Election Day in the US: Florida's Result Will Be Crucial for Trump

(Patria) – After the election campaigns of the two candidates, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, officially ended on Monday, American citizens who are not among the 98 million who have already voted will do so traditionally on Election Day.

The entire election campaign was marked by the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 231,000 lives in the US, and due to which millions of Americans lost their jobs. To this should be added protests against racial injustice, which have further shaken American society, but also spurred a national debate that has certainly influenced voters.

Biden's key card was criticism of Trump's management of the coronavirus epidemic; the Democratic candidate promised greater efforts to resolve the health crisis, recover the economy, and bridge the political divisions in the country. Polls showed a consistent lead for Biden.

However, Trump has approached the possibility of collecting the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency without the popular vote. In the same way, Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016, even though he lost the popular vote by about 3 million.

By Election Day, about 98 million Americans had already voted, by mail due to the epidemic, but also in person.

The number of early votes is equal to the total turnout of 71.4% in 2016 and represents about 40% of eligible American voters.

Trump has repeatedly challenged the credibility of mail-in voting due to the alleged higher possibility of fraud, and has refused to concede defeat if he loses. He claims that votes should only be counted on election night, even though many states need several days or even weeks to count the votes.

Americans will also decide on Tuesday which political party will dominate Congress for the next two years, as Democrats seek to regain a majority in the Senate and retain control of the House of Representatives.  

During the campaign, the two candidates focused on a dozen states where Trump won in 2016, and which could be decisive in this year's elections. These include, among others, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin, traditionally Democratic states where Trump narrowly defeated Hillary Clinton.

If Biden were to win in the states that Clinton won in 2016, in addition to Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, it would be enough for him to become president of the US.

However, polls show a fierce battle for dominance in the states of Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona. Florida alone, with its 29 electoral votes, represents a must-win for Trump, as failure to do so would block his path to the Electoral College.

The results from Florida will be announced as early as Tuesday evening. However, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin will not even begin counting until Election Day, meaning the results will take several days.