Trump claims an early lead: He wins Indiana and Kentucky - but Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia are too close to call as America decides

NEW Millions of Americans cast votes on Tuesday, and the election will likely turn on vote totals in just 12 of America's 50 states, whose polls will close a few at a time, hour by hour. Initial results from polls that closed at 7pm local time gave Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton a victory in Vermont, and Republican nominee Donald Trump claimed wins in Kentucky and Indiana. Those three states finished as election watchers expected them to. Virginia and Georgia, however, were too close to call. Trump will have little chance of winning the White House without Georgia - and that they are too close to call could be good news for him. America's Electoral College system provides one vote for each member of Congress, including both the Senate and the House of Representatives, plus three to represent the District of Columbia - 538 in all. A candidate needs to claim 270 votes, the smallest possible majority, in order to win the White House.