Elections in the United States: balance of results – United States Elections 2020 – International

The United States and the world remained on tenterhooks awaiting final results to determine the winner between the presidential contest between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump.

Until the closing of this edition, Biden had victories in 14 states and the District of Columbia (Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, New Mexico, Illinois, New Hampshire, California, Washington, Oregon and Virginia) and added 205 votes to the Electoral College, while the president won another 20 ( Kentucky, Eastern Virginia, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Indiana, Arkansas, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alabama, South Carolina, Utah, Louisiana, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Wyoming, Mississippi, Idaho, Montana, and Ohio) reached 139 votes. It takes at least 270 to win the White House.

Further, Biden took a million votes from Trump in the popular vote.

The results, for the moment, did not throw surprises since they were states that clearly favor one or the other party. But if they posed a more competitive race than anticipated. The eyes, therefore, were still on a group of 8 states called “undecided”, where the race will be defined.

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Given the voting system that exists in the US and the large number of votes that were deposited by mail and in advance, it was foreseeable that the count in them will take longer to be known and hence the uncertainty.

Even so, a few began to choose. In the case of Florida, which is often important in determining the winner, Trump was ahead with 51 percent of the total, with 94 percent of the vote counting. This is a vital state for the aspirations of the president, because a defeat there would have closed the doors of re-election.

Biden, for his part, led the count in Arizona, another state that the president won in 2016 and needs again this time. But all eyes were on the so-called “blue wall,” a group of three states (Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania) that were considered Democratic strongholds but supported Trump four years ago by a minimal margin.

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The preliminary results in them did not yet allow to declare a winner and it could be many hours before knowing the final results. One of the highlights of the day was the turnout, which continued to break previous records.

Although there were still many states to be counted, in almost all of them they registered figures higher than previous electoral cycles. Another piece of data that seemed to emerge in the state of Florida is that Trump improved considerably with Hispanics, especially in Miami-Dade County, where a majority of Cubans, Venezuelans and Colombians live. It is a county that Hillary Clinton won with 66 percent to Trump’s 32 percent, but this time Biden only managed 54 percent. In other words, the president increased his voting power by at least 150,000 votes in this area and it is estimated that a good majority were Hispanic.

While they waited for the final results, Trump settled in the White House with about 250 guests and Biden remained in Wilmington, Delaware, along with his running mate Kamala Harris, members of his family and the campaign.

Much expectation existed before the possibility that Trump, as he has threatened, could declare a triumph even when the vote count has not finished. But this Tuesday he indicated that he would not do it until he was certain of the result.

Biden, for his part, said he will wait for all the votes to be counted and that he will only give a statement once he has something to tell his followers.

In general terms, and despite some isolated incidents, the election proceeded without major setbacks. Several states, including Pennsylvania, reported voting delays of up to 3 hours in some cases.

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Some exit polls that offered clues were also known. Although still very preliminary, these showed a vote made up of fewer white people compared to four years ago and more votes from minorities. Sixty-five percent were White (vs. 74 percent in 2016), 13 percent Hispanic, 12 percent African-American, and nearly 10 percent Asian and other races (35 percent overall). Broadly speaking, a more favorable outlook for Biden, as the white vote favored Trump (54 percent vs. 40 percent for Hillary), and minorities were more against (25 vs. 75 percent).

In terms of ages, the distribution seemed very similar to the percentages in 2016 with a slight increase in the population over 65 years of age, which, according to surveys, in this electoral cycle would be more inclined towards the vice president. But another piece of data from the exit polls could be interpreted as favorable to Trump. While 52 percent indicated that the fight against the coronavirus pandemic was on the wrong track, 48 percent indicated otherwise.

It is a figure that does not coincide with the most recent polls, where almost 60 percent said that things were not going well and blamed the Republican administration. In other words, according to this exit poll, there would be fewer people who criticize it.

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Of course, given the US electoral system, the impact of these numbers depends on the state where they voted and the total number of votes. Many experts also indicated that this time they would not pay much attention to the exit polls, since a large majority of Americans vote by mail or early and the electorate that attended this Tuesday – and on which these are based polls – he was more Republican than Democrat.

Quiet voting day despite tension

When a journalist from the AFP agency asked Claire D’Angelo, a 45-year-old woman, during yesterday’s election day in Pennsylvania what her moods were, she replied: “To say that I am nervous or anxious is an understatement.”

D’Angelo, who voted in one of the pendulum states of these elections, summarized the sensations of high tension that were experienced in the United States throughout November 3.

(See in this link the analysis of the results of the elections in the USA.)

The day started with the news of the record number of early voting by mail. According to the Election Project, some 100 million people came forward to cast their vote. It is estimated that some 65 million did so by mail and about 35 million did it in person before this Tuesday.

But despite that figure, also there was high attendance and long lines during the day in states such as Texas, Florida and Arizona. And while there were scattered reports of some side-and-side supporter issues at various polling places, the voting process worked well across the country. There were also contrasts in the less populated states and areas, where the ranks were agile and practically non-existent.

Due to the nine different time zones in the country, the first states to close the polls were Kentucky and Indiana. Vermont, Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia followed. Around 7:30 pm (Colombian time) New Hampshire and Florida also closed. Finally, the last to close, around midnight, were the West Coast states, including California and Alaska.

Another battlefront in these elections was social networks. There, the day passed without major incidents on Twitter and Facebook, who feared the spread of fake news.

The most remarkable thing that happened throughout Tuesday was the suspension of several recently created accounts linked to right-wing media on both Twitter and Facebook for acting in a coordinated way, that is, sharing the same content at the same time. This type of behavior is considered inauthentic by the networks as it is not transparent.

Yesterday’s elections between Donald Trump and Joe Biden sealed one of the most tense presidential campaigns in recent years in US political history.
And is not for less. The vote came amid a country that is shaken by the coronavirus pandemic, protests over police killings of African Americans and a Donald Trump who did not cease to cast doubt on the vote counts.

(Visit the election coverage special here)

SERGIO GÓMEZ MASERI
EL TIEMPO correspondent
WASHINGTON
On twitter: @ sergom68