csmonitor--2020-11-01--Why the 2020 election offers American voters clear choices

After a year of deep disruption , America is poised for a presidential election that renders a verdict on the nation ’ s role in the world and the direction of its economy , on its willingness to contain an escalating pandemic and its ability to confront systemic racial inequity .
But the two men on the ballot , President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden , offer more than just differing solutions for the country ’ s most pressing problems .
The choice before voters is a referendum on the role of the presidency itself and a test of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president challenging the legitimacy of the outcome even before Election Day and law enforcement agencies braced for the possibility of civil unrest .
“ There ’ s more than just your standard ideological difference between the two candidates .
There ’ s a fundamentally different view of what the presidency is and what leadership means for the nation , ” said Jeffrey Engel , director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University .
Voters appear to recognize the moment : More than 91 million people have already cast ballots , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump victory would deepen the anti-establishment , inward-facing approach to the nation ’ s challenges that he has ushered in over the past four years – an approach enthusiastically embraced by the president ’ s supporters and loathed by his critics .
The courts , which have been stacked with a generation of conservative jurists during Mr. Trump ’ s tenure , would veer further to the right .
Victory for Mr. Biden would be as much a repudiation of the incumbent as it would be a win for the longtime Democratic politician @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Though Mr. Biden has outlined an agenda that envisions a more robust role for the federal government in American life and a more aggressive effort to combat the pandemic , the core of his campaign centered on him being a temperamental contrast to Mr. Trump .
Control of the Senate is also at stake .
Competitive races from Maine to Arizona give Democrats a chance to retake the majority from Republicans .
Democrats are expected to easily maintain their grip on the House .
The election is being held at a moment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whichever candidate wins the White House will confront the challenge of governing through deep divisions .
If anything , the campaign has clarified how stratified the United States has become , with Mr. Trump ’ s base of support coming from overwhelmingly white voters at lower income and education levels .
More highly educated Americans , particularly women , and voters of color , most notably African Americans , have all but abandoned the Republican Party during Mr. Trump ’ s four years in office .
Mr. Trump faced a particularly fierce outcry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the largely peaceful protests that erupted across the country this summer over racial injustice in policing .
The president highlighted the sporadic outbursts of violence and argued that white , suburban neighborhoods would be overrun by mayhem if Mr. Biden were elected .
Mr. Biden has condemned Mr. Trump as racist .
Mr. Biden also has made explicit appeals to Republicans , seeking to draw support from those who may have taken a chance on Mr. Trump but have been turned off by his divisiveness and fierce personal attacks on his critics .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ an alluring alternative to some of those voters , given his more moderate record and campaign agenda , and his more traditional approach to foreign policy , including U.S. engagement in the kinds of multilateral institutions such as NATO that Mr. Trump has flirted with abandoning .
Dan Giesen , of Minneapolis , said he was a conservative voter before Mr. Trump became the Republican nominee four years ago , leading him to vote for third-party candidate Evan McMullin .
Last week , Mr. Giesen was waiting in line to cast his vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think we can deal with partisan differences when our institutions and our norms are in place , but I think that those are being seriously eroded under Donald Trump , ” he said .
Mr. Biden heads into Tuesday ’ s election with an edge in public polling , including a comfortable national lead and a narrower advantage in some of the battleground states that will decide the contest .
He has multiple paths to victory and has devoted significant resources to the Upper Midwest states where Mr. Trump surprised Democrats four years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as Arizona and Georgia that for years have been reliable Republican territory .
Though Democrats are wary of overconfidence , given Mr. Trump ’ s upset in 2016 , party leaders see significant differences in this year ’ s election .
Mr. Biden is viewed more favorably by voters than Hillary Clinton was four years ago .
And the pandemic , which has upended nearly every aspect of American life , saddled Mr. Trump with overwhelmingly negative reviews from voters on his handling of the crisis .
“ In the last 10 days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ What ’ s the FBI going to do about the newly reopened Hillary Clinton email investigation ?
’ ” said Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia , who was Ms. Clinton ’ s running mate in 2016 .
Now , Mr. Kaine said , “ they ’ re talking about COVID and how it ’ s affecting communities.
” The pandemic indeed turned Mr. Trump ’ s plans for this election year inside out .
The president opened 2020 in strong position , with a robust economic record and the GOP unified behind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ centered on his request for Ukraine ’ s help digging up dirt on Mr. Biden .
Since then , the coronavirus has gripped the nation , causing more than 230,000 deaths and infecting more than 9 million Americans ; both are the highest confirmed counts in the world .
The U.S. economy cratered , and though it has recovered somewhat , the unemployment rate rests at 7.9 % and businesses across the country are worried about surviving the winter , given that infection rates are on the rise .
Mr. Trump himself contracted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hospitalized .
Since then , he ’ s been barnstorming the country , holding large rallies with crowds that are not socially distanced and only sporadically wearing masks .
His message to Americans has been that the U.S. is “ rounding the corner ” on the virus , despite the fact that cases are on the rise in most states and the U.S. is setting daily records for confirmed cases .
Sixty-five percent of Americans said the president has not taking the pandemic seriously enough , according to a mid-October poll from The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Despite the pandemic ’ s toll on his political fortunes , Mr. Trump ’ s campaign is banking on strategy similar to 2016 .
Advisers contend that Mr. Trump will draw out new voters who haven ’ t participated in politics previously or in some time .
His campaign is also banking on some voters ultimately looking beyond their personal qualms with the president to back his policies .
That was the case for Tom Redford , who cast his ballot for Mr. Trump on Thursday outside of Richmond , Virginia .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ only Trump supporter in his family and doesn ’ t much like the president personally .
“ But everything he ’ s done is great – everything , including what he ’ s done on the coronavirus , ” Mr. Redford said as he waited in a line of more than 200 people .
The president ’ s pathway to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House is narrow .
He needs to hold onto Florida , a perennial battleground , as well as nearly all of the territory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s spent the final days of the campaign on defense , making stops in states such as Georgia and Iowa , where he won comfortably four years ago .
The challenge for Mr. Trump is engineering a late shift in the race when so many voters have already cast ballots .
By Sunday , the early vote tally represented more than 67 % of all the votes cast in the 2016 race .
As for the sound of the 2020 race , car horns have replaced the roar of Democratic crowds .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
Honk if you ’ re ready to go !
” former President Barack Obama has said in the final swing .
On the Republican side , Mr. Trump remained energized by large , mostly unmasked crowds in defiance of the advice from his administration ’ s top public health officials .
The president was making a final blur of 10 rallies across battleground states , arguing falsely that the coronavirus was on the wane and falling back on familiar anthems about Hillary Clinton , his vanquished 2016 rival , and building a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Tuesday is our big deal as a country !
” Mr. Trump said on Sunday , as he braved flurries and a stiff wind chill in Michigan .
The president is aiming to run up support in the whiter , more rural parts of the state with warnings that a Biden win could be disastrous for the economy .
Down in the polls and at a cash disadvantage , Mr. Trump expressed confidence and said of Mr. Biden at one point , “ I don ’ t think he knows he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. Biden ’ s campaign rallies through Michigan , Georgia , and Pennsylvania were strictly distanced and often drive-in affairs where mask-wearing is required .
At an Atlanta-area event on Sunday , a Biden staffer stepped to the podium and enforced the rules just before California Sen. Kamala Harris , as Mr. Biden ’ s running mate , spoke .
“ Y ’ all need to go back to your cars , ” the aide said .
“ We are not a Trump rally.
” Also defining this campaign at its ragged end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. Trump has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses to Mr. Biden , and his exhortation to supporters to “ stand back and stand by ” the polls to make sure the vote is legit sounded to some like a call to intimidate voters and elections officials .
Images and reports , such as a get-out-the-vote rally in North Carolina on Saturday that ended with law enforcement pepper spraying the crowd , kept the country on edge .
State police said participants were blocking the roadway and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In Texas , Trump supporters in cars and trucks swarmed around a Biden campaign bus at high speed on a highway .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .
AP writers Mohamed Ibrahim in Minneapolis ' Denise Lavoie in Richmond , Virginia ; Laurie Kellman in Charlottesville , Virginia ; Alex Jaffe traveling with Mr. Biden ; Zeke Miller with Mr. Trump ; and Kathleen Ronayne with Ms. Harris contributed to this report .

