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11:58 a. M.
Saturday 07 November 2020
Washington – (AFP):
Three days after the polls closed, the United States and the world are still waiting for the final results of the US presidential elections, despite the fact that Democratic candidate Joe Biden appears on his way to victory over Donald Trump.
The wait sparked tension across the divided nation when the outgoing president spoke of “fraud” by the Democrats, but without providing proof of it.
But this delay was expected for reasons related to the states that each of them is supposed to count the votes of their constituents under the American electoral system.
Critical states take longer
The results in California, the most populous in the United States, quickly turned in Biden’s favor after the polls closed on Tuesday. But such results are, in fact, estimates from media networks, unofficial, meaning it takes more time to get an accurate picture in deeply divided states.
“The closer the results, the longer it will take,” said Cathy Bukfar, a senior Pennsylvania official in charge of overseeing the electoral process in this crucial state.
States also have various rights to receive absentee votes, especially from military personnel or citizens residing abroad.
North Carolina has stopped counting at least 171,000 votes that could make a difference, because by law, ballots that arrive in the mail must be accepted until November 12, as long as they are postmarked on Election Day.
Similarly, Nevada, which is an exciting race, will count votes that have been sealed before Election Day as long as they arrive before November 10.
Temporary voting cards that are issued to voters also cause delays if there is confusion about their registration and this needs to be verified.
Many voices sent
Concerned about the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic, states that were not used to sending vote-by-mail ballots received a large number of those sent by citizens who preferred to avoid polling stations.
Of the 160 million Americans who voted this year, 65.2 million did so by mail, a record number, according to estimates by the US Election Project.
In Pennsylvania, Republicans form a majority in the state assembly. They rejected a proposal to allow mail-in ballots counting before Election Day, unlike other states.
The situation is also complicated in some counties, like Chatham in Georgia, where the competition is fierce between Biden and Trump: Two different authorities are supposed to oversee the counting of votes.
Judicial appeals
Republican President Donald Trump’s team condemned the delay and demanded an end to the count in some states where Joe Biden appeared to be ahead, especially in Pennsylvania, where the Republican Party sought refuge in the Supreme Court.
Republicans have been trying for months to prevent Pennsylvania from counting, as originally planned, the ballots that were mailed to them before Election Day, but they arrived on Friday.
In Wisconsin, where Joe Biden was declared the winner on Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that only tickets that arrive before November 3 will count.
Finally, most states allow the parties to monitor the results, but some disagreements in this area also cause a delay in the process.
Especially in Philadelphia, supporters of Donald Trump demanded that he be able to get closer to the allowed limit of 15 feet due to the risks associated with the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic.
