Investigators speculated queues were short in many places due to an unprecedented wave of early votes (File)
Detroit / Houston / Atlanta:
Millions of Americans waited patiently to vote Tuesday in libraries, schools and arenas across the United States, in an orderly demonstration of civic duty that denied the deep tensions of one of the most polarizing presidential campaigns in the world. history of the country.
Face masks worn by many closed stores in some city centers were reminiscent of two of the issues shaping the 2020 elections, with COVID-19 still ravaging parts of the country after a summer of protests at times marked by violence against police brutality and racism.
In New York City, some voting lines meandered around the blocks. But in many places the lines were short or nonexistent, which investigators said was due to an unprecedented wave of early votes. Over 100 million votes were cast before election day, a new record.
In Atlanta, Georgia, a dozen voters lined up before sunrise at the Piedmont Park Conservancy. The first in the line was Ginnie House, shivering with cold, waiting to vote for Democratic candidate Joe Biden, a former vice president seeking to replace President Donald Trump, a Republican, in the White House.
“I lost my mail-in ballot and I’m not going to miss this vote,” said House, a 22-year-old actor and creative writing student, who had flown to Atlanta from New York City just in this. goal. Of Trump, she said, “He divides our country.”
In Detroit, Craig Mastracci, a 56-year-old medic and Army reservist, said he was confident Michigan election officials would not be interfered with in certifying a valid vote count.
“It might not be quick, but eventually they will succeed,” he said. As in the 2016 election, he said he voted for the Republican candidates in congressional and state races, as well as for the presidential election, although he was not impressed with his options in the latter.
“I don’t know that either of them is a good candidate,” he said of Biden and Trump.
At a polling station in Houston, Texas, Andy Valadez was blowing a shofar, a trumpet used in Jewish and Christian ceremonies and, in this case, as a way to pray for a victory for Trump, according to Valadez.
“We want to pray for a fair election,” said the 55-year-old marketing executive, his shofar wrapped in an American flag. “We believe in America and want everyone to have a safe voting experience.”
Tensions in Times Square Texas
The United States Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights groups said they were watching closely for signs of voter intimidation, and the United States Department of Justice’s civil rights division said it would deploy personnel to 18 states.
Election officials and political party representatives have expressed concern over a spate of automated phone calls and text messages warning voters at the polls for false reasons in Iowa, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Nebraska and Florida .
Staff at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a Washington-based advocacy group, told reporters they were concerned that voting machines were not working in three Georgia counties, forcing voters to filling out paper ballots raising concerns about the return of the document. the ups would be exhausted.
In some large cities, buildings were closed for fear of violent protests later. In New York City, the Empire State Building, Macy’s Department Store and the skyscraper that houses the Trump-favored Fox News channel were among those blocked. On Rodeo Drive, one of Beverly Hills, California’s most expensive shopping streets, staff had stripped Tiffany & Co. and Van Cleef & Arpels storefronts of their jewelry and luxury stores had disappeared behind plywood.
Tensions erupted across the country as Election Day approached.
Trump supporters driving vans on a Texas freeway surrounded a bus full of Biden campaign staff last week. In North Carolina over the weekend, police pepper sprayed a group of mostly Democrats marching to the polling stations. And members of an anti-government militia have been indicted in an alleged conspiracy to kidnap the Democratic governor of Michigan.
The taste of some Trump supporters for forming caravans of honking, traffic-blocking vehicles has spread to New York and beyond, with more such events slated for later Tuesday. Some election security experts fear the trailers will break laws, intimidate voters, or turn into violent clashes.
At a polling station at a library in Tampa, Fla., Biden supporters set up a marquee with signs for their candidate and for Black Lives Matter, the transformed slogan movement that protesters have gathered around this year in cities in the United States.
After his emergence, Eric Weaver, 44, said he voted for Biden because he believed Trump made racists in America more brazen.
“It makes these hate groups think they have a place in society,” said Weaver, a Black Collections manager. “Now they feel like they can be out in public and outspoken with their racism.”
Even once the votes are cast, some worry about a prolonged tally, making the country wait for days or more before a clear winner emerges if the race is near.
Trump, whose office has no power over state-controlled vote counting, said he believes states should just stop counting legal ballots once past Tuesday.
It frustrated Nick Edwards, a 26-year-old Republican and longtime Conservative in Detroit, who decided to split his ticket: Biden for president, then Republicans in Tuesday’s congressional and state races.
“Any disbelief in our system has been put in public view by Trump,” he said after the vote. “He has been illegalizing the election since last year, claiming that the postal ballots are fraudulent.”
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
