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It has been an unusual work shift, with an exciting battle in the presidential election. Preston Dunn has parked the car in front of his Manchester home on the North Side, Pittsburgh. He is on his way home with breakfast, after the night shift at the security company.
– We’ll see where it goes, he says.
He considers that there are two factors that may explain why the presidential election, despite opinion polls, has become a very close story.
– I don’t think people have had confidence in Trump’s leadership in the pandemic. But they have been confident in their ability to manage the economy. That makes him stand up and weigh, he says.
Preston Dunn on his way home with breakfast after an exciting night shift amid the election drama. In the Manchester borough, support for Democrat Biden is strong.
Photo: Lotta Härdelin
Although he has decorated the entrance with campaign posters for Biden and Harris, he sees some weaknesses in the Democratic presidential candidate.
– He has been in politics for many years. Did you do what you said you had opportunities to do? No.
Election results were expectedThis would be delayed in Pennsylvania, where 2.5 million residents have chosen to vote early, more than ten times more than in the 2016 election. Based on preliminary announcements, it could take several days to determine the winner in the important main state of wave. Votes by mail continue to be counted if they are postmarked by November 3.
In the city of Pittsburgh, postal ballots are posted at a warehouse in Manchester, a few hundred yards from Preston Dunn’s home. On Wednesday morning US time, the media flocked to document the process, which is surrounded by a large security operation.
A security guard investigates a journalist, before the display of the notes of the black plastic box with the important postal votes in Pittsburgh.
Photo: Lotta Härdelin
Inside the hall, important postal voices are stored in black plastic boxes, arranged in symmetrical lines on the workshop floor. Amie Downs, communications manager for Allegheny County, as Pittsburgh’s own constituency is called, guides reporters through the long lines. He has a long day ahead of him.
– I slept an hour last night, he affirms.
Manchester is a neighborhood with many African American voters and many who have marked their support for Biden. But the mood Wednesday morning at the epicenter of America’s vote count is peaceful and calm.
– I think Biden has a chance, there are still millions of votes to count. But if he loses, we must respect the will of the majority. In the United States we are proud of our free and open elections. We are grateful that we were able to have a quiet and peaceful election. If it turns out that the majority of voters in Pennsylvania have voted for Trump, then we should respect that too, says Democrat Ernest Withrow, who is retired and lives in the area.
Tameka Kendrick on the way at home after night shift at Seven-Eleven has the same mentality
Tameka Kendrick has been working all election night. “We need more agreement, whoever wins,” he says.
Photo: Lotta Härdelin
– No matter who wins or loses, it’s time to change. We need more agreement, whoever wins. I will respect the winner, regardless, he says.
Neighbor Amanda Lippie says she had wished for a clearer election result and a clear victory for Biden. But she really doesn’t think it’s weird that it’s an even battle.
– We have a complicated electoral system. There are many of us who cannot vote, he says.
It was the democratic blue wall that fell when Hillary Clinton lost the battle for Pennsylvania in the rust belt in the northeastern United States four years ago. Joe Biden has fought hard to win back white voters and working-class women in the state, who also make up his childhood districts. He placed his election finale on Monday in Pittsburgh.
Annette Baldwin, 82, caresses her great-granddaughter Jayden, who is the son of her granddaughter Jeffrey, outside the polling place in the parish hall next to New Hope Baptist Church. “I work hard for the sake of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” he says.
Photo: Lotta Härdelin
Annette Baldwin, 82 years old, He was one of those who was able to attend the meetings of the presidential candidate. It was far from the first time, he says.
– I’ve met Joe Biden many times. He always felt like one of us here in Pittsburgh. He’s from Scranton and he’s not that far from us. He knows what it means to work hard, he says.
He spent all of Election Day overseeing the process at a polling station in Braddock, East Pittsburgh, on behalf of the Democrats.
– I work hard for my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. If Trump is re-elected, America will end. He is a liar who has destroyed and divided this country, he says.
“Joe Biden feels like one of us,” said Annette Baldwin, 82, who fought hard for Democrats to win the election.
Photo: Lotta Härdelin
Polling station officials As DN visited on Tuesday evening, everyone was able to report on smooth and orderly processes. But there were signs that the counting of votes by mail could be a difficult and lengthy story.
At a polling station in Braddock Hill in east Pittsburgh, officials Jan McMannis and Tony Buba said they met with several voters who ordered ballots but later repented and decided to go to the polls on Election Day.
The problem was that some had not brought their ballots to the electoral college. They then received provisional ballots. These votes will only be counted if the election is very even.
– Maybe they just had time to go to the polls right now. Maybe they had thrown the ballots in the mail. But they probably didn’t understand that their votes may not count, Jan McMannis said.
She pointed out that on election day She had been calm and without long lines, but she felt like “a nervous wreck” in anticipation of the result:
– It’s the scariest choice of my life.
The voters DN spoke to on Election Night were in a long and nervous wait for the outcome of the Pennsylvania election. But at the same time, several expressed relief that the election campaign was finally over and that they would at least avoid all publicity campaigns and debates.
“I don’t want Trump to win. But I’m also afraid of what will happen if he doesn’t win,” said Alisha Freshcoln of Mount Lebanon in Pittsburgh.
Photo: Lotta Härdelin
Kimmy Ferry was one of them.
– These have been difficult times. So divisive, he said.
Alisha Freshcoln left the polls in the quaint Mount Lebanon neighborhood of Pittsburgh with a feeling of stress and anxiety. He considers that a few nervous days await him.
– I don’t want Trump to win. But I’m also afraid of what will happen if he doesn’t win, and if there is a riot or the next civil war. “I don’t think we’ve ever had an option that was so questioned beforehand,” he said.
John Harnish breathed a sigh of relief in an Italian tavern on Mount Lebanon on election night.
He said he had donated money to a friend who was running locally for the Democrats. Then it was showered with party propaganda.
– There were 7-10 text messages and 3-5 phone calls every day. For two months. Constant harassment I support my friend, I am a Democrat, but it was a terrible mistake to give my phone number. I hardly wanted to vote for them.