After a year of deep disruption, America is poised for a presidential election that renders a verdict on the nation’s role in the world and the direction of its economy, on its willingness to contain an escalating pandemic and its ability to confront systemic racial inequity.
But the two men on the ballot, President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden, offer more than just differing solutions for the country’s most pressing problems. The choice before voters is a referendum on the role of the presidency itself and a test of the sturdiness of democracy, with the president challenging the legitimacy of the outcome even before Election Day and law enforcement agencies braced for the possibility of civil unrest.
“There’s more than just your standard ideological difference between the two candidates. There’s a fundamentally different view of what the presidency is and what leadership means for the nation,” said Jeffrey Engel, director of the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University.
Voters appear to recognize the moment: More than 91 million people have already cast ballots, shattering records for early voting.
A Trump victory would deepen the anti-establishment, inward-facing approach to the nation’s challenges that he has ushered in over the past four years – an approach enthusiastically embraced by the president’s supporters and loathed by his critics. The courts, which have been stacked with a generation of conservative jurists during Mr. Trump’s tenure, would veer further to the right.
Victory for Mr. Biden would be as much a repudiation of the incumbent as it would be a win for the longtime Democratic politician, a former vice president and senator. Though Mr. Biden has outlined an agenda that envisions a more robust role for the federal government in American life and a more aggressive effort to combat the pandemic, the core of his campaign centered on him being a temperamental contrast to Mr. Trump.
Control of the Senate is also at stake. Competitive races from Maine to Arizona give Democrats a chance to retake the majority from Republicans. Democrats are expected to easily maintain their grip on the House.
The election is being held at a moment of bitter partisanship in America, and whichever candidate wins the White House will confront the challenge of governing through deep divisions. If anything, the campaign has clarified how stratified the United States has become, with Mr. Trump’s base of support coming from overwhelmingly white voters at lower income and education levels. More highly educated Americans, particularly women, and voters of color, most notably African Americans, have all but abandoned the Republican Party during Mr. Trump’s four years in office.
Mr. Trump faced a particularly fierce outcry from Black Americans after his response to the largely peaceful protests that erupted across the country this summer over racial injustice in policing. The president highlighted the sporadic outbursts of violence and argued that white, suburban neighborhoods would be overrun by mayhem if Mr. Biden were elected.
Mr. Biden has condemned Mr. Trump as racist. Mr. Biden also has made explicit appeals to Republicans, seeking to draw support from those who may have taken a chance on Mr. Trump but have been turned off by his divisiveness and fierce personal attacks on his critics.
The Democratic nominee has proved to be an alluring alternative to some of those voters, given his more moderate record and campaign agenda, and his more traditional approach to foreign policy, including U.S. engagement in the kinds of multilateral institutions such as NATO that Mr. Trump has flirted with abandoning.
Dan Giesen, of Minneapolis, said he was a conservative voter before Mr. Trump became the Republican nominee four years ago, leading him to vote for third-party candidate Evan McMullin. Last week, Mr. Giesen was waiting in line to cast his vote early for Mr. Biden.
“I think we can deal with partisan differences when our institutions and our norms are in place, but I think that those are being seriously eroded under Donald Trump,” he said.
Mr. Biden heads into Tuesday’s election with an edge in public polling, including a comfortable national lead and a narrower advantage in some of the battleground states that will decide the contest. He has multiple paths to victory and has devoted significant resources to the Upper Midwest states where Mr. Trump surprised Democrats four years ago, but also to states such as Arizona and Georgia that for years have been reliable Republican territory.
Though Democrats are wary of overconfidence, given Mr. Trump’s upset in 2016, party leaders see significant differences in this year’s election. Mr. Biden is viewed more favorably by voters than Hillary Clinton was four years ago. And the pandemic, which has upended nearly every aspect of American life, saddled Mr. Trump with overwhelmingly negative reviews from voters on his handling of the crisis.
“In the last 10 days of 2016, the story was, ‘What’s the FBI going to do about the newly reopened Hillary Clinton email investigation?’” said Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who was Ms. Clinton’s running mate in 2016. Now, Mr. Kaine said, “they’re talking about COVID and how it’s affecting communities.”
The pandemic indeed turned Mr. Trump’s plans for this election year inside out.
The president opened 2020 in strong position, with a robust economic record and the GOP unified behind him after he survived an impeachment trial centered on his request for Ukraine’s help digging up dirt on Mr. Biden.
Since then, the coronavirus has gripped the nation, causing more than 230,000 deaths and infecting more than 9 million Americans; both are the highest confirmed counts in the world. The U.S. economy cratered, and though it has recovered somewhat, the unemployment rate rests at 7.9% and businesses across the country are worried about surviving the winter, given that infection rates are on the rise.
Mr. Trump himself contracted the virus in October and was briefly hospitalized. Since then, he’s been barnstorming the country, holding large rallies with crowds that are not socially distanced and only sporadically wearing masks. His message to Americans has been that the U.S. is “rounding the corner” on the virus, despite the fact that cases are on the rise in most states and the U.S. is setting daily records for confirmed cases.
Sixty-five percent of Americans said the president has not taking the pandemic seriously enough, according to a mid-October poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
Despite the pandemic’s toll on his political fortunes, Mr. Trump’s campaign is banking on strategy similar to 2016. Advisers contend that Mr. Trump will draw out new voters who haven’t participated in politics previously or in some time. His campaign is also banking on some voters ultimately looking beyond their personal qualms with the president to back his policies.
That was the case for Tom Redford, who cast his ballot for Mr. Trump on Thursday outside of Richmond, Virginia. Mr. Redford said he’s the only Trump supporter in his family and doesn’t much like the president personally.
“But everything he’s done is great – everything, including what he’s done on the coronavirus,” Mr. Redford said as he waited in a line of more than 200 people.
The president’s pathway to the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House is narrow. He needs to hold onto Florida, a perennial battleground, as well as nearly all of the territory he carried in 2016. He’s spent the final days of the campaign on defense, making stops in states such as Georgia and Iowa, where he won comfortably four years ago.
The challenge for Mr. Trump is engineering a late shift in the race when so many voters have already cast ballots. By Sunday, the early vote tally represented more than 67% of all the votes cast in the 2016 race.
As for the sound of the 2020 race, car horns have replaced the roar of Democratic crowds.
“Honk if you’re fired up! Honk if you’re ready to go!” former President Barack Obama has said in the final swing.
On the Republican side, Mr. Trump remained energized by large, mostly unmasked crowds in defiance of the advice from his administration’s top public health officials.
The president was making a final blur of 10 rallies across battleground states, arguing falsely that the coronavirus was on the wane and falling back on familiar anthems about Hillary Clinton, his vanquished 2016 rival, and building a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
“Tuesday is our big deal as a country!” Mr. Trump said on Sunday, as he braved flurries and a stiff wind chill in Michigan. The president is aiming to run up support in the whiter, more rural parts of the state with warnings that a Biden win could be disastrous for the economy.
Down in the polls and at a cash disadvantage, Mr. Trump expressed confidence and said of Mr. Biden at one point, “I don’t think he knows he’s losing.”
In contrast, Mr. Biden’s campaign rallies through Michigan, Georgia, and Pennsylvania were strictly distanced and often drive-in affairs where mask-wearing is required.
At an Atlanta-area event on Sunday, a Biden staffer stepped to the podium and enforced the rules just before California Sen. Kamala Harris, as Mr. Biden’s running mate, spoke.
“Y’all need to go back to your cars,” the aide said. “We are not a Trump rally.”
Also defining this campaign at its ragged end is a hovering uncertainty and anxiety. Mr. Trump has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses to Mr. Biden, and his exhortation to supporters to “stand back and stand by” the polls to make sure the vote is legit sounded to some like a call to intimidate voters and elections officials.
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Images and reports, such as a get-out-the-vote rally in North Carolina on Saturday that ended with law enforcement pepper spraying the crowd, kept the country on edge. State police said participants were blocking the roadway and had no authorization to be there. In Texas, Trump supporters in cars and trucks swarmed around a Biden campaign bus at high speed on a highway.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writers Mohamed Ibrahim in Minneapolis' Denise Lavoie in Richmond, Virginia; Laurie Kellman in Charlottesville, Virginia; Alex Jaffe traveling with Mr. Biden; Zeke Miller with Mr. Trump; and Kathleen Ronayne with Ms. Harris contributed to this report.


csmonitor--2020-11-05--Almost everyone feels like an ‘impostor’ at times

In my first week of graduate school , the new students played a game in which we had to name the most famous books we had never read .
“ I ’ ve never made it all the way through ‘ Clarissa , ’ ” one of my peers admitted .
“ Barchester Towers , ” another volunteered .
“ Confessio Amantis.
” I was listening with an increasing sense of embarrassment .
I hadn ’ t read “ Moby-Dick ” or “ Jane Eyre ” and I ’ d never even heard of the “ Confessio ” whatever .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
What kind of mistake had they made admitting me , who so clearly didn ’ t belong there ?
It was a vivid experience of impostor syndrome , a term that was added to Merriam-Webster ’ s dictionary this year : “ persistent doubt concerning one ’ s abilities or accomplishments accompanied by the fear of being exposed as a fraud despite evidence of one ’ s ongoing success.
” It has become a buzzword over the past decade , with more than 50 books and thousands of articles published about it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ things are clear .
First , many people don ’ t know how to spell impostor .
The word retains its Latin ending , like curator or spectator .
Though -or is the preferred form , Fowler ’ s Modern English Usage notes that it is now written with -er nearly 50 % of the time , so insisting on the -or spelling is a losing battle .
And second , many people periodically feel like frauds .
When psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes coined the term ( as the “ impostor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thought it was “ particularly prevalent ... among high achieving women.
” They interviewed female graduate students , lawyers , and professors who “ persist in believing that they are really not bright and have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise.
” Impostor syndrome is not just experienced by professional women .
Anyone who does not conform to society ’ s stereotype of what a “ leader ” or a “ success ” looks like is at extra risk of feeling like an impostor .
People of color “ are particularly vulnerable to this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Doggett reports , as are people who identify as LGBTQ , and those who come from working-class backgrounds .
With so many different “ at risk ” groups , it is perhaps not surprising that 70 % -80 % of Americans admit to having felt impostor syndrome at one time or another .
If a majority of us feel like frauds at least some of the time , though , is it really a “ syndrome ” ?
Or is it a normal , if uncomfortable , part of being human ?
Whether @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” or pathologizes an emotion many people feel from time to time , impostor syndrome certainly deserves a place in the dictionary .
I would find a quote from “ Jane Eyre ” to end on , but I still haven ’ t read it .

