US Presidential Election: The Fate of a Nation Hangs in the Balance as Historic Early Voting Begins
” style=”float:; margin:0 auto;display:block;” class=” “/>Voters are exercising their right to vote at the 2024 U.S. presidential election polling place set up at the Fairfax County Administrative Center in Virginia, U.S., on the 20th (local time).
(Washington = News 1) Correspondent Ryu Jeong-min = “I was determined to vote on the first day of early voting, as this is a historic election that will determine the fate of the United States.”
On the afternoon of the 20th (local time), at the Fairfax County Administrative Center in Virginia, USA. The line of voters trying to cast early votes for the 2024 US presidential election stretched for about 50 meters from the polling place on the first floor of the building to the outside of the building.
With former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris locked in a tight race with just a 1% difference in polling, in-person early voting has begun in earnest with 46 days left until Election Day (November 5).
Three states, including Virginia, Minnesota, and South Dakota, which visited the site that day, began early voting on that day.
Alabama sent out mail-in ballots to voters on the 11th, and these three states are the first to allow voters to vote early by visiting their polling places in person.
/optimize/” alt=”American voters are waiting in line for their turn to vote at an early voting booth for the 2024 U.S. presidential election at the Fairfax County Administrative Center in Virginia, near Washington, D.C., on the 20th (local time). ” style=”float:; margin:0 auto;display:block;” class=” “/>On the 20th (local time), American voters wait in line for their turn to vote at an early voting booth for the 2024 U.S. presidential election set up at the Fairfax County Administrative Center in Virginia, near Washington, D.C.
/optimize/” alt=”On the 20th (local time), picket signs calling for support for Republican candidate former President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris are hung in a crisscross pattern around the early voting booth for the 2024 U.S. presidential election set up at the Fairfax County Administrative Center near Washington, D.C.” style=”float:; margin:0 auto;display:block;” class=” “/>On the 20th (local time), picket signs calling for support for Republican candidate former President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris are hung intertwined around an early voting location for the 2024 U.S. presidential election set up at the Fairfax County Administrative Center near Washington, D.C.
Fairfax is a metropolitan area of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is adjacent to the city center of DC, a 30-minute drive from the polling place. Its population is 1.147 million (as of 2019), accounting for about 13% of Virginia.
In addition to a president and vice president, Virginia also has a Senate and House of Representatives, as well as votes on state laws and bonds.
At the administrative center, the polling place visited that day, Trump’s Republican Party set up booths on the left side facing the building entrance, and Harris’s Democratic Party set up booths on the right side, and they appealed for support by handing out ‘sample ballots’, a kind of model answer sheet, to voters who visited the site.
“This election will be the most important election in American history,” said Jane (pseudonym, 81), who came out after voting.
“I support Kamala Harris because I believe she can do something about gun control, which is a very important issue,” said Jane, who introduced herself as a friend of Sarah Brady (who died in 2015), a leading gun control advocate.
/optimize/” alt=”Jane (pseudonym), who came out after casting her vote early for the 20424 U.S. presidential election at the Fairfax County Administrative Center polling place in Virginia, USA on the 20th (local time), is saying that she supports Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. She revealed that she was a friend of the late Sarah Brady, a gun control activist.” style=”float:; margin:0 auto;display:block;” class=” “/>On the 20th (local time), at the Fairfax County Administrative Center polling place in Virginia, USA, Jane (pseudonym) came out after finishing voting early for the 20424 US presidential election and said she supports Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. She revealed that she was a friend of the late Sarah Brady, a gun control activist.
Sarah Brady, who she revealed as a friend, is the husband of the late James Brady (died in 2014), who served as White House press secretary during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.
James Brady was shot in the head during an attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in March 1981. He survived after extensive surgery, but was left paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
James and Sarah spent their lives advocating for gun control after the incident, and the so-called Brady Gun Control Act, which requires Americans to have their criminal records checked by police before purchasing a gun, is named after them.
“I recently had abdominal surgery and am in a very difficult situation, but I came here determined to vote on the first day of early voting for this very important election in American history,” said Jane.
/optimize/” alt=”Valerie (32), met at an early voting booth set up at the Fairfax County Administrative Center in Virginia, near Washington D.C., the capital of the United States, on the 20th (local time). Valerie, who identified herself as an immigrant from Colombia, said she supports former President Donald Trump, saying she thinks he would be better able to deal with the issue of illegal immigration.” style=”float:; margin:0 auto;display:block;” class=” “/>Valerie (32), met at an early voting booth set up at the Fairfax County Administrative Center in Virginia, near Washington D.C., the capital of the United States, on the 20th (local time). Valerie, who identified herself as an immigrant from Colombia, said she supports former President Donald Trump, saying she thinks he would be better able to deal with the issue of illegal immigration.
