News Analysis India

Tag: ballots

  • Voting begins, first ballots cast in New Hampshire

    The much-awaited election day kicked off in the United States on Tuesday with the first ballots cast in Dixville Notch and Millsfield, towns in the northeastern state of New Hampshire.

    The midnight vote began today with voters choosing their preferred candidates for US president and New Hampshire governor, as well as federal and state legislative seats, Xinhua reported.
    In the makeshift “Ballot Room” at Dixville Notch’s Balsams Resort, Les Otten, one of the only five local registered voters, cast the first ballot.

    The 2020 US elections, including presidential and congressional races, came amid a surging COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Americans will decide the fate of incumbent President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden through their votings.

    To win the presidency, either Trump or Biden must acquire over 50 per cent of the electoral college vote, which is 538 in total. Therefore, each candidate must get a minimum of 270 electoral votes to clinch the presidency.

    Joe Biden is currently leading Donald Trump in the national polls as the US approaches its 2020 presidential election. If elected, he would be the oldest president in US history at his inauguration, at age 78. Trump, who is currently 74, would also be the oldest president ever if he wins a second term.

    But leading in polls does not guarantee victory. Hillary Clinton also had a clear lead over Trump in the polls for almost the entire 2016 campaign. She ended up losing in the electoral college.

  • Twitter, Facebook Flag Donald Trump’s Post Questioning Supreme Court’s Voting Decision

    In the hours just before US Election 2020, Twitter and Facebook flagged a post by US President Donald Trump in which he calls Supreme Court’s decision on voting in Pennsylvania “very dangerous” and claims about potential violence. US Apex Court just last week had permitted to extend the deadlines for receiving mail-in ballots during November 3 in Pennsylvania and North Carolina states that can contribute to Trump’s re-election. This decision by the court let stand a ruling by Pennsylvania’s top court allowing mail-in ballots postmarked by Tuesday and received up to three days later to be counted. 

    However, this angered the Republican leader who has repeatedly questioned the integrity of mail-in ballots and recently indicated that he is readying his lawyers for November 3. Trump took to his social media accounts and baselessly claimed that the decision by Supreme Court is “very dangerous one” and that it will lead to “rampant and unchecked cheating and will undermine” US laws. He added, “It will also induce violence in the streets. Something must be done!”

    But Twitter and Facebook quickly flagged the post on their respective platforms to prevent the spread of misinformation of baseless claims to spread like wildfire. While Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook attached a link about voting information and said the mail-in or in-person voting is safe in the US, Jack Dorsey’s Twitter said that Trump’s post shows “disputed content” and that it “might be misleading”. These actions by social media websites came in line with various measures taken to ensure the safety of US citizens and maintaining peace just hours before the election.