In my first week of graduate school, the new students played a game in which we had to name the most famous books we had never read. “I’ve never made it all the way through ‘Clarissa,’” one of my peers admitted. “Barchester Towers,” another volunteered. “Confessio Amantis.” I was listening with an increasing sense of embarrassment. I hadn’t read “Moby-Dick” or “Jane Eyre” and I’d never even heard of the “Confessio” whatever. What was I doing in graduate school? What kind of mistake had they made admitting me, who so clearly didn’t belong there?
It was a vivid experience of impostor syndrome, a term that was added to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary this year: “persistent doubt concerning one’s abilities or accomplishments accompanied by the fear of being exposed as a fraud despite evidence of one’s ongoing success.” It has become a buzzword over the past decade, with more than 50 books and thousands of articles published about it.
Skimming through these articles, two things are clear. First, many people don’t know how to spell impostor. The word retains its Latin ending, like curator or spectator. Though -or is the preferred form, Fowler’s Modern English Usage notes that it is now written with -er nearly 50% of the time, so insisting on the -or spelling is a losing battle.
And second, many people periodically feel like frauds. When psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes coined the term (as the “impostor phenomenon”) in 1978, they thought it was “particularly prevalent ... among high achieving women.” They interviewed female graduate students, lawyers, and professors who “persist in believing that they are really not bright and have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise.”
Impostor syndrome is not just experienced by professional women. Anyone who does not conform to society’s stereotype of what a “leader” or a “success” looks like is at extra risk of feeling like an impostor. People of color “are particularly vulnerable to this debilitating sensation,” journalist Jolie A. Doggett reports, as are people who identify as LGBTQ, and those who come from working-class backgrounds. With so many different “at risk” groups, it is perhaps not surprising that 70%-80% of Americans admit to having felt impostor syndrome at one time or another.
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If a majority of us feel like frauds at least some of the time, though, is it really a “syndrome”? Or is it a normal, if uncomfortable, part of being human? Whether the term identifies a real “phenomenon” or pathologizes an emotion many people feel from time to time, impostor syndrome certainly deserves a place in the dictionary.
I would find a quote from “Jane Eyre” to end on, but I still haven’t read it.


csmonitor--2020-11-04--As Biden takes Michigan, Trump's path to 270 narrows

Democrat Joe Biden has carried Michigan and its 16 electoral votes , further dismantling President Donald Trump ’ s Rust Belt wall of support that helped deliver him the presidency four years ago .
The flip from red back to blue was a huge blow to Mr. Trump , whose victories in Michigan , Wisconsin , and Pennsylvania in 2016 sent him to the White House .
Mr. Biden also carried Wisconsin .
Only a handful of battleground states remain uncalled , including Georgia , North Carolina , and Pennsylvania .
Both Michigan and Wisconsin represent parts of the “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats four years ago .
Mr. Biden ’ s campaign had counted on winning back at least some of them .
A full day after Election Day , neither candidate had cleared the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House .
But Mr. Biden ’ s victory in Michigan pushes him to 264 Electoral College votes , six short of the 270 needed to win the White House .
Mr. Trump is at 214 electoral votes .
Nevada , which has six electoral votes , is among the states Democrat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t yet been called .
Mr. Biden ’ s campaign had particularly focused on turning out Black voters in Detroit , who failed to show up for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the numbers that Barack Obama received during his two presidential bids .
Despite needing to win Michigan , Mr. Trump took frequent swipes at the state ’ s Democratic governor , Gretchen Whitmer , who was the target of an alleged kidnapping plot that was foiled by federal law enforcement .
Chants of “ Lock her up !
” toward Gov @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s recent rally in the state , and he railed against the governor on Twitter for her cautious approach to the coronavirus pandemic .
Speaking at an afternoon news conference , Mr. Biden , joined by his running mate Kamala Harris , said he now expected to win the presidency , though he stopped short of outright declaring victory .
“ I will govern as an American president , ” Mr. Biden said .
” There will be no red states and blue states when we win .
Just the United States of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Mr. Trump , who early Wednesday morning falsely proclaimed that he had won the election , even though millions of votes remained uncounted and the race was far from over .
In other closely watched races , Mr. Trump picked up Florida , the largest of the swing states , while Mr. Biden flipped Arizona , a state that had reliably voted Republican in recent elections .
The Trump campaign questioned the results in Arizona , with aides having come to the conclusion that , without Wisconsin , their best , if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ winning that state and Pennsylvania .
A legal challenge in Arizona was possible .
The unsettled nature of the presidential race was reflective of a somewhat disappointing night for Democrats , who had hoped to deliver a thorough repudiation of Mr. Trump ’ s four years in office while also reclaiming the Senate to have a firm grasp on all of Washington .
But the GOP held on to several Senate seats that had been considered vulnerable , including in Iowa , Texas , Maine , and Kansas .
Democrats lost House seats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The high-stakes election was held against the backdrop of a historic pandemic that has killed more than 232,000 Americans and wiped away millions of jobs .
The candidates spent months pressing dramatically different visions for the nation ’ s future , including on racial justice , and voters responded in huge numbers , with more than 100 million people casting votes ahead of Election Day .
This story was reported by The Associated Press .

David Eggert, Jonathan Lemire, Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller, Jill Colvin, and Alexandra Jaffe

Democrat Joe Biden has carried Michigan and its 16 electoral votes, further dismantling President Donald Trump’s Rust Belt wall of support that helped deliver him the presidency four years ago.
The flip from red back to blue was a huge blow to Mr. Trump, whose victories in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania in 2016 sent him to the White House. Mr. Biden also carried Wisconsin. Only a handful of battleground states remain uncalled, including Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
Both Michigan and Wisconsin represent parts of the “blue wall” that slipped away from Democrats four years ago. Mr. Biden’s campaign had counted on winning back at least some of them.
A full day after Election Day, neither candidate had cleared the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House. But Mr. Biden’s victory in Michigan pushes him to 264 Electoral College votes, six short of the 270 needed to win the White House. Mr. Trump is at 214 electoral votes. Nevada, which has six electoral votes, is among the states Democrat Hillary Clinton won in 2016 that hasn’t yet been called.
Mr. Biden’s campaign had particularly focused on turning out Black voters in Detroit, who failed to show up for Democrat Hillary Clinton in the numbers that Barack Obama received during his two presidential bids.
Despite needing to win Michigan, Mr. Trump took frequent swipes at the state’s Democratic governor, Gretchen Whitmer, who was the target of an alleged kidnapping plot that was foiled by federal law enforcement. Chants of “Lock her up!” toward Gov. Whitmer echoed at Mr. Trump’s recent rally in the state, and he railed against the governor on Twitter for her cautious approach to the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking at an afternoon news conference, Mr. Biden, joined by his running mate Kamala Harris, said he now expected to win the presidency, though he stopped short of outright declaring victory.
“I will govern as an American president,” Mr. Biden said. ”There will be no red states and blue states when we win. Just the United States of America.”
It was a stark contrast to Mr. Trump, who early Wednesday morning falsely proclaimed that he had won the election, even though millions of votes remained uncounted and the race was far from over.
In other closely watched races, Mr. Trump picked up Florida, the largest of the swing states, while Mr. Biden flipped Arizona, a state that had reliably voted Republican in recent elections.
The Trump campaign questioned the results in Arizona, with aides having come to the conclusion that, without Wisconsin, their best, if still unlikely, path to victory was winning that state and Pennsylvania. A legal challenge in Arizona was possible.
The unsettled nature of the presidential race was reflective of a somewhat disappointing night for Democrats, who had hoped to deliver a thorough repudiation of Mr. Trump’s four years in office while also reclaiming the Senate to have a firm grasp on all of Washington. But the GOP held on to several Senate seats that had been considered vulnerable, including in Iowa, Texas, Maine, and Kansas. Democrats lost House seats but were expected to retain control there.
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The high-stakes election was held against the backdrop of a historic pandemic that has killed more than 232,000 Americans and wiped away millions of jobs. The candidates spent months pressing dramatically different visions for the nation’s future, including on racial justice, and voters responded in huge numbers, with more than 100 million people casting votes ahead of Election Day.
This story was reported by The Associated Press.


