Washington, Nov. 3, (dpa/GNA) – US President Donald Trump is vying for a second term in the White House, running against Democratic nominee Joe Biden, 77, a former vice president.
The 74-year-old Republican incumbent has been trailing in the polls all year, and was facing headwinds even before the coronavirus outbreak. His numbers have not improved since then, though a Biden victory is far from certain.
In addition to the presidency, the entire House of Representatives and 35 Senate seats are up for grabs.
Q: How are people casting their ballots?
A: Voting takes place in person across the country on Tuesday. Some states have allowed people to participate in early voting, usually by mail or at a designated early voting polling station. Overall, there has been an unprecedented take-up in early voting this year.
Q: What is the Electoral College?
A: In the US, the president is not directly elected by a count of the nationwide popular vote. Instead, the 50 states and Washington DC have a specific number of electors in the Electoral College proportionate to their population size. Nearly all states have a winner-takes-all system, in which the candidate with the most votes gets all the electors.
In order to win the presidency, a candidate needs 270 electors out of the 538. As occurred in 2016, when Trump won, it is possible to get elected to the White House without obtaining the most votes nationwide.
Q: What issues matter to US voters this year?
A: Healthcare, the economy, appointments to the Supreme Court and the coronavirus pandemic are among the most important issues to US voters, according to the Pew Research Center.
Climate change remains a divisive issue that is seen as major concern for Biden supporters but less so among Trump supporters, according to Pew, while abortion access remain an issue that inflames passions on both sides.
With the coronavirus raging, the response has become front and centre for many voters. Biden and the centre-left Democrats have vociferously attacked Trump, accusing him of mishandling the pandemic, which has led to over 230,000 deaths in the US, one of the worst rates in the world.
Trump, who enjoys almost the full backing of the Republicans, staunchly defends his record and focuses on reopening workplaces and schools, as he sees the economy as a point of strength for his campaign.
The incumbent is also running on a tough law-and-order campaign, while Biden is reaching out to social justice protesters and promising more left-leaning reforms to the health care system.
Q: Which Senate seats are up for grabs?
A: Senate seats will be contested in 35 US states. The centre-right Republican Party currently holds a 53-47 seat advantage in the 100-seat Senate. This year Republicans have to defend 23 seats while the centre-left Democrats have to defend just 12.
In order to control the Senate, Democrats would need to flip at least 3 seats.
Q: What’s the current status in the House?
A: Currently, Democrats hold 232 seats in the House of Representatives while Republicans hold 198. There are also 4 vacancies and 1 seat held by a Libertarian. All of these seats will be contested in November.
The Cook Political Report, an independent organization that analyses elections, has rated 190 seats as solidly Democrat and 154 as solidly Republican.
Q: How many people will vote?
A: In the 2018 mid-term elections there were around 153 million registered voters in the US. During the 2016 presidential elections, 138 million people showed up to vote, or 58.1 per cent of those who are registered.
While US voter turnout is usually lower than many other Western countries, this year’s turnout is expected to surpass 2016 with registered voters showing higher rates of intentions to vote, according to polls.
Over 90 million people have cast ballots in early voting.
GNA