The first voting centers in USA They opened this Tuesday at 05:00 local time (10:00 GMT) to begin a historic day in which the country will choose between the vice president and the Democratic candidate, <a href="https://www.world-today-news.com/donald-trump-whats-behind-the-us-presidents-baltimore-attack/" title="Donald Trump: What's behind the US President's Baltimore attack”>Kamala Harrisand the former Republican president Donald Trump (2017-2021).
The first to be able to go to the polls were the residents of Vermont (northeast), where the voting centers open between 05:00 local time (10:00 GMT) and 10:00 (15:00 GMT).
At 6:00 a.m. local time (11:00 GMT), the polling stations in six other states (Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, New York and Virginia) will open, followed half an hour later by Ohio, West Virginia and North Carolina, The latter is considered a key “hinge” state to determine who will occupy the White House.
Voting center opening hours vary considerably, as the 50 US states and the District of Columbia span six different time zones, and each state has its own election law with specific opening and closing times.
As the morning progresses, at 12:00 GMT, voting will begin in most centers in the District of Columbia and in 17 states with different time zones: Alabama, Delaware, Florida, New Hampshire, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana , Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Wyoming, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Michigan, the latter three “hinge” states.
An hour later, at 1:00 p.m. GMT, the centers will open in ten other states with different time zones: Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.
Half an hour later the centers will open in Arkansas, and at 2:00 p.m. GMT they will do so in six other states (Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah).
The last to open will be California and Idaho, at 15:00 GMT, followed by Washington and Alaska at 16:00 GMT and finally Hawaii at 17:00 GMT.
A close result
Polls show an especially tight race between Harris and Trump. Nationally, Harris maintains a slim lead of just over a percentage point with 48% support to Trump’s 46.8%, according to the FiveThirtyEight website’s polling average.
However, Americans do not decide by popular vote who will be their next president, but rather they designate a number of electors in each state who make up the Electoral College and who are in charge of choosing the next tenant of the White House.
The Electoral College has 538 delegates and, to win, Trump or Harris need at least a majority of 270.
Most states already know whether they will go for Harris or Trump, so the elections will be decided in only seven key states, where the polls also reflect a very tight race: Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania , Arizona and Nevada.
More than 200 million called to the polls
Some 244 million Americans are called to the polls in these elections. Of them, 80 million have already exercised their right to vote in advance, both at the polls and by mail, according to the University of Florida count, a reference in this regard.
In addition to the president, Americans will elect all 435 members of the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate today.
They will also vote for several governors and numerous mayors, as well as state legislatures, and will decide on citizen initiatives, including proposals to protect abortion or tighten restrictions on that right in ten states. EFE (I)
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