Elections 2020 Archives - Iran News Daily

Nearly 4 Million Americans Have Already Voted

reporter 1222 — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 14:03:10 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Americans are rushing to cast ballots ahead of the November election at an unprecedented pace, early voting numbers show, indicating a possible record turnout for the showdown between Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden.

With four weeks to go before Election Day Nov. 3, more than 3.8 million Americans already have voted, far surpassing about 75,000 at this time in 2016, according to the US Elections Project, which compiles early voting data.

The shift has been driven by an expansion of early and mail-in voting in many states as a safe way to cast a ballot during the coronavirus pandemic and an eagerness to weigh in on the political future of Trump, said Michael McDonald of the University of Florida, who administers the project.

“We’ve never seen this many people voting so far ahead of an election,” McDonald said. “People cast their ballots when they make up their minds, and we know that many people made up their minds long ago and already have a judgment about Trump”, Reuters reported.

The early surge has led McDonald to predict a record turnout of about 150 million, representing 65 percent of eligible voters, the highest rate since 1908.

Biden leads Trump in national opinion polls, although surveys in crucial battleground states indicate a tighter race.

The numbers reported so far come from 31 states, McDonald said, and will grow rapidly as more states begin early in-person voting and report absentee mail-in totals in the next few weeks. All but about a half-dozen states allow some level of early in-person voting.

The percentage of voters who cast their ballot at a voting machine on Election Day already had been in steady decline before this year, according to the US Election Assistance Commission.

The total number of early or mail-in votes more than doubled from nearly 25 million in 2004 to 57 million in 2016, it said, representing an increase from one in five of all ballots cast to two in five of all ballots cast.

Trump has repeatedly railed against mail-in voting, making unfounded accusations that it leads to fraud. Experts say fraud is rare.

Those attacks by the president have shown signs of depressing Republican interest in voting by mail. Democrats have more than doubled the number of returned mail-in ballots by Republicans in seven states that report voter registration data by party, according to the Elections Project.

In the crucial battleground state of Florida, Democrats have requested more than 2.4 million mail-in ballots and returned 282,000, while Republicans have asked for nearly 1.7 million and returned more than 145,000.

A national Reuters/Ipsos poll taken last week found 5 percent of Democrats nationwide said they had already voted compared to 2 percent of Republicans. About 58 percent of Democrats planned to vote early compared to 40 percent of Republicans.

McDonald said early voting typically starts strong, then drops before surging just ahead of the election. But in some states, the rates of participation already have skyrocketed a month out.

In South Dakota, early voting is nearly 23 percent of the total turnout in 2016. It is nearly 17 percent of total 2016 turnout in Virginia and nearly 15 percent of total 2016 turnout in the battleground state of Wisconsin.

“That’s just nuts,” McDonald said. “Every piece of data suggests very high turnout for this election. I think that’s just a given.”

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51% of US Voters Want to Abolish Electoral College: Polls

reporter 1222 — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 11:04:35 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – A slight majority of US voters say the Electoral College should be abolished, a new Hill-HarrisX poll finds.

Fifty-one percent of registered voters surveyed in the Sept. 10-14 poll said the current Electoral College system should be abolished so that whoever wins the nationwide popular vote wins the presidency.

By contrast, 49 percent of voters said the current Electoral College system should be kept as is “to distribute voter power among all 50 states.”

The survey found Democratic voters to be more likely than Republican or independent respondents to favor abolishing the Electoral College system.

Sixty-eight percent of respondents who identified as Democrats said it should be abolished compared to 49 percent of independents and just 33 percent of Republicans.

The survey comes less than 50 days from Election Day where President Trump will hope to win reelection against Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

In 2016, Trump lost the popular vote by roughly 3 million votes but won the Electoral College against former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The Hill-HarrisX poll was conducted online among 3,758 registered voters between Sept. 10-14. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.6 percentage points.

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No Support Bounce after Biden Democratic Gathering

reporter 1222 — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 11:27:24 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden saw no bounce in popular support after last week’s Democratic National Convention, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday, pointing to Americans’ hardened political views.

Biden held his lead over President Donald Trump in the national opinion poll taken Aug. 19 to 25, with 47% of registered voters backing the Democratic challenger and 40% supporting the Republican incumbent. That was a similar edge to what Biden had before his party’s convention, a scaled-back, virtual event because of the coronavirus pandemic.

That marks a shift from many past election cycles. The previous Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, saw a 4-percentage-point gain against Trump after her party’s 2016 convention, while Trump’s support also rose 4 points after his party’s gathering that year. The Republicans are holding their convention, a mix of in-person and virtual events, this week.

