Washington:
The wait to know who will win – Kamala Harris or Donald Trump – is nearly over. Americans have decided who their next President will be. After a months-long, bitterly-contested election campaign, dozens of millions of citizens across the United States voted today. The counting of votes happens immediately after voting ends.
Voting began across the country at 6 am local time in each time zone and will end at 8 pm local time. The US has six time zones, of which four are on the US mainland while two are in US territories across the globe. The four main time zones are Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific Standard Time, while the two other time zones include Alaska Standard Time and Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time, which are observed only by Alaska and Hawaii respectively.
The US Presidential election is closely watched around the world as US’s policies have for long had a big impact on other countries. The 2024 US presidential election has been extraordinary in terms of political discourse reaching new lows.
During the election campaign that lasted several months, America and the rest of the planet witnessed an ugly and divisive contest – that saw personal attacks, derogatory language, racist slurs, inflammatory rhetoric and even assassination attempts.
WHO HAS THE EDGE?
The latest opinion polls suggest that Kamala Harris has a razor thin lead over Donald Trump – 1 percentage point. However, if the electorate is seen in terms of gender, as per the latest Reuters/Ipsos polls, Kamala Harris has a 12 percentage point lead over Trump among women, while Trump has a 7 percentage point lead over Harris among men.
For those backing Kamala Harris, her promise to protect abortion rights was one of the most compelling reasons to vote for her. The perception that Donald Trump, who made racist and offensive remarks, also played a part in those voting against him.
For those backing Donald Trump, a strict immigration system was one of the topmost reasons for supporting him. High inflation and concerns about the economy during the Biden term in which Kamala Harris was the Vice President were among the reasons to vote against the Democrat nominee.
The election has been very close and both candidates have been neck and neck in the race. While Harris might have a 1 percentage point lead over Trump, there is uncertainty of the final outcome.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
No matter who wins, Harris or Trump, history will be made today.
If 60-year-old Kamala Harris, the first woman Vice President in US history, wins, she will become the first woman, first Black woman, first Indian-American, and first South Asian American to win the presidency.
On the other hand, if 78-year-old Donald Trump, the only US President to be impeached twice and the first to be criminally convicted, wins, he would become the first US President in more than a century to win non-consecutive terms.
UNDERSTANDING THE ELECTION
US follows the electoral college voting system. There are a total of 538 electoral college votes; 435 House of Representatives, 100 Senate seats and 3 seats from Washington DC. A candidate needs a minimum of 270 votes to become the President.
Every state has a certain number of electoral votes. California has the maximum number of seats with 54, followed by Texas (40) and Florida (30). On the other hand, states like North Dakota, South Dakota, Delaware, and Vermont have a minimum number of 3 seats.
Out of the total 50 states in USA, there are 7 which are considered battle ground states or swing states. These are crucial for both candidates as these seven states alone have the potential to decide on who will be the next President. These states are – Nevada (6 seats), Arizona (11 seats), North Carolina (16 seats), Georgia (16 seats), Wisconsin (10 seats), Michigan (15 seats), and Pennsylvania (19 seats).
More than 80 million Americans had already voted before the main election day (Nov 5), either via mail or in person, and lines at several polling stations on Tuesday morning were short and orderly.
Control of both chambers of Congress is also up for grabs. Republicans have an easier path in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats are defending several seats in Republican-leaning states, while the House of Representatives looks like a toss-up.