·
The
most divisive, bitter and fascinating presidential election in living memory ends on Tuesday
·
Both
candidates will vote in New York with Donald Trump in
Manhattan and Hillary Clinton in Westchester
·
Tiny
New Hampshire town of Dixville Notch voted in favor of Hillary 4-2 at
midnight EST
·
Long
lines of people began gathering before polling stations opened on the East
Coast on Tuesday morning
·
Hillary
Clinton and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, voted early Tuesday in
Chappaqua, New York
·
Clinton's
running mate Tim Kaine and Donald Trump's son Eric also voted early
Tuesday
· Tracking polls show Trump with a lead of a few
percentage points over Clinton in the final hours of the race
By DAVID MARTOSKO, U.S. POLITICAL EDITOR and GEOFF EARLE, DEPUTY U.S. POLITICAL
EDITOR and CHRIS SPARGO FOR BE INFORMED
PUBLISHED: 09:59 GMT, 8 November 2016 | UPDATED: 15:49 GMT, 8 November 2016
The most divisive,
fascinating, embittering and dramatic presidential election campaign in recent
memory came to an end in the wee hours of Tuesday. Now America votes.
More than 200 million
people are eligible to cast ballots, finally deciding between Hillary Clinton
and Donald Trump.
Trump, a billionaire
first-time candidate whose political debut was initially seen as a circus act,
bested 16 other Republicans for the right to face Clinton, who has lived and
breathed campaigns and elections for more than 40 years.
On Tuesday morning most
polling places on the East Coast were already reporting that voters were
waiting over an hour to vote.
Hillary Clinton was one
of the first in line on Tuesday morning as she and her husband, former
president Bill Clinton, voted in Chappaqua, New York.
Also voting early on
Tuesday was Clinton's vice presidential pick Tim Kaine, who brought his
mother Mary with him to his Virginia polling station.
Eric Trump also cast his
vote on Tuesday and shared a photo of his filled out ballot, which is
technically illegal in the state of New York.
Most tracking polls show
Trump leading Clinton but just a few percentage points heading into the final
hours of the election.
 |
| Early dawn: Voters in Arlington, Virginia wait to vote before their polling station opens on Tuesday |
 |
| High turnouts: Voters fill out their forms and wait to vote at a polling station in the Brooklyn borough of New York |
 |
| Lines grew longer once the polling places began to open in Virginia on Tuesday morning |
 |
| Crowds: Voters in Brooklyn, New York line-up outside a polling station on Tuesday morning as they prepare to cast their vote |
 |
| Signs for the many candidates and ballot questions line the sidewalk outside a Virginia polling station |
 |
| Braving the cold: Voters in Boston line-up in close to freezing temperatures to wait and cast their votes on Tuesday |
 |
| New York voters stand outside Trump Place in New York City on Tuesday morning waiting to cast their ballot, with one of Donald's buildings also being an official polling station |
 |
| Picture perfect: A voter in Brooklyn takes a selfie with their child before casting their vote in the election |
 |
| The USC/LA Times Daybreak tracking poll shows Trump leading Clinton by three percentage points, 46.8% - 43.6%, which is less than the lead of six percentage points he had at one point over the summer |
 |
| The CNN electoral college prediction after it fell under 270 - with North Carolina, Florida and New Hampshire not just in play but being visited by both candidates at the last minute gives Donald Trump a narrow path to victory and the White House |
The USC/LA Times Daybreak tracking poll shows Trump leading Clinton by three percentage
points, 46.8% - 43.6%, which is less than the lead of six percentage
points he had at one point over the summer.
In a four-way race, the IBD/TIPP presidential tracking poll shows Trump with a two-point lead over
Clinton, 45% to 43&, with Gary Johnson getting 7% and Jill Stein 2%.
When Stein and Johnson
are taken out of the equation, it is Clinton who leaded trump by a percentage
point in that poll.
Trump real estate tycoon
has built a devoted following of tens of millions, including large numbers of
Americans who have never voted before.
Along the way he angered
some in the Republican Party establishment who saw him as a reckless
insult-generator destined to alienate large swaths of the American
electorate.
Clinton and her
800-strong campaign team stitched together an agenda that was unremarkable for
a typical Democrat, save for a leftward tilt brought about during an
unexpectedly strong primary challenge from Senator Bernie Sanders.
She pledged to raise the
minimum wage, provide paid medical leave, build infrastructure, and try to
reform the nation's immigration system.
But with Republicans
likely to keep control of Congress, one of her chief requisite challenges will
be to play defense and protect Obama's legacy from continued GOP attacks –
while protecting her own administration from investigations that Republicans
have already telegraphed.
