The first exit poll data coming out suggests voters have chosen the state of democracy as the most important issue when deciding who to vote for.

Around a third of people asked said it was their top concern, out of the five options given.

The economy ranked second, with three in ten voters choosing it, according to this preliminary data.

Abortion and immigration were the next most important issues and foreign policy was the least picked option.

The economy has previously come top of the list of issues motivating voters and was ranked first in the exit poll for every presidential election since 2008. It remains within the margin of error.

These are early numbers and are likely to change as we get more waves of exit poll data throughout the evening from voters across the country.