Today in the United States, the long-awaited presidential election will be held around the world. American citizens will determine who will rule the country for the next four years - Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris or Republican candidate Donald Trump, who previously served one term as president.
The elections will be held with complete uncertainty as to who will be the winner. If in 2020 the incumbent President Joe Biden was leading in the public opinion polls and managed to win, then in the current election there is no clear leader in the polls. The difference in support between Trump and Harris is within the margin of statistical error.
The outcome of the vote will be decided in states where neither party has a clear advantage. This year, they include Arizona, Wisconsin, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. The winner is not expected to be announced in the evening after the polls close. In previous elections, the Election Commission took four days to tally the results and announce Biden's victory and Trump's defeat.
At the same time, early voting in the United States has already begun, and many voters have decided to vote by mail, which could also delay results.
As of yesterday, more than 78 million US citizens had already taken advantage of the opportunity to vote early in the presidential election, according to data released Sunday night by Florida State University.
More than 42.6 million people went to polling stations in person, and about 35.3 million voted by mail.
The total number of registered voters in the United States is approximately 168 million. The largest turnout was in Texas (8.9 million votes), Florida (8.1 million), California (7.6 million), North Carolina (4.4 million) and Georgia (4). million).