MORE THAN 85M CAST EARLY BALLOTS IN RECORD TURNOUT

With four days to go in the U.S. presidential campaign, more than 85 million Americans have voted, including nine million in Texas, where the secretary of state's office on Friday said early voting had eclipsed total turnout from 2016. Early voting has been setting records across the United States, with nationwide turnout passing 60 per cent of the 2016 total, according to the U.S. Elections Project at the University of Florida. Harris County, Texas's biggest, which includes Houston, opened eight 24-hour voting locations on Thursday, helping boost the turnout numbers to their record level on Friday. Polls show Joe Biden effectively tied with Donald Trump in Texas, whose 38 Electoral College votes make it a prize for either candidate.