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The US economy is the biggest problem for people voting in US elections today, an early exit poll revealed.
It could be a good sign for Donald Trump, as the polls prepare to close in the US states.
About 32% said strong leadership was the most important quality of the candidate they voted for, with good judgment coming in second with 24%.
The candidate who cares about ‘people like me’ came in third with 21%, with the ability to unite the most important country with 19%.
The economy is the only issue the president has performed better than Joe Biden in the run-up to the election. About 34% of those polled said it was the most important topic for their vote.
The coronavirus ranked third in CNN’s exit poll, with only 18% saying it was the biggest problem. Racial inequality came in second, at 21%.
Unusually for an American election, crime and security were the top issue for just 11% of voters.
About 41% said they were better than four years ago, and 38% said the same.
But only 13% said the state of the economy in the US was ‘excellent’, with ‘good’ and ‘not so good’ even at 35% and 32% respectively.
19% said it was “poor”.
And there were more indications that the economic issue was not necessarily an endorsement of the president.
While the nation was divided on whether the Covid-19 crisis had been handled well, with 51% saying it had not, there was a greater division in opinion on the use of masks.
Trump has repeatedly mocked people who wear masks and has been reluctant to wear one.
But the survey showed that up to 68% of those surveyed said it was a public health responsibility to wear a mask in public, and only 30% said it was a personal choice.
Of the people who voted for Donald Trump, about 81% said they had voted yes for his candidate, rather than against his opponent.
For Biden voters, about 64% said they had voted yes for the former vice president, and 31% said they had voted against his opponent.
There was an increase in the number of first-time voters. It was 10% in 2016, which increased to 13% this year.
68% of those polled said it was “very easy” to vote this year.
And 86% said they were confident their vote would be counted.
And surprisingly few voters made ‘late decisions’, with 93% saying they had made a decision before the last seven days.
Millions of Americans waited patiently to cast their votes in libraries, schools and stadiums across the country today, in an orderly display of civic duty that belies the deep tensions of one of the most polarizing presidential campaigns in American history.
The face masks worn by many voters and the sight of bricked-up shops in some city centers were reminders of two major issues that shaped the 2020 elections, with COVID-19 still ravaging parts of the country after a summer of protests against the violence sometimes marked police brutality and racism.
While civic rights groups said they were monitoring for any signs of voter interference and law enforcement agencies were on high alert for disruptions at the polls, their worst fears had not materialized in the early afternoon.
In New York City, some voting lines snaked around the blocks, but in many places, from Los Angeles to Detroit to Atlanta, the lines were short or nonexistent. Poll workers assumed this was due to an unprecedented wave of early voting. More than 100 million votes were cast before Election Day, a new record.
Elsa Avalos, 79, was leaving a polling station Tuesday morning after voting with her husband in Huntington Park in Southern California.
“In each election we have voted. We have done our duty,” he said.
“I was afraid we would have a line today, but nothing.”
In Atlanta, about a dozen voters lined up before dawn at the Piedmont Park Conservancy. First in line was Ginnie House, shivering with cold, waiting to cast a vote.
“I lost my absentee vote and I am not going to miss this vote,” said House, a 22-year-old actor and creative writing student, who had flown back to Atlanta from New York just for this purpose.
He said he was voting for Democratic candidate Joe Biden, a former vice president seeking to replace Republican President Donald Trump in the White House.
At a polling station in Houston, Texas, Andy Valadez blew a shofar, a trumpet used in Jewish and some Christian ceremonies. In this case, the horn was a way to pray for a Trump victory, Valadez said.
“We want to pray for a fair election,” said the 55-year-old marketing executive, his shofar draped in an American flag. “We believe in America and we want everyone to have a safe voting experience.”
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