It’s Election Day In The USA; Millions Head To Polls Today

Americans are heading to the polls today to cast their ballots in the highly contested 2024 presidential election. Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and her Republican rival, Donald Trump, are locked in a tight race. 

This is the 60th presidential election in the US. Interestingly, there are 230 million eligible voters, but only about 160 million US Eare registered. 

Over 70 million people have voted through postal ballots or at early in-person polling stations. With elections around the corner, there are several things that one should know. Here are a few things to know about the Presidential elections. 

Timing Of Polling and Counting

The polling hours will vary across the states, but most locations will vote between 6 am to 8 pm on Tuesday (local time). Though exit polls will start once voting starts, the final results will come only after counting is closed in all states. The first polls will close around 7 pm ET (5:30 am IST) in six states, including Georgia.

The final polls will close in the blue state of Hawaii and the red state of Alaska at 12 a.m. ET (10:30 a.m. IST). Total votes will close by 1 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. IST), following which counting will start. The results in small states can be projected soon after polling states; some key battleground states may take hours to project the winner.

Eligibility 

According to the US Constitution, the president must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, be at least 35 years old, and have been a resident of the United States for 14 years. Anyone who meets these requirements can declare their candidacy for president. Once a candidate raises or spends more than USD 5,000 for their campaign, they must register with the Federal Election Commission. That includes naming a principal campaign committee to raise and spend campaign funds. 

Primaries and Caucuses

Primaries and caucuses are two ways that people help states and political parties choose presidential nominees. Most states hold primaries six to nine months before a presidential election. Primary voters select their preferred candidate anonymously by casting secret ballots. The state where the primary is held takes the results of the vote into account to award delegates to the winners.

On the other hand, several states hold caucuses in the months leading up to a presidential election. Caucuses are meetings run by political parties at the county, district, or precinct level. Some caucuses choose candidates by secret ballot. Others require participants to divide themselves into groups according to the candidate they support. Undecided participants form their group. Each candidate’s group gives speeches and tries to get others to join their group. Ultimately, the number of delegates given to each candidate is based on the number of caucus votes they received. 

Electoral College and Popular Vote 

The Electoral College decides who will be elected president and vice president of the US. The process includes selecting electors, meeting electors who cast votes for the president and vice president, and counting the electors’ votes by Congress. 

The president and vice president are not elected directly by citizens. Instead, they are chosen through the Electoral College process. Each state’s political parties choose their slate of potential electors. There are a total of 538 electoral votes. A candidate needs the vote of at least 270 electors–more than half of all electors– to win the presidential election. The popular vote, on the other hand, is simply the votes garnered by the candidate. There have been instances when a candidate got more popular votes but lost out on the electoral college. 

Role of Indian-Americans In The Elections 

More than 5.2 million people of Indian origin reside in the United States today, making Indian Americans the second-largest immigrant group in the Country. This year, another reason that Indian Americans have been in the limelight is the possibility that, for the first time in the nation’s history, a candidate of Indian heritage, Kamala Harris, could become the President. 

Although Indian Americans remain committed to the Democratic Party, their attachment has declined. A Carnegie Endowment survey revealed that 47 percent of respondents identify as Democrats, down from 56 percent in 2020. It is interesting to note that 61 percent of registered Indian American voter respondents plan to vote for Harris, while 32 percent intend to vote for Trump. There has been a modest shift in the community’s preferences, with more respondents willing to vote for Trump since the last election. 

There is also a new gender gap in voting preferences, with 67 percent of Indian American women intending to vote for Harris while 53 percent of men say they plan to vote for Harris. Twenty-two percent of women intend to vote for Trump, while 39 percent of men plan to cast their ballots for him. 

Important Issues Among India-Americans 

According to Carnegie Endowment survey, abortion has emerged as a top-tier policy issue, especially for women. Abortion and reproductive rights are a highly salient issue for Indian Americans this election year, ranking as their second-most-important policy concern, after inflation/prices and tied with the economy and jobs.