There are a number of likely reasons why Biden has not received a similar jump in support. The party nominating conventions were scheduled later in the election year and the party faithful gathered mostly online because of concerns about the coronavirus.

There also appear to be fewer undecided voters in 2020. About 14% of registered voters did not support either of the major-party candidates in the latest poll, down from about 22% who were similarly undecided four years ago.

The poll also found that while Biden improved his standing over the past month among African Americans, Trump has eaten into Biden’s advantage in the suburbs. He has been attacking Biden by painting him as a threat to the “suburban lifestyle dream.”

Biden’s advantage over Trump among African Americans increased by 6 percentage points from July to August, after he named Kamala Harris as his running mate, making her the first Black woman nominated by a major party for vice president. About 71% of African-American respondents said they supported Biden for president, while 9% would vote for Trump.

Biden’s advantage declined by 4 points, however, among Americans who live in the suburbs, with about 44% saying they would support him, compared with 36% saying they would vote for Trump.

The poll also found that 41% of Americans approved of Trump’s performance in office, while 55% disapproved. Registered voters are mostly interested in picking a president based on the candidate’s perceived abilities to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, restore trust in American government and improve the economy.

Registered voters are more likely to consider Biden the stronger candidate when it comes to dealing with the coronavirus and restoring trust in government, while Trump was more likely to be considered superior when it comes to the economy.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, throughout the United States. It gathered responses from 4,320 American adults, including 3,829 registered voters, 2,230 who said they live in the suburbs and 488 who identify as African Americans. The poll has a credibility interval, a measure of precision of between 2 and 5 percentage points

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Biden Wins Connecticut’s Final Presidential Primary

reporter 1222 — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 08:50:21 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Former US Vice President Joe Biden won Connecticut’s presidential primary on Tuesday — the final presidential primary of the year — as he continues to accumulate delegates just days before his formal nomination at the party’s convention.

Biden won Connecticut’s presidential primary with about 84 percent of the vote with 23 percent of precincts reporting, according to The Associated Press. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was trailing with roughly 12 percent.

President Trump also won the GOP primary in Connecticut with more than 86 percent of the vote based on initial results, The Hill reported.

Sanders, who dropped out of the Democratic race in April and endorsed Biden, is slated to speak at the party’s convention next week in support of the former vice president’s White House bid.

Biden won Connecticut, which will award 60 pledged delegates, hours after he announced Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as his running mate.

The Connecticut primary was originally scheduled for late April but was postponed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In total, Biden won 42 state primary contests plus Washington, DC, while Sanders won seven. Former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigeg won the most delegates in Iowa.

According to the AP, Biden heads toward the convention with 2,627 pledged delegates to Sanders’s 1,073.

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Iran Dismisses Claims of Interfering in US Election

reporter 1222 — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 10:11:59 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman rejected as “ridiculous” reports that Iran is interfering in the upcoming US election.

“Interfering in US election is one of the ridiculous claims that the Americans have been rising recently with respect to the blurry prospect of elections in their country,” Mousavi told reporters on Monday.

Iran does not care much about parties and factions in the US, he said, adding, “What we care about is their behavior and the way they interact with us.”

The comments came after Reuters claimed in a recent report that Iranian citizens had been receiving text messages in Farsi offering them up to $10 million for information about attempts to interfere with the US election.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters the US was now offering up to $10 million “for information leading to the identification or location of any person who, acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government, interferes with US elections by engaging in certain criminal cyber activities.”

Russian media reported that citizens there also received similar messages on Thursday. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova joked on Facebook that the US State Department’s website would be overwhelmed by denunciations.

The Iranian spokesperson categorically rejected the claims and said, “The text messages constitute a violation of people’s privacy rights”.

US President Donald Trump has suggested delaying November’s “fraudulent” presidential election, saying increased postal voting could lead to fraud and inaccurate results.

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Trump Says If Biden Wins, Religion Will Be Gone

reporter 1222 — Mon, 20 Jul 2020 08:01:51 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – US President Donald Trump assailed likely opponent Joe Biden as “not competent” to lead the country, speaking as polls over the weekend showed deepening voter disenchantment with his own handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

“He’s shot, he’s mentally shot,“ Trump said about Biden in a wide-ranging interview with “Fox News Sunday.”

He said that if Biden is elected on November 3, he will “destroy this country.”

