Long lines seen outside polling stations as Americans head to poll

Washington, November 3

Americans had been voting in massive numbers on Tuesday in one of the crucial divisive bitter presidential elections in many years during which incumbent Republican Donald Trump is challenged by Democrat Joe Biden.

Amidst a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, practically 100 million folks have already forged their ballots in early voting, placing the nation on target for its highest turnout in a century. Some 239 million individuals are eligible to vote this yr.

The mail-in ballots might take days or perhaps weeks to be counted in some states – which means a winner won’t be declared within the hours after polls shut on Tuesday.

There is an estimated 4 million Indian-American inhabitants of which about 2.5 million are potential voters within the November 2020 presidential elections.

Over 1.Three million Indian-Americans are voters in key battleground states, together with Texas, Michigan, Florida and Pennsylvania.

Large traces had been seen and a whole lot of individuals had queued up earlier than polling stations, notably in the important thing battleground states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The timing of the beginning of the polling differs from state to state, primarily as a result of completely different time zones. People principally within the East coast began trickling right down to the polling stations as many states opened up the polling stations round 6 am (4.30 pm IST). These states embrace Virginia, New York, New Jersey, and Maine. Polling in California begins at 7 am (8.30 pm IST).

Initial studies indicated an early massive turnout. In the battle floor state of Pennsylvania, a whole lot of individuals had been seen exterior polling cubicles even earlier than the beginning of the polling.

Trump who returned from campaigning within the wee hours of Tuesday urged Americans to vote for him. “VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!” Trump mentioned in a tweet with a brief video of him dancing at election rallies.

“Vote like your freedoms, your livelihood, and our future is dependent upon it… Because they do!” mentioned Trump, who’s searching for to keep away from turning into the primary incumbent President to lose a re-election since George HW Bush in 1992.

Biden additionally tweeted urging folks to vote. “It’s Election Day. Go vote, America!” he tweeted.

“In 2008 and 2012, you placed your trust in me to help lead this country alongside Barack Obama. Today, I’m asking for your trust once again — this time, in Kamala and me. We can heal the soul of this nation — I promise we won’t let you down,” Biden tweeted.

Biden’s operating mate, Kamala Harris, urged voters to to not “allow anything to come between you and your vote. If you have any questions or concerns about voting, reach out to our voter hotline”.

In one other tweet, she mentioned, “If you’ve already voted, thank you. But we still need your help. Take 20 minutes to help voters in critical battleground states find their polling location. This election is too important to leave anything to chance.”     

Poll consultants mentioned that the turnout was going to be the important thing within the election outcomes.

Trump is anticipated to go to a Republican election workplace in Arlington, a Virginia suburb of Washington DC. Biden began his day with a go to to Church for prayer and take part in a mass. Thereafter, he was scheduled to journey to the battleground state of Pennsylvania for marketing campaign stops.

In the night, Biden and Harris will deal with the nation on Election Night in Wilmington, Delaware. Trump is scheduled to observe the election outcomes from the White House. He has invited a choose friends on the White House.

National polls proceed to point out Biden main Trump, by a snug Eight share factors.

US elections, nonetheless, will not be decided by the nationwide common vote, however slightly within the 538-member Electoral College, with every candidate needing a majority of 270 to win the presidency.

In all however two of the nation’s 50 states, both Trump or Biden will win all of the electors from every state by profitable the favored vote there, with probably the most populous states holding probably the most electors.

The coronavirus pandemic is a significant matter throughout this election. The US has recorded extra instances and extra deaths than some other nation worldwide, reporting greater than 81,000 new infections on Sunday alone. Some 9.2 million individuals are additionally affected by the illness.

The US economic system noticed record-breaking 33 per cent development within the third monetary quarter of this yr, following a report 31 per cent contraction within the second.

The November Three presidential election has been billed as one of the crucial divisive in latest American historical past.

Before the marketing campaign closed, 74-year-old Trump toured the important thing voting battlegrounds of Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania whereas his 77-year-old rival campaigned in Pennsylvania and Ohio,  urging Americans to again them within the race for the White House.

“To all of our supporters: thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have been there from the beginning, and I will never let you down. Your hopes are my hopes, your dreams are my dreams, and your future is what I am fighting for every single day!” Trump tweeted previous midnight.

“A vote for Sleepy Joe Biden is a vote to give control of government over to Globalists, Communists, Socialists, and Wealthy Liberal Hypocrites who want to silence, censor, cancel, and punish you. Get out and VOTE #MAGA tomorrow!,” the president wrote in one other tweet, attacking Biden.

The Republican Party in a tweet mentioned, “Let’s Make America Great Again and re-elect our fantastic president!”      

Biden, the previous US vp, mentioned he was “running as a proud Democrat, but I will govern as an American president”. PTI