As of Wednesday night, the United States still did not know who its president will be for the coming term. Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Nevada were still pending results. Previously this week, The New York Times offered insight into how to watch the election, and reminded people that waiting is a must due to COVID-19 and the increase of absentee ballots.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump and Former Vice President Joe Biden were traveling near and far to rallies in an attempt at gaining last minute support as voting comes to a close this week. Some states have decided to accept absentee ballots all the way until Friday or later, while others have decided to close voting at the end of Tuesday night. Even still, “more than 97 million Americans have already voted as of Monday afternoon,” according to the New York Times. These figures show positive growth among voter turnouts all over the country.
“Of these numbers, over 35 million votes were cast in person and over 62 million were cast by mail,” The New York Times continued. Despite the complications of COVID-19, many Americans are turning out. Some states have already passed the 2016 turnout, including Texas, Hawaii, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida, the New York Times reported.
As swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Wisconsin, Texas, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nebraska, Ohio and Florida will be key states for winning the nomination. In 2016, Trump won in all of these states, according to the New York Times. As of last night, Trump has secured Texas, Nebraska, Florida and Ohio, while Biden holds Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin. Trump is reportedly already planning for a recount in Wisconsin, which he will have to pay $3 million for unless the margin is less than a quarter of a percent, according to the New York Times.
Biden leads with 264 electoral college votes while Trump holds 214 and leads in Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. At 214, Trump will need all three of these states to maintain a victory. For Biden to win, he’ll need to win Nevada. If Biden does not win Nevada, he will need to flip one of the other three.
While waiting for these results, EMU has provided many self-care and relaxation opportunities. SGA has organized a drop-in space for arts, conversation, and connection as well as a post-election process space. Check your emails for additional information.
