Election Day is just around the corner and the presidential candidates are busy making their closing arguments, surrogates are flooding the country in support of their candidates and people are flocking to early voting places. Already, more than 80 million people have voted, which is twice the total early votes in 2016. Even though, Democratic candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden, is holding a double-digit lead over the Republican candidate, President Trump, he's not taking it for granted. Biden is trying to hold onto his support in the critical battleground states while Trump is trying to shore up his support in order to win.
The battleground states carry a big chunk of Electoral College votes. Electoral College votes will determine fate of the presidential candidates. A total of 270 or more electoral votes are needed to win the presidency. The winner takes it all, whoever will get most popular votes, will be awarded with all the Electoral College votes of that state. So, both the candidates are trying their best to sway the voters' minds in these states. Biden so much to hold onto his support and Trump to win in the election.
Biden's margin in the key battleground states of Wisconsin (10 e v) and Michigan (16 e v) is nine percentage points more than Trump. It is seven percentage points in Pennsylvania (20 e v), five in Arizona (11 e v) and one in Florida (29 e v). Texas (38 e v) is closer than expected in this year, and either candidate could win in Texas. Based on the polls, Biden is predicted to win majority of the Electoral College votes, but the result can still tilt to Trump's way. How? Let's find out.
As the election day is approaching closer, and Biden's prospect of winning is becoming clearer, the Trump administration is taking various measures to suppress the votes, and intimidate voters across the country. Democratic voters are receiving threatening phone calls and emails. Trump is using the justice department, postal department and Republican lawmakers in achieving his goal of suppressing Democratic votes.
Trump has previously sowed misinformation about widespread mail-in ballot fraud. His newly appointee Postmaster General has helped him by making numerous changes inside the postal department to slow down the mail delivery. According to a new data from the U.S. Postal Service, on-time delivery rates in crucial battleground states fell below 60 percent. Voters are urged not to mail their ballots so close to the election day as it might not be delivered on time, instead drop them off in a drop box or vote in person.
Republican party has made it difficult for voters to drop their ballots. Texas governor, Abbott, ordered for single drop box per county for mail-in ballots, which imposed hardships on older and disabled Texans and increased voters' potential risk of exposure to the coronavirus. Republicans in California placed fake drop boxes in and around the minority neighbourhoods.
Now, Trump is falsely claiming that it would be unlawful for states to count mail-in ballots received after the Election Day. Trump appointee Justice Kavanaugh has rejected a pandemic-related request from Democrats and civil rights groups to extend the deadline for counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day in the key battleground state of Wisconsin. Also, in Minnesota and other states local courts are following the similar suits which would result in late-arriving votes to be disqualified. In the past, mail-in ballots were accepted even ten days after the Election Day as long as they were post marked on November 3. Now, under the new policy, voters are in limbo.
This isn't all. Now, Trump has raised another issue. He wants all the votes to be counted on the Election Day instead of counting ballots for two weeks. "Which is totally inappropriate, and I don't believe that that's by our laws," Trump said.
The concept of counting late arriving ballots could "flip the results" misconstrues the voting process, where official results often are not fully tabulated for days or even weeks following the election. Moreover, this year Democrats are voting by mail in greater numbers than Republicans, and Republicans will vote in person in greater numbers than the Democrats. If votes are counted on election day, it could appear to favour Trump. Also, there're instances of voter intimidation. Trump called an "army of Trump" to become poll watchers and to "go into the polls and watch" for possible voting fraud. The civil rights advocates, election experts, and government officials have expressed heightened concerns following Trump's recent call that it might refrain the minority voters to vote. The Attorney General of Michigan filled a case requesting to bar people from carrying firearms into polls on Election Day. A judge refused to block gun owners from bringing their firearms to the polls under the state's open carry law. Democrats fear that this might intimidate minority voters.
Trump's closing message is full of hate, negativity and fear vs. Biden's hope and unity. Biden's is saying, "I'm running as a proud Democrat, but I will govern as an American president. I'll work with Democrats and Republicans. I'll work as hard for those who don't support me as for those who do. That's the job of a president, a duty of care for everyone." Biden is encouraging people to wear masks and maintain social distancing.
Trump is spending the final days of the campaign complaining that the coronavirus crisis is getting too much media coverage and he's openly musing what would he do if he loses in the election. He continues to claim that a vaccine for the coronavirus would be available "momentarily," and insists again that the country is "rounding the turn" on the virus. The coronavirus is raging in the country. Over 234 thousand people have died. More than 500,000 new Covid-19 cases were reported in the past week. Trump's claims aren't resonating with the voters and they are drifting away from him, and polls are a clearly indicative of that. Lizi Rahman is a columnist, author, educator and activist living in New York
