The scene is repeating itself all over the United States: long lines of voters wait in front of the polling stations to deposit their ballots in advance for the presidential election, responding to calls for the mobilization of Democrats and acting out of fear of the pandemic of coronavirus, three weeks before the election.
More than 17.8 million Americans have already voted, by mail or in person, according to a University of Florida Project Election tally updated Thursday, Oct. 15.
This is a record for this highly polarized poll between Republican billionaire Donald Trump, who is running for a second term, and Democrat Joe Biden, currently leading in national polls.
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In Iowa, a state in the Midwest where the president was meeting on Wednesday, we can vote since October 5 and Thursday, more than 325,000 voters had already cast their ballots, according to the Election Project.
In Newton, a small town in Jasper County, the mobilization is visible.
"In 2016, we had 8,200
(advance votes)
in this county and three weeks before the election, we already have 8,000, so we will beat this record,"
explains Dennis Parrott, head of a polling station .
Some voters, like Jeff Maki, are wary of postal voting, fearing that their ballot will not arrive in time to be counted.
“To make sure my vote counts, I wanted to vote in person and in advance,”
explains the 44-year-old insurance agent who votes Conservative.
Donald Trump won it in that state in 2016.
If the dynamic is for the moment in favor of the former vice-president of Barack Obama, the election is not yet decided, warns Professor Michael McDonald, head of the Election Project.
"We cautioned that the large propensity to vote Democratic at this point should not be an indicator that Mr. Biden has won ahead,"
he said, because
"it is very likely that Republicans large numbers will be going to vote in person ”
on election day.
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In total, forty-three states and the federal capital Washington have implemented advance voting systems for the election.
Almost 75 million postal ballots have been ordered or sent, more than double the 33 million in 2016, and special mailboxes or collection points have been installed.
These measures respond to a strong demand from voters, who fear being contaminated by Covid-19 if they move on November 3 in crowded polling stations.
Up to ten hours of waiting
In Texas, Harris County, which includes metropolitan Houston, has registered a record number of votes since offices opened Tuesday.
According to preliminary figures, 128,186 people had moved on day one, nearly double the number four years ago.
In total, more than 525,000 ballots were filed, in person or by mail, in two days.
In Georgia, the Project counted 916,000 voters who voted in advance, some having waited more than ten hours to fulfill their civic duty.
In this state as in others, these endless queues have reopened the controversy over the removal of polling stations used as a ploy to deter voting in majority black counties.
Early voting also started Thursday in North Carolina, where each camp is mobilizing its troops.
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Kamala Harris, Joe Biden's running mate, had to resolve to a virtual meeting after canceling her visit to Asheville as a precaution, two members of her entourage having tested positive for Covid-19.
Donald Trump went to Greenville, where he promised his supporters
"a beautiful, big red wave"
, the color of the Republican Party.
The host of the White House denounces the postal vote which will result this year according to him
"to frauds of an unprecedented scale"
for the benefit of his adversary.
Although there was no evidence of widespread irregularities in previous polls.
"Not a day goes by that we don't read that villainous things are happening, but the red wave will destroy everything
," he said, calling on his troops to vote
"on November 3 and before that, when the vote opens ”
.