Will Biden be no. 46 or will Trump once again take oath on January 20?
While election day has begun in the United States, interestingly, nearly 100 million people have already voted by mail or in person. It is expected that another 60 million are expected to vote by the end of the day.
In India, we won't come to know who the winner is -- Republican President Donald Trump or Democratic challenger and former US Vice-President Joe Biden -- until the Wednesday noon or later. But AFP warns that the battle to achieve a majority 270 electoral votes could be too close to call. This could also mean that we Indians could come to know of the full results late on Wednesday or even longer.
If there are legal battles over the counting of votes, then the electoral fight could reach epic proportions too. In fact, both parties have geared up for legal fights in several states where a favorable court judgment could tilt the results one way or another, AFP reports.
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President Trump seems positive
WE ARE LOOKING REALLY GOOD ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. THANK YOU!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 3, 2020
Florida is key to both candidates
A political science professor Kathryn ePalo-Gould is quoted by WUWF 88.1, a local Florida publication, as saying, "So Florida's considered a battleground state or a swing state because a lot of our statewide elections are decided within one to two percentage points." Florida has 29 electoral votes. In the last elections, the winner, Trump and Obama, won the state by just about 1 percentage point.
What are swing states?
Swing state (or battleground state) refers to any state that could reasonably be won by either the Democratic or Republican presidential candidate by a swing in votes. These states are usually targeted by both major-party campaigns, especially in competitive elections.
Kentucky goes to Trump
AP calls Kentucky for the Republican Party, Trump gets 8 electoral votes.
DO not go by early trends, warns New York Times report
As per a New York Times report, states which count in-person votes first, like Pennsylvania, will probably be skewed toward President Trump. States that count pre-Election Day votes first, like Florida, will probably be skewed toward Joe Biden.
Georgia is an interesting case
The so-called peach state has voted solidly Republican in all but two presidential elections since 1960. Biden seeks to win this state this year.
Biden takes Vermont
AP projects the ex-VP has won Vermont, which has 38 electoral votes.
CNN, NBC projects Indiana for Trump
Indiana has 11 electoral votes.
When will all polls be closed?
Most close by 9:00 pm EST ( 7-7.30 am), opening the way for a gusher of vote tallies over the following hours, with some districts and states reporting faster than others.
The 538 factor
There are 538 electors in the 50 states of America and the District of Columbia. States with bigger population have more number of electors. Hence, a candidate needs to win at least 270 electors.
How to Americans vote?
According to an Al Jazeera article, voters do not directly elect the president, but the members of the US Congress are directly elected. This means that voters in each US state vote for “electors”, who vote for a presidential and vice presidential candidate. However, such a system has led to a candidate winning the nationwide popular vote but losing the Electoral College, like it happened in 2016 and 2000.