Facing the multiple challenges of a spreading pandemic, racial unrest, and a struggling economy, Trump made several unfounded or highly speculative accusations against the former vice president, saying Biden would “triple your taxes” and “defund the police.”

He added, “Religion will be gone, “referring to Democratic officials banning large church services to stem the virus spread.

Asked whether he would accept the election result in November, even if he loses, Trump echoed his position of 2016, saying, “I have to see … I’m not going to just say yes.”

The interview, which was taped in advance, came as new polling results showed support for Biden surging as doubts about Trump’s handling of the pandemic grow amid a resurgence in many states.

Interviewer, Chris Wallace told the president that a new Fox opinion poll showed Biden with a substantial lead over Trump not only on his ability to manage the pandemic (with a 17-point edge) and to deal with racial unrest (by 21 points), but even — by a single point — on handling the economy, long a Trump strong point.

And a new Washington Post-ABC News poll has Biden leading Trump among registered voters nationwide by a resounding 15-point margin, 55-to-40 percent.

Trump dismissed such polling as “fake, “saying White House surveys show him winning both nationally and in key swing states.

He repeatedly pummeled Biden, who has kept a relatively low profile amid the restraints imposed by the pandemic.

Trump claimed that the Democrat wanted to “defund the police” — a battle cry of some anti-racist protesters — and insisted that such language was in a Biden policy document, though he was unable to produce it when challenged by Wallace.

As he repeatedly questioned his rival’s mental acuity, Wallace asked him directly if thought Biden was senile.

“I don’t want to say that,“ Trump replied. “I say he’s not competent to be president.”

He questioned whether the Democrat could pass a cognitive ability test that he said he had “aced, “and said the former vice president would fall apart under tough questioning, AFP reported.

“Let Biden sit through an interview like this, he’ll be on the ground crying for Mommy. He’ll say, ‘Mommy, Mommy, please take me home.’”

Trump again defended his handling of the pandemic, claiming that “we are the envy of the world” on testing; and, of his early prediction that the virus would someday disappear, said, “I’ll be right eventually.”

He again opposed any national mandate for mask-wearing, saying, “I want people to have a certain freedom.”

Referring to the racial unrest in the country, and a recent spike in violent crime in some cities, the president blamed “Democrat-run cities, “which he said were “stupidly run.”

Asked about statistics showing American blacks are twice as likely to be shot and killed by police as whites, Trump replied, “Many whites are killed also. You have to say that.”

And he equated those who fly the Confederate flag with those saying that “Black Lives Matter, “adding, “It’s freedom of speech.”

Trump again stated his opposition to renaming US military bases named after Confederate generals — even after the military supported the idea.

“I don’t care what the military says,“ the president said.

“We’re going to name it after the Reverend Al Sharpton?” He asked rhetorically, referring to a prominent African-American civil rights leader.

There was no immediate response to the interview from Biden or his campaign, though the former vice president did tweet that “Banning the Confederate flag from military installations was long overdue.”

On other subjects, Trump said the economy was “doing very well, “even as millions remain jobless, with some states reimposing lockdowns. The stock market, he said, was near record highs.

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Trump Rally Could Be Source of Coronavirus Surge in Tulsa: Official

reporter 1222 — Thu, 09 Jul 2020 10:17:48 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – US President Donald Trump campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in late June that drew thousands of participants and large protests “likely contributed” to a dramatic surge in new coronavirus cases, Tulsa City-County Health Department Director said Wednesday.

Tulsa County reported 261 confirmed new cases on Monday, a one-day record high, and another 206 cases on Tuesday. By comparison, during the week before the June 20 Trump rally, there were 76 cases on Monday and 96 on Tuesday, Politico reported.

Although the health department’s policy is to not publicly identify individual settings where people may have contracted the virus, Dart said those large gatherings “more than likely” contributed to the spike.

“In the past few days, we’ve seen almost 500 new cases, and we had several large events just over two weeks ago, so I guess we just connect the dots,” Dart said.

Trump’s Tulsa rally, his first since the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S., attracted thousands of people from around the country. About 6,200 people gathered inside the 19,000-seat BOK Center arena — far fewer than was expected.

Dart had urged the campaign to consider pushing back the date of the rally, fearing a potential surge in the number of coronavirus cases.

Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said the campaign went to great lengths to ensure that those who attended the rally were protected.

“There were literally no health precautions to speak of as thousands looted, rioted, and protested in the streets and the media reported that it did not lead to a rise in coronavirus cases,” Murtaugh said in a statement. “Meanwhile, the President’s rally was 18 days ago, all attendees had their temperature checked, everyone was provided a mask, and there was plenty of hand sanitizer available for all.