Clinton pulled off an
organized, scripted, and visually stunning convention that whipped up the party
faithful, tended to interest groups – and crystalized concerns about Trump’s
anti-immigrant appeals and a proposed Muslim immigration ban with a passionate
speech by a Gold Star father whose son died in Iraq.
 |
| Big day: An emotional Hillary Clinton was seen as she head in to cast her vote in Chappaqua, New York (above) |
 |
| The couple that votes together...: Hillary was joined by husband Bill as she made her way into their polling station |
 |
| Weighing the options: Bill Clinton with his glasses on takes a look at the ballot on Tuesday while Hillary fills her in to the right |
 |
| Right hand woman: Huma Abedin also joined the Clintons as they cast their vote on Thursday, dressed in a unique outfit for the big day |
 |
| Rock the vote: Tim Kaine cast his ballot Tuesday morning with his mother Mary in Virginia (above) |
 |
| Kaine said in an interview on Thursday morning that he believes Clinton has a good shot at winning what he calls the 'checkmate' states like North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Florida |
 |
| Eric and Lara Trump posted a photo of themselves after voting on Tuesday at their polling station in New York |
 |
| Proud son: Eric also shared a photo of his ballot after casting his vote in New York on Tuesday (above) |
 |
| Every vote counts: Libertarian vice presidential candidate Bill Weld gets instructions before casting his vote in Canton, Massachusetts |
 |
| Picking his replacement: Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden prepare to cast their votes in Delaware |
 |
| Ta-da: Chris Christie voted first thing Tuesday morning in New Jersey with very little fanfare |
Trump, who crushed
Republican opponents through improvised and slashing attacks, immediately
engaged, staging a Twitter and TV war with Khizr Khan in an unorthodox moves
that caused a media frenzy but failed to appeal to centrist voters he
needed.
Trump gave his enemies
ammunition by repeating more than 500 times a pledge that as president he would
wall off America from Mexico, stemming the flow of narcotics and human chattel
while defending the border from an unchecked flood of immigrants with no legal
right to be in the U.S.
More damaging still was
a series of episodes that angered feminists and other powerful women in a year
when Trump was running against America's would-be first female president.
His candidacy brought
women out of the woodwork to accuse him of sexual misconduct of varying
severity, including one woman who sued him for an alleged teen rape – and then
withdrew the case when her story fell apart.
 |
| Getting out there: Voters in Phoenix line up before their polling station is open to prepare to cast their vote |
 |
| Lengthy process: The line to vote at one polling station in Manhattan's Upper West Side stretched three city blocks |
 |
| Midwest measures: Local residents cast their ballots in the general election in precinct 39 at the First Church of the Open Bible in Des Moines, Iowa |
 |
| Worth the wait: People voting at Congress Elementary School in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Tuesday morning |
 |
| Waiting their turn: Residents of New Orleans waiting in line to cast their vote on Tuesday morning |
 |
| Setting up shop: A clerk gets ready to receive voters inside a polling station in Christmas, Florida (above) |
 |
| Decided voter: In Florida, voters line up in Christmas to cast their ballot on Tuesday morning |
 |
| Helping hand: Kirsten Bosch, of Des Moines, Iowa, gets help from her six-year old daughter Parker while filling out her ballot |
 |
| Thumbs up: Kirk Redmann of Louisiana finishes casting his ballot at St. Dominic's School on Tuesday |
Trump denied every
charge, calling his accusers rank opportunists who sought 15 minutes of fame.
Some, he said, were Democratic plants, and others were cashing in.
He had a harder time
explaining a hot-mic audio recording from a 2005 taping of 'Access Hollywood,'
in which he was recorded lewdly describing the ease with which famous men could
sexually assault women in their orbits.
Through it all, Trump's
campaign crowds grew, with his reality-show star power outdrawing every other
candidate in both parties.
Trump's massive media
exposure created both fans and detractors, hardening positions on both ends of
the political spectrum – and inside the GOP, where 'NeverTrump' Republicans
pledged not to support him even at the cost of delivering the White House to a
second Clinton.
Ultimately Trump won
over most of his party's establishment as he lent his charisma to fundraising
events that benefited conservative candidates in other races.
But more importantly, an
army of torch-bearing, pitchfork-wielding 'Trumpkins,' as his political enemies
styled them, embraced his rough edges as signs of solidarity.
 |
| Hillary Clinton, pictured second left, was joined on stage in the early hours of this morning with her daughter Chelsea, left, and musicians Jon Bon Jovi and Lady Gaga in Morrisville, North Carolina |
 |
| Prior to her stop in North Carolina, Clinton was in Philadelphia for a rally with President Obama and the First Lady |
 |
| Jonathan Pozzie, center, looks clearly emotional as Donald Trump addresses a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire last night |
 |
| Trump's team, including campaign manager Kellyann Conway, left, and Tiffany Trump, right, watched the candidate in his final campaign stop early this morning in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where the Republican's hope they can take the state |
 |
| Polls on the east coast will open at 6am EST with the earliest polls closing 12 hours later in areas of Indiana and Kentucky |
 |
| Trump, pictured leaving Grand Rapids, Michigan, returned home to New York where he will vote in Manhattan on Tuesday |
 |
| In Manchester, New Hampshire, Trump was joined on stage by most of his children and their spouses |
Clinton's own weaknesses
were just as hard to paper over.