csmonitor--2020-11-04--Huge turnout, close race: The day-after lessons of Election 2020

Though the race may not be resolved for days , Democratic candidate Joe Biden ’ s prospects appeared somewhat brighter than the president ’ s .
Mr. Biden ’ s best path to victory involves holding onto narrow leads in Arizona , Nevada , Wisconsin , and Michigan , with a possible come-from-behind win in Pennsylvania as a backup .
Mr. Trump ’ s best shot involves holding Georgia , Pennsylvania , and North Carolina , and flipping Arizona .
Despite this , Mr. Trump seemed likely to benefit politically from the overperformance of the Republican Party against expectations – @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or not .
“ That is in many ways an unprecedented undermining of the electoral process , ” says Ryan Enos , a professor of government at Harvard University .
President Donald Trump deepened the tension with his false 2 a.m. Wednesday pronouncement that he had already won the election , and his unprecedented insistence that states should stop counting legally cast votes .
But the hopes and fears that pushed so many people to cast ballots are deeply divided along partisan lines .
The result seems almost certain to be a nation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ size and power , facing a pandemic and recession that neither can fight successfully on its own .
Americans voted in astounding numbers in the 2020 election , with preliminary estimates showing the highest percentage turnout in 120 years .
Mail-in , drop-off , in-person early , in-person on Election Day : Americans voted in astounding numbers in the 2020 election , with preliminary estimates showing the highest percentage turnout in 120 years .
But the hopes and fears that pushed so many people to cast ballots are deeply divided along partisan lines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a nation of warring political camps of almost equal size and power , both full of pent-up emotion , facing a pandemic and recession that neither can fight successfully on its own .
President Donald Trump deepened the tension with his false 2 a.m. Wednesday pronouncement that he had already won the election , and his unprecedented insistence that states should stop counting legally cast votes .
All candidates aim to project confidence , but President Trump ’ s accusation that tallying legitimate ballots amounts to “ stealing the election ” is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a professor of government at Harvard University .
“ That is in many ways an unprecedented undermining of the electoral process , ” says Dr. Enos .
Despite this , Mr. Trump seemed likely to benefit politically from the overperformance of the Republican Party against expectations – whether he remains in the White House or not .
While polls indicated Mr. Trump would lose handily to former Vice President Joe Biden on election night , the race remained too close to call late Wednesday and may not be resolved for days , though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ brighter than the president ’ s .
After snaring thin victories in Wisconsin and Michigan , Mr. Biden ’ s best path to victory involves holding onto narrow leads in Arizona and Nevada , with a possible come-from-behind win in Pennsylvania as a backup .
Trump ’ s best shot involves holding Georgia , Pennsylvania , and North Carolina , and snagging Arizona .
The president ’ s strategy also appears to include aggressive legal challenges .
On Wednesday his campaign announced that it was suing to temporarily stop ballot counting in Michigan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ process was not transparent enough .
His campaign also is trying to intervene in a Pennsylvania case at the Supreme Court , on whether ballots received up to three days after the election can be counted , the Associated Press reports .
Campaign officials also said they were seeking a recount of the result in Wisconsin , which like Michigan was called for Biden Wednesday afternoon .
Meanwhile , it seems possible , if not likely , that the GOP will maintain its hold on the Senate .
Pre-election polls had indicated Democrats @ @ @ @ @ @ @ majority .
In the House , Republicans knocked off at least six vulnerable Democrats – instead of losing a net five to fifteen seats , as polls had predicted .
Given these results , Mr. Trump seems set to remain the dominant force in the party .
If he loses it ’ s not hard to imagine him as the head of a sort of shadow government that unleashes a daily stream of criticism of the Biden administration through conservative media outlets .
The polling industry appears to have taken another beating this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Messrs. Trump and Biden may end up being within the margin of error of many national polls , given that millions of votes in California and other large states that aren ’ t close remain to be counted .
But as in 2016 , some state polls and surveys for individual races showed substantial errors .
Moderate Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins ’ reelection victory is one example of this .
Democrats targeted Senator Collins for possible defeat over her votes to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and acquit President Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a formidable opponent in Sara Gideon , speaker of the Maine House of Representatives .
Over the past year , polling consistently showed Senator Collins behind .
She won by almost 9 percentage points .
Latino and Hispanic Americans saw their candidate preferences badly missed by polls and pundits .
They were far from a united group opposed to Mr. Trump ’ s harsh treatment of unauthorized immigrants and appalled by his insistence on building his southern border wall .
Mr. Biden never really connected with them , and the costs of that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump won 55 % of the state ’ s Cuban American vote , 30 % of its Puerto Rican Americans , and 48 % of “ other Latinos ” on his way to winning Florida ’ s 29 electoral votes .
One thing seems almost certain : Mr. Biden will win the popular vote , becoming the fourth Democratic candidate in a row to do so .
This hasn ’ t been done since the four election cycles beginning in 1936 , with Franklin Delano Roosevelt , followed by Harry Truman on the @ @

Though the race may not be resolved for days, Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s prospects appeared somewhat brighter than the president’s. Mr. Biden’s best path to victory involves holding onto narrow leads in Arizona, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Michigan, with a possible come-from-behind win in Pennsylvania as a backup. Mr. Trump’s best shot involves holding Georgia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, and flipping Arizona.
Despite this, Mr. Trump seemed likely to benefit politically from the overperformance of the Republican Party against expectations – whether he remains in the White House or not.
“That is in many ways an unprecedented undermining of the electoral process,” says Ryan Enos, a professor of government at Harvard University.
President Donald Trump deepened the tension with his false 2 a.m. Wednesday pronouncement that he had already won the election, and his unprecedented insistence that states should stop counting legally cast votes.
Most pundits and pollsters badly miscalculated what would happen in this election. Amid the tense wait for an outcome, here are some upended expectations, false narratives, and new insights revealed by American voters on Nov. 3.
But the hopes and fears that pushed so many people to cast ballots are deeply divided along partisan lines. The result seems almost certain to be a nation of warring political camps of almost equal size and power, facing a pandemic and recession that neither can fight successfully on its own.
Americans voted in astounding numbers in the 2020 election, with preliminary estimates showing the highest percentage turnout in 120 years.
Mail-in, drop-off, in-person early, in-person on Election Day: Americans voted in astounding numbers in the 2020 election, with preliminary estimates showing the highest percentage turnout in 120 years.
But the hopes and fears that pushed so many people to cast ballots are deeply divided along partisan lines. The result seems almost certain to be a nation of warring political camps of almost equal size and power, both full of pent-up emotion, facing a pandemic and recession that neither can fight successfully on its own.
President Donald Trump deepened the tension with his false 2 a.m. Wednesday pronouncement that he had already won the election, and his unprecedented insistence that states should stop counting legally cast votes.
Why We Wrote This Most pundits and pollsters badly miscalculated what would happen in this election. Amid the tense wait for an outcome, here are some upended expectations, false narratives, and new insights revealed by American voters on Nov. 3.
All candidates aim to project confidence, but President Trump’s accusation that tallying legitimate ballots amounts to “stealing the election” is extremely worrisome, says Ryan Enos, a professor of government at Harvard University.
“That is in many ways an unprecedented undermining of the electoral process,” says Dr. Enos.
Win or lose, Trump outperformed predictions
Despite this, Mr. Trump seemed likely to benefit politically from the overperformance of the Republican Party against expectations – whether he remains in the White House or not.
While polls indicated Mr. Trump would lose handily to former Vice President Joe Biden on election night, the race remained too close to call late Wednesday and may not be resolved for days, though Mr. Biden’s prospects appeared somewhat brighter than the president’s.
After snaring thin victories in Wisconsin and Michigan, Mr. Biden’s best path to victory involves holding onto narrow leads in Arizona and Nevada, with a possible come-from-behind win in Pennsylvania as a backup. Trump’s best shot involves holding Georgia, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina, and snagging Arizona.
John Locher/AP View caption Hide caption A live broadcast of President Donald Trump speaking from the White House is shown on screens at an election night party on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in Las Vegas, Nevada. By late Wednesday, Mr. Trump's campaign had filed lawsuits over the ballot-counting process in some key states.
The president’s strategy also appears to include aggressive legal challenges. On Wednesday his campaign announced that it was suing to temporarily stop ballot counting in Michigan and Pennsylvania on the grounds that the process was not transparent enough.
His campaign also is trying to intervene in a Pennsylvania case at the Supreme Court, on whether ballots received up to three days after the election can be counted, the Associated Press reports.
Campaign officials also said they were seeking a recount of the result in Wisconsin, which like Michigan was called for Biden Wednesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, it seems possible, if not likely, that the GOP will maintain its hold on the Senate. Pre-election polls had indicated Democrats were the favorite to win a slim majority. In the House, Republicans knocked off at least six vulnerable Democrats – instead of losing a net five to fifteen seats, as polls had predicted.
Given these results, Mr. Trump seems set to remain the dominant force in the party. If he loses it’s not hard to imagine him as the head of a sort of shadow government that unleashes a daily stream of criticism of the Biden administration through conservative media outlets.
Failing grade for pollsters
The polling industry appears to have taken another beating this election cycle. The final spread between Messrs. Trump and Biden may end up being within the margin of error of many national polls, given that millions of votes in California and other large states that aren’t close remain to be counted. But as in 2016, some state polls and surveys for individual races showed substantial errors.
Moderate Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins’ reelection victory is one example of this. Democrats targeted Senator Collins for possible defeat over her votes to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and acquit President Trump in his impeachment trial. She faced a formidable opponent in Sara Gideon, speaker of the Maine House of Representatives. Over the past year, polling consistently showed Senator Collins behind.
She won by almost 9 percentage points.
Latino and Hispanic Americans saw their candidate preferences badly missed by polls and pundits. They were far from a united group opposed to Mr. Trump’s harsh treatment of unauthorized immigrants and appalled by his insistence on building his southern border wall.
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empower and uplift daily. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy Already a subscriber? Log in to hide ads.
Mr. Biden never really connected with them, and the costs of that were apparent in battleground Florida. President Trump won 55% of the state’s Cuban American vote, 30% of its Puerto Rican Americans, and 48%of “other Latinos” on his way to winning Florida’s 29 electoral votes.
One thing seems almost certain: Mr. Biden will win the popular vote, becoming the fourth Democratic candidate in a row to do so. This hasn’t been done since the four election cycles beginning in 1936, with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, followed by Harry Truman on the ballot.


