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US election: Harris takes slight lead over Trump as knife-edge campaign enters final week

Recent poll numbers suggest that Vice President Kamala Harris has 48 pc of the vote while Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump 47 pc

This combination of file photos shows Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris (L), and Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump (R) | AP

With just a week remaining for the United States election, Vice President and Democrat candidate Kamala Harris is set to deliver her campaign's closing argument on Tuesday from Ellipse near the White House. 

Harris will deliver her arguments from the same place where the former president fomented the Capitol insurrection in 2021. 

As the race for the White House entered its final week, both Harris and Trump have been looking for big moments to try to shift the momentum one way or the other. Both contenders are incredibly close as the race is coming to an end. 

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Reportedly, Harris has a small lead over Trump in the national polling averages since she entered the race at the end of July.

The most recent numbers suggest that Harris has 48 per cent of the vote, while Trump has 47 per cent. 

With early ballot voting already started in some states, over 47 million people have already voted. 

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Meanwhile, in a separate incident, ballot boxes in Portland, Oregon, Vancouver and Washington, are investigating after ballot boxes in both states went up in flames on Monday. 

In Vancouver, officials described finding a suspicious device next to a ballot box moments after it caught fire. 

FBI said it is coordinating with federal, state and local partners to actively investigate the two incidents. 

"If he were elected, on day one he's going to sit in the Oval Office working on his enemies list. On day one, if I am elected, which I fully expect to be, I will be working on behalf of the American people on my to-do list," said Harris on Monday. 

In Pennsylvania, the swingest of all swing states, Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said it was important for battleground voters to be reminded of the consequences of their choice this fall and for Harris to really drive home the stakes of this election.

He also said that Harris had the stronger argument on economic policies, reproductive freedom and the matter of chaos vs order. 

Meanwhile, Trump seems to be all set to use planned remarks and intensify personal attacks at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Tuesday morning to attempt to rebut Harris's speech.