Live blog: Election 2012

1:10 a.m. Romney officially concedes

Romney delivered his concession speech in Boston on Tuesday night, after most media outlets declared Obama the projected winner. Romney thanked his family and supporters, and congratulated Obama and his team.

"The nation is at critical point," Romney said. "I believe in America. I believe in the people of America. I ran for office because I'm concerned about America."

"I wish I had been able to fulfill your wish to take this country in another direction," he said.

12:43 a.m. An update on controversial state initiatives

The following measures have passed:

Massachussets: Medical marijuana

Colorado and Washington: Legalization of marijuana for recreational use

Maine and Maryland: Same-sex marriage is legalized

11:20 p.m.

Obama has been projected to win the state of Ohio, meaning he is the projected winner, with Romney having no way of getting to the 270 necessary votes.

11:00 p.m.: More results come in as polls close on the West Coast

Obama has been called the projected winner in the following states:

California

Washington

Iowa

Romney has won the following:

Arizona

Idaho

10:15 p.m. Some important wins for Obama

9:20 p.m. Updates on states, Senate races Electoral College

States that have been called

Current electoral college count: Obama: 114 Romney: 153

8:00 p.m. closings bring these results, with Obama grabbing his safe New England states and Romney grabbing his safe Republican Southern states:

Illinois: Obama

Maryland: Obama

Delaware: Obama

Maine: Obama

Massachusetts: Obama

Rhode Island: Obama

Connecticut: Obama

Illinois: Obama

District of Columbia: Obama

Oklahoma: Romney

Mississippi: Romney

Alabama: Romney

Georgia: Romney

Tennesse: Romney

Electoral college count so far (need 270 to win):

Obama 64

Romney 82

More poll closings

7:30: Several states have closed polls at 7:30, with these results, according to NBC News-

South Carolina: Romney

North Carolina: Too close to call.

Ohio: Too close to call.

West Virginia: Romney

Virginia: Still too close to call.

Projected winners are coming in with the first poll closings at 7:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m.: According to NBC News-

Virginia: too close to call

Georgia: too early to call

Indiana: Romney 

Kentucky: Romney

South Carolina: Too early to call.

Vermont: Obama (repeat of 2008)

Vermont Senate: Bernie Sanders, Independent, will return to the Senate

Here come the exit polls

6:47 p.m.: With polls still open throughout the country, pollsters have been conducting early exit polls about various issues. Here is a sample of some exit polls that have been done:

-Split on Obamacare: This poll indicates that 45 percent of voters think Obama's healthcare law should be fully or partially repealed, while 47 percent think it should stay as is or be expanded further.

-Voters still blame Bush: This poll shows that about half of voters still blame President George W. Bush rather than President Obama for the economic problems of the country. This poll also showed that 60 percent of voters said the economy is their top issue, followed distantly by health care, the deficit, and foreign policy.

-Sandy's effect: This CBS poll said 55 percent said Obama's handling of the hurricane had a minor effect or no effect at all on their vote, while 26 percent said Sandy was an 'important' factor, and 15 percent said it was the 'most important' factor.

-Last minute early voting seems to favor favor the Democrats. This independent analysis indicates that the ballots being received from early voting are favoring Obama, which is good news for Obama, who was pushing to encourage early voting in battleground states.

What are the candidates up to today?

12:41 p.m.: So what do the candidates actually do on election day? Obama already voted early in Chicago (the first president to vote early), while Romney voted this morning in Belmont, Massachusetts.

Romney has campaign stops planned in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where he hopes to "keep the energy going," according to a senior Romney advisor who told CNN that Romney is "just going to keep working up until the polls close." Romney is holding his election night headquarters in Boston tonight, so he will be back in Massachusetts to watch the results.

Springsteen with Obama yesterday in Madison, Wis. (Photo courtesy of © Daniel DeSlover / www.ConcertCapture.com).

Obama has a campaign stop planned in Des Moines, Iowa, and from there he will return to Chicago, where he will spend most of election day and night. He had a busy, star-studded day yesterday, with Bruce Springsteen joining him for stops in Madison, Wisconsin, Columbus, Ohio, and Iowa. Rapper Jay-Z joined Obama and Springsteen in Columbus yesterday.

At the event, Obama said about the two performers, "They tell the story of what our country is, but also of what it should be and what it can be," he said. "I'm going to be fine with Bruce Springsteen on the last day that I'll ever campaign. That's not a bad way to bring it home. With The Boss."

Both candidates ended their nights in places where they began their presidential campaigns: Obama in Iowa, and Romney in New Hampshire.

(Bruce Springsteen officially supports Obama)

The first results: A tie.

9:28 a.m.: And the first results are....a tie. The tiny town of Dixville Notch, New Hampshire has gained national media attention every presidential electionby being the first town in the country to release its results. The town has opened its polls right after midnight since 1960. With a a population of 12, the town has always had 100 percent voter turnout.

New Hampshire voting law allows towns to close the polling place if all voters have cast their ballot, so after 10 votes, Dixville Notch closed their polls, with a result of 5 for Obama and 5 for Romney. In 2008 the town went for Obama, which was the first time they had voted for a Democrat in 40 years.

This is the first time that the town has experienced a tie, and the results were unexpected, according to some residents. Town clerk Dick Erwin told CNN, "Considering the way things are polling around the country, we may have been the first tie of the day," Clark said, noting the national polls showing a close race. "Keep your eyes on the news reports, because it's going to be a wild ride."

Check back here for live updates throughout the day. 

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