Voting in the United States goes largely smoothly

When they step into the voting booth, voters must decide between two candidates who offered radically opposing temperaments and visions of the world’s largest economy and dominant military power. More than 82 million people voted in advance.

Tuesday’s voting went smoothly across the country, aside from some isolated issues that are common in elections, such as long lines, technical glitches and printing errors on some ballots. voting.

Mr. Trump voted in Palm Beach, Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago club. He said afterward that he felt “very confident.”

“It seems that the Republicans showed up in force,” he remarked to journalists, wearing a red cap Make America Great Again. He said he had not prepared a speech on the results – victory or defeat. “I am not a Democrat. I am capable of composing a speech in a very short time,” he maintained.

Ms. Harris, the Democratic vice president, gave telephone interviews to radio stations in the key swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada. She could become the first woman to be elected president. She has promised to tackle economic concerns and other issues, without deviating drastically from the path set by President Joe Biden.

Mr. Trump, the former Republican president, has pledged to impose drastic tariffs on allies and enemies of the United States, in addition to organizing the largest expulsion operation in history of the country.

In Scranton, Pennsylvania, Liza Fortt arrived at her polling place in a wheelchair and not feeling well. But she said she still left the house to vote for Ms. Harris.

“It means a lot to me and my grandchildren, my granddaughters, my nieces. […] I was just waiting for this day to come,” said Ms. Fortt, a 74-year-old black woman. She added that she never thought she would have the opportunity to vote for a black woman in a presidential race.

“I am proud to see a woman, not just a woman, but a black woman,” said Ms. Fortt.

In all likelihood, the election will be played out in seven key states. Of those, five were won by Mr. Trump in 2016 before swinging to Mr. Biden in 2020: the “blue wall” made up of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as Arizona and Georgia. Nevada and North Carolina, which Democrats and Republicans respectively won in the last two elections, are also hotly contested.

Jasmine Perez, 26, a first-time voter, cast her vote for Mr. Trump at the Raiders stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. His choice was, among other things, motivated by his spiritual values.

“What really attracted me to Donald Trump is that I’m a Christian,” Perez said, noting of the former president that she “likes that he openly promotes Christianity in America.”

With polls putting the two candidates neck and neck nationally and the high number of swing states in play, it is possible that once again the winner will not be known during election night.

In 2020, it took four days to declare a winner. Regardless, Mr. Trump has already suggested, without basis, that if he loses on Tuesday, it will be because of fraud. Ms. Harris’s team expects the Republican candidate to try to claim victory before a winner is known, or to try to contest the result if she wins.

Four years ago, Mr. Trump launched an attempt to overturn the will of voters that ended in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The former president said Tuesday that he did not plan to tell his supporters to refrain from violence if Ms. Harris wins, because they “are not violent people.” Asked whether he would accept the results of the race one way or the other, Mr. Trump replied: “If it’s a fair election, I’ll be the first to admit that.” He visited a nearby campaign office to motivate staffers before a party at an area convention center.

Ms. Harris, for her part, has already voted by mail in her home state, California. She will host a viewing party at her alma mater, Howard University, in Washington.

Two different visions

Kamala Harris, who is 60, would become the first woman, Black woman and person of South Asian descent to become president. She would also be the first sitting vice president to be promoted to the White House in 32 years.

“I think it’s an inflection point, in the sense that it’s the moment where we have two very different visions of the future of our nation,” Harris said in an interview Tuesday at The Big Tigger Morning Show on V-103, in Atlanta. “Mine is focused on progress.”

A victory on his part would cap a blitzkrieg campaign unprecedented in American history. Ms. Harris took over as Democratic nominee less than four months ago when Mr. Biden, facing massive pressure from his party after a disastrous debate performance, opted to withdraw from the race.

Donald Trump, who is 78 years old, would be the oldest president ever elected. He would also be the first defeated president in 132 years to subsequently win another term in the White House. He would also be the first person convicted of a crime to take control of the Oval Office.

He narrowly survived an assassination attempt at a rally in July. Secret Service agents foiled a second attempt in September.

Trump’s victory would confirm that enough voters have put aside the warnings of many former Trump aides or instead prioritized concerns about Biden and Harris’ handling of the economy or the U.S.-Mexico border .

That would potentially keep him out of jail after he was convicted of hiding payments to an adult film actress during his first presidential campaign in 2016. His sentencing in that case could come later this month. here. And once in office, Mr. Trump could end the federal investigation into his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Huge stakes for the United States and the world

The potential turbulence of a second term for Mr. Trump has been amplified by his embrace of the far-right Republican Party and his disregard for democratic norms.

Mr. Trump has used harsh rhetoric against Ms. Harris and other Democrats, calling them “evil,” and has suggested military action against people he calls “enemies within.”

Ms. Harris, referring to warnings from Mr. Trump’s former aides, called her rival a “fascist” and accused Mr. Trump of putting women’s lives in danger by appointing to the Supreme Court three of the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, which protected access to abortion nationwide.

In the final hours of the campaign, she tried to adopt a more positive tone and went all day Monday without saying the name of her Republican opponent.

As Election Day approaches, federal, state and local officials have expressed confidence in the integrity of the nation’s election systems. They are nonetheless prepared to confront what they say is an unprecedented level of foreign disinformation – particularly from Russia and Iran – as well as the possibility of physical violence or cyberattacks.

Both sides have armies of lawyers preparing for legal challenges. And law enforcement is on high alert across the country in anticipation of possible outbreaks of violence.

JD Jorgensen, an independent voter from Black Mountain, North Carolina, which was hit hard by the hurricane Helenesaid voters should have made up their minds by now.

“I think the candidates have both been in the spotlight for so long that if you’re still hesitant, you haven’t really been paying attention.”