here there were no signs of disruptions or violence at polling places.
Washington:
In the final hours of an election held amid a pandemic gripping a deeply divided America, Americans went to the polls Tuesday to choose between incumbent President Donald Trump and challenger Joe Biden on a day with little of the disorders many feared.
Voters, many wearing masks and maintaining social distancing to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, experienced long lines in some places and short waits in many other places. There were no signs of disruptions or violence at polling places, as some officials feared.
The winner, which may not be determined for days, will lead a nation strained by a pandemic that has killed more than 231,000 people and left millions more without jobs, racial tensions and political polarization that has only worsened during a virulent campaign.
A third of American voters listed the economy as the issue that mattered most to them when deciding their election for president, while two in 10 cited COVID-19, according to an exit poll by Edison Research on Tuesday.
In the national exit poll, four out of 10 voters said they thought the effort to contain the virus was “very bad.” In the battleground states of Florida and North Carolina, which could decide the election, five out of 10 voters said the national response to the pandemic was “somewhat or very badly.”
Biden, the former Democratic vice president, has put Trump’s handling of the pandemic at the center of his campaign and has maintained a consistent lead in national opinion polls over the Republican president.
Biden, 77, seemed to have multiple paths to victory in the state-by-state Electoral College determining the winner; It takes at least 270 electoral votes, determined in part by the population of a state, to win.
Trump, 74, is close enough in several states to the electoral battlefield that he could repeat the kind of surprise he achieved in 2016, when he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton despite losing the national popular vote by approximately 3 million. ballots.
The more closely watched voting results will begin arriving after 7pm EST (2400 GMT), but the count could continue for several days.
“I’m hopeful,” Biden told reporters in his home state of Delaware, after previously appearing in the pivotal state of Pennsylvania to make a last-minute appeal to voters.
“What I’m hearing,” added Biden, “is that there is overwhelming turnout, and overwhelming turnout, particularly from young people, from women” and in some states older black voters, groups that are expected to favor it.
“I think we’re going to have a great night,” Trump said in Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, where he thanked campaign workers. “But it’s politics and elections, and you never know.”
“Winning is easy. Losing is never easy, not for me it is not,” Trump added.
Before Election Day, just over 100 million voters cast their early votes either by mail or in person, according to the University of Florida’s U.S. Elections Project, fueled by concerns about venues. crowded voting during the pandemic, as well as extraordinary enthusiasm.
The total has broken records and has led some experts to predict the highest voting rates since 1908 and that the total votes could reach 160 million, surpassing the 138 million cast in 2016.
Trump, admitting that his voice was “a bit choppy” after making speeches at numerous raucous rallies in the final days of the campaign, said he was not yet thinking about making a concession speech or acceptance speech. Seeking a second four-year term, Trump said he would not declare victory prematurely, adding that “there is no reason to play.”
In Pennsylvania, Biden first stopped at his childhood home in Scranton, where he signed one of the living room walls, writing: “From this house to the White House with the grace of God. Joe Biden 11- 3-2020 “.
He later visited Philadelphia and used a megaphone to address supporters who chanted, “Joe, Joe, Joe.”
“It’s not over until it’s over,” Biden said in front of a block of brick row houses.
In anticipation of possible protests, some buildings and shops were bricked up in cities like Washington, Los Angeles and New York. Federal authorities erected a new fence around the perimeter of the White House.
A REFERRAL ON TRUMP
Supporters of both candidates called the election a referendum on Trump and his tumultuous first term. No president of the United States has lost a bid for re-election since Republican George HW Bush in 1992.
In Atlanta, Cody Sellers, 32, a registered Republican and project manager at a home improvement store, voted for Biden.
“Trump is the problem,” Sellers said, shivering with cold.
“I really think Trump is bad for our country,” he added. “It’s divisive. We’re on the road to trouble. I’m not excited about Biden, but he can get the job done and he cares about our country.
Polls show Georgia, long a Republican stronghold, could be at stake this year, but Victor Akinola, 44, stuck with Trump.
“The hopes that liberals have for the so-called blue wave are unfounded. Georgians will not vote en masse against their own local interests,” said Akinola, who works in information technology.
Among the most controversial states expected to determine the outcome are Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia, and Democrats hope that Biden may even threaten Trump in states that once seemed safe to turn. Republicans like Ohio. , Iowa and Texas.
Voters on Tuesday will also decide which political party will control the United States Congress for the next two years, with Democrats heavily favored to regain a majority in the Senate and retain control of the House of Representatives.
The FBI was investigating a series of mysterious robocalls urging people to stay home on Election Day. The New York State Attorney General was also investigating those robocalls.
A judge ordered the U.S. Postal Service to sweep mail processing facilities Tuesday afternoon in search of delayed ballots and to immediately ship the ballots for delivery to a dozen states, including fields from battle very close like Pennsylvania and Florida.
US stocks closed sharply higher as investors bet it would be decided without a lengthy process, leading to a quick deal on more fiscal stimulus related to the pandemic.
TURBULENT PRESIDENCY
Trump seeks another term in office after four chaotic years marked by the coronavirus crisis, an economy hit by pandemic stoppages, an impeachment drama, investigations into Russian electoral interference, America’s racial tensions and political controversies in the United States. immigration.
Biden is seeking to win the presidency in his third attempt after a five-decade political career, including eight years as vice president under Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama.
With so much at stake, nerves were strained.
“I feel sick to my stomach, but positive,” said Nancy Osborne, 71, a retired teacher and Democratic Party activist in suburban Detroit.
Biden has promised a renewed effort to combat the public health crisis, fix the economy, and bridge America’s political divide. This year, the country was also rocked by months of protests against racism and police brutality.
Some crucial states, like Florida, start counting absentee votes before Election Day and could deliver results relatively quickly on Tuesday night. Others, including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, are prohibited from processing the vast majority of mail-in ballots until Election Day, increasing the possibility of a vote recount that could span multiple days.
Trump has claimed, without evidence, that vote-by-mail ballots are subject to fraud and has hinted at court challenges.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
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