Against the tight margins
of the 2016 election in a handful of decisive states, a new generation of
voters has emerged who may tip the balance of power.
It has been billed as the
most significant US
election in generations, and with nearly 100 million votes already cast, it
is well underway. An estimated 50 million more votes are expected on the last
day of in-person voting on Tuesday (Wednesday Australian time), with mail-in
ballots still making their way through the postal service, including from overseas
and military voters.
It is not only the White
House up for grabs, but all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of
the 100-seat Senate. In addition, 11 gubernatorial (state governor) races,
various state legislatures, and a plethora of local judges, sheriffs, school
boards and supervisory roles are also on the ballot. A quick glance at a US
ballot illustrates how America has more democratically elected positions per
capita than any other country in the world.
A turbulent four years of
Trump
This election will be one
for the history books. The White House incumbent, impeached on abuse of power
charges and litigating against Congressional oversight of potential financial
conflicts of interest, has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power.
In the year following more
than 1,000 former federal prosecutors confirming President Donald
Trump would be indicted if not for the current immunity the Oval Office
provides him, Trump has stepped up rhetoric that any election that he does not
win is “rigged”.
Then came the “October
surprise” from the New York Times that the president has at least US$400
million in personally guaranteed loans due over the next possible term and
previously undisclosed Chinese bank accounts. This has brought the president’s
priorities under intense scrutiny alongside a flailing economy and federal
mismanagement of the COVID pandemic response.
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