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Wall Street closes in positive territory
Wall Street posted gains on the day of the second round. After recent losses, bargain hunters have struck again, market participants said. The US Dow Jones Standard Value Index closed 0.6 percent higher at 30,391 points.
“The outcome of the election is crucial in determining how much freedom future President Joe Biden has in implementing his program,” said Matthias Scheiber, manager of asset management at Bank Wells Fargo. If Biden’s Democrats get the upper hand in the Senate and House of Representatives, experts expect additional public spending programs.
ING Bank analysts noted that this is lifting spirits in the market. Investor concerns about stricter regulation and higher taxes would take a backseat for at least a few months.
If Republicans defended their majority, they would block additional spending, analysts at Rabobank predicted. At the same time, they would force the central bank (Fed) to intervene in the gap to cushion the consequences of the coronavirus. Since they reject the negative key interest rates, all that is left is to buy additional securities.
The election runs smoothly
According to the authorities, the second round of the elections in Georgia has so far passed without any special incidents. Long lines formed in front of some polling stations. The head of the election, Gabriel Sterling, tweeted that it only took an average of one minute to wait for the vote. He also responded to a tweet from President Trump denouncing technical problems in a district. These have now been resolved, Sterling said.
Kelly Loeffler also asks to vote
Republican candidate Kelly Loeffler has also asked her supporters to go to the polls and also encourage their friends and neighbors to vote.
The counting process may take longer
There could be delays in the counting of votes, says Walter Jones, spokesman for election official Brad Raffensperger. Poll workers can only start counting at 7:00 pm (1:00 am CET on Wednesday).
Almost a million voting-by-mail documents are already available, as evidenced by official data. Additionally, there are more than two million early voter votes who took the opportunity to vote in person at polling stations prior to the actual election date.
This total of around three million votes should be assessed relatively quickly on election night, because preliminary checks such as comparing signatures on vote-by-mail ballots have already been done. Counting voting by mail documents, which only arrive during the course of Election Day, can be tedious. You have to open the envelopes, check the signatures and, finally, load the ballots into the counting machines.
In addition, there are expected to be hundreds of thousands of votes from voters voting in person on Election Day at polling stations.
Legend:
The vote count could be extended.
Keystone
Campaigns to mobilize the latest candidates
With appearances in and around Atlanta, Democratic candidates Warnock and Ossoff made last-minute attempts to mobilize more voters.
Senate lockdown could stop Biden’s plans
Surveys in Georgia will be the fate of the Biden administration. In his second term, President Obama had already experienced how difficult it was to prevail against a Republican majority in the Senate, according to SRF correspondent Thomas von Grünigen in his assessment.
“Back then, the Republicans blocked almost everything Obama wanted. Joe Biden faces a similar fate if the two Democratic candidates fail to win here in Georgia. From the appointment of the Supreme Court to the reform of the health care system, it will be decided here in Georgia whether Joe Biden can become president or whether he should hit a Republican wall. “
The choice that will shape America
The Senate election in Georgia not only decides which party will have the majority in the Senate, but also how strongly future President Joe Biden can implement his political plans. Both parties are almost on par in the polls. Then the race should be closed. The deciding factor will therefore be which field can best motivate its own base to go to the polls.
The mood in Georgia shortly before the election is highly charged, says a local voter. Another explains the mood with the fact that the people of Georgia are aware of the scope of the decision: “Our election has an impact on the entire country.”
The starting point for the Georgia elections
In the first vote on November 3, neither candidate for the two Senate seats had the required absolute majority. A single victory is enough for Republicans to retain a majority in the Senate. The two Democratic candidates would have to prevail for there to be a tie with 50:50 votes in the chamber, which can be resolved by future Vice President Kamala Harris in favor of the Democrats. Polls actually see candidates on par. You can find more information about the election, the candidates and the procedure here.
Hundreds of thousands use postal votes
Polls in Georgia have been open since 7:00 am (1:00 pm CET) and close at 7:00 pm (Wednesday 1:00 pm CET). It is not clear when there will be results. This is also due to the corona pandemic, for which hundreds of thousands of voters have made use of the vote by mail. According to the Elections Project, about three million voters cast their ballots by letter or in person at the polling station before Election Day.
Trump and Biden supported the candidates on the site
The day before the runoff, future President Joe Biden had campaigned for candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in Georgia’s capital Atlanta. “Tomorrow may be a new day for Atlanta, Georgia and the United States,” the president-elect said. Regarding the two Democratic candidates, he added: “They have principles, they are qualified. You are honorable, you mean what you say. “
Donald Trump, on the other hand, called at a campaign appearance in Dalton, north of Atlanta, to vote for David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. “That could be the most important vote you will cast for the rest of your life,” he said in front of thousands of supporters. Ossoff and Warnock are “extremists who would destroy everything Georgia’s patriots hold dear.”
Decision Day in Georgia
Welcome to the live ticker of the US Senate elections in the state of Georgia. The outcome of the runoff elections for the last two open seats will determine whether Republicans can retain their majority in the Washington House of Representatives.
