The donkey-elephant fight begins
Voting for the 47th presidential election of the United States is underway. Voting begins at 5 am local time (12 noon GMT) in the eastern state of Vermont. Voting will last 12 to 14 hours.
18 crore 60 lakh voters in the 50 states and the District of Columbia of the United States can vote. However, more than 8 crore people have already voted due to the postal and early voting system in most states.
Although the voting has begun, who is holding the key to the White House? Will the United States, the most influential country in the world, get its first female president, or will Donald Trump come to power for the second time?
International media reports say that Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris is on the verge of making history. On the other hand, Republican Party candidate Donald Trump is determined to make a comeback by erasing the shame of his defeat in the last election. However, surveys indicate a close fight.
Who will win the fight to capture the White House, who will have the last laugh - Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. The answer to this question is now waiting for the last minute. Many voters will make their decisions at the last minute. There are many silent voters. So, it is not possible to guess who will win before the results are announced.
Kamala, a struggling woman from California, is currently the Vice President of the United States. On the other hand, Donald Trump is one of the richest men in the US. Not only to the people of the United States; is this year’s US election also significant to the world in the midst of a world devastated by war and a turbulent global economy.
Apart from Kamala Harris-Donald Trump, Jill Stein of the Green Party, Chase Oliver of the Libertarian Party, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (who withdrew from the election but is still on the ballot in most states) and Cornel West (independent) are competing in the US presidential election.
Only citizens of the country can vote in the US presidential election. They must be 18 years of age on or before Election Day. In addition, certain residency requirements must be met, which vary from state to state.
As of September of this year, 18 crore 60 lakh Americans have registered to vote. That is, 8 out of every 10 Americans of voting age have registered.
The US election system is quite complex. The president is not elected by popular vote in the United States. The 50 states and the District of Columbia, the capital of the United States, Washington, DC, have 538 Electoral College votes. To win the election, 270 Electoral College votes are needed. Each state has a different number of Electoral College votes. The party that wins a state gets all the Electoral College votes in that state. That is, winners get all.
The main competition in this election is in seven swing states. Among these swing states, Wisconsin has 10, Pennsylvania has 19, Arizona has 11, Georgia has 16, Michigan has 15, Nevada has 6, and North Carolina has 16 Electoral College votes. Washington, DC has three Electoral College votes.
However, the global geopolitical arena for the next four years depends on whether Donald Trump or Kamala Harris occupies the White House. In addition to regional politics, the next four years will see the strategic planning, decision-making, and power showdowns that will shape the direction of global politics. However, the world is welcoming a positive and orderly global geopolitical management. The torch of peace will burn throughout the world.
When will the results be known?
Each constituency has its own voting deadline. Different states have different laws regarding ballot counting and when mail-in ballots can be accepted. For this reason, the final results of some states will be known the day after the election or even later.
In 2020, the results of the presidential election took several days to be announced. This time too, it may be necessary to wait until several days after November 5 to know the names of the new president and other important officeholders.