csmonitor--2020-11-04--Tight race tests Americans’ trust in system – and each other

“ It ’ s important that the next president be a statesman and appeal to our better angels and try ... [ to ] make it possible for us to talk to each other again , regard each other with goodwill again , because democracy is going to be weakened the further we stray from that ideal , ” says David Greenberg , a presidential historian at Rutgers University .
A 2019 Pew survey found that while 53 % of Americans express confidence that their fellow citizens will accept election results no matter who wins , 47 % said they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ no confidence at all.
” Amid one of the most logistically challenging and tightly contested elections in years , voters across the country are worried about everything from ballots getting lost to deceptive robocalls that told people to stay home on Election Day .
But in dozens of Monitor interviews from Salem , New Hampshire , to Santa Clarita , California , perhaps the clearest refrain was : We don ’ t trust the other side to accept the results .
How strong is Americans ’ trust in the U.S. electoral system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country faces in the coming days and possibly weeks , as election officials and potentially courts work to determine the winner of this year ’ s presidential election .
Amid one of the most logistically challenging and tightly contested elections in years , voters across the country are worried about everything from ballots getting lost to deceptive robocalls that told people to stay home on Election Day .
But for many , their greatest fears have less to do with machines or mechanisms than with their fellow Americans .
“ I think that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden wins than Biden supporters if Trump wins , ” says Tabitha McQuait , standing in a field across from the Goldboro church where dozens of voters have parked haphazardly in the grass .
“ Sadly , I agree , ” says her mom , Julie McQuait , echoing concerns voiced by Democrats as well .
“ Whichever candidate wins , I think the other party is going to take it poorly.
” “ My question is ... why don ’ t they have an auditing firm like Deloitte or somebody that comes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the elder Ms. McQuait , who works at a local Fortune 500 company .
“ They oversee the lottery , why shouldn ’ t they oversee something as important as our country ?
” With the presidential race far closer than polls had predicted , and likely to hinge on a few narrowly contested swing states still tallying their ballots , the wait for an official result could test Americans ’ trust in the system – and each other – like never before .
In the two decades since the Supreme Court intervened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ controversy and put George W. Bush in the White House , increased political polarization has frayed the nation ’ s collective sense of trust and goodwill .
Amid declining faith in institutions , the media , pollsters , and each other , the possibility of a disputed electoral outcome may only fuel Americans ’ sense of suspicion and cynicism .
“ One of the things that allows people to accept laws that are made and to accept the decisions made by their leaders is the acceptance that those leaders are there legitimately , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” says Ryan Enos , a professor of government at Harvard University .
“ It ’ s really hard for society to function peacefully and for people to trust one another and many other things when they don ’ t believe that the people that are making laws for them are legitimate.
” As of Wednesday afternoon , both candidates had a potential path to victory .
But with outstanding votes in several key states expected to be heavily Democratic , Mr. Biden was seen as in a stronger position to win @ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially after swing state Wisconsin was called for him mid-afternoon .
President Donald Trump , who has for months been sowing doubt about the reliability of mass mail-in voting , vowed in a speech in the wee hours of the morning to contest the results in the Supreme Court .
( Any legal challenge would have to start in a lower court and be appealed to be considered by the nation ’ s highest court . )
Pennsylvania – a closely contested state that last year enacted its most sweeping legislation on election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ systems in all 67 counties – could prove particularly messy .
A 4-4 Supreme Court ruling on the eve of the election opened the way for the state to extend the deadline for receipt of mail-in votes to Friday , a move Republicans opposed .
With recently confirmed Trump nominee Amy Coney Barrett now filling the ninth seat , a fresh case may yield a different decision .
“ It ’ s just going to be just like back in Gore-Bush ’ s day , I got a feeling , ” says Terry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trucking company who voted for former Vice President Joe Biden in Goldsboro , Pennsylvania .
“ It ’ s going to take awhile to figure it out .
One of the candidates is going to say , ‘ I want this recounted.
’ ” In fact , the Trump campaign announced Wednesday it planned to immediately request a recount in Wisconsin , where Mr. Biden was up about 20,000 votes .
The former vice president is also leading the popular vote , with more votes than any candidate in U.S. history , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mr. Trump even more difficult for liberal voters to swallow .
From Salem , New Hampshire , to Santa Clarita , California , many voters leaving the polls on Election Day had concerns about the U.S. electoral system in this unusual election , held amid a pandemic .
One of the top logistical problems cited was around mail-in ballots .
Eli Bomer and his wife , who both voted for Mr. Trump , say they have confidence in the election process .
Still , they came in person to vote at Wiley Canyon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time , they say , their absentee ballots were not counted .
Although Democrats more readily embraced mail-in voting , concerns about its reliability reach across the political spectrum .
“ Anything can happen in the mail , ” says Yousef Murden , an African American sheet metal worker with gold sneakers and camo pants outside a Staten Island , New York , polling station where he voted for Mr. Biden .
“ If I actually go vote on my own , I know it ’ s been counted.
” In Pennsylvania , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump – were discarded , while up to 100 deposited in a California ballot box were damaged in an arson attempt .
Then there ’ s the question of how many mail-in ballots might ultimately be invalidated .
Many states have signature-matching requirements , as well as postmark or arrival deadlines and other rules governing what constitutes a valid mailed ballot .
Some of those laws have been challenged or changed on relatively short notice this year , in part due to concerns about in-person voting during a pandemic .
In Texas , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to toss out 127,000 ballots cast at drive-through polling sites failed in state and federal court , Austin voter Dené Cloud said her faith in the electoral process had been shaken by “ people in positions of power trying to use any and every means to disqualify votes.
” Beyond concerns about the administration of the election , many voters are also worried that voters on the other side of the aisle won ’ t accept the results .
A 2019 Pew Research Center survey found that while 53 % of Americans express @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election results no matter who wins , 47 % said they have “ not too much ” or “ no confidence at all.
” “ I don ’ t think it ’ s going to be very pretty if Mr. Trump wins , ” says Veronica Linehan , a New Hampshire voter who says her brother disowned her after she voted for Mr. Trump in 2016 .
“ [ Democrats ] just wouldn ’ t be able to accept it .
It took four years and they still don ’ t accept that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trace that lack of faith to 2016 , or President Barack Obama ’ s first victory in 2008 , or even Mr. Bush ’ s 2000 win , when he captured Florida by just 537 votes after the Supreme Court halted a recount .
John , a voter in Brooklyn , who didn ’ t want to give his last name , says he was hoping for a landslide this year to spare confusion .
But he says he believes civil unrest is inevitable no matter who wins .
He voted for Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president ’ s mishandling of the pandemic – in which he lost three co-workers and extended family , as well as his job – made him change his vote to Mr. Biden , whom he sees as the best candidate to unite a fractured nation .
“ Let ’ s start repairing – regardless of who wins , ” he says .
When both sides think they ’ ve won Twice in U.S. history , no presidential candidate received a majority of electors : the 1800 contest between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jackson and John Quincy Adams in 1824 .
It took months for those elections to be sorted out , says David Greenberg , a presidential historian at Rutgers University in New Jersey .
But a disputed election today comes in the context of building frustration and a widening partisan divide since the Bush versus Gore contest in 2000 .
The closer the election , the more ardent the claims of illegitimacy , says Professor Greenberg .
“ Both sides right now are convinced they ’ re the rightful winners , even though they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” he says .
“ So whichever way it breaks , people are going to be deeply , viscerally convinced that the country has been hijacked.
” Many voters interviewed by the Monitor expressed concern that the situation could spill over into civil unrest , with store owners from Harrisburg , Pennsylvania , to Portland , Oregon , preemptively boarding up their windows after a summer that saw many businesses damaged or looted amid the national protests over racial injustice .
“ If you ’ re burning stuff down , you ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that ’ s what ’ s going to divide the country .
That ’ s what ’ s going to make people not accept election results , ” says Steven Mosley , an African American voter wearing a Republican elephant mask outside a polling station in Alexandria , Virginia .
“ But if you just accept it and go , ‘ OK , well I disagree .
I ’ ll see you again in four years , ’ that will unite the country.
” The narrowly contested election , with possible legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ violence , puts even more pressure on the eventual winner to bring the country together .
“ It ’ s important that the next president be a statesman and appeal to our better angels and try at least to shift our political culture and make it possible for us to talk to each other again , regard each other with goodwill again , because democracy is going to be weakened the further we stray from that ideal , ” says Professor Greenberg .
For those feeling a sense of impending dread about how @ @ @ @ @ @ @ historian Allan Lichtman insists that while there might be a lot of hand-wringing and maybe even some outbreaks of violence , whoever wins the Electoral College will become president – just as in the Bush versus Gore battle .
“ We thought that [ the system was breaking ] in 2000 – and it didn ’ t turn out that way at all , ” says Professor Lichtman , of American University .
“ Bush ... had all the powers and prerogatives of the president and exercised them to the full .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the system worked.
” Christa Case Bryant contributed reporting from New Hampshire , Story Hinckley from Pennsylvania , and Noah Robertson from Virginia .
Staff writers Sarah Matusek contributed reporting from New York , Henry Gass from Texas , and Francine Kiefer from California .

