In a reflection of heightened participation in the political process, American voters waited in long lines to give their verdict on who between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump should lead the United States after a bitterly fought White House race.
The long divisive campaign – that pitched Trump’s unconventional and exclusionary style of politicking against Clinton’s politics of inclusiveness – has made Tuesday’s vote one of the most consequential political events in recent American history.
Before Tuesday’s polls a record number of early votes cast – around 46 million – indicated that people including people of color have been eager to have their say in the political season, unusual in many ways.
The election has been intently watched by the outside world as they wait to see who rules Washington in uncertain times, economic challenges, festering Middle Eastern conflicts, emergence of new political and economic powers and security challenges ranging from Moscow’s foray into the Middle East, rise of the far right and conservative political voices in Europe to violent extremism, Britain’s brexit dilemma, South Asian escalation between nuclear powers Pakistan and India and one of the largest refugees crises that has overwhelmed the Middle East and Europe.
In the United States, a large number of Latino immigrants, African Americans and Muslims have been anxiously following developments as Trump has held immigrants as partly responsible for challenges like loss of jobs, crime rates and economic uncertainty and vowed to build a wall along US-Mexican border and ban the entry of Muslims to the United States which he later recast as “extreme vetting.”
Immigration has been one of the hottest issues in the 2016 election, which has the most racially and ethnic diverse electorate in the US history.
Nearly one-in-three eligible voters on Election Day (31%) is Hispanic, black, Asian or another racial or ethnic minority, up from 29% in 2012, a survey shows.
“While the nation’s 156 million non-Hispanic white eligible voters in 2016 far outnumber the 70 million eligible voters that are racial or ethnic minorities, their growth lags that of minority groups,” Pew Research Service said, amidst Trump’s appeal to White voters, who feel they have been left out of the modern economic development due to a variety of reasons including offshoring of jobs and foreign trade deals.
Among the most distinctive features has been the phenomenon of early voting. Around 46 million had availed the early voting facility to express their verdict before the election day. American Muslims, who have also been at the center of politics this year, have also come forward with Pakistani American Khizr Khan and Huma Abedin among the most prominent names on the Democratic side.
As expected the campaign ended at midnight Monday in the same acrimonious tone as it had commenced formally after July conventions.
Republican Trump framed Democrat Clinton a “phony” and Clinton accusing him of dividing the country.
The two candidates swung through battleground states in a last-minute attempt to woo unaffiliated voters, particularly in states with large electoral votes like Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and North Carolina.
Aided by a galaxy of political leaders including President Barrack Obama, First Lay Michelle Obama, her husband former president Bill Clinton, Clinton appeared at a rally in Pennsylvania. Reports said an estimated crowd of 40,000 people gathered in front of Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were adopted.
Clinton, who apparently has recovered substantial ground following FBI’s announcement that the newly discovered email warrant no further probe, echoed the them of uniting the country as she had expressed in an opinion piece in USA Toda, pledging to seek common ground, if voted to the White House.
She was leading Trump by a double digit margin before news broke of the discovery of a new chache of emails on the computer of former Congressman Anthony Weiner, who is husband of her Clinton’s close aide Huma Abedin.
In her last campaign appearance, Clinton had a lot of things to suggest when she said : “What will we vote for, not just against? We have to heal this country, we have to bring people together, listen and respect each other.”
“Tomorrow, we face a test of our time. None of us wants to wake up and think that we could have done more.”
The former secretary of state also acknowledged the challeng of smoothing out frictions that the election campaign has amplified for the American society and politics, if she is voted to the White House with a thin majority.
“I really do want to be the president for everybody – people who vote for me, people who vote against me.”
On the opposite end of the political spectrum, Trump made stops in some of the key swing states with his message that particularly targets Clinton with allegations that she is “corrupt” and not trustworthy as a status quo candidate.
Trump has also continued his suggestion that the cucrrent political and election process is “rigged.”
“You have one magnificent chance to beat the corrupt system and deliver justice – do not let this opportunity slip away,” he said in Florida, the swing state with the largest 29 electoral votes.
He also toured New Hampshire with his typical message of securing Americans against continuity of policies which is what, he says, is Hillary Clinton is about.
Besides choosing their next president, American voters will also elect 469 seats in the U.S. Congress, including 34 Senate seats and all 435 House seats in Tuesday’s election.
While Republicans are expected to continue their control of the House, it is the Senate race which is vital to the future of the Democrats and perhaps to success prospects of the next White House incumbent.
In order to wrest control of the Senate, Democrats must win five seats .Democrats are defending 10 seats, and Republicans are contesting to save 24 senate seats.
While polls on the eve of the election saw a close fight in popular vote, it is the electoral vote that will decide the ultimate outcome on who occupies the White House. If Clinton carries the largest number of electoral votes, she will be the first woman president of the United States. Major American publications including The New York Times, The LA Times, The Washington Post and TV channels saw Hillary Clinton securing 270 to 300 or more electoral votes from the current voter trends.
Both candidates will be in New York Tuesday’s election night and security is expected to be tight as Americans go to the polls after US authorities received intelligence of a possible pre-election al Qaeda attack. Over 5,000 police officers will be assigned to secure midtown Manhattan.
