Among rustling palms and white houses, construction workers and black cars hurry. Feverish activity is underway at the congress center in West Palm Beach, Florida. This is where the Republicans' Donald Trump will hold his election watch, just a short drive from the presidential candidate's residence Mar-a-Lago.
The event marks the end of months of intense campaigning. Neal's party colleagues have announced on social media, sent emails, arranged phone campaigns, and urged early voting.
Palm Beach County has long been Democratic, but that's changing. We want the president's hometown to be Republican red, he says.
"Great visionary"
Real estate developer Neal, who has received a coveted ticket to Trump's party, says the mood in the party is expectant. He describes the former president as an inspiration to many locally.
He is a visionary and good at implementing his plans. Many politicians don't live up to their promises, but he does.
That Trump has fired insults at opponent Kamala Harris and several ethnic groups in recent weeks, Neal dismisses as "personal style".
I don't care, I look at the results. He can fix the economy, inflation, and the southern border. That's what people worry about.
A few miles south, at the Democrats' local party office, the lamp is burning late the night before the election. Volunteers are on the phone, and voters are picking up Harris signs and other campaign materials.
I'm so nervous. It's nice that it's almost over, laughs pensioner Elise Spreiser, who has been volunteering for the campaign for over a month.
I had to do something. I feel strongly about the issues, especially abortion rights. And I actually think Trump hates women and wants to be a dictator.
Taken hostage
Her dislike of Trump is shared by attorney and voter Jerry Zaro, who also lives in Palm Beach. But Zaro doesn't like Harris either.
Both parties have been taken hostage by extreme forces. The large majority of Americans in the middle, like me, don't feel at home anywhere, he says.
Zaro has worked in local politics in his former home state of New Jersey and says that what he is most proud of is that he worked across party lines. He hopes that future politicians will do the same.
Now I just want the next four years to pass quickly, so that the next president doesn't get to do too much harm. I've voted, but for me, it was about choosing the least dangerous.
Florida is a peninsula at the southernmost tip of the US East Coast, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Gulf of Mexico to the west. The capital is Tallahassee, and Miami is the largest metropolitan area.
The state is the third most populous in the US, with over 22.5 million inhabitants. Many people of Latin American origin live here – more than a quarter are classified as Spanish-speaking Hispanics.
Florida has 30 electoral votes. The state was long seen as a swing state but has become increasingly conservative in recent years. Now, residents vote reliably Republican red.