Valerie (32), an immigrant from Colombia, is a supporter of former President Trump.
“There are many reasons why I support Trump, but one of the most important is that I believe in legal immigration,” she said. “There are many violent gangs in Colombia, and it’s sad what some of them have done to this country.” “I immigrated to this country, studied English with difficulty, and worked hard,” she said. “But in the past four years, everything has become difficult, including the economy.”
Virginia was a Republican stronghold until the 2004 presidential election, but since 2008, the Democratic candidate has won four consecutive times, taking all 13 electoral votes, and the Democratic Party is expected to dominate this time as well.
“Fairfax is a well-educated district, and Harris is expected to get 75% of the vote,” said Virginia State Representative Mark Sickles (Democrat), who met at the polls that day. “I expect Virginia as a whole to get 53-55% of the vote.”
The U.S. presidential election will be held on November 5th through early voting and mail-in voting, in addition to the main election. Virginia will conduct in-person early voting for a whopping 40 days, until November 2nd, three days before the main election.
/optimize/” alt=”Voters are casting their ballots at an early voting booth for the 2024 U.S. presidential election set up at the Fairfax County Administrative Center near Washington, D.C., the U.S. capital, on the 20th (local time).” style=”float:; margin:0 auto;display:block;” class=” “/>Voters are casting their ballots at an early voting booth for the 2024 U.S. presidential election set up at the Fairfax County Administrative Center near Washington, D.C., the U.S. capital, on the 20th (local time).
Early voting is becoming increasingly important in the U.S. presidential election.
According to the election information site ‘American Elections Project’, the voter turnout in the 2020 presidential election was 66.8%, the highest in 120 years, and the power of early voting was significant.
At that time, the number of eligible voters was 239.2 million, and it is estimated that 159.8 million people participated in the vote. The number of early voters exceeded 100 million, meaning that more than 60% exercised their right through early voting.
In general, it is known that Democratic supporters prefer early voting, and Republican supporters prefer regular voting. The American Election Project reported that in the last presidential election, 44.9% of early voters in 20 states that provide information on the party affiliation of registered voters were Democratic supporters, while only 30.5% were Republican supporters.
“The higher the voter turnout, the more advantageous it is for the Democratic Party, and the lower the voter turnout, the opposite,” said Virginia State House of Representatives member Irene Shin (32), who was met at the scene.
The seven key battleground states for this year’s US presidential election are Pennsylvania (19 electoral votes), North Carolina (16 electoral votes), Georgia (16 electoral votes), Michigan (15 electoral votes), Arizona (11 electoral votes), Wisconsin (10 electoral votes), and Nevada (6 electoral votes).
/optimize/” alt=”Irene Shin (32), a Korean-American member of the Virginia House of Representatives, met at the 2024 U.S. presidential election early voting booth set up at the Fairfax County Administration Center in Virginia, near the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. on the 20th (local time). She “/>” src=” style=”float:; margin:0 auto;display:block;” class=” “>Irene Shin (32), a Korean-American member of the Virginia House of Representatives, met at the 2024 U.S. presidential election early voting booth set up at the Fairfax County Administration Center in Virginia, near the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. on the 20th (local time). She expressed her expectations for early voting, saying, “If the voter turnout is high, the Democratic Party has an advantage.”
Pennsylvania, the biggest battleground state, was originally scheduled to begin early voting on the 16th of this month, but it has been postponed due to a pending ruling on a lawsuit filed over the ballot markings of former candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
North Carolina had previously planned to send out mail-in ballots, but postponed it for the same reason.
According to the New York Times (NYT), Michigan will begin early voting on the 26th of this month, and Georgia will begin sending out mail-in ballots on October 7th.
Arizona will begin in-person and mail-in voting on October 9, with Georgia beginning in-person early voting on the 15th and Nedava beginning mail-in voting on the 16th. In-person early voting in North Carolina will begin on October 17, with Nevada beginning on the 19th and Wisconsin beginning on the 22nd.
/optimize/” alt=”Sample ballots distributed by the Democratic Party (left) and Republican Party to voters in front of the early voting booth set up at the Fairfax County Administrative Center in Virginia, USA on the 20th (local time). In this presidential election, the US will vote not only on the election of the president and vice president in each of the 50 states, but also on the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as major policies.” style=”float:; margin:0 auto;display:block;” class=” “/>’Sample ballot’ distributed to voters by the Democratic Party (left) and Republican Party in front of the early voting booth set up at the Fairfax County Administrative Center in Virginia, USA on the 20th (local time). In this presidential election, the US will vote not only on the election of the president and vice president in each of the 50 states, but also on the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as major policies.