Record turnout: Anxiety as Trump/Biden votes counted in key states

The United States was expecting a record voter turnout for the 2020 election – the highest in a century, reports estimate.

In early voting alone, which started in early October in most states, nearly 100 million people cast their ballots – or about 75 per cent of the total who voted in 2016, when the turnout was just under 60 per cent.

The campaign was long and tense, and results are expected to take a while to be tallied, especially given the number of mail-in votes. The electorate is about 239.2 million, or just under 73 per cent of the US population.

The race is uncertain, with pundits predicting a landslide for Democratic former vice president Joe Biden… or else a result too close to call. The incumbent, Republican candidate Donald Trump, has already signalled his intention to challenge the result if he loses, and has cast doubt in speeches at rallies and on Twitter on the integrity of the mail-in voting process.

Given the intense scrutiny, it’s possible a winner will not have been declared on Tuesday night – or even Wednesday. In fact, some outlets are preparing for a weeklong wait. This isn’t unusual – the election in 2000, when Al Gore infamously lost (or at any rate wasn’t declared the winner) was called in December, after a recount in Florida went all the way to the Supreme Court for a ruling.

If it’s a landslide, though, with a candidate winning decisive states, the results might be in well before midnight. The “battleground” states include Florida, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and even Arizona and Georgia– once considered red – that could possibly flip blue. These “swing states” (think marginal constituencies) have close margins and relatively high numbers of electoral-college votes.
The members of the college generally have to vote for the candidate who won their state. So the winner of the election is the person who wins the most states, whether or not he or she also wins the majority of individual votes. That cost Hillary Clinton the presidency in 2016, when she won three million more votes than Donald Trump, but he got 304 of the 538 electoral college votes (the winner needs 270).

Voting on Tuesday went smoothly, with American media outlets reporting minimal disruptions, despite long lines in during early voting. The Associated Press (AP) reported no major problems. Some polling places opened late; robocalls provided false information to voters in Iowa and Michigan; some machines or software malfunctioned in the battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Texas. The cybersecurity agency at the Department of Homeland Security said there were no outward signs by midday of any malicious activity.

Most polls on the east coast closed by 7 pm. Reports started coming in soon after, with candidates holding on to expected easy wins. In the first wave, Kentucky, a Republican red state, predictably went to Trump, along with southern states like Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and Oklahoma. Vermont was the first to be called for Biden, along with north-eastern democratic strongholds like Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut. Biden also won his home state of Delaware as expected, Illinois, Virginia and Maryland. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky retained his seat (although it remains to be seen if he will hold on to that title).

Trini-Americans make their decision

Alyssa Sewlal, who lives in San Francisco – a liberal city in the typically Democratic state of California, voted early.

Sewlal’s parents are Trinidadian and she lived here for a time when she was younger.

“Even when I’ve been out of the country for elections I’ve always cast an absentee ballot because the decisions made here (and by so few) have far-reaching implications elsewhere. This administration has emboldened the most ill-informed among us, and that has been legitimately scary,” she said.

Dr Balmatee Bedassie, a Trinidad-born engineer and university lecturer in Kalamazoo, Michigan, voted on Tuesday. “I waited to vote in person because it was two blocks from my apartment and I wanted to make sure that the machine told me that I voted so I am sure that my vote counted (or so I hope),” she said. “Too many people sacrificed their lives to allow me, a Caribbean woman of colour, to vote, and I make it my duty, sick or rain or snow, to vote.” She said the process was very organised and covid19 social distancing and sanitisation rules were enforced.

Micheal Bruce, who lived most of his life in Trinidad before recently relocating, said he voted for the first time, via mail-in ballot, a process he said was quite convenient and efficient. “I live in Maryland, which has gone to the Democrats in previous presidential elections but ironically is governed by a Republican governor, who I think is quite good.

“I think living outside of America for half of President Trump’s term gave me a more worldly perspective in my decision-making.”

Before the election, major cities began preparing for possible social unrest depending on the result. New York, San Francisco, St Louis and Atlanta were just some cities where buildings were boarded up in anticipation of possible riots.

“It’s eerie. All my friends wanted to stay home so we wouldn’t have to take the train or an Uber,” said Sonia Beharry, who lives in Brooklyn, New York. Beharry, a permanent resident in the US, recalled, “Last election I wasn’t worried, I was out until 10 pm..”

She described a recent trip to upstate (rural) New York where she and her friends, also non-white immigrants, were disconcerted at staying in a cabin surrounded by neighbours displaying Trump support signs. “We never felt unsafe per se, but we were concerned. Like, should we bolt the doors and windows?”

On the way back, they saw buildings including iconic retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdales, even the Apple Store, being boarded up.

“It was like for a hurricane but it’s an election. Do we really need to take these precautions in a democratic, first-world country?”

One reason, she suggested, was probably post-traumatic stress disorder following Black Lives Matter protests in which some places were damaged. “It’s everything combined. I never felt fear before, but now you are concerned about expressing an opinion.”

Sewlal had similar feelings. “It’s surreal that we’re at home hunkering down in anticipation of riots, whichever way things go tonight. But ultimately, I’m hopeful that so many people see what needs to be built, not rebuilt. This country was never truly a place of opportunity for all, but it can be.”

Absentee voting

Over 63 million of the votes cast in this election were mail-in ballots, including from US citizens living abroad.

Newsday columnist Debbie Jacob voted via absentee ballot. Jacob, from the swing state of Ohio, has voted in every election since she turned 18.

“I thought the most historic and most important election we would ever have was when (Barack) Obama won the presidency, but now this one by far seems like the most important to me. Because I hate to sound like a (Joe) Biden campaign ad, but this really is a vote for the soul of a country,” she said.

Jacob described herself as “unapologetically Democratic.”

“I wish it would be a landslide for Biden – but I expect it to be close. I never dreamt in my whole life we’d have an election like this,” she said.

She acknowledged that while Trump did some things for the economy, “You can’t be trashing everyone’s reputation around you.”

Trump “just sows so many seeds of discord it’s unbelievable. I think that seriously, the amount of prejudice and violence that he encourages through his rhetoric is just appalling. I don’t know anybody in America who isn’t anxious-ridden tonight on – both sides.”

In Trinidad and Tobago, the US Embassy, in a release on Tuesday evening, reported an 800 per cent increase in the number of absentee voters in this election, with 333 ballots cast.

The embassy said, “This election period, the US saw an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots submitted, primarily due to precautions taken for the covid19 pandemic.” US ambassador Joseph Mondello was among the voters, and praised the democratic process, commending the “sacred tradition of the peaceful transfer of power in a democracy.”

“We’re very fortunate indeed to be living in the US, and to be able to get out every four years for the presidency and cast our vote as to who we think is the right person to lead our nation. I think the US does it right,”

Mondello, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, said in the release. “Winston Churchill said it best, democracy is the worst form of government… except for all other forms of government,” he quipped, as a reminder of the continuous work and engagement required by all US citizens to make democracy work.