“It’s obvious that the media’s concern about large gatherings begins and ends with Trump rallies,” he said.

Although masks were provided to rally goers, there was no requirement that participants wear them, and most didn’t.

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Poland Holds Pandemic-Delayed Presidential Election

reporter 1222 — Sun, 28 Jun 2020 08:57:07 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – People of Poland began voting in a presidential election Sunday that had been scheduled for May but was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, a ballot taking place amid deep cultural and political divisions in the European Union nation.

President Andrzej Duda, a 48-year-old conservative backed by the nationalist ruling Law and Justice Party, is running against 10 other candidates as he seeks a second 5-year term. Whether Duda wins or not will determine whether the ruling party keeps its near-monopoly on political power in Poland.

Most recent polls showed that no single candidate was likely to reach the 50% required to avoid a runoff. In that case, the two top vote-getters will face each other on July 12.

Polling stations remain open until 9 p.m. (1900 GMT), and exit polls will be announced immediately afterward. The final officials results are expected by Wednesday at the latest.

Poland has not been as badly hit by the pandemic as many countries in Western Europe, and most people were voting in person, though required to wear masks and observe other hygiene rules. There was also a mail-in voting option, and thousands of voters in some southwestern regions with higher virus infection numbers were required to vote by mail.

As of Sunday, Poland had nearly 34,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among its 38 million people, with over 1,400 deaths, AP reported.

Duda’s campaign focused on defending traditional values in the mostly Catholic nation while promising to raise living standards to Western European levels. He took a position against same-sex marriage and adoption and denounced the LGBT rights movement as a dangerous “ideology.”

That kind of rhetoric — along with laws that have given the conservative Law and Justice party much greater control over the justice system and the ability to harness public media to promote the government’s image — have raised concerns among some that Poland is following Hungary in eroding democratic norms established after communism collapsed three decades ago.

Duda’s strongest challenge comes from the Warsaw mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski, also 48, who is backed by the centrist Civic Platform party.

On the campaign trail, Trzaskowski, has promised to keep Law and Justice’s popular social welfare spending programs while vowing to restore constitutional norms.

Trzaskowski entered the race late after an election originally scheduled for May 10 was scrapped due to the pandemic. Duda’s once strong support, bolstered by adulatory coverage in public media, began to slip once virus lockdown restrictions were lifted and other candidates could campaign.

Polling ahead of Sunday’s vote suggested Duda was the front-runner but might not reach the 50% needed to win outright. Polls also showed that he would have a more difficult time in a runoff given that many opposition votes would be expected to consolidate against Duda.

The other candidates include Szymon Holownia, a TV personality, and a journalist who had once studied to be a priest. Holownia is unaffiliated with any party and has generated some enthusiasm among those tired of years of bickering between Law and Justice and Civic Platform, the country’s two main parties.

Also in the running are a left-wing politician who is Poland’s first openly gay presidential contender, Robert Biedron; the head of an agrarian party, Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz; and a lawmaker with the far-right Confederation party, Krzysztof Bosak.

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Trump Cancels Speeches in Tulsa

reporter 1222 — Sun, 21 Jun 2020 09:58:20 +0000

TEHRAN (Iran News) – The Trump campaign canceled planned outdoor speeches by Donald Trump and Mike Pence at their comeback rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday night amid rising tension among protesters and Trump supporters, campaign officials said.

President Trump’s first campaign rally since March is slated for Saturday evening in Tulsa, Okla., and tensions are rising between protest crowds and supporters of the president ahead of the event, The Hill reported.

Current estimates suggest 100,000 or more people may enter downtown Tulsa on Saturday, with expectations that some of them will be anti-Trump protesters, according to the Tulsa World.

A fence has been put up around the BOK Center, where Trump’s rally is set to take place Saturday evening.

Following a discussion with Trump, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum (R) agreed to toss a proposed curfew that was initiated Thursday night.

State health officials reported on Saturday 225 new cases of COVID-19, marking a daily high in increases for Tulsa County.

Health department data reveals Tulsa County’s seven-day rolling average for COVID-19 cases has increased from 24.9 cases on June 7 to 51.4 as of Friday.

On Saturday, a truck displaying digital real-time imagery of the Trump Death Clock rolled into downtown Tulsa. The clock that allegedly estimates the number of Americans who have died needlessly from COVID-19, The Guardian reported.

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