Nearly half of American registered voters have already cast their vote

Nearly half of American registered voters have already cast their vote.

Angry Spaniards sling mud at king, PM after deadly floods.

NATIONAL NEWS

On the eve of the 2024 presidential election, recent polling has not been much help in predicting who will be the winner. Most recent polls show vice president Kamala Harris with a slight lead in the national popular vote. However, Donald Trump has a slight edge in certain key swing states. It is likely that, as in 2020, the victor in will come down to a few thousand votes in a few key states. Between counts, recounts, legal challenges (100 of which have already been filed), it is possible we may not know the final tally for several days or weeks.

One of many key indicators that pollsters are looking at and making their predictions is early voting. In 47 States and D.C., 78 million people have already cast their ballots. This is about 48% of all registered voters, based on the most recent numbers. This is an unusually high percentage, but it is considerably less than the 66% of registered voters who voted early during the pandemic in 2020.

Early voter turnout in Swing States

Unlike in 2020 when the Democrats had a clear advantage in early voting, Democrats and Republicans have voted early at comparable rates this year, based on available data.

Of the seven all-important swing states, voters only register by party in four of them. In those four, Republicans have had a clear early voting advantage in all but one of them. Democrats’ early voting share decreased in all four of these states compared with 2020.

Arizona early voters – 41% Republican to 33% Democrat.
Nevada – 37% Republican to 34% Democrat.
North Carolina – 33% Republican to 32% Democrat.
Pennsylvania – 56% Democrat to 33% Republican.

If you aren’t one of the 78 million Americans who have already voted, don’t forget to do so tomorrow!

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Angry Spaniards sling mud at king, PM after deadly floods

Protesters hurled mud, trash and insults at Spain’s King Felipe VI, his wife Queen Letizia, and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez as they toured Paiporta in the Valencia region, which was recently devastated by flooding. Shouts of “murderers” and “shame” went up as an angry crowd surged towards them.

Locals are enraged that the warning of the floods on October 29 came too late for many to prepare or get to safety. They are also furious about the sluggish and inadequate response by the government. Not only have thousands lost homes, businesses and loved ones, some areas are cut off by land, with roads having been washed away. Some areas remain without electricity or reliable supplies of food and water.

As the monarchs toured the town, King Felipe and Queen Letizia appeared overwhelmed, both by the fury of the crowd and the scenes of devastation. The monarchs tried to reassure members of the crowd, promising assistance, embracing some distraught flood victims, or listening as some vented about the lack of warning and response. Some of the blame falls squarely on the conservative regional government of Valencia led by Carlos Mazon. After winning election last year, Mazon shut down the Valencian Emergency Unit which had been set up by the previous Socialist government. Mazon called the unit a “superfluous expense”.

Over 217 people have been confirmed dead since floods hit Valencia and other regions in eastern and southern regions. While official reports state that dozens are missing, the actual number of missing is closer to 2,000. Since five days have passed since the deluge, it is likely that most of those still missing are dead. This could be Europe’s deadliest flood in over a century.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).

Nearly half of American registered voters have already cast their vote – National & International News – MON 4Nov2024

NATIONAL NEWS