Trump-Biden: postal vote begins, blows rain

Trump-Biden: postal vote begins, blows rain

Washington | The US election gets to the heart of the matter: North Carolina launches mail-in voting for the Nov. 3 poll on Friday, in an increasingly aggressive campaign between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

Concerns about the spread of the coronavirus are expected to push tens of millions of Americans to vote by mail this year, without actually going to the polls.

In an America on edge, the next eight weeks will test the ability of the world's leading power to organize elections amid an anxiety-provoking epidemic that has profoundly transformed the countryside.

North Carolina was set to begin sending out more than 600,000 ballots responding to a dramatic increase in requests. Other key states, including Wisconsin, will follow in a few weeks.

In a very divided America, the way of voting is also a source of division. According to a recent USA Today / Suffolk poll, 56% of Republicans say they will vote in person on November 3, compared to 26% on the Democratic side.

A revealing index of the tensions which cross the country, one in four voters affirms that, if their candidate loses, he will not be ready to regard the result as "honest" and "correct".

In search of a second four-year term, Donald Trump has knowingly cast doubt on the validity of the vote for several months. He insists - without any concrete evidence to support it - that the increased use of postal voting could lead to massive fraud.

He even suggested that his supporters vote twice to test the system, getting pinned by Facebook and Twitter.

Facebook in particular reminded its users that postal voting has long been considered "reliable" in the United States, "including for this year, according to an independent body."

"Losers"

In an extremely tense and aggressive campaign, the publication Thursday night by The Atlantic magazine of an article claiming that Donald Trump had called American soldiers who died in World 

During a visit to France in November 2018 to commemorate 100 years since the end of the First World War, the tenant of the White House canceled his trip to an American cemetery near Paris, explaining that the bad weather conditions made impossible to visit.

But according to the monthly, he just didn't see the point. "Why should I go to this cemetery?" It's filled with losers, "he reportedly told members of his team, according to the magazine, which cites only anonymous sources.

Returning from a campaign rally, Donald Trump reacted strongly late Thursday night, vehemently denouncing the words of "shabby shamrocks" and "liars."

"I would swear on anything I never said that about our fallen heroes," he added.

If the president's relatives launched the counter-offensive, flooding social networks with photos of the president in the company of the military, his remarks from the 2016 campaign, where he had mocked Republican Senator John McCain because he had been captured during the Vietnam War have resurfaced.

The two candidates are taking a break from the trips for the time being. Joe Biden will speak from his home base in Wilmington, Delaware, and Donald Trump is not expected to leave the White House for the next three days.

With 60 days before the election, all eyes are on the dozen or so "swing states" that could tip the election to one side or the other.

Pennsylvania and Florida, two states narrowly won in 2016 by Donald Trump against Hillary Clinton, are being scrutinized with particular attention.

According to the latest Quinnipiac University poll, Joe Biden has a solid lead in Pennsylvania (52% to 44%). In Florida, on the other hand, the two men are neck and neck (48% for Biden, 45% for Trump).