A record 90 million Americans voted early in the U.S. presidential election, data showed Saturday, as President Donald Trump and his Democrat rival Joe Biden campaigned across the country to try to influence the few remaining indecisive voters, writes Reuters…
The high number of early voters, about 65% of the total turnout in 2016, reflects the high interest in the elections, with two days left before the election campaign.
Fears of contracting the coronavirus in busy polling stations on Tuesday’s election day also increased the number of people voting by mail or at early voting stations.
Trump, a Republican, spends the final days of his re-election campaign criticizing government officials and medical professionals who are trying to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, even as it floods the United States again.
Opinion polls show Trump lagging behind former Vice President Biden nationwide , but with tougher competition in the most competitive states that will determine the election. Voters say the coronavirus is their main problem.
Trump has repeatedly stated, without evidence, that mail ballots are susceptible to tampering, and recently argued that only the results available on election night are counted. In a flurry of legal moves, his campaign sought to limit absentee voting.
Officials in several states, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, say it can take days to count all of these mail-order ballots, which means there could be days of uncertainty if the outcome depends on those states.
On Saturday, Trump focused on the Pennsylvania campaign, scheduling a total of four rallies. “If we win Pennsylvania, it’s over,” Trump said during his second rally of the day in Reading.
The state has yet to see a sharp rise in coronavirus cases threatening hospital capacity in Wisconsin and other states where the fighting is taking place. However, nearly 8,700 people in the state have died from the disease.
