Nearly three-quarters of voters in Tuesday’s presidential election believe American democracy is in danger, according to national exit poll data from Edison Research, which is the worst crisis the country has seen since the contentious campaign between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump. Wally reflects deep concern.
The data shows that democracy and the economy are the most important issues for voters, followed by abortion and immigration. The poll showed that 73% of voters believe democracy is in danger, while only 25% said it is safe.
The figures represent a small portion of the millions of people who voted in the run-up to and on Election Day, and preliminary results may change overnight as more people are surveyed.
The two rivals were headed for an indecisive end after a thrilling campaign, as millions of American voters waited in quiet, orderly lines on Tuesday to choose between two vastly different visions for the country.
The race, marred by unprecedented events — two assassination attempts against Trump, President Joe Biden’s surprise comeback and Harris’s rapid rise — remains a tight race even after billions of dollars of spending and months of frantic campaigning.
Trump, who has often spread false claims that he won the 2020 presidential election against Biden and whose supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, voted near his home in Palm Beach, Florida.
“If I lose the election, if it’s a fair election, I will be the first to admit it,” Trump told reporters.
Harris, who previously sent her ballot by mail in her home state of California, spent part of Tuesday in radio interviews encouraging listeners to vote. Later, she was scheduled to address students at Howard University, a historically black college in Washington, where Harris was an undergraduate.
“Going back tonight to Howard University, my beloved alma mater, and being able to recognize this day as this is really full circle for me,” Harris said in a radio interview.
National exit-poll results provide an important window into the nation’s thinking, but may not directly correspond with the seven battleground states that decide the presidential election.
Exit polls capture variations between turnout in different demographic groups, such as male versus female voters or college-educated versus non-college educated voters, and can provide insight into how turnout changed compared to previous elections. Is.
A major advantage of exit polls is that all the people surveyed are, by definition, the people who voted in this election.
Opinion polls ahead of the election showed candidates in each of the seven states likely to determine the winner: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
No matter who wins, history will be made.
Harris, 60, will become the first female vice president, the first woman, Black woman and South Asian American to win the presidency. Trump, 78, the only president to be impeached twice and the first former president to be criminally convicted, would become the first president in more than a century to win non-consecutive terms.
The contest reflects a deeply polarized nation, whose divisions have deepened during a fiercely competitive race. Trump has used increasingly bleak and apocalyptic rhetoric on the campaign trail. Harris has urged Americans to come together and warned that a second Trump term would threaten the foundation of American democracy.
Congress is also in control of both the Houses. The path is easier for Republicans in the U.S. Senate, where Democrats are defending several seats in Republican-leaning states, while the House of Representatives is looking like a toss-up.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)