Americans began casting their first in-person votes on Friday in a presidential election six weeks away that both Republican and Democratic leaders call the most important in generations.The stakes are high: Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and other party leaders have described Republican nominee Donald Trump as a threat to democracy,

At a polling site in Minneapolis, Jason Miller, a 37-year-old house painter, arrived well before the polls opened at 8 a.m. and was first in line. He was among roughly 75 people who cast ballots in the first hour at the city’s early voting center. “Why not try to be first? That’s kind of fun, right?” he said.