US breaks historic early voting record for midterms

Retired Keith McNiar, 64, woke up early to vote Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia, thinking about his black and enslaved ancestors in the southern city of Sylvester. “It’s my duty. I vote for the suffering they went through. They never got to vote, and if I have that right, I need to exercise it.”

He voted in the midterms, the US midterm election, which renews the House, part of the Senate, the government of Georgia and 35 other states, as well as a host of local offices. With the prospect of losing his majority in the House and the chance that the same situation will happen in the Senate, Joe Biden is following with apprehension the election that is expected to strongly alter the second half of his term.

McNiar voted for the symbolic National Center for Civil and Human Rights, the largest US museum dedicated to the subject, in the heart of the city where movement icons such as Martin Luther King Jr. He, who claims to have engaged in politics at an older age, after Barack Obama came to power, became even more involved after the turbulent tenure of former President Donald Trump.

This year’s midterms could have record turnout if in-person voters follow the early-vote trend — in nearly every US state it’s possible to vote before Election Day itself. According to the United States Election Project, a portal that gathers data from American elections, 45.9 million people voted until Monday (7), an increase of 18% compared to four years ago, when early voting had already been record, with 39 million votes.

One of them was homeowner Bilal Mohammed, 42, who voted two weeks ago to avoid the lines, which turned out not to be long on Tuesday, at least in Georgia. “Many people of my generation don’t want to vote because they haven’t seen the fight for civil rights, they think they will have all the rights forever. And then they complain about politicians. But if you don’t do your part, who will?”, he asks.

For Trichilli Lundy, 33, midterms are the most important elections, because “although the president has a lot of power, the deputy of his district, his senator and his governor affect his day to day.”

Despite all the fear of political violence that has descended on the United States, with a portion of the population that still believes that the election that removed Trump from power in 2020 was stolen, the midterms went relatively smoothly on Tuesday, with no serious incidents by the country. country.

The perception is confirmed by Democratic State Representative David Dreyer, who has experience in turbulent elections. He had been on the Fulton County vote count for two years, famous after Trump’s attempt to pressure local officials to “find” votes in his favor.

“In 2020, we work more than 500 hours in the elections. This year it is much calmer”, he says. He has decided not to seek re-election, but he helps the campaign of his girlfriend, Bee Nguyen, a candidate for secretary of state, responsible for overseeing local electoral laws.

Georgia has one of the most important Senate races in the country, and the contest between Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker could decide whether control of the Senate will remain with Biden’s party — if he loses a majority, the president faces a strong challenge. opposition from 2023.

There were minor incidents. In Johns Creek, Metro Atlanta, two poll workers, a mother and son, were removed from the polling place this morning after officials identified Facebook posts that showed they participated in the January 6, 2021, Capitol raid, when supporters of Trump tried to prevent confirmation of Biden’s victory.

“This election [2020] it was a farce. Mike Pence [vice de Trump que se recusou a negar a vitória de Biden] he is a traitor,” the woman said in the publication, according to the local press. “I broke into the Capitol building, and my children had the best learning experience of their lives.”

In addition, Florida Governor Republican Ron DeSantis said he would not allow US Department of Justice prosecutors to be present in three counties in the state. The federal government sent representatives to 24 regions of the country, as it does every year, but DeSantis said the dispatch violates local laws about who can be at polling stations. The government of Missouri, another Republican state, also said it would not allow the presence of federal observers.

There were enough glitches in the vote-counting machines in Maricopa County, Arizona, where the capital Phoenix is ​​located, enough for Trump to return to talking about fraud. “Only in republican areas? WOW! Kari Lake [candidata ao governo]Blake Masters [Senado] and others are being greatly harmed by this disaster. We can’t let this happen AGAIN!!!” he wrote on social media.

According to local officials, 20% of the machines in the county were not working, but the problem has been resolved, and all votes will be counted. Arizona is another state considered crucial in this year’s election in deciding who will have a majority in Congress. During the early voting, an armed group called “citizens for clean elections” took turns to “monitor” the polling places, which was condemned by authorities and later limited by the courts.

In Pennsylvania, another key state set to decide the country’s future for the next two years, Philadelphia officials decided on Tuesday they would implement a vetting process that could delay the announcement of the winner by up to three days, in a bid to avoid prosecution. of fraud.

In the so-called “reconciliation of the record of votes”, which is not required by law, poll workers compare all votes cast with in-person votes to ensure that no voter has voted twice.

Now, the authorities are trying to make the next few weeks as smooth as this Tuesday.