“It’s important that the next president be a statesman and appeal to our better angels and try ... [to] make it possible for us to talk to each other again, regard each other with goodwill again, because democracy is going to be weakened the further we stray from that ideal,” says David Greenberg, a presidential historian at Rutgers University.
A 2019 Pew survey found that while 53% of Americans express confidence that their fellow citizens will accept election results no matter who wins, 47% said they have “not too much” or “no confidence at all.”
Reservoirs of goodwill and trust have been drained over the past two decades by increasing polarization in government, the media, and the public. Dozen of voters interviewed say they still trust the process – they just hope the other side will honor the results.
Amid one of the most logistically challenging and tightly contested elections in years, voters across the country are worried about everything from ballots getting lost to deceptive robocalls that told people to stay home on Election Day. But in dozens of Monitor interviews from Salem, New Hampshire, to Santa Clarita, California, perhaps the clearest refrain was: We don’t trust the other side to accept the results.
How strong is Americans’ trust in the U.S. electoral system? That’s the test the country faces in the coming days and possibly weeks, as election officials and potentially courts work to determine the winner of this year’s presidential election.
Amid one of the most logistically challenging and tightly contested elections in years, voters across the country are worried about everything from ballots getting lost to deceptive robocalls that told people to stay home on Election Day. But for many, their greatest fears have less to do with machines or mechanisms than with their fellow Americans.
“I think that Trump supporters will be more supportive if Biden wins than Biden supporters if Trump wins,” says Tabitha McQuait, standing in a field across from a brick church in Goldsboro, Pennsylvania, where dozens of voters have parked haphazardly in the grass.
“Sadly, I agree,” says her mom, Julie McQuait, echoing concerns voiced by Democrats as well. “Whichever candidate wins, I think the other party is going to take it poorly.”
Why We Wrote This Reservoirs of goodwill and trust have been drained over the past two decades by increasing polarization in government, the media, and the public. Dozen of voters interviewed say they still trust the process – they just hope the other side will honor the results.
“My question is ... why don’t they have an auditing firm like Deloitte or somebody that comes in and oversees us?” asks the elder Ms. McQuait, who works at a local Fortune 500 company. “They oversee the lottery, why shouldn’t they oversee something as important as our country?”
With the presidential race far closer than polls had predicted, and likely to hinge on a few narrowly contested swing states still tallying their ballots, the wait for an official result could test Americans’ trust in the system – and each other – like never before.
In the two decades since the Supreme Court intervened to resolve Florida’s hanging chad controversy and put George W. Bush in the White House, increased political polarization has frayed the nation’s collective sense of trust and goodwill. Amid declining faith in institutions, the media, pollsters, and each other, the possibility of a disputed electoral outcome may only fuel Americans’ sense of suspicion and cynicism.
“One of the things that allows people to accept laws that are made and to accept the decisions made by their leaders is the acceptance that those leaders are there legitimately, whether they voted for them or not,” says Ryan Enos, a professor of government at Harvard University. “It’s really hard for society to function peacefully and for people to trust one another and many other things when they don’t believe that the people that are making laws for them are legitimate.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, both candidates had a potential path to victory. But with outstanding votes in several key states expected to be heavily Democratic, Mr. Biden was seen as in a stronger position to win the needed 270 Electoral College votes, especially after swing state Wisconsin was called for him mid-afternoon. President Donald Trump, who has for months been sowing doubt about the reliability of mass mail-in voting, vowed in a speech in the wee hours of the morning to contest the results in the Supreme Court. (Any legal challenge would have to start in a lower court and be appealed to be considered by the nation’s highest court.)
Pennsylvania – a closely contested state that last year enacted its most sweeping legislation on election administration in 80 years and overhauled voting systems in all 67 counties – could prove particularly messy. A 4-4 Supreme Court ruling on the eve of the election opened the way for the state to extend the deadline for receipt of mail-in votes to Friday, a move Republicans opposed. With recently confirmed Trump nominee Amy Coney Barrett now filling the ninth seat, a fresh case may yield a different decision.
“It’s just going to be just like back in Gore-Bush’s day, I got a feeling,” says Terry Morgan, a dock worker for a trucking company who voted for former Vice President Joe Biden in Goldsboro, Pennsylvania. “It’s going to take awhile to figure it out. One of the candidates is going to say, ‘I want this recounted.’”
In fact, the Trump campaign announced Wednesday it planned to immediately request a recount in Wisconsin, where Mr. Biden was up about 20,000 votes. The former vice president is also leading the popular vote, with more votes than any candidate in U.S. history, which would make an Electoral College win for Mr. Trump even more difficult for liberal voters to swallow.
Voting amid a pandemic
From Salem, New Hampshire, to Santa Clarita, California, many voters leaving the polls on Election Day had concerns about the U.S. electoral system in this unusual election, held amid a pandemic.
One of the top logistical problems cited was around mail-in ballots.
Eli Bomer and his wife, who both voted for Mr. Trump, say they have confidence in the election process. Still, they came in person to vote at Wiley Canyon Elementary School in Santa Clarita because last time, they say, their absentee ballots were not counted.
Although Democrats more readily embraced mail-in voting, concerns about its reliability reach across the political spectrum.
Sarah Matusek/The Christian Science Monitor View caption Hide caption New Yorker Yousef Murden, a sheet metal worker, chose to vote for Joe Biden in person on Election Day. "Anything can happen in the mail," says Mr. Murden outside a Staten Island polling station. "If I actually go vote on my own, I know it's been counted."
“Anything can happen in the mail,” says Yousef Murden, an African American sheet metal worker with gold sneakers and camo pants outside a Staten Island, New York, polling station where he voted for Mr. Biden. “If I actually go vote on my own, I know it’s been counted.”
In Pennsylvania, nine military ballots – all for Mr. Trump – were discarded, while up to 100 deposited in a California ballot box were damaged in an arson attempt. Then there’s the question of how many mail-in ballots might ultimately be invalidated.
Many states have signature-matching requirements, as well as postmark or arrival deadlines and other rules governing what constitutes a valid mailed ballot. Some of those laws have been challenged or changed on relatively short notice this year, in part due to concerns about in-person voting during a pandemic.
Henry Gass/The Christian Science Monitor View caption Hide caption Madeleine Johnson (left) and her mother, Krystin, hold the 1,000 cookies they baked for poll workers at the Pioneer Farms polling site in Austin, Texas, Nov. 3, 2020. While they trust the pandemic-altered voting process, they both said they're worried ballots won't be fairly counted.
In Texas, where a legal challenge by four Republicans to toss out 127,000 ballots cast at drive-through polling sites failed in state and federal court, Austin voter Dené Cloud said her faith in the electoral process had been shaken by “people in positions of power trying to use any and every means to disqualify votes.”
Beyond concerns about the administration of the election, many voters are also worried that voters on the other side of the aisle won’t accept the results. A 2019 Pew Research Center survey found that while 53% of Americans express confidence that their fellow citizens will accept election results no matter who wins, 47% said they have “not too much” or “no confidence at all.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be very pretty if Mr. Trump wins,” says Veronica Linehan, a New Hampshire voter who says her brother disowned her after she voted for Mr. Trump in 2016. “[Democrats] just wouldn’t be able to accept it. It took four years and they still don’t accept that he’s president.”
Some experts trace that lack of faith to 2016, or President Barack Obama’s first victory in 2008, or even Mr. Bush’s 2000 win, when he captured Florida by just 537 votes after the Supreme Court halted a recount.
John, a voter in Brooklyn, who didn’t want to give his last name, says he was hoping for a landslide this year to spare confusion. But he says he believes civil unrest is inevitable no matter who wins. He voted for Mr. Trump in 2016, but says the president’s mishandling of the pandemic – in which he lost three co-workers and extended family, as well as his job – made him change his vote to Mr. Biden, whom he sees as the best candidate to unite a fractured nation. “Let’s start repairing – regardless of who wins,” he says.
When both sides think they’ve won
Twice in U.S. history, no presidential candidate received a majority of electors: the 1800 contest between Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, and the four-way runoff with Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams in 1824. It took months for those elections to be sorted out, says David Greenberg, a presidential historian at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
But a disputed election today comes in the context of building frustration and a widening partisan divide since the Bush versus Gore contest in 2000. The closer the election, the more ardent the claims of illegitimacy, says Professor Greenberg.
“Both sides right now are convinced they’re the rightful winners, even though they don’t know for sure,” he says. “So whichever way it breaks, people are going to be deeply, viscerally convinced that the country has been hijacked.”
Many voters interviewed by the Monitor expressed concern that the situation could spill over into civil unrest, with store owners from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Portland, Oregon, preemptively boarding up their windows after a summer that saw many businesses damaged or looted amid the national protests over racial injustice.
“If you’re burning stuff down, you’re looting, you’re hurting people, that’s what’s going to divide the country. That’s what’s going to make people not accept election results,” says Steven Mosley, an African American voter wearing a Republican elephant mask outside a polling station in Alexandria, Virginia. “But if you just accept it and go, ‘OK, well I disagree. I’ll see you again in four years,’ that will unite the country.”
The narrowly contested election, with possible legal challenges and concerns about the potential for violence, puts even more pressure on the eventual winner to bring the country together.
“It’s important that the next president be a statesman and appeal to our better angels and try at least to shift our political culture and make it possible for us to talk to each other again, regard each other with goodwill again, because democracy is going to be weakened the further we stray from that ideal,” says Professor Greenberg.
For those feeling a sense of impending dread about how this all may play out, presidential historian Allan Lichtman insists that while there might be a lot of hand-wringing and maybe even some outbreaks of violence, whoever wins the Electoral College will become president – just as in the Bush versus Gore battle.
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“We thought that [the system was breaking] in 2000 – and it didn’t turn out that way at all,” says Professor Lichtman, of American University. “Bush ... had all the powers and prerogatives of the president and exercised them to the full. There was some griping and groaning, but the system worked.”
Christa Case Bryant contributed reporting from New Hampshire, Story Hinckley from Pennsylvania, and Noah Robertson from Virginia. Staff writers Sarah Matusek contributed reporting from New York, Henry Gass from Texas, and Francine Kiefer from California.


