American Presidential Election – What’s at Stake?

It’s finally Election Day 2024.

Over 75 million early votes have already been cast around the country with an equal number of people expected to complete their ballots by the end of today. Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican nominee former President Donald Trump have been neck and neck at the polls, especially in the seven swing states that are expected to decide who will take residence in the White House next year.

While all eyes are on Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Arizona for the presidential race, hundreds of congressional seats are also up for grabs, including all of the House and a third of the Senate. Important amendments concerning abortion, marijuana, taxation, and more are on the ballot in several states.

International allies are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the election too, especially in Ukraine.

Harris has vowed to continue supporting Ukraine in vein with current President Joe Biden’s policies, while Trump has claimed he would “end the war” on Day 1 thanks to his unnerving relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The outcome of the election could significantly impact American aid to Ukraine in the lead-up to the most difficult winter the country has most likely ever faced after years of Russian bombing of the country’s power grid.

American voters can expect to see some results quickly, particularly for statewide competitions. The national race for the presidency will take the longest – over 150 million Americans are likely to take part in this year’s election. Each state oversees its own voting procedures and counting strategies, leading to different timelines for results depending on different statistical margins of error.

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The next US president will be decided by the Electoral College, as stipulated by the US Constitution. Each state is awarded a certain number of electoral votes – equivalent to the number of seats in Congress – that is awarded to one of the two candidates based on the majority vote in the state.

Most states reward all of their electoral votes to one candidate, except for Maine and Nebraska, which split their electoral votes according to the voting. Nominees need to reach 270 electoral votes to win the election, regardless of who gets the most popular votes across the country.

Follow Kyiv Post’s Election Watch 2024: Nov. 5 Live Blog for the latest updates.