US elections: Uncertain result

ByLuis Meiners

Late on Wednesday morning and having passed several hours after the close of the elections, it is still not possible to determine the result of the presidential elections in the United States.. Democrats were unable to achieve a resounding victory that would allow them to emerge victorious on election night.. With the ghost of 2016 weighing on your shoulders, The path to a Biden victory remains open but the final outcome may take several days.

The results

In the final stretch towards the elections, the polls showed open disputes in traditionally Republican states like Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and even Texas. If Biden managed to win any of these, The possibility of a Trump victory was considerably reduced and the race could be closed on Tuesday night itself.. Nevertheless, this didn't happen. Florida and Texas went to Trump, and in both North Carolina and Georgia the vote was tight but with an advantage for Trump, although a large number of votes remained to be counted in cities with a clear Democratic majority like Atlanta.

Given this scenario, all eyes turned to Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania y Wisconsin. The first of these states is the only one won by Trump in 2016 in which Biden is in a clear lead. The remaining three are part of the “Blue Wall”, traditionally Democratic states that Trump won in 2016. In all of them there are many votes left to count. Trump leads all three, but most of the remaining votes are from big cities, like Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, where Biden has a considerable advantage. The electoral fight will most likely come down to the counting of votes in these three states.

The elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate were also at stake.. The Democrats were betting on maintaining the first and recovering the second. Everything seems to indicate that they will maintain their majority in deputies, but they will not be able to turn the Senate.

Perspectives

The uncertainty surrounding the election result may last for several days. In the weeks before the elections, Trump and the Republican Party deployed strong judicial pressure on the electoral process, trend that will probably worsen in the coming hours and days. Trump has already expressed that the result should be determined on the same night of the elections. Meanwhile, Biden expressed that he is confident that the final result will give him victory. To the uncertainty of the result, the possibility of legal disputes is added. This may also be accompanied by growing polarization in the streets.

All this expresses a deep crisis in the political regime. To the extent that we know the electoral results in detail, and it is possible to compare the numbers with previous elections, we will be able to carry out a detailed analysis. But one element stands out: the Democratic Party fails to generate enough enthusiasm to achieve a clear victory, even in the face of a rival like Trump who is repudiated by broad swaths of the mass movement.

On the other hand, reveals once again the deeply undemocratic character of the regime. Again, a candidate who loses the popular vote can be elected president in the Electoral College. Added to this are innumerable maneuvers to suppress electoral participation., mainly from sectors of the working class, Blacks and Latinxs. And also judicial maneuvers to avoid, hinder and reduce the counting of mail-in ballots. All of this underlines the need to organize to fight for democratic demands.. Both elements reaffirm the need to break with the two-party system, and build a political alternative independent of the two parties of capital. The Democratic Party has proven once again that it is only a vehicle for frustrations.