The Main Presidential Election Day Dawned in the USA

Donald Trump and Joe Biden are fighting for the country presidency, while Michael Pence and Kamala Harris are competing for the vice president post. Votes counting might take several days. The main general election day started in the United States. Country's citizens elect the president and vice president, all 435 members of the House of Representatives, 35 members of the Senate and, as well a number of states and territories and local governments on Tuesday, November 3. The current head of the American administration, 74-year-old Republican Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joseph Biden, who will turn 78 on November 20, are fighting for the presidency. Senator from California Kamala Harris is fighting for the post of vice president in tandem with Biden. On the Republicans’ side, incumbent Vice President Michael Pence is again running for this position. At the first polling stations, in particular, in Dixville Notch and Millsfield in New Hampshire settlements, voting began at midnight (8.00 Moscow time). State law allows communities of less than 100 people to open polling stations as early as midnight. In both villages, the results have already been calculated. In Millsfield, 16 out of 21 voters voted for Trump, in Dixville Notch, Biden won - five people voted for him, no one supported Trump. The election results in these polling stations are not representative for the whole country. Votes counting might take several days In most of the last US presidential elections, the winner was announced the night after the vote. Votes counting in some states could drag on for days this year because a lot of voters voted by mail. In some states, such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the counting of mailed ballots is only allowed on election day. US presidential elections are not direct, citizens casting votes in favor of presidential candidates actually elect members of the electoral college, who then ultimately elect the head of state. In the event of a Democratic victory in one state, all electors from that state are required to vote for the Democratic nominee in the college, and in the case of a Republican victory, for the Republican candidate. To win presidential election, a candidate needs backing 270 out of 538-member electoral college, made up of representatives from all 50 states. According to election polls, Biden has some advantage over Trump. According to the portal Real Clear Politics, 232 electors are ready to vote for Biden, 125 for Trump, another 181 electors represent the so-called "fluctuating" states and the vote within will decide the fate of elections. High turnout in early voting Meanwhile, the early voting turnout proved to be a record over the last decades. According to the Early Elections project at the University of Florida, 98.4 million voters had voted before polling stations opened on main election day, about 40 percent of all voters. According to David Becker, head and founder of the Center for Electoral Innovation and Research in Washington, the total turnout in the 2020 US presidential elections could reach 150 million citizens (out of about 240 million registered voters). If these projections prove to be true, this would mean 20 million more Americans will vote in the elections than in 2016. Such electoral activity may indicate that US citizens want change, Becker said. Many Democrats have used mail-order voting Especially many Americans have voted in this election by mail. According to the U.S. Elections Project, by the evening of November 1, the number of newsletters sent by mail was over 59 million already. In total, about 90 million ballots were issued for voting by mail this year. Experts associate the growing popularity of this type of voting with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, to the enthusiasm of Democratic Party supporters, thus reacting to the criticism of US President Donald Trump about this type of voting, as well as with voters’ general growing level of education. According to polls, a particularly large number of Democrats voted by mail. Based on this, it may turn out that Trump will lead according to the results of voting on election day, and after the processing of the ballots sent by mail, Biden will win. Five states - Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, and Utah - hold all elections currently only by mail. Elections to the Senate, House of Representatives and Local Governments In addition to the presidential election, the election of 35 out of 100 senators, as a result of which the majority in the Senate can go to the Democrats, plays an important role in the further course of American policy. Representatives of the Republican Party currently have 53 votes in the upper house of the US parliament. At the same time, many Republican senators seeking their re-election fear that Trump's unpopularity will cause their defeat in the election. Generally, observers note that the outcome of Senate elections is difficult to be predicted. At the same time, in the elections to the House of Representatives, it is expected that the Democrats will again receive the majority of parliamentary mandates. In addition, 13 state and territory governors, several state parliaments, city mayors, sheriffs and other local governments are elected on the same day. Many states are simultaneously holding referendums on labor law in California, recreating the wolf population in Colorado and decriminalizing the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms in the metropolitan area of Columbia.