Today is a big day in the United States. The election that will determine the new president is of critical importance not only for the United States but also for the Middle East, Ukraine, and the rest of the world.
What are people wondering about with the election hours away?
Here are 8 questions about the 2024 US presidential election.
What will America vote for?
Americans will choose between Republican Party candidate Donald Trump and Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris.
Universal voting begins tomorrow. So far, more than 75 million people have voted early across the country.
The winning candidate will take office in January 2025 and spend four years in the White House.
Voters will not only choose a new president but also candidates for Congress for seats in the House of Representatives and the US Senate. Members of Congress play a critical role in passing legislation.
Republicans currently control the House of Representatives, which initiates spending plans, while Democrats are in charge of the Senate, which votes on key government appointments.
When Will the vote-counting process start?
Votes will be counted after the polls in each state close.
Polling station closing times vary from state to state, but will generally begin around 7 pm local time.
Due to different time zones across the US, voters in states like Alaska and Hawaii will still be heading to the polls while ballots on the East Coast will have been counted.
When will the final results be announced?
The winner of the election will be announced tomorrow night, according to preliminary results, but final results are likely not to be known for days.
In the 2020 US Presidential election, it took several days to count all the votes.
In 2020, the result for Joe Biden was announced four days after the November 3 vote, after Pennsylvania’s result was certified.
Once declared, the new president will be officially sworn into office in January with an oath-taking ceremony on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington.
Who is ahead according to the surveys?
Nationally, Harris has a one-point lead over Trump, 48 percent to 47 percent.
The latest polls show Kamala Harris ahead among early voters in “battleground” states.
The Democratic candidate has an 8 percentage point lead among those who have already voted, while his rival Donald Trump leads among those who say they are very likely to vote but have not yet voted.
The poll, conducted by the New York Times and Siena College, showed Harris narrowly ahead in three states, Trump ahead in one state, and very close votes in the other three states.
Which are the swing states that will decide the election?
The path to the White House runs through several critical swing states.
In these states, the vote between Democrats and Republicans is nearly neck and neck.
Pennsylvania has proven to be a critical swing state in the last few presidential elections, and it’s expected to be the same tomorrow.
For either Trump or Harris to win, they would also need to carry Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Nevada, which Biden narrowly lost in 2020.
Florida and Ohio, once seen as marginal, have been Republican safe havens in recent elections, though it’s still hard to say for sure.
What do the candidates promise under the three critical headlines?
Inflation
Harris says her priority is to lower the cost of living. She promises to ban price increases on groceries, help first-time home buyers, increase the housing supply, and raise the minimum wage.
Trump plans to end inflation and lower interest rates, which are out of the president’s control. He argues that deporting undocumented immigrants will ease pressure on housing. He also says more drilling for oil will lower energy costs.
Social Order
Harris compares her experience as a prosecutor to Trump being convicted of a crime.
Trump has vowed to destroy drug cartels, crush gang violence, and rebuild Democratic-run cities that he says are riddled with crime. He has said he would use the military or the National Guard, a reserve force, to combat opponents he calls the “enemy within” and “radical left lunatics” “if they overturn the election.”
Abortion
Harris has made abortion rights a centerpiece of her campaign and continues to advocate for laws that would safeguard reproductive rights across the country.
Trump has no consistent message on abortion. Three of the justices he appointed to the Supreme Court during his presidency played a key role in the 1973 decision known as Roe v Wade which eliminated the constitutional right to abortion.
How do they view Israel’s Gaza war?
Trump says he is the most pro-Israel president in history.
Trump agreed to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and spearheaded the Abraham Accords, historic agreements that normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.
He also suggested that Hamas’ October 7th Al-Aqsa Flood attack would not have happened if he were president, and called on Israel to destroy “militants” without delay. He pledged to “do more” for Israel.
As part of the Biden administration, Harris has been a key part of American policy, which has largely supported Israel despite attacks in Gaza that have killed more than 43,000 civilians.
In addition to diplomatic support, the United States, with Harris as vice president, has provided Israel with $12.5 billion in military aid since October 7, 2023. America is Israel’s largest military supporter.
What precautions were taken for the election?
In Washington, large security fences were seen being erected ahead of the presidential election.
Intelligence officials claim that Russia and Iran may consider encouraging violent protests in the United States after the election.
Both Russia and Iran deny trying to influence the 2024 US presidential election.
There are fears that disinformation-fuelled violence could erupt in the days after the vote, similar to the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, by Trump supporters who rejected the outcome of the 2020 election.
