That's the sentiment of many Americans as only 24 hours remain until the official voting day of the highly contested presidential election.
Anxiously waiting
While talking to me at a pub, my acquaintance John, who lives in Arlington, Virginia, and works for a US government agency, expressed clear concern about the scenario of former US President Donald Trump winning the election. For him, it's hard to accept, but still a strong possibility.
The Capitol Building was the scene of the January 6, 2021 riots related to the 2020 election results.
John explained, "The number of people in rural areas who support Trump." He pointed to the television screen showing an advertisement for former President Trump's campaign, adding, "People still believe things like that!" Of course, he voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.
That's his personal opinion, and that's why he admits he's very anxiously awaiting the results of this election, because for him, "it's the future of America."
Police cars at the Capitol (photo taken on the afternoon of November 3)
Also for the "future of America," Dany, another friend living in Virginia, shared that she and her husband voted early. Although living in Virginia, a Democratic-leaning state, her family voted for Trump, hoping for a brighter future for the US economy . She shared: "Many people dislike Trump because of his 'unpleasant' statements, but he 'dares to speak his mind' and has effective economic policies." Given Virginia's tradition since 2008, if nothing changes, the final result in this state will likely favor Harris, giving the Democratic candidate all 13 electoral votes.
Dany's husband is also a fervent supporter of former President Trump. After dinner, he shared that he was following the election developments day by day, but he also clearly expressed his loss of faith in mainstream news outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post… To him, these are left-leaning newspapers. I also shared that: From their inception, long-established American newspapers have more or less shown a "left-leaning" tendency, of course, that doesn't mean these newspapers always support the Democratic Party.
He recommended a news channel that he considered the most objective and reliable. After reading it briefly, it was easy to see that, according to this site, Trump was almost certain to win with a clear margin. But he was still anxiously awaiting the vote count results.
Be extremely vigilant.
Meanwhile, as of November 3rd, the total number of early votes cast had reached approximately 75 million. Of these, 41% of registered voters were Democrats, 39% were Republicans, and the remaining 20% were unregistered.
Police asked a person carrying an anti-Trump message to leave the Capitol area.
With a total of 160 million registered voters, the early voting turnout is quite high, though lower than in 2020. However, this figure means that approximately half of the voters will still cast their ballots on the official election day, November 5th. Given the relatively close poll results in terms of support for the two candidates in the swing states, the final outcome this year is predicted to depend on a small number of new voters (those who did not vote in 2020) and voters living outside the United States, estimated at around 3 million, of which approximately 1.6 million votes will be counted in the swing states.
The tension and intensity, amidst deep divisions within the United States, have heightened concerns about the risk of election-related instability. Observations on the afternoon of November 3rd (local time) at the Capitol (the site of the 2020 election riots) showed a significant police presence with multiple layers of security, although citizens and tourists were still allowed to visit. There, when a man riding a bicycle pulled a small sign protesting Trump, police quickly intervened and asked him to leave the area, fearing it could lead to further trouble.
In fact, many states have also announced their readiness to increase security forces to prevent risks.
The spontaneous planning is causing much concern.
The New York Times reported on November 3rd that James O'Keefe, an influential conservative figure and founder and former leader of the Veritas project, assembled a team of election workers and supervisors to secretly film voting and vote counting in states across the country.
Veritas is a far-right American activist group founded in 2010. The group is accused of producing manipulated videos and using secretly recorded material to discredit mainstream media outlets and progressive groups.
According to The New York Times, citing internal sources, the group assembled by O'Keefe plans to use hidden cameras to record and then release videos to prove fraud or irregularities at polling places. By mid-October, nearly 70 people had signed up for the scheme, claiming to be election "judges."
O'Keefe's project is one of several conservative groups that have attempted to document what they believe to be fraud and corruption at polling places. These groups tend to believe former President Trump's claims that the 2020 election was rigged and that vigilance is needed to prevent a recurrence.
However, these actions worried election officials, who believed that those involved in election work who assumed fraud existed and relentlessly scrutinized every detail would undermine the overall process and might even try to interfere with the vote counting. Last month, U.S. intelligence officials warned of an "insider threat" that could "distort or jeopardize a fair and transparent process" in this election.
In the US, except for unexpected circumstances, most states have consistently favored either the Democratic or Republican party for many years. States like California, New York, Massachusetts, and Virginia tend to support Democratic candidates (often called "blue states"). Virginia, in particular, changed its allegiance in the 2008 election. Conversely, many states like Texas, Kansas, and Wyoming consistently favor Republican candidates (often called "red states"). Fewer than 10 states remain undecided and are known as "battleground states." This year, the seven most decisive battleground states are expected to be Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/hoi-hop-cho-ngay-phan-xet-185241105000623169.htm
Comment (0)