Supreme Court hearings, voting challenges, fight for seniors and final debate – Driving to the White House
On November 3, U.S. citizens elect their new president. The country is currently dealing with racial and social tensions as well as environmental issues and the challenges posed by coronavirus, which have already killed more than 200,000 Americans. With so much at stake, this choice must be crucial to shaping the country’s future trajectory.
In this episode hosted by FRANCE 24’s special correspondent in Washington, Kethevane Gorjestani:
Picture of the week: Amy Coney Barrett, the president’s election to the Supreme Court, faces the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation. The 48-year-old judge was grilled by Democrats about the future of high-profile cases like the Affordable Care Act and abortion rights given Donald Trump’s promise that his candidate will crack down on those laws.
Barrett refused to indicate how she would rule. Instead, she relied on the woman she was to replace, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who during her own confirmation hearing set the following standard: “No tips, no preview, no forecasts.”
Recent controversy: Eight hours … that was how long some Georgia voters had to wait in line to cast their ballots on the first day of the early vote, prompting some Democrats to file charges of suppressing the vote. Despite the long lines, Georgia, a battlefield for the first time in a decade, has broken its early voting records.
Texas also saw long queues, early ballot papers and accusations of suppression of voting, but the focus there was the struggle for ballot boxes for ballot papers. Meanwhile, the Republican Party of California refuses to remove its unofficial ballot boxes, citing states “voting” laws that allow people to collect and return ballots on behalf of other voters.
– Campaign focus: Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden were down in Florida this week, pushing for the country’s most trusted voters: seniors. Polls show a virtual draw between Biden and Trump among senior voters on the Florida battlefield, despite Trump beating Hillary Clinton by 17 points in that state back in 2016. In the latest national poll, Trump is behind by nearly 30 points among seniors shows a shift of more than 20 points against Biden in the last month.
– What’s next: Donald Trump and Joe Biden can discuss each other again after all. On Thursday, the president and his rival held separate TV town halls after the second presidential debate was canceled due to Trump testing positive for Covid-19. But the third and final debate is currently ready to continue as scheduled for October 22 in Nashville, Tennessee. If it does, it will probably look a little different than the first debate in Cleveland. The chaotic face prompted the Commission to announce presidential debates that it would make changes to “ensure a more orderly discussion”. Possible changes include giving the moderator the option to mute the candidates’ microphones if they refuse to let their opponent speak.