csmonitor--2020-11-04--Want to prevent wildfires? Try getting someone's goat.

It ’ s a good bargain , too , says Fire Marshal James Brown , who says that the city spends $ 250,000 a year on the goats – about a quarter of the cost of the far-less-efficient human brush-clearing .
To place a value on what the goats can do , he says half-jokingly , would be to peruse Zillow and tally up the total value of homes that haven ’ t burned down .
Goatherd Agotilio Moreno ’ s 300 goats play a key role in the city ’ s fire prevention strategy , munching on the combustible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ old art colony .
And he knows his trade : Mr. Moreno says he can gauge the “ softness ” of dirt and how unstable a hill is before cloven hooves and munching can disrupt it enough to create bare spots that could erode , or , worse , slide .
He knows how steep a hill a goat can handle before taking a tumble over a precipice .
To protect their multimillion-dollar homes from the state ’ s ferocious wildfires , residents of Laguna Beach , California , turn to a solution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : goat herding .
When the balmy breezes off the Pacific turn tail before the hot Santa Ana winds that bring conditions for wildfires , Agotilio Moreno ’ s 300 goats become very serious – but cute – talismans of hope .
Murmurs of dread floated through this old art colony recently when the Silverado wildfire erupted 20 miles away , on the other side of the 900-foot-high wilderness area that isolates the 6-mile-long beach town from the rest of Orange County .
But Mr. Moreno ’ s goats dotting the steep hillsides @ @ @ @ @ @ @ defense that officials and residents take seriously : “ fuel reduction ” – also known as voracious grazing with nimble lips and grinding teeth .
The goats have been working nearly 24 hours a day since March , clearing 90 % of the biomass wherever Mr. Moreno pens them with portable electric fencing .
While the goats are aimed at grasses – wildfire kindling that combusts fast and furiously – misfires happen .
They particularly love flowers , and have been known to break bonds and feast on a homeowner ’ s expensive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in fending off fires , says city Fire Marshal James Brown , goats are an important tool in fire prevention here .
“ When a wildland fire hits , [ goat fuel reduction ] can be the difference between a neighborhood surviving or not , or [ firefighters ’ ] ability to get in or not get in.
” Wildfires can spark unusual alarm because of their unpredictability and uncontrollable power .
So when something as simple as a lone goatherd and his flock can eliminate what stokes those fires , it feels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wildfire here 27 years ago last week , says Mr. Brown , it was not lost on observers that in the area where a small herd of goats had been located , no adjacent homes were lost ; but 400 homes were leveled in other areas untreated by goats .
To place a value on what the goats can do , he says half-jokingly , would be to peruse Zillow for the total value of homes in Laguna Beach – a notoriously high-price real-estate market – that have not burned down .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t even to mention the emotional toll exacted from the residents who didn ’ t lose homes , but who had to flee barefoot and empty-handed .
The city spends about $ 250,000 a year for Mr. Moreno – a contractor from a large Basque-run sheep-and-goat ranch in Riverside – to herd his goats over about 250 acres of open land .
“ Pound for pound , it ’ s hard to beat the goats , ” Mr. Brown says , noting that human brush-clearing and grass-clearing , which is not as thorough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ annually .
Mr. Brown speaks the language of fire science – BTUs and flame length and geology and topography .
Certain grasses are “ flashy , ” he says , and can “ pyrolyze a burn in half a second.
” In other words , it explodes ; and creates flame lengths of 30 to 80 feet – the kind that can shoot out horizontally and consume a car in an instant .
These grasses and mustard plants that can grow 10 feet tall in the hills here are what he hires Mr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ areas next to homes .
Mr. Moreno , on the other hand , speaks in the calculus of experience herding in the Peruvian Andes province of Huancayo .
He says he can gauge the “ softness ” of dirt and how unstable a hill is before cloven hooves and munching can disrupt it enough to create bare spots that could erode , or , worse , slide .
He knows how steep a hill a goat can handle before taking a tumble over a precipice .
The goatherd has lived a humble existence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and college-educated daughters for 21 years .
He nomadically moves his trailer around the edges of neighborhoods , parking alongside homes with soaring multimillion dollar views of the ocean and canyons .
And yet , while he says he savors this place , with the sounds of the ocean waves that echo up into the hills and the smell of wild sage and rosemary , he adds with palpable melancholy that he doesn ’ t really know anyone here .
But , ironically , he is known .
Particularly now , in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extremes , hundreds of passing mountain bikers , soccer dads in Teslas taking canyon bends at high speed , power-walking moms , and nature-exploring school kids , can identify him and what he does to defend their community .

