As the race for the White House enters its final few days, both sides remain on tenterhooks.

Most polls have Hillary Clinton in front, but they still remain perilously close.

The latest polls indicate that Ms Clinton's is between four and five per cent ahead, with a small lead in the key state of Florida.

But another poll of polls has put Ms Clinton on roughly 46 per cent of the vote compared to Mr Trump’s 44 per cent while the ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll has her only one point ahead.

Tellingly, enthusiasm for Ms Clinton’s candidacy is down from 51 per cent to 47 per cent – prompting fears it could depress turnout on 8 November.

The Clinton campaign is reportedly fearful after early voting in several battleground states indicates the African American vote is down on what it was four years ago.

In North Carolina, where civil rights group fought a high-profile battle against voting rules that disenfranchised black voters, the African American vote was down 16 per cent while white turnout was up by 15 per cent, the New York Times reported.

Equally, swing states which were looking like they were tipping in Ms Clinton’s favour in the wake of revelations about footage where Mr Trump boasts of getting away with sexually assaulting women because he was a “star”.

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Ms Clinton still holds a six per cent lead in Pennsylvania – with its 20 electoral college votes – according to a poll for regional newspaper Morning Call, but Ohio – with 18 electoral college votes – is leaning 2.7 per cent in Mr Trump’s favour according to RealClearPolitics.

The US election is decided by the Electoral College system which has a total of 538 voters divided up between the 50 states according to population size.

In pictures: US Elections 2016 Show all 15 1 /15 In pictures: US Elections 2016 In pictures: US Elections 2016 Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks to supporters after rival candidate Hillary Clinton was projected as the winner in the Nevada Democratic caucuses Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton takes photos with workers at her campaign office in Des Moines, Iowa AP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, second from left, prays before lunch with supporters at Drake Diner in Des Moines, Iowa Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Maryland Governor. Martin O'Malley, speaks during a campaign stop in Waterloo, Iowa AP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks, as his wife Jane O’Meara Sanders looks on, at a campaign event at Iowa State University Getty In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio speaks at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks at a campaign event at Fireside Pub and Steak House in Manchester, Iowa. Getty In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum visiting supporters at a house party in West Des Moines, Iowa Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa AP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican candidate Ted Cruz campaigns at Greene County Community Centre in Jefferson, Iowa AP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Senator Rand Paul speaks during a Caucus rally at his Des Moines headquarters in Iowa Getty In pictures: US Elections 2016 Republican candidate Jeb Bush speaks at a campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa AFP In pictures: US Elections 2016 Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin introducing the arrival of Donald Trump during a campaign rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Reuters In pictures: US Elections 2016 A portrait of Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders at his campaign headquarters in Des Moines, Iowa Getty In pictures: US Elections 2016 Campaign badges on sale ahead of a Trump rally at the Ramada Waterloo Hotel and Convention Centre in Waterloo, Iowa Getty

This means the election is ultimately decided by a handful of key “battleground” states across the country even though they do not have the largest number of electoral college voters.