there was no sign of disturbance or violence at the polling places.
Washington:
In the final hours of an election held amid a pandemic sweeping a deeply divided United States, Americans went to the polls on Tuesday to choose between incumbent President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden on a day with little disruption that many feared.
Voters, many of whom wore masks and maintained social distancing to guard against the spread of the coronavirus, experienced long lines in a few places and short waits in many other places. There was no sign of disturbance or violence at the polling places, as some officials feared.
The winner – who may not be determined for days – will lead a nation in the grip of a pandemic that has killed more than 231,000 people and left millions more unemployed, racial tensions and a political polarization that did only get worse during a vitriolic campaign.
One-third of U.S. voters cited the economy as the issue that mattered most to them when deciding their choice for president, while two in 10 cited COVID-19, according to an exit poll from Edison Research Tuesday.
In the national exit poll, four in 10 voters said they thought the effort to contain the virus was going “very badly.” In the battlefield states of Florida and North Carolina, battlefield states that could decide the election, five in ten voters said the national response to the pandemic was going “somewhat or very poorly.”
Biden, the former Democratic Vice President, has placed Trump’s handling of the pandemic at the center of his campaign and has held a steady lead in national opinion polls on the Republican president.
Biden, 77, appeared to have multiple paths to victory in the state-by-state constituency that determines the winner; at least 270 electoral votes, determined in part by the population of a state, are needed to win.
Trump, 74, is close enough in several states to the electoral battlefield that he could repeat the kind of upheaval he achieved in 2016, when he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton despite losing the national popular vote by about 3 million votes.
The results of the most closely watched votes will begin to spread after 7 p.m. EST (24 hours GMT), but the tally could take several days.
“I have high hopes,” Biden told reporters from his home state of Delaware, after appearing earlier in the pivotal state of Pennsylvania to issue an 11th hour appeal to voters.
“What I hear,” Biden added, “is that there is an overwhelming turnout, and an overwhelming turnout especially of young people, women,” and in some states of older black voters – groups supposed to promote it.
“I think we’re going to have a great night,” Trump said in Arlington, Va., Across the Potomac River from Washington, where he thanked campaign workers. “But this is politics and elections, and you never know.”
“Winning is easy. Losing is never easy – not for me it’s not,” Trump added.
Ahead of election day, just over 100 million voters voted early by mail or in person, according to the University of Florida’s US Elections Project, motivated by concerns about crowded polling stations during the pandemic as well. than extraordinary enthusiasm.
The total has broken records and has prompted some experts to predict the highest voting rates since 1908 and that the total vote could reach 160 million, surpassing the 138 million cast in 2016.
Trump, admitting that his voice was “a bit choppy” after giving speeches at many boisterous rallies in the final days of the campaign, said he was not yet thinking of giving a concession speech or speech to the public. ‘acceptance. Seeking a second four-year term, Trump said he would not declare victory prematurely, adding “there is no reason to play games.”
In Pennsylvania, Biden first stopped at his childhood home in Scranton, where he signed one of the living room walls, writing: “From this house to the White House with the grace of God. Joe Biden 3-11-2020. “
He later traveled to Philadelphia and used a megaphone to address supporters chanting “Joe, Joe, Joe”.
“It’s not over until it’s over,” Biden said outside a block of brick townhouses.
In anticipation of possible protests, some buildings and stores have been blocked in cities like Washington, Los Angeles and New York. Federal authorities have erected a new fence around the perimeter of the White House.
A REFERENDUM ON TRUMP
Supporters for both candidates called the election a referendum on Trump and his tumultuous first term. No US president has lost a candidacy for reelection since Republican George HW Bush in 1992.
In Atlanta, Cody Sellers, 32, a registered Republican and project manager at a home improvement store, voted for Biden.
“Trump is the problem,” Sellers said, shivering with cold.
“I really think Trump is bad for our country,” he added. “He’s dividing. We’re on our way to trouble. I’m not thrilled with Biden, but he can do the job and he cares about our country.”
Polls show Georgia, a long-time Republican stronghold, could be up for grabs this year, but Victor Akinola, 44, has stuck with Trump.
“The hopes that the liberals have for a so-called blue wave are unfounded. Georgians will not vote en masse against their own local interests,” said Akinola, who works in information technology.
Among the more contested states expected to determine the outcome are Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia, with Democrats hoping Biden could even threaten Trump in states that appeared once certain to become Republicans like Ohio. , Iowa and Texas.
Voters will also decide on Tuesday which political party will control the US Congress for the next two years, with Democrats narrowly favored to regain a majority in the Senate and retain control of the House of Representatives.
The FBI was investigating a series of mysterious robocalls urging people to stay home on Election Day. The New York State Attorney General was also reviewing these robocalls.
A judge ordered the U.S. Postal Service to sweep mail processing facilities Tuesday afternoon for delayed ballots and send them immediately for delivery to a dozen states, including closely fought battlefields like Pennsylvania and Florida.
U.S. stocks closed sharply higher as investors bet it would be decided without a protracted process, leading to a swift deal on fiscal stimulus more tied to the pandemic.
TURBULENT PRESIDENCY
Trump is seeking another term after four chaotic years marked by the coronavirus crisis, an economy battered by pandemic shutdowns, impeachment drama, inquiries into Russian election interference, American racial tensions and controversial immigration policies.
Biden is looking to win the presidency in his third attempt after a five-decade political career, including eight years as vice president under Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama.
With so much at stake, nerves were frayed.
“I feel a stomach ache, but positive,” said Nancy Osborne, 71, a retired teacher and Democratic Party activist in suburban Detroit.
Biden has pledged a renewed effort to tackle the public health crisis, correct the economy, and close the U.S. political divide. The country has also been rocked this year by months of protests against racism and police brutality.
Some crucial states, like Florida, are starting to count absentee ballots before election day and could produce results relatively quickly on Tuesday night. Others, including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, are barred from processing the vast majority of ballots by mail until election day, raising the possibility of a vote count which could extend over several days.
Trump claimed, without proof, that the mail ballots were subject to fraud and hinted at legal challenges.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