It’s a good bargain, too, says Fire Marshal James Brown, who says that the city spends $250,000 a year on the goats – about a quarter of the cost of the far-less-efficient human brush-clearing. To place a value on what the goats can do, he says half-jokingly, would be to peruse Zillow and tally up the total value of homes that haven’t burned down.
As officials increasingly rely on high-tech solutions like drones and thermal imaging to prevent wildfires, one community has turned to a decidedly old-school method for protecting their homes.
Goatherd Agotilio Moreno’s 300 goats play a key role in the city’s fire prevention strategy, munching on the combustible grasses that cover the hillsides of this old art colony. And he knows his trade: Mr. Moreno says he can gauge the “softness” of dirt and how unstable a hill is before cloven hooves and munching can disrupt it enough to create bare spots that could erode, or, worse, slide. He knows how steep a hill a goat can handle before taking a tumble over a precipice.
To protect their multimillion-dollar homes from the state’s ferocious wildfires, residents of Laguna Beach, California, turn to a solution that is as old as the hills: goat herding.
When the balmy breezes off the Pacific turn tail before the hot Santa Ana winds that bring conditions for wildfires, Agotilio Moreno’s 300 goats become very serious – but cute – talismans of hope.
Murmurs of dread floated through this old art colony recently when the Silverado wildfire erupted 20 miles away, on the other side of the 900-foot-high wilderness area that isolates the 6-mile-long beach town from the rest of Orange County. But Mr. Moreno’s goats dotting the steep hillsides here are a cheerful part of fire defense that officials and residents take seriously: “fuel reduction” – also known as voracious grazing with nimble lips and grinding teeth.
The goats have been working nearly 24 hours a day since March, clearing 90% of the biomass wherever Mr. Moreno pens them with portable electric fencing. While the goats are aimed at grasses – wildfire kindling that combusts fast and furiously – misfires happen. They particularly love flowers, and have been known to break bonds and feast on a homeowner’s expensive landscaping.
Why We Wrote This As officials increasingly rely on high-tech solutions like drones and thermal imaging to prevent wildfires, one community has turned to a decidedly old-school method for protecting their homes.
If anything has proven helpful in fending off fires, says city Fire Marshal James Brown, goats are an important tool in fire prevention here. “When a wildland fire hits, [goat fuel reduction] can be the difference between a neighborhood surviving or not, or [firefighters’] ability to get in or not get in.”
Wildfires can spark unusual alarm because of their unpredictability and uncontrollable power. So when something as simple as a lone goatherd and his flock can eliminate what stokes those fires, it feels somehow right.
Clara Germani/The Christian Science Monitor View caption Hide caption Mr. Moreno's goats are part of the "fuel reduction" program to shear hillsides of grasses that provide dangerous kindling for wildfires. Last week marked the 27th anniversary of an epic wildfire that destroyed more than 400 Laguna Beach homes.
After the legendary 1993 wildfire here 27 years ago last week, says Mr. Brown, it was not lost on observers that in the area where a small herd of goats had been located, no adjacent homes were lost; but 400 homes were leveled in other areas untreated by goats.
To place a value on what the goats can do, he says half-jokingly, would be to peruse Zillow for the total value of homes in Laguna Beach – a notoriously high-price real-estate market – that have not burned down. And that, he adds, isn’t even to mention the emotional toll exacted from the residents who didn’t lose homes, but who had to flee barefoot and empty-handed.
The city spends about $250,000 a year for Mr. Moreno – a contractor from a large Basque-run sheep-and-goat ranch in Riverside – to herd his goats over about 250 acres of open land. “Pound for pound, it’s hard to beat the goats,” Mr. Brown says, noting that human brush-clearing and grass-clearing, which is not as thorough, costs the city $1 million annually.
Mr. Brown speaks the language of fire science – BTUs and flame length and geology and topography. Certain grasses are “flashy,” he says, and can “pyrolyze a burn in half a second.” In other words, it explodes; and creates flame lengths of 30 to 80 feet – the kind that can shoot out horizontally and consume a car in an instant. These grasses and mustard plants that can grow 10 feet tall in the hills here are what he hires Mr. Moreno and his goats to eliminate in areas next to homes.
Mr. Moreno, on the other hand, speaks in the calculus of experience herding in the Peruvian Andes province of Huancayo. He says he can gauge the “softness” of dirt and how unstable a hill is before cloven hooves and munching can disrupt it enough to create bare spots that could erode, or, worse, slide. He knows how steep a hill a goat can handle before taking a tumble over a precipice.
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The goatherd has lived a humble existence away from his wife and three now-adult and college-educated daughters for 21 years. He nomadically moves his trailer around the edges of neighborhoods, parking alongside homes with soaring multimillion dollar views of the ocean and canyons. And yet, while he says he savors this place, with the sounds of the ocean waves that echo up into the hills and the smell of wild sage and rosemary, he adds with palpable melancholy that he doesn’t really know anyone here.
But, ironically, he is known. Particularly now, in the pandemic that has driven everyone to outdoor extremes, hundreds of passing mountain bikers, soccer dads in Teslas taking canyon bends at high speed, power-walking moms, and nature-exploring school kids, can identify him and what he does to defend their community.


csmonitor--2020-11-04--The graft-busting uses of COVID-19 aid

The graft-busting uses of COVID-19 aid

With only a tenth of the world ’ s population , Latin America has seen more than a third of the deaths from COVID-19 .
This has put a spotlight on the region ’ s inability to curb the coronavirus or deal with the economic hardship .
Experts say per capita income in Latin America will take longer than any other region to return to pre-pandemic levels .
The economic climb back , however , will require more than money .
Outside creditors have put the region on notice that any aid to lift livelihoods must also lift financial integrity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the norm .
In June , for example , Guatemala received $ 594 million from the International Monetary Fund for emergency assistance – but only after the country ’ s leaders agreed to use the money “ effectively , transparently , and through reinforced governance mechanisms.
” Guatemala is not alone .
So far this year , the IMF has disbursed $ 17 billion to Africa , or more than 10 times than usual .
The aid comes with a string attached requiring transparency in spending the money .
A similar amount of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nations but only after assurances that they fight corruption .
In all , the IMF has provided about $ 100 billion of emergency funds to more than 80 countries to help them cope with the pandemic ’ s fallout .
As one of the world ’ s most corrupt countries , Guatemala is a good case for outside pressure .
From 2006 to 2019 , it was a global example in how to fight corruption .
An activist attorney general and a United Nations-backed commission against impunity were able to oust a corrupt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But the effort fell apart when a new president , Jimmy Morales , came under investigation himself .
Last year he eliminated the commission and forced the attorney general , Thelma Aldana , into exile .
Now a rise in corruption there has irked the Trump administration , which had largely ignored President Morales ’ takedown of the anti-graft efforts .
Last month , it took action against the vice president of the country ’ s Congress and a former congresswoman by suspending their access to the United States .
The two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of law in Guatemala , ” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo .
“ These designations reaffirm the commitment of the United States to combating corruption in Guatemala .
We stand with the Guatemalan people in this fight , ” said Mr. Pompeo ’ s statement .
The pandemic has worsened corruption in many countries , especially through embezzlement of money aimed at fighting the virus and restoring economic health .
But big creditors like the IMF and aid-giving nations like the U.S. can step up and tie their money to curbing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ curing COVID-19 and its impact as much as lockdowns , vaccines , and financial aid .

With only a tenth of the world’s population, Latin America has seen more than a third of the deaths from COVID-19. This has put a spotlight on the region’s inability to curb the coronavirus or deal with the economic hardship. Experts say per capita income in Latin America will take longer than any other region to return to pre-pandemic levels.
The economic climb back, however, will require more than money. Outside creditors have put the region on notice that any aid to lift livelihoods must also lift financial integrity in government. Corruption cannot remain the norm.
In June, for example, Guatemala received $594 million from the International Monetary Fund for emergency assistance – but only after the country’s leaders agreed to use the money “effectively, transparently, and through reinforced governance mechanisms.” Guatemala is not alone. So far this year, the IMF has disbursed $17 billion to Africa, or more than 10 times than usual. The aid comes with a string attached requiring transparency in spending the money.
A similar amount of funding has gone to 14 Middle East nations but only after assurances that they fight corruption. In all, the IMF has provided about $100 billion of emergency funds to more than 80 countries to help them cope with the pandemic’s fallout.
As one of the world’s most corrupt countries, Guatemala is a good case for outside pressure. From 2006 to 2019, it was a global example in how to fight corruption. An activist attorney general and a United Nations-backed commission against impunity were able to oust a corrupt president and dismantle some 60 criminal structures. But the effort fell apart when a new president, Jimmy Morales, came under investigation himself. Last year he eliminated the commission and forced the attorney general, Thelma Aldana, into exile.
Now a rise in corruption there has irked the Trump administration, which had largely ignored President Morales’ takedown of the anti-graft efforts. Last month, it took action against the vice president of the country’s Congress and a former congresswoman by suspending their access to the United States. The two political figures had “undermined the rule of law in Guatemala,” said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
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“These designations reaffirm the commitment of the United States to combating corruption in Guatemala. We stand with the Guatemalan people in this fight,” said Mr. Pompeo’s statement.
The pandemic has worsened corruption in many countries, especially through embezzlement of money aimed at fighting the virus and restoring economic health. But big creditors like the IMF and aid-giving nations like the U.S. can step up and tie their money to curbing graft. Honesty in governance contributes to curing COVID-19 and its impact as much as lockdowns, vaccines, and financial aid.