U.S. Presidential Election Begins Today
219 million Americans have been called to cast their votes today for either Trump, the current president, or his rival Biden, the Democratic nominee. 98 million 400 thousand Americans have already cast their votes before the election began, either by mail or in person.
On Tuesday, November 3rd (Aban 13th) at 1 p.m. Central European Time and 3:30 p.m. Iran Time, millions of Americans will head to polling stations to cast their ballots.
Concurrently with the presidential election, the fate of 35 Senate seats and all House of Representatives seats will also be determined on this day.
The latest polls, conducted one day before the election, predict victory for Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee. However, during the previous U.S. presidential election in 2016, despite predictions of Hillary Clinton’s victory, her rival Donald Trump won.
Both presidential candidates continued their campaigns until the last minutes to win American votes. This campaign was particularly intense in key states such as Pennsylvania and North Carolina.
It is predicted that voter participation in this presidential election will be higher than any previous election.
98 million 400 thousand mail and in-person votes
Election monitoring bodies announced that 98 million 400 thousand people cast their votes before the election on Tuesday, either in person or by mail. This amount represents 40 percent of all eligible American voters.
Compared to the previous presidential election in 2016, this figure equals 71 percent of all votes cast.
However, the real determining factor in this election is the Electoral College, which will have a total of 538 members. Although American voters write Trump or Biden’s names on their ballots today, they are actually electing members of the Electoral College.
Voters in each state are essentially selecting individuals who will later elect the president.
The selection of these individuals is determined based on the population of each state. California, with the largest population, will have 55 electoral votes, Texas 38, and Florida 29. Biden or Trump will be the winner of this election if they secure at least 270 Electoral College votes.
When will election results be announced?
In previous elections, results were typically announced on election night. However, in this election, due to the pandemic, many voters have cast their ballots by mail, and counting them may take several days.
Nevertheless, preliminary vote count results are expected to be announced on Wednesday, November 4th (Esfand 14th).
Source: DW
