So Ohio says that results cannot be fully confirmed untilabsentee and provisional ballots - but with Kerry still 120,000 behind I can’t see how they can make it up on those alone.

Iowa are reporting problems with their voting equipment and may not be able to return a result.

MSNBC have a map of electoral misconduct complaints - Florida looks like being one of the big problems again.

On a total sidenote, the BBC’s man in Ohio really looks like Christopher Walken.

Kerry’s share of the total popular vote is much less than Bush’s - he’s got three million less - it’s not going to be like 2000 with Gore’s half million extra, and the BBC have pointed out that reduces public support for any sort of legal challenge that the Democrats might make, if there have been irregularities or errors.

John Edwards is on the TV now. He is keeping the troops up but he sounds a bit drained and dejected.

With that, I’m back to bed for a nap. Barring a miracle or some extraordinary legal action Bush is back in the White House. Someone wake me in four years time.

Ah shite, I wake up to find that Bush is taking Florida, and Colorado too. And he’s leading in Ohio.

:-(

Kerry gets Pennsylvania, though, and leads in many other remaining states, like New Hampshire, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Washington and Nevada.

Shit, this is going to be tight. Damn damn tight.

Update: Fox call Ohio for Bush. Aaarrgh…

Another Update: And now also NBC.

And more: Looking at the results at 06:12, Kerry is just too far behind in Ohio, he’s 120,000 votes behind in Ohio at 88% of precincts done. Bush is going to win it and get to 269, and then all he needs is New Mexico (which he leads) and he’s won.

And yet more: It’s 07:00, Kerry still 100,000 behind in Ohio with 95% done. But CNN still say it’s too close to call - do they know something we don’t? Nevada and New Mexico both have very slender Bush leads - Nader’s share of the vote is larger than the majority in both states, so he’s done his job as spoiler again.

Not much in the way of news coming in recently. US websites and BBC disagree slightly with exact count (I think, over these split votes in Nebraska and Maine). BBC is having to resort to interview Loyd Grossman to tide them over.

Utah and Montana in, for Bush. Still no surprises. With the scenes of massive queuing in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and the trouble in Florida, looks like there’s not going to be much happening over the next few hours.

Missouri looks quite tight at the moment, surprisingly. Pennsylvania has given Kerry a big initial lead but that must be an anomaly at this stage.

Ooh, Arkansas goes Bush’s way too.

Right, not much is going to be happening, I reckon, so I’m going to get a couple of hours of shuteye…

The BBC has retracted its fourth vote from Maine (the tiniest of shifts) and given it to Bush…first switch of the night. Bush has just got a ton of states from the Midwest and South, including the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming and Texas. Kerry takes New York and Rhode Island - neither of which surprise. The one vote from Maine is the only switch so far and is dominating the talk - Maine’s results are still only at a pretty early stage though.

My fascination with the electoral college system tonight is in no way an endorsement of the system - it’s utterly unproportional and anachronistic.

Yuck, ITN’s look makes the BBC seem mundane. That continually waving stars and stripes in the background makes me nauseous.

Fox calls Michigan as too close, key Democrat target. I’m getting more nervous…

US networks have called both Carolinas, and Virginia (which was only marginal in the opinion polls). South Carolina still looks very close (51-49) though. actually isn’t that close, it’s 53-47 in Bush’s favour.

CNN’s coverage is pretty smart, it does breakdown by county as well as state. Hate to have been the poor sod who had to put all those maps into Flash.

Power problems and machine failures reported in Florida - great.

Ohio dragging on - sounds like near-chaos over there.

On the BBC, Alan Duncan is backing Kerry. Tories must still be pissed off at the White House telling Michael Howard to never bother coming.

Election coverage is great - live TV is always fun for watching mistakes. Best bit was when our man in Florida had to be given a (clearly visible on camera) thumbs-up from his producer, before he knew he was on air.

Damn, this is tense.

Grr. West Virginia, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Alabama all for Bush. No surprises there but it’s prolonging the agony. Come on, get some in for Kerry…

Made my first sandwich of the night. Not on the coffee yet.

Update: Kerry gets Massachussetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine (all four in that one). Now the score looks a little better. No marginals yet.

And more…: D.C., Maryland and Illinois called on the American websites, though no word from the BBC. Again, all three unsurprising.

Correction..: Maine’s votes are proportionally split rather than all given to one party, BBC have declared all for Kerry, the US networks only say three with one unknown. Kerry leads 77-66. C-Span’s Map is the nicest-looking one I’ve seen so far, the BBC’s map applet is just nasty and slow.

No surprises, Indiana, Georgia and Kentucky taken by GWB. Kerry just gets Vermont for now. Virginia and South Carolina too close to call - the former would normally be for Bush, I’d have thought.

Zogby predicts an enormous majority for Kerry.

For any US election virgins like myself, This handy guide (via kottke.org) explains some of the nuances of the election.

Random thoughts… I have about a million browser tabs - singlehandedly slowing down the web here. The virtual White House behind Peter Snow on the BBC’s coverage is cacking awful. The TV screen looks over-cluttered too. The BBC need to hire some guys with UI design experience for the current affairs teams.

I’m on my own in front of the TV at the moment. If anyone out there’s in the same situation and wants to keep me (virtual) company then mail me, I can give you my MSN/ICQ.