US election 2012: exit polls point to Barack Obama as winner

Millions of Americans cast their ballot today to decide whether to re-elect Mr Obama or to hand the White House to his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

The turnout of voters was crucial to who would win the 2012 race, with polls consistently indicating a too close to call contest in key swing states.

But by 10.18pm EST (3.18am GMT), a number of US television networks claimed that their exit polls suggested Mr Obama had won.

Mr Romney failed to win the battleground state of Wisconsin and in Florida, with 88 per cent of the votes in, polls suggested the two candidates were tied at 50 per cent. The same story applied to Ohio, with both men tied at 49 per cent.