By Elishya Perera
WASHINGTON DC, USA (CWBN)_ In a nation divided by a global pandemic, amidst a national reckoning over racial injustice, weeks of political, social and cultural chaos came to an end when polls closed in the most unconventional US presidential Election.
Most polls opened at 6am (local time) today, while in some places, including Vermont, voters were able to cast their ballots from 5am.
Poll closing times varied by state, while in some states with multiple time zones, polls closed first in the earlier time zones. The polls on the west Coast, including the states of California, Oregon and Washington were the last to close in the mainland United States at 11pm ET, while Hawaii and Alaska will be closing, at 12am ET and 1am ET, respectively.
With more than 101 million votes cast in the weeks leading up to Election Day, the US is on course to see the highest voter turnout since the early 1900s, and data scientist Andrew Therriault for Bloomberg News predicted that the total number of votes cast are expected to range from roughly 142.4 million to 149.6 million.
Amidst President Trump’s unfounded warnings about mail-voting fraud, according to a survey conducted by NBC News, heading into Election Day, 50% of adults said they are confident that the election will be conducted in a fair and equal way, of which, 14% were “very confident” and 36% were “somewhat confident”. This was a rise since August, when just 43% of adults said they were confident of the election process.
Voting amidst a global pandemic
This year’s election has turned out to be one of the most unconventional US presidential races ever. From a record number of mail-in ballots to Coronavirus-related safety precautions, the global pandemic had shaped almost every facet of voting.
While precautions varied from state to state, socially distanced lines, hand sanitizing stations and plexiglass petitions between voters were some of the common sights at polling stations this year.
On the other hand, some voters adhered to the recommended safety guidelines by bringing their own supplies, such as hand sanitizer, an ink pen for paper ballots, or a stylus for touchscreen machines.
Braced for possible Election Day violence and unrest
Security was tightened across the nation in preparation for possible unrest linked to Election Day. Even though there has been no reports of violence or unrest thus far, high-end stores and discount retailers alike had taken precautionary measures, including boarding up storefronts. Some suppliers of plywood reported running low on large sheets of the material over the weekend, while some stores had used steel and other materials to secure their businesses.
More importantly, a non-scalable fencing was temporarily installed around the White House perimeter yesterday (Nov 2), as homeland security officials in Washington DC are bracing for half a dozen protests over the next several days.
Last-minute campaigns
Democratic nominee Joe Biden campaigned in his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, today, and is spending election night in Delaware, where he lives. “If you elect me, I’m gonna be an American president. There’s gonna be no red states or blue states. Just the United States,” he told his supporters in Philly.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump called into Fox News “Fox and Friends” this morning for an interview, during which he suggested that Biden’s last-minute campaigns indicated that the Democrats were nervous about losing. “I noticed that Biden went out, and I think he’s campaigning a little because he’s worried,” Trump said.
When asked when he might declare victory, the President said, “I think we’ll have victory, but only when there’s victory and there’s no reason to play games”. He added he has a “very solid chance of winning”. The President is hosting an election watch party tonight at the White House.
Racial injustice, a global pandemic, and much more
This year’s Presidential Election was held amidst a global pandemic that has killed more than 230,000 and led millions of Americans to unemployment. While many have disapproved the president’s handling of the pandemic, nevertheless, America was sharply divided over Trump, long before the virus and nationwide protests.
The Republican candidate failed to fulfill the No. 1 promise of his 2016 campaign, which was to seal off the US-Mexico border with a wall paid for by Mexico.
Moreover, the Trump administration imposed a “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which resulted in thousands of children being separated from their parents, and even though many of them were reunited following a court order, however, just a few weeks ago it was reported that parents of more than 500 children could not be located.
The President also launched an assault on the Affordable Care Act, and accused Biden of “talking about socialized medicine”, as the former vice president has proposed an expansion of Obamacare with a public option.
In contrast, a mask-wearing Biden, who is not opposed to reopening the country, has promised a virus-first approach that predicates economic recovery on stopping the disease.
While the former vice president has been criticised for his part in crafting the controversial 1994 crime bill, however, during the final presidential debate Biden admitted that it was a mistake. He has proposed setting up drug courts which would significantly benefit people of colour who are incarcerated more often than the white community, for having small amounts of drugs in their possession.
The Biden campaign has also proposed the Democrat-led police reform bill, which is expected to remedy the issue of police brutality against people of colour.
In the matter of immigration, the Democratic nominee said he will propose legislation to grant citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants brought over by their parents or guardians at a young age.
Election results may not come tonight
US elections officials and media organizations which usually project races on election night say there is a good chance that the winner of the election will not be clear by midnight on Tuesday.
However, the data from the huge early voter turnout could provide important insights on how the election is unfolding, and we might have a result in the presidential race by the end of the night if either candidate achieves decisive wins in key battleground states.
Meanwhile, bookmakers have severely narrowed the gap between Trump and Biden overnight. Yesterday it was implied that the former vice president had a 65.2% chance of winning at 8/15. However, on Election Day, this percentage dropped to 61.9%, at 8/13.
On the other hand, Trump’s odds on Election Day eve implied he had just a 34.8% chance of winning the 2020 Election. However, his current odds imply he’s got a 40% chance, at 6/4.
While it takes 270 electoral votes to win the presidency, CWBN projects Democratic nominee Joe Biden is leading President Donald Trump by 157 to 78 electoral college votes, winning California, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Mexico, Colorado, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Trump is projected win the states of Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, Wyoming, Alabama and South Carolina.
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