Election Day in America
Thank God.
After seemingly years, we have finally made it to Election Day in America. Please, people of the United Kingdom do not complain about your irritation of a four-week election campaign.
Today American’s go to the polls, well those that haven’t already voted, and then the fun begins.
If one plans to wait up for the result to come in, then you might not be going to bed for a number of days.
In 2020 it took four days before Joe Biden was declared president-elect, in 2000 there was five weeks of uncertainty until the Supreme Court ruled that a ballot recount in Florida would end.
This is the closest U.S. election since 2000, but Florida where we live, has moved from swing state to firmly Republican in the intervening years due to the influx of quite wealthy Latino’s and transplants from northern states.
The aftermath of the 2020 election was an embarrassment for the supposed land of the free, but this election has become even more divisive with rarely a policy statement made. The narcissism, the bitterness, the anger, the revenge-ridden discourse. It is scary, contemptible and risible all at the same time.
Self entitled, probably by people who don’t have a passport, the USA is supposed to benefit from having a vibrant political system, robust freedoms of expression and religious belief, and a wide array of civil liberties. I watch a lot of politics here and this election has been third world.
Despite all of that it will be good TV, and results will start to come in after 6pm EST tonight with Indiana and Kentucky historically first. 244 million Americans can vote, and a record turnout of 70% is expected.
Supposedly, somehow there are still undecided voters, however it will all come down to seven battleground states – Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Arizona, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Michigan. The rest don’t matter.
In a myriad of polls these states are a dead heat between Harris and Trump, although the Democrat is said to hold a razor-thin lead overall, but in the United States it is all about the electoral college, and not the popular vote. The magic number of electoral college votes is 270.
There will be a lot of popcorn eaten in America tonight, and tomorrow, and the day after 🍿🍿🍿🍿
Then perhaps we can go back to normal. Hmmm, right-o.
I mean !! A country of 300 million plus, gives itself a choice of a raving lunatic or a man who is clearly in early stage dementia. Yes I know Uncle Joe was replaced, but it was three years too late. The damage was done.
I predict a draw and weeks of accusations on vote rigging. Just like last time ………..
And probably the next time.
You’d have thought they could have found two better candidates. The American people do deserve better than those two.
Its a scary time. Putin will be licking his lips as he wins either way.
Starmageddon all round and bye bye Ukraine
Some years ago I was in Chicago (well Rosemont to be precise) when Obama made an appearance at the hotel I was staying in. The security was taking no chances tight. There were people guarding the doors, escalators, corridors, the car-park was emptied of all vehicles…all so he could make a speech to a couple of hundred people who were going to vote for him anyway and get a few seconds on a TV news broadcast that evening.
That was 2007 before he was officially running.
Following this campaign I’m staggered by the lack of actual policy from either campaign, instead there have been a lot of rhetoric and insults flying about mostly from Trump but Kamala Harris has hardly set the world alight with a plan and strategy to enthuse people. I just hope Trump loses and by a decent enough margin that he can’t complain about vote rigging.
Oh!