
• Trump wins 37% of Hispanic women voters nationwide; Harris wins 61%. Trump's share is up 7 percentage points from a 2020 exit poll.
• Trump wins 42% of voters age 18 to 29 nationwide; Harris wins 55%. Trump's share is up 6 percentage points from a 2020 exit poll.
• Harris wins 50% of voters age 65+ nationwide; Trump wins 49%. Trump's share is down 3 percentage points from a 2020 exit poll.
• Trump wins 51% of voters age 45+ nationwide; Harris wins 47%. Trump's share is unchanged from a 2020 exit poll.
• Harris wins 53% of voters under age 45 nationwide; Trump wins 44%. Trump's share is up 2 percentage points from a 2020 exit poll.
• Trump wins 54% of voters without a college degree nationwide; Harris wins 44%. Trump's share is up 4 percentage points from a 2020 exit poll.
• Harris wins 57% of voters with college degrees nationwide; Trump wins 40%. Trump's share is down 3 percentage points from a 2020 exit poll.
• 44% of voters nationwide said they had a favourable view of Trump, compared to 46% who said so in Edison Research's 2020 exit poll. 54% viewed him unfavourably, compared to 52% in 2020.
• 48% of voters nationwide said they had a favourable view of Harris, compared to 52% who said the same of President Joe Biden in Edison Research's 2020 exit poll. 51% viewed her unfavourably, compared to 46% who viewed Biden that way in 2020.
• 31% of voters nationwide said the economy mattered most in deciding how to vote in the presidential election, 11% said immigration, 14% abortion, 34% the state of democracy and 4% foreign policy.
• 45% of voters nationwide said their family's financial situation was worse off than it was four years ago, compared to 20% who said so in Edison Research's 2020 exit poll. 24% said they were better off than they were four years ago, compared to 41% in 2020. 30% said their financial situation was unchanged.
• 51% of voters nationwide said they trust Trump more to handle the economy. 47% said they trust Harris more.
• 39% of voters nationwide said most undocumented immigrants in the US should be deported to the countries they came from. 56% said they should be offered a chance to apply for legal status.
• 50% of voters nationwide said they trust Harris more to handle the issue of abortion. 44% said they trust Trump more.
• 32% of voters nationwide said US support for Israel is too strong, 30% said it's not strong enough and 31% said it's about right.
• 73% of voters nationwide said they think democracy in the U.S. is threatened, 25% said it is secure.
• 57% of voters nationwide said they didn't have a college degree, compared to 59% in Edison Research's 2020 exit poll. 43% had a degree compared to 41% in 2020.
• 53% of voters nationwide were women, compared to 52% in Edison Research's 2020 exit poll. 47% were men compared to 48% in 2020.
• 71% of voters nationwide were white compared to 67% in Edison Research's 2020 exit poll. 11% were black  compared to 13% in 2020 and 12% were Hispanic compared to 13% in 2020.
• 34% of voters nationwide were white men compared to 35% in Edison Research's 2020 exit poll. 37% were white women compared to 32% in 2020.
• 5% of voters nationwide were black men compared to 4% in 2020 and 7% were black women compared to 8% in 2020.
• 6% of voters nationwide were Hispanic men compared to 5% in 2020 and 6% were Hispanic women compared to 8% in 2020.

Exit polling reflects only a slice of the tens of million of people who have voted, before and on Election Day, and the preliminary results are subject to change through as more people are surveyed.

National exit poll results provide an important window into the thinking of the nation, but may not directly align with the seven battleground states expected to decide the presidential election.

Exit polls capture variations among turnout in different demographic groups, such as men versus women voters or college-educated versus non-college-educated voters, and can provide insights into how turnout has changed from past elections.

One key advantage of exit polls is all the people surveyed, by definition, are people who cast ballots in the election.