With 68 percent of the nation's precincts reporting, Democratic candidate John Kerry has won 40,875,408 votes, or 48 percent, while George W. Bush has claimed 43,583,940 votes, or 51 percent, showed the latest nationwide election returns reported by the Associated Press.

According to the tally, Kerry has won 195 electoral votes from 14 states, including the District of Columbia, compared with 237 electoral votes from 25 states for Bush. To win the presidency, 270 of the 538 electoral votes are needed.