By Omar Bah, in Wisconsin, USA
As the United States hold presidential elections tomorrow in a water-tight race for the White House, The Standard’s Omar Bah reports on the last-minute fight for votes in the ever-decisive battleground state of Wisconsin.
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, Friday night held dueling rallies in Milwaukee, the largest city in one of the nation’s most important swing states, ahead of Tuesday, November 5, 2024, presidential elections. Polls indicate a close race between Harris and Trump, particularly in key battleground states like Wisconsin, Arizona, and Georgia. The Electoral College remains a critical factor, as past elections have shown that popular vote winners can lose the presidency.
A recent Washington Post polling average shows Harris with a narrow lead in the state. Wisconsin is a crucial swing state in US presidential elections due to its history of close races and its role as a “tipping-point” state. It has 10 electoral votes, and the candidate who wins Wisconsin has often secured the presidency in recent elections.
Both candidates have spent considerable time in Wisconsin over the past two weeks, a testament to the state’s importance in the 2024 electoral landscape.
In this year’s election, key issues like the economy and abortion rights are pivotal in influencing voter preferences.
According to local journalists, both Democrats and Republicans are heavily investing in Wisconsin, recognising its potential to sway the 2024 election outcome.
Friday’s rallies were held roughly six miles apart in Wisconsin’s largest city, Milwaukee, with Harris generally sticking to her speech that lasted little over 24 minutes, while Trump touched on a wide range of issues over nearly 90 minutes. Trump spoke to a packed Fiserv Forum, spending time emphasizing his commitment to curbing illegal immigration and reviving the economy.
“Thrilled to be back in this beautiful state. We have a country going to hell, but we are going to turn it around very fast,” he told supporters. He criticized Vice President Kamala Harris, labeling her a “low-IQ individual,” and warned of dire economic consequences if she were to win. Trump promised to end what he termed a “criminal invasion” and initiate extensive deportations.
“I will crack down on illegal immigration and use tariffs as a weapon to punish foreign adversaries,” he added.
Trump also revived false claims about nonpartisan economic data, accusing the Bureau of Labor Statistics of “playing fast and loose” with jobs reports. He encouraged his supporters to go out and out.
“I don’t want your money; I want your damn vote.”
Kamala Harris
Meanwhile at the Wisconsin State Fair Park, Vice President Harris told supporters that as a leader she will work for Americans of all political stripes. She described Trump as “increasingly unstable” and “consumed with grievance.”
“It’s either going to be him there on Day One walking into that office, stewing over his enemies list, or me, walking in on your behalf with my to-do list,” she said to rousing cheers from her supporters, who chanted, ‘When we vote, we win.’.
Responding to Trump’s recent comments about Republican former Representative Liz Cheney, Harris emphasized that she would listen to people who disagreed with her.
“Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe that people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail; I’ll give them a seat at the table. I would like to appoint a Republican to my cabinet,” she added.
Vice President Harris argued that the Trump era has been powered by the idea that Americans should be pointing fingers at each other, but “we all know that we all have so much more in common than what separates us.”
She described the November polls as the most consequential elections in the history of America.
“But if you know what you stand for, you know what you are fighting for. It is time for us to end this decade of Trump’s madness. It is time for a new generation of leadership in the United States. If you give me the chance to fight on your behalf, there is nothing that will stand in my way,” she added.
Vice President Harris vowed to fight to ensure that hard-working Americans have a place to live.
“I will ensure there is child care, and I will cut taxes for small businesses because they are the backbone of our economy. Under my leadership, access to healthcare will be a right and not a privilege because I believe it is about human dignity. In contrast, Trump will reduce taxes for his friends’ billionaires,” she added.
She also accused Trump of trying to repeal Obamacare, which would deprive millions of Americans of accessing healthcare.
“We will ensure that women are allowed to decide what they want to do with their bodies. He will ban abortion rights. I promise you, if Congress passes the reproductive health law, I will assent to it as president. I am not looking to score political points; I am trying to make progress,” she noted.
Important facts to know about the electoral college
In the 2016 US presidential election, Hilary Clinton lost to Donald Trump despite winning the popular vote by nearly 2.9 million votes. This outcome occurred due to the Electoral College system, where winning individual states matters more than the overall national vote. Clinton received 65.8 million votes (48.2%) compared to Trump’s 63 million votes (46.6%). However, Trump secured 304 electoral votes to Clinton’s 227, well above the 270 needed to win the presidency.
How it works?
The Electoral College is a unique system used to elect the President of the United States, comprising 538 electors. A candidate must secure a majority of 270 electoral votes to win. Voters cast ballots for electors pledged to their chosen candidate; most states use a winner-takes-all approach, awarding all electoral votes to the candidate with the most votes in that state, except in Maine and Nebraska, which allocate votes proportionally.
The electors formally cast their votes in December, and Congress certifies these results in January. The electoral votes are allocated among the states based on the census. Every state is allocated a number of votes equal to the number of Senators and Representatives in its US Congressional delegation—two votes for its Senators in the US Senate plus a number of votes equal to the number of its Congressional districts.
Allocation within each state
All states, except for Maine and Nebraska, have a winner-take-all policy where the state looks only at the overall winner of the state-wide popular vote. Maine and Nebraska, however, appoint individual electors based on the winner of the popular vote within each Congressional district and then 2 “at-large” electors based on the winner of the overall state-wide popular vote.
While it is rare for Maine or Nebraska to have a split vote, each has done so twice: Nebraska in 2008, Maine in 2016, and both Maine and Nebraska in 2020.
Current allocations
The allocations below are based on the 2020 Census. They are effective for the 2024 and 2028 presidential elections.
Alabama: 9 votes, Kentucky: 8 votes, North Dakota: 3 votes, Alaska: 3 votes, Louisiana: 8 votes, Ohio: 17 votes, Arizona: 11 votes, Maine: 4 votes, Oklahoma: 7 votes, Arkansas: 6 votes, Maryland: 10 votes, Oregon: 8 votes, California: 54 votes, Massachusetts: 11 votes, Pennsylvania: 19 votes, Colorado: 10 votes, Michigan: 15 votes, Rhode Island: 4 votes, Connecticut: 7 votes; Minnesota: 10 votes; South Carolina: 9 votes; Delaware: 3 votes; Mississippi: 6 votes. South Dakota – 3 votes, District of Columbia – 3 votes, Missouri – 10 votes, Tennessee – 11 votes, Florida – 30 votes, Montana – 4 votes, Tex. – 40 votes, Georgia – 16 votes, Nebraska – 5 votes, Utah – 6 votes, Hawaii – 4 votes, Nevada – 6 votes, Vermont – 3 votes, Idaho – 4 votes, New Hampshire – 4 votes, Virginia – 13 votes, Illinois – 19 votes, New Jersey – 14 votes, Washington – 12 votes, Indiana – 11 votes, New Mexico – 5 votes, West Virginia – 4 votes, Iowa – 6 votes, New York – 28 votes, Wisconsin – 10 votes, Kansas – 6 votes, North Carolina – 16 votes and Wyoming – 3 votes.
