It is "Super Tuesday" in the United States….a big moment for the candidates who hope to succeed Barack Obama in the Oval Office.
Voting will take place today in 13 American states and territories, and Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are hoping to notch up big victories.
So what is the day really all about?
Here's our Washington Correspondent Simon Marks.
IN: "Tuesday is….."
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Tuesday is a very big day in the United States.
People all over the country will be expressing their choices….are they looking for something with a tough, no-nonsense approach to life…something straight-forward, plain-speaking, impossible to misunderstand.
Or are they after something a little more open to interpretation….a proposition more inclusive, less divisive and perhaps more traditional?
The choices aren't easy….the consequences are grave.
Because as I say, today in the US is a very special day.
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Yes, this is a country where banana cream pie has a national day.
And it just so happens that it coincides with Super Tuesday….the day on which millions of voters across the country will be deciding who they want to lead America's political parties in this November's Presidential election.
Coincidence? I'm not so sure.
After all, to make a banana cream pie you clearly need to start with bananas.
And it would seem in the election campaign so far this year the country has gone completely….well….bananas.
And so in the next few hours, voters in 13 states and American Samoa have a bewildering decision to make.
Will they really confirm Donald Trump's contention that he has the Republican Party's Presidential nomination within his grasp?
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Will they allow either Senator Ted Cruz of Texas….
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Or Senator Marco Rubio of Florida…..
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….to continue believing that they can stop Donald Trump's march?
Will they deal a mortal blow to Bernie Sanders' hopes of becoming the Democrats' standard-bearer by delivering Hillary Clinton an across-the-board victory over the next few hours?
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When the polls close, and the votes are counted…it will be time not just to celebrate or comiserate.
It will also be a time to reach for the calculator….because the maths involved in securing a sufficient number of delegates to the party conventions later this year where the candidates will be officially selected gets so complicated and so circuitous….well, it makes the process of making one of those banana cream pies seem positively easy.
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So, by Wednesday morning here in the US it may - just may - be possible to say that the outcome of all these primaries and caucuses is finally cooked.
But it's also possible that the Democrats and Republicans will take a little more time to allow their respective ingredients to settle.
Either way it remains for me only to wish you……
SOC