US elections: Final day of campaigning

By Vatican News staff writer

Voters are set to cast their votes in the US general election on Tuesday 3 November. Around 234 million Americans are eligible to vote. Once ballots are closed, either the current Republican president, Donald Trump will be re-elected, or Democrat Joseph Biden will become the country’s 46th president.

The way it works in the United States is that Presidents are elected by a simple majority in the electoral college (EC) which is made up of 538 seats. The EC gives a state one vote for every seat it has in the House, plus two Senators each, and three votes to capital city Washington DC. To become president, a candidate must win enough states to get 270 EC votes.

Trump and Biden have been tirelessly racing across the country campaigning at key swing states, such as Florida, in order to win the last few vital votes that could determine the outcome of the Presidential election because of the huge amount of electoral seats the states hold. An example of this was in the 2016 Presidential election in which Trump won the State of Florida with a plurality of 49% of the popular vote: A 1.2% winning margin over opposition leader Hillary Clinton. This means he won 29 votes, and Clinton won none. 

The latest polls from the morning consult say that Joe Biden currently has a national lead of 8 points over Trump. It therefore appears that Joe Biden is currently leading in the race for the white house.

Some of the many issues that have been at the centre of campaigns have been Covid, gun control, healthcare, abortion and immigration. All topics which have been discussed by both candidates on many occasions, such as Presidential debates.. often causing controversy and discussion across the country.

Polls close on Tuesday, however due to the large influx of postal votes, there will likely be a delay for the final result.