US election: USA awaits election results – no major incidents

After a heated and sometimes aggressive election campaign, millions of people in the USA are voting on the country’s future course. The presidential election between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump initially went ahead without any major incidents.

Both candidates appeared confident despite the neck-and-neck race expected according to polls. Citizens also vote for the House of Representatives and about a third of the seats in the U.S. Senate. Election results are not expected until Wednesday German time. Who ultimately wins the presidential election could only be known in a few days.

Trump votes in Florida

Trump voted in Palm Beach, Florida, near his home. “I’m very confident. We went in with a very big lead,” he told reporters. The outcome of the election will be anything but close, he predicted. Polls, on the other hand, predict a very close race. Trump came to the polling station with his wife Melania.

Harris: Dinner at home

After months of grueling and acrimonious campaigning, Vice President Harris is spending part of Election Day at her residence in the US capital Washington. The 60-year-old told radio station KDKA that she wanted to have dinner at home with her family and later go to a democratic election party at her former university. “I will be at my alma mater, Howard University,” Harris said.

Choice of fate with huge significance

There is a lot at stake in the election: the domestic political stability of the USA as well as the already shaky balance of world politics. Democrat Harris could become the first woman to lead the United States. Trump could move back into the White House after being voted out four years ago. In terms of content, Biden’s 60-year-old vice president stands for continuity and a stable foreign policy for the world power. The ex-president, on the other hand, is proud of his unpredictable and aggressive course.

FBI traces bomb threats to Russia

The outcome of the election was awaited not only with excitement, but also with concern about possible riots. Security precautions were ramped up across the country – but initially there were only isolated incidents.

In the meantime, bomb threats disrupted voting, including in the particularly hotly contested “swing state” of Georgia. The US Federal Police FBI saw a lead to Russia: “The FBI is aware of bomb threats against polling stations in several states, many of which appear to come from Russian email domains. So far, none of the threats have been classified as credible,” it said in a message. US secret services warned on Monday that Russia could try, as in previous days, to influence the vote. The FBI also warned of manipulated videos that allegedly came from the US Federal Police. One talks about the threat of terrorism at polling stations and asks Americans to vote by postal vote. Another video is about alleged election fraud by inmates of five prisons, it said. Both videos are not authentic, the authority said.

Smell of gasoline: man arrested at US Capitol

At the US Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, police arrested a man who smelled of gasoline and was carrying a flare gun. The Capitol Police announced this on the X platform. The man was noticed during the security check. There will no longer be any tours in the visitor center during the investigation. The Capitol in the US capital is the seat of Congress, i.e. the two chambers of the US Parliament. The House of Representatives and the Senate are located there.

Trump: Supporters are not violent

Many Americans fear violent incidents surrounding the election. Trump responded to a question saying that he did not expect his supporters to riot. “Of course there will be no violence,” he said. He doesn’t have to tell his supporters this explicitly. “My supporters are not violent people,” said the 78-year-old. He doesn’t want violence either. In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly sowed doubts about the integrity of the election and spoken of alleged fraud by the Democrats. Trump never acknowledged his 2020 election defeat. On January 6, 2021, he instead incited his supporters with unsubstantiated claims that the election victory had been stolen from him through massive fraud. A violent mob then stormed the Capitol, where Democrat Joe Biden’s victory was to be formally confirmed. As a result of the riots, five people died.

The US President is not directly elected by the people. The votes of the voters decide on the composition of the electoral college, which then elects the president in December. Each state has a certain number of votes, which is roughly based on the number of inhabitants.

When it comes to elections, the principle applies in almost all states that the candidate who wins there receives the votes of all the electors in the state. To get into the White House, a candidate ultimately doesn’t need the absolute most votes (“popular vote”), but rather the majority of the 538 voters – at least 270.

First result: tie at Dixville Notch

The first decision was made at midnight (local time) on election day. In the small village of Dixville Notch in the state of New Hampshire, only six voters voted – so the counting was quick. A stalemate was announced on a handwritten board: three votes each for Harris and three for Trump.

Many voters cast their votes before election day. According to the “Election Lab” at the University of Florida, around 83 million US citizens voted by mail or at polling stations that were open in advance. This corresponds to more than half of the total votes cast in the presidential election in 2020.