This Tuesday, November 5, some 244 million American voters go to the polls. If we are unable to tell you who Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will win, here are however several questions we can answer. To begin with: what is a swing state?
In the United States, there are states that are clearly attached to a party: California to the Democratic Party or Alabama to the Republican Party, for example. And then there are the others who, depending on the election, swing to one side or the other. This is called a swing stateor a “pivot state” in French. This is the case of Florida, for example, which voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump in 2016, but which turned to Joe Biden four years later.
This year, victory could be decided by a few tens of thousands of votes in seven swing statesincluding Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina.
Why is the election taking place on a Tuesday?
L’«Election Day» always takes place on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, this tradition dates back to the mid-19th centurye century. At the time, this allowed rural citizens to travel to the city to vote in order to be free on Sunday, the Lord’s Day for Christians.
Can we vote in advance?
Yes! In the United States, you can vote in advance in around thirty states since 2004, and even by mail. In 2020, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, 70% of votes cast were advance votes. Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’ running mate, voted on Wednesday October 23 in Minnesota. Kamala Harris also voted by mail the weekend of November 3.
Is this the only election held that day?
No. On November 5, Americans are called to vote in several elections. At the federal level, citizens also elect 435 elected officials to the House of Representatives and, in some states, a third of their senators as well as their governors.
At the local level, many elections also take place on this day. This is the case in California, where voters will vote on funding for schools and parks, or even on the minimum wage.
What is the voting method?
Unlike France, American citizens do not vote directly for their president. This is called one-round indirect universal suffrage. The 244 million potential voters vote to elect 538 members of the United States Electoral College. Each state, based on its population, has a predefined number of “electors,” who in turn elect the president. To win this election, the candidate must obtain the votes of at least 270 electors.
Once elected, are electors obliged to vote for the candidate they supported?
Cases of treason or «faithless elector» (“disloyal voter”) are very rare. However, thirty-three states including New York, Texas and Nevada have passed laws prohibiting these “deviant” votes. The state of North Carolina, for example, imposes a fine of $500 and the cancellation of the vote.
What will happen in the event of a tie?
Depending on the states won by each, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris could each accumulate 269 electoral votes, thus rendering the vote void. In this situation, Article II of the American Constitution provides that the election of the future president rests with the House of Representatives, one of the two bodies making up the American Congress with the Senate. We explain everything to you in this article.
Who is the favorite candidate?
That’s the whole question. We could witness the most uncertain election since 1876, according to ABC News. According to the latest polls, Donald Trump, who has benefited from a surge in popularity since he was the victim of an assassination attempt, and Kamala Harris, who is increasing the number of meetings in the swing statesare neck and neck. The current vice-president is in the lead by 1.2 points at the time of writing, according to the site 538.
Are there other candidates in the running?
It is true that in this American presidential election, two candidates are monopolizing the attention of the media and voters. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other people in the running. Two other names appear on the ballot: that of Jill Stein, who represents the Green Party (the environmental party) and Chase Oliver, former Democrat and face of the Libertarian Party (the liberal party).
However, these two candidates have almost no chance of weighing in the balance of the vote, the American electoral system favoring the two historic parties.
Source: www.slate.fr