For nearly the entire
length of her campaign she had to contend with nonstop barrages of stories and
charges about her conduct in the State Department, her husband’s foundation,
and charges of ‘pay to play’ corruption.
The focus begin in part
with the release of ‘Clinton Cash,’ a book that drew connections among the
interlocking webs of Clinton donors, confidants, foreign governments and
longtime friends.
TRUMP GETS SHOCK BOOST
FROM EARLY VOTING IN FLORIDA AND NORTH CAROLINA
Early voting numbers in
North Carolina and Florida – two states that Donald Trump needs to win –
suggest that Hillary Clinton may be underperforming President Barack Obama in
2012, while Trump is doing better than GOP nominee Mitt Romney.
In North Carolina,
305,000 fewer Republicans have turned out. However, Republican voters were
trailing Democrats by 447,000 four years before and Romney won the state by
97,000, as Republican voters more prone to come out on Election Day then head
to the polls early.
In Florida, Democrats
are ahead by just around 33,000 votes. But, with 6.1 million early votes cast,
that lead only amounts to .5 percentage points of the in-person early vote
total. Back in 2012, Democrats had a 3.7 point advantage in early voting, which
was enough to hold back Republican Mitt Romney from taking the state.
In March 2015, a
bombshell rocked the campaign when it was revealed Clinton had maintained a
private email server at her New York home. Then began the drip-drip-drip of
thousands of State Department emails, which not only showed Clinton dealt with
secret and sensitive matters on her, but brought forth an array of damaging
stories.
The drumbeat grew so intense
that even Sanders pronounced Americans 'sick and tired of hearing about your
damn emails' in a primary debate.
After a lengthy
investigation, FBI Director James Comey announced he would not recommend
charges, but still called Clinton out for her ‘extremely careless’ behavior.
Wikileaks dumped the
other trove of documents that defined the campaign, hacked emails from Clinton
campaign chair John Podesta. They exposed myriad internecine battles, cozy
contacts with the press, and efforts to kneecap Sanders’ primary run.
They were also
embarrassing and could continue to rattle careers inside Clinton’s inner
circle. But the leaks, which U.S. officials link to a Russian government hack,
didn’t appear to bring a major turn in the race.
Americans will learn Tuesday
night whether history will remember Trump's unusual approach as a
groundbreaking innovation or as a one-off flop.
He said Monday that he's
not interested in becoming a chapter in a political science textbook.
'If we don't win, Trump
said during his penultimate rally in new Hampshire, 'it will be the biggest
waste of energy, time and money in my whole life.'
The first result came in
after midnight Tuesday, with the tiny community of Dixville Notch in New
Hampshire casting their ballots as Monday became Tuesday. They backed Hillary
Clinton by a vote of 4 to 2. Mitt Romney, the unsuccessful Republican nominee
four years ago, won a surprising write-in vote.
It will be nearly 24
hours, and maybe longer, before the world knows whether the northern New England
town was a bellwether.
Polls opened in some
eastern states as early as 6:00 a.m. Tuesday, and the final votes will be cast
in Alaska when it's 1:00 Wednesday morning in New York - ending an election
season that has enthralled and horrified in equal measure.
It's impossible to tell
when forecasters from TV networks and wire services will project a winner. In
2012 the race was called for President Barack Obama shortly after 11:00 p.m.
Eastern time.
The Electoral College
system provides one vote for each member of Congress, including both the Senate
and the House of Representatives. A candidate needs to claim 270 votes, the
smallest possible majority, in order to claim the White House.
 |
| Difficult year: Flint resident Carroll Kinkade casts her ballot on Tuesday morning in Michigan |
 |
| Family day: Christina Ditty casts her ballot accompanied by her sons, Koper, 4, and River, 2, at the 135th precinct at Christ Church Presbyterian in Evans, Georgia |
 |
| Double checking: A voter confirms his address with a poll worker before voting on Tuesday morning in Brooklyn |
 |
| Rock Mountain voters: Local residents vote at a polling location for the 2016 US presidential election in Denver, Colorado |
 |
| Zen polling place: Mary Roca posts signs on the door of Chua Phat To Gotama Temple before it opens in Long Beach, California |
 |
| In the first results of the day, residents in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire voted in favor of Hillary Clinton |
 |
| Clay Smith, who cast his ballot late last night, saw four of his fellow residents in Dixville Notch supported Clinton/Kaine, while two ballots were cast for Trump/Pence. One protest voter wrote in Mitt Romney with the final vote going Johnson/Weld |
If the margin is tight
all evening and the result is in doubt, western battleground states like
Nevada, Colorado and Arizona could turn the tide. Their polling places will be
among the last to call it a night.
