Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are neck-and-neck across seven battleground states that can swing in favor of either candidate, latest surveys say.
Washington: With only a few days to go before the US presidential elections, voters are set to elect their representative between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on November 5. In-person voting for the presidential election began on September 20 after a summer of political heat.
Early votes hit a record high in the US major battleground state of Georgia as a big proportion of voters have already made up their minds on key issues and who to vote for. As many as 2.15 million, among 7.2 million active voters in total, have cast their ballots in the Peach State's early voting this week, according to data issued by the Election Lab with the University of Florida as well as the Georgia Secretary of State.
Georgia also saw a record turnout of voters on the first day of early voting, which lasts from October 15 to November 1, shortly before the election is held on November 5. Though voters' first priorities vary, especially between urban and rural people, the cost of living is seen as the most common concern in the voters' minds.
In the latest interview with NBC News, Vice-President Kamala Harris said she is prepared if her opponent Trump declares victory in the presidential election before all ballots are counted. "We will deal with election night and the days after as they come, and we have the resources and the expertise and the focus on that as well," Harris was quoted as saying.
In the hours after election day in 2020, Trump falsely declared himself the winner in the race against Biden, while votes were still being counted. The election was not decided until days later. He currently faces allegations that he pressured officials to reverse the 2020 results and knowingly spread lies about election fraud. When asked if the Harris team had considered a similar scenario on election day next month, the vice president responded, "Of course".
"This is a person, Donald Trump, who tried to undo a free and fair election, who still denies the will of the people, who incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol... this is a serious matter," she said.
Harris also was asked whether the US is ready for a woman of color to be its next president. “Absolutely. I think part of what is important in this election is not only turning the page but closing the page and the chapter on an era that suggests that Americans are divided.”
"I'm clearly a woman. The point that most people really care about is, can you do the job and do you have a plan to actually focus on them. I will never assume that anyone in our country should elect a leader based on their gender or their race, instead that that leader needs to earn the vote based on substance and what they will do to address challenges," she noted.
