American elections in 5 points: date, polls and issues

Our neighbors to the south are preparing to go to the polls next November 5 to vote for their new president after months of a tense and emotional electoral campaign.

For those who haven’t been following the campaign or want a recap, here’s a five-point summary of the 2024 US elections.

• Also read: Presidential 2024: here are the decisive counties to tip the scales

• Also read: The figures for the American presidential election

1- Important dates

In most states, Americans can already register their early votes, although the day of the American election is set to Tuesday November 5, 2024.

On the day, polling station closing times will vary from state to state, around 7 p.m. local time.

On the other hand, this does not mean that the results will be announced anytime soon: the closer the vote, the longer the announcement could take place, since it may be necessary to do it several times to ensure an accurate count.

In 2020, it took four days to announce the victory of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States, after the polls closed on November 3.

In any case, the next president will officially take office on January 20, 2025selon The Telegraph.

2- Candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency

Currently, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are jockeying to tilt the 47th presidency of the United States in their favor.

Democratic Party

The Democratic candidate – and current vice-president of the country – Kamala Harris could become the first woman to be elected as head of the country, having already made history for the same reason by assuming her position in 2020.

If she is elected, it is Minnesota Governor Tim Walz who will be appointed alongside him as vice-president, he who has juggled two major crises, the COVID-19 pandemic and the death of African-American George Floyd, since taking office in 2019.

• Also read: Who is Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’s running mate?

Republican Party

For his part, the former American president and businessman Donald Trumpelected as the 45th president in 2016 before being defeated in 2020, will try his luck again at the head of the Republican Party to bring red back to the country.

If he manages to win the presidency, his running mate, US Senator from Ohio JD Vancewill take his place at his side as vice-president of the United States, bringing his varied experience, having had a career in the army, before turning to law and finance.

• Also read: Why did Trump choose to team up with JD Vance?

3- Surveys

Already, more than 50 million Americans have voted early or by mail with only days remaining before the official vote, giving pollsters an idea of ​​the tight competition between the two parties.

According to data from FiveThirtyEight, a site owned by ABC News which tracks the evolution of the vote, the two candidates are barely a few percentages apart, with Kamala Harris slightly ahead.

• Also read: End of journey under a shower of insults: Harris and Trump jostle in key states

This could change greatly in the coming days, since in 2020, some 160 million Americans in total had voted, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

But there is no “magic formula” to predict who will be the winner, Courtney Kennedy, head of methodology at the renowned Pew Research Center, told AFP, while American polls were wrong in 2016 and in 2020.

4- The five main issues

This year, five major issues seem to weigh more heavily among voters, even though they have caused a lot of ink to flow in the campaign. Here is the position of the parties on these issues, according to AFP:

Illegal immigration

On the subject of illegal immigration to the country, Donald Trump’s hobby horse since his first campaign in 2016, the Republican promised to set up the largest operation to expel illegal migrants in the history of the United States. .

For her part, the Democratic candidate offered a more temperate position, indicating that she wanted to establish a firm policy involving “consequences” for those who migrate illegally, as well as an investment in physical barriers to block access to the country.

Abortion

This issue, which has sparked in the United States since the reversal of the Roe v. Wade in 2022 by the Supreme Court, could attract a new segment of the population to the polls, according to AFP, after around twenty states took the opportunity to partially or totally restrict the right to abortion.

Kamala Harris made it a central issue of her campaign, promising to introduce federal law to adopt the measures of the Roe v. ruling. Wade.

For his part, Donald Trump would have been ambiguous on the subject, saying he was proud to have put power in the hands of the States even if some would have “gone too far” according to him, however suggesting that he might want to limit the access to certain medications.

The economy

After three years of suffering from inflation, Americans are hoping to put money back in their pockets by increasing their purchasing power.

To do this, the Republicans proposed implementing customs duties of “more than 10%” on imports, in order to finance a large tax cut.

The Democrats, for their part, are focusing more on taxing the wealthiest, promising a birth tax credit, assistance with home ownership and a boost to business creation.

Foreign policy

In the midst of war in Ukraine and the Middle East, the Republican candidate denounced the enormous sums released by Joe Biden since 2022 to help Ukraine, promising for his part to put an end to the conflicts, without explaining how, according to AFP .

For her part, her opponent insisted that she would continue to stand “firmly alongside Ukraine” and would not make “friends with dictators”.

The two candidates would also have indicated support for Israel and its “right to defend itself”, while Kamala Harris would have balanced her speech, also recalling the suffering of the Palestinians.

The climate

On the point of climate, the two parties do not agree: if the climate skeptic Donald Trump plans to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement and “drill at all costs”, his opponent wants to “pursue and develop the United States’ international leadership on climate,” according to AFP.

The country is the world’s second largest emitter of greenhouse gases, behind China.

5- A notable campaign

Since the start of the electoral campaign last year, the whole world has had its eyes fixed on the United States, which has experienced its share of events. Here are five notable moments:

1- Condemnation of Donald Trump

In April, the Republican candidate was found guilty of 34 crimes of falsifying accounting documents, intended to hide, just before his victory in the 2016 presidential election, a payment of $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels.

While his supporters have alleged that the trial is nothing more than an exploitation of justice to prevent Trump from running for office, the Supreme Court made the decision in September to postpone his sentencing until November 26.

2- Trump assassination attempts

On July 13, the news of an assassination attempt on Donald Trump went around the world when the American candidate was shot in the ear during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

The young gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed after firing six shots from a rooftop 400 feet from the stage where Donald Trump was standing, killing one of his supporters in the process.

Since then, another man, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, has reportedly been arrested after allegedly targeting the president through a fence bordering his Palm Beach golf course in mid-September.

3- Joe Biden retire sa candidature

After a debate in June during which Joe Biden stumbled on his words, making American citizens doubt his ability to govern the country, the 46th President of the United States gave up his candidacy on July 21.

It was his vice-president, Kamala Harris, who was selected by the Democratic Party to take up the torch in the race for the presidency, with the support of her predecessor.

4- Trump vs Harris: a first… and last face-to-face

On September 10, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris clashed during a bitter debate watched by more than 67 million viewers, after which the Republican candidate accused journalists of bias.

He would then have refused to face his competitor again in another face-to-face meeting, for the remainder of the electoral campaign.

5- Public support from Taylor Swift and Elon Musk: celebrities speak out

Following the debate between the two candidates, celebrity publications in support of both candidates came from all sides.

Among the most notable, American singer Taylor Swift spoke in support of Kamala Harris’ campaign, as did actor Leonardo DiCaprio, pop star Beyoncé and rapper Eminem.

For his part, Donald Trump will be able to count on, among others, the support of billionaire Elon Musk, wrestler Hulk Hogan, and musicians Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood.