The US election is just days away, but 61 million Americans have already cast their ballots, CNN reported, indicating a high turnout in November’s early elections. Those early ballots were cast by mail and in-person voting as the country chooses between Vice President Kamala Harris, representing Democrats, and former President Donald Trump, representing Republicans.
Over 60 million votes cast early in US election
The presidential race is especially close in key states like Georgia and North Carolina. The latest CNN polls show a tight contest between the two candidates. In Georgia, likely voters are split, with Trump ahead of Harris 48 per cent to 47 per cent, while in North Carolina, Harris has a slight edge with 48 per cent to Trump’s 47 per cent. These numbers are within the poll’s margin of error, suggesting both states are highly competitive.
Georgia and North Carolina have been historic in recent election cycles. In 2020, Joe Biden won Georgia by a narrow margin, becoming the first Democrat to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1992, while North Carolina has leaned Republican since backing Barack Obama in 2008. However, Trump won North Carolina that same year, beating Biden. The results in both states will be closely watched given the extremely tight polls.
Voter demographics show a marked divide, with Harris leading among black voters in both states 84% to 13% in Georgia and 78% to 19% in North Carolina, and among college-educated voters who support Harris over Trump 55% to 39% in Georgia and 53% to 42% in North Carolina.
Among white college graduates, the battle is tighter, with Harris leading by a small margin in North Carolina, 50% to 47%, and Trump holding a slight advantage in Georgia, 48% to 46%. Trump has strong support among white voters without a college degree, leading 81 per cent to 15 per cent in Georgia and 65 per cent to 31 per cent in North Carolina.
Trump sues CBS News for $10B for “editing” Harris interview on 60 Minutes
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion lawsuit against CBS, accusing the channel of interfering in the election.
The reason for the lawsuit was the refusal of the TV channel to publish an unedited version of the interview with Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. The former president called these actions biased and illegal and accused the channel of interfering in the election and voting process “through malicious, deceptive and material distortion of the news.”
The lawsuit was filed in the state of Texas and points to the channel’s alleged violation of local law. Texas is more likely to be classified as a Republican state, although CBS is legally registered in the Democratic states of New York and Delaware.
The CBS interview with Harris aired on the 60 Minutes programme in early October. In an announcement released the day before the interview, Harris failed to clearly answer the host’s question about US policy toward Israel, for which she was mocked by Republicans. However, the full version aired by the network did not include the episode.
Trump accused CBS of fraud, demanded that the channel’s broadcast licence be revoked and that the full transcript of the interview be made available. The network refused to publish the full unedited version of the interview at Trump’s request, citing the First Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech. However, the network acknowledged that the interview was indeed edited, but only to accommodate “as many answers to questions from the vice president as the 21-minute interview format allows.”
Jennifer Lopez supported Harris at Las Vegas rally
American singer Jennifer Lopez has spoken at a rally in support of Kamala Harris being held in Las Vegas. The event coincided with Donald Trump’s speech in Arizona.
Lopez called the rally “the most important stage she’s ever performed on” and added that she believes in the strength that Latinas have. J.Lo said:
“I believe in the power of women. Women have the power to make a difference in this election. I believe in the power of Latinas.”
Nevada represents one of the key swing states where the outcome of the upcoming election will be decided. Latino voters make up about a quarter of the state’s population. In 2020, Joe Biden won Nevada by a narrow margin of 33,500 votes.
