Harris and Trump battle for votes in 7 states that could decide the election

2024-10-22 21:55:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

There are two weeks left from the voting day for the November 5 presidential elections. Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris and her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, are focused almost entirely on the seven swing states that are likely to determine the outcome of the election.

More than 14 million Americans have already made their choice through early voting, according to data from the University of Florida's Election Lab, and many more are expected to do the same in the days ahead as polling stations open early. in all 50 states and voting by mail is also being practiced.

National polls show this is the narrowest margin in decades, with Ms. Harris holding a slight lead.

The winner of the presidential election in the United States is not determined by the popular vote, but by the vote of the Electoral College, which makes the election a state-by-state contest. In 48 of the 50 states, the winner takes all of the state's electors, except for two states, Nebraska and Maine, which split the electors based on the outcome of the election.

The number of electors of each state is determined by its population, so the largest states have the greatest influence in determining the outcome of elections at the national level.

For a candidate to win, he must secure 270 of the 538 total votes in the Electoral College.

Polls show that in 43 states, the winner is more or less known.

If that doesn't change, then the outcome would be determined by seven states: Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

The difference in these states, according to the latest surveys, is within the margin of error of the polls, which means that in each of them, the result is in question.

It is for this reason that candidates Harris and Trump have focused campaign meetings in these states, an agenda that is likely to continue in the last two weeks of the campaign.

Kamala Harris celebrated her 60th birthday Sunday by speaking at a church in Stonecrest, Georgia, 50 kilometers east of the state's largest city, Atlanta, a Democratic stronghold. She spoke about her childhood in a black church, noting the harsh and divisive rhetoric in current politics, though she did not mention Donald Trump by name. The next stop was the religious organization 'Divine Faith Ministries International' in south Atlanta, where he called for the exercise of the right to vote.

Afterwards, she recorded an interview with civil rights leader Al Sharpton.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump wore an apron at a McDonalds restaurant in Pennsylvania while serving customers.

Ms. Harris has said she worked at McDonald's when she was in college, but Mr. Trump says he doesn't believe that, even though a friend of Ms. Harris told the New York Times that she remembers when Kamala Harris worked there. .

After a short stay at the restaurant, Mr. Trump boasted that he had "worked for 15 minutes."

Afterwards, he held a campaign rally in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

On Monday, Mrs. Harris campaigned in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, while Mr. Trump campaigned in the city of Greenville, North Carolina./ VOA