US shooter awaiting election result

Champion American pistol shooter Vera Koo is competing in Whangarei today and eagerly awaiting the outcome of the US Presidential election.

Champion American pistol shooter Vera Koo voted for Donald Trump and is eagerly awaiting results of the US Presidential election which are due about 4pm today.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and billionaire businessman Donald Trump are fighting a bitter race to capture the White House, with last-minute opinion polls giving Clinton the edge in the final hours of the race.

Polls in the Eastern time zones of Indiana and Kentucky were the first to close, and a flood of vital battleground states such as Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio would provide initial clues of the possible winner.

Clinton led Trump, 44 percent to 39 percent, in the last Reuters/Ipsos national tracking poll before Election Day.

Ms Koo, who lives in California, is taking part in the International Pistol Shooting Event in Whangarei but cast an absentee vote for Trump several weeks ago.

It was the first time the 69-year-old voted after moving to the US from China when she was about 12.

"I feel the country needs someone who is fresh in office. The government is always well-manned with lots of brains and good advisers so he'll be well-informed," she said.

"I think people are afraid that he's not a well-seasoned politician but I think as a very successful businessman he'll improve the economy and he'll shake up the system and that's what America needs right now."

On calls for tougher gun controls in the US, Ms Koo said that would be impossible because there were "so many guns" around.

"Some kind of registration and background checks- all those are fine but the authorities never talk about responsible gun owners. Controls are needed on those that are irresponsible in the use of guns."

Her comments followed reports that at least two people were injured in a shootout involving "active" gunman at a polling booth in California today.

Americans residing in Whangarei are not planning to gather anywhere to follow the polls but those who have voted will be glued to the latest TV news, particularly around mid-afternoon when the final batch of results should be out.