As U.S. election polls begin to close, voters say these are top issues

The economy, migration and the authorities of ideology were among the apical issues driving Americans to the polls Tuesday to ballot successful the contention betwixt U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, according to exit polls successful the U.S. election.

Preliminary exit canvass results for the Associated Press, CNN, NBC and different large U.S. media outlets were released hours earlier the archetypal polls were acceptable to adjacent successful the highly-consequential election that volition find power of the White House and Congress.

Those exit polls besides showed a highly anxious electorate, with ample majorities of voters surveyed expressing antagonistic views of the existent authorities of the country.

About three-quarters of voters surveyed successful the AP VoteCast, CNN, NBC News, and ABC News exit polls said they were disappointed and adjacent aggravated astir however things were going successful the country. Yet CNN’s canvass noted that implicit 60 per cent of respondents judge “America’s champion days are successful the future.”

The exit polls recovered betwixt 3 and 4 successful 10 voters ranked system arsenic their apical contented successful this election, followed by astir 20 per cent who said immigration. Between 10 and 20 per cent said termination was their fig 1 issue.

Yet the aforesaid polls each recovered the aboriginal of ideology outweighed each those issues arsenic a motivator for voting. Across each exit poll, much than a 3rd to fractional of voters said ideology was the azygous astir important factor.

Tens of millions of Americans connected Tuesday added their ballots to the 84 cardinal formed aboriginal arsenic they chose betwixt 2 candidates with drastically antithetic temperaments and visions for the country. Those casting Election Day ballots mostly encountered a creaseless process, with isolated reports of hiccups that regularly happen, including agelong lines, method issues and ballot printing errors.

Multiple weaponry threats reported astatine polling places successful captious states similar Georgia were deemed to beryllium hoaxes emanating from Russian email accounts, according to the FBI.

Turnout is expected to beryllium precocious and could interruption the grounds acceptable successful the 2020 election, erstwhile implicit 66 per cent of eligible voters formed a ballot.

The highly adjacent contention is expected to travel down to 7 battleground oregon plaything states that volition determine the victor of the Electoral College, which is utilized to elite the U.S. president. Trump and Harris person focused astir of their clip campaigning successful those states, peculiarly Pennsylvania but besides Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin, Arizona, North Carolina and Nevada.

A effect whitethorn not beryllium declared Tuesday night owed to however adjacent the contention is and however agelong it could instrumentality to number millions of mail-in ballots, which successful immoderate states could not beryllium opened until Election Day. In 2020, which saw a steep summation successful mail-in voting owed to the COVID-19 pandemic that overwhelmed immoderate counting stations, a victor was not declared until 4 days later.

Harris stands to beryllium the archetypal pistillate president if elected and has promised to enactment crossed the aisle to tackle economical worries and different issues without radically departing from the people acceptable by U.S. President Joe Biden. Trump has vowed to regenerate thousands of national workers with loyalists, enforce sweeping tariffs connected each overseas imports, and signifier the largest deportation cognition successful U.S. history.

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Either effect would person large implications for Canada, peculiarly connected the economy and immigration but besides on overseas policy.

Canada is besides bracing for the anticipation of unrest and unit successful the days pursuing the vote.

Trump, who has often dispersed mendacious claims that helium won the 2020 statesmanlike predetermination and whose supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021, posted claims of “cheating” successful Pennsylvania without grounds connected his Truth Social media relationship arsenic voting continued Tuesday.

In response, Pennsylvania District Attorney Larry Krasner said determination is “no factual ground whatsoever wrong instrumentality enforcement to enactment this chaotic allegation.”

“If Donald J. Trump has immoderate facts to enactment his chaotic allegations, we privation them now. Right now. We are not holding our breath,” Krasner said successful a connection provided by his office.

Harris, who had earlier sent successful her ballot by message to her location authorities of California, spent immoderate of Tuesday successful vigor interviews encouraging listeners to vote.

National exit canvass results supply an important model into the reasoning of the nation, but whitethorn not straight align with the 7 battleground states expected to determine the statesmanlike election.

Exit polls seizure variations among turnout successful assorted demographic groups, specified arsenic men vs. women voters oregon college-educated vs. non-college educated voters, and tin supply insights into however turnout has changed from past elections.

One cardinal vantage of exit polls is each the radical surveyed are radical who formed ballots successful this election.

—with files from the Associated Press and Reuters