Both candidates are
voting in New York, and there is one certainty about the victory party: It will
be in New York City. The Trump and Clinton campaigns booked celebration venues
just two miles apart in Manhattan.
New York City police
officers will flood the streets Tuesday to prevent violence and disorder
breaking out when the results are announced.
There are similarly
massive security presences the nation as the FBI has put law enforcement
agencies on alert for an ISIS attack. The CIA and other spy agencies are on
guard for potential cyber attacks aimed at monkeywrenching the electoral
process.
One public safety issue
New York City won't have to deal with is a promised fireworks display launched
from a Hudson River barge as Clinton's Election Night party declares victory.
Campaign officials
withdrew their application for a pyrotechnics permit, limiting the risk of
mockery if she were to lose.
DIXVILLE NOTCH: THE TINY
NEW HAMPSHIRE COMMUNITY THAT VOTED AT MIDNIGHT
+
Dixville Notch, New
Hampshire, voted at midnight and announced its results earlier than the rest of
the country
Dixville Notch, an
unincorporated community in Dixville township, New Hampshire, voted at midnight
in the early minutes of Tuesday, as per tradition.
Town moderator Tom
Tillotson was pictured arriving with ballots Monday night.
A whopping total of
eight votes were cast and the community announced its results before the rest
of the country.
Dixville Notch voted
Democrat for the first time since 1968 as four out of eight votes went to
Clinton.
Trump came in second,
with two votes.
One vote went to Gary
Johnson and the last one was a write-in for Mitt Romney.
Dixville Notch suffered
a 20 per cent drop in population this year when two people moved away.
But a new resident moved
in not long afterwards, bringing the total current population to nine.
 |
| Voters in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire
traditionally cast their votes at midnight. Town moderator Tom Tillotson
is pictured arriving with ballots Monday |
THE LONGEST DAY - AND
NIGHT: HOW ELECTION WILL UNFOLD
Midnight:
First in the nation to vote is Dixville Notch, New Hampshire
6am:
The earliest polls on the East Coast open. Though some in New Hampshire open at
midnight.
6pm:
EST-time zoned areas of Indiana and Kentucky close
7pm:
Polls close in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont and
Virginia. All EST-time zoned areas (the majority) of Florida close
7:30pm:
North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia polls close
8pm:
Polls close in Washington, DC, and 16 states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan
(the EST-time zoned part, aka most of it) and New Hampshire. Other states include
Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and
Tennessee. The CST-time zoned parts (the panhandle) of Florida close at 7pm CST
8:30:
polls close for Arkansas
9pm:
Polls close in 14 states, including Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Michigan’s CST-time zoned area closes. Also closing are Louisiana, Minnesota,
Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, New York and Wyoming
10pm:
Polls close in four states, including Iowa, Utah and Nevada and Montana
If
the 2012 election is any indication on how results roll in, Romney was winning
until 10:30pm, and an hour later - as California results started to come in -
Obama was on the brink of re-election
11pm:
polls close in California, Washington state, Oregon, North Dakota (FYI some
close at 10), Idaho and Hawaii
11.12pm:
this was when the 2012 election was called by NBC, with CBS and Fox News
following at 11.16pm, CNN at 11.18pm and ABC the last at 11.23pm.
Wednesday
Midnight:
Results on House of Representatives will likely be in by now. First polls close
in Alaska.
In
2012 Mitt Romney delivered his concession speech a few minutes after
midnight.
1am:
Final polls close in Alaska.
HOW DOES THE ELECTORAL
COLLEGE WORK?
The
electoral college is made up of 538 voters - 435 Representatives and 100
Senators, plus three electors for the District of Colombia.
A
candidate needs to win a majority of 270 electoral college votes to become
President.
This
voters' college make their pick based on which candidate receives a majority of
votes in their corresponding states. That candidate receives all that state's
electoral college votes.
An
exception is made in Nebraska and Maine, where votes are assigned by
proportional representation - meaning either candidate could receive votes from
different congressional districts.
It
is possible to win the electoral college vote and lose the popular vote - as
with George W Bush in 2000. He eventually won the presidency over Al Gore
following a Supreme Court ruling which had the ultimate effect of awarding
Florida's votes to Bush.
The
creators of the Constitution set up the system as a limit on direct democracy -
or in Alexander Hamilton's words, as a way of preserving 'the sense of the
people' - in other words to avoid a malicious majority forming. It also tries
to ensure the rights of smaller states.
The
electors cast their votes on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in
December and are counted in Congress on January 6.
The new President is then sworn in on January 20
No comments:
Post a Comment