The 2020 presidential elections have no parallel in American history, although in recent decades Americans have been accustomed to entering into a debate every 4 years about the importance of the year's elections, and whether they are more historical and important than before.
But this year's elections did not know that traditional debate, as the question has become meaningless in light of the repercussions of a pandemic that has claimed the lives of a quarter of a million Americans and infected nearly 10 million others.
Today's elections are different from any elections witnessed by the United States in recent decades, whether in their procedural and symbolic aspects, or in terms of their profound implications for the future of the country and the future of world relations in the coming years.
Pandemic, precautions and skepticism
Elections are taking place today between two men in their seventies, one of whom is the current president, Donald Trump (74 years), who came from outside the traditional American partisan politics system 4 years ago, and the other is Joe Biden (77 years), the righteous son of the traditional American political system, who spent Among its institutions half a century.
The elections are held for the first time in history in light of the continuing confrontation with the spread of the new Corona virus, which prompted the cancellation of the national conferences of the Democratic and Republican parties, and to limit them to very limited activities, in addition to the cancellation of the second presidential debate.
A sharp and continuous struggle arose over the method of voting by post
Due to health precautions, the expansion of early voting and postal voting led to record numbers in the rate of participation, and this pushed the elections outside the scope of traditional expectations.
According to the course of the US elections so far, it is expected that today's elections will witness high participation rates that exceed all previous elections, especially with the registration of nearly 100 million people, and this represents about 72% of the total votes in 2016.
Violence, anger, and a deepening of division
4 years ago, Americans elected Donald Trump as President of the United States in an exceptional moment that some attributed to the anger of the Americans and the increasing divisions between them.
After Trump spent a full 4 years in the White House, he left America only more angry and more divided.
Ethnic violence increased, and Trump refused to condemn extremist groups who believe in the supremacy of the white race, and he does not hesitate to support members of these groups, which he exploits and exploits on their part, to serve common goals between the two parties.
It is widely feared that acts by white extremist groups that Trump has demanded to monitor polling stations, or that the violence will be triggered by radical left-wing groups, known as "Antifa".
From here, solid wood panels returned to cover Washington's commercial face, wood covered storefronts near and far from the White House, cars were prevented from passing, and many streets adjacent to and near the White House were closed for fear of riots accompanied by violence, beatings, pull and pull.
All this is happening, and Washington has not yet recovered from the consequences of the violence and sit-ins that it witnessed over the past summer against the background of growing ethnic tensions, especially after the murder of George Floyd, the unarmed black man who was brutally killed by a white policeman.
Global elections bypass America
American security services fear attempts by Russia, Iran, or China to influence the course and preferences of voters.
The world cares about the political future of a different president whose decisions have broadly affected America's enemies and allies.
Canada and Mexico consider that their stronger neighbor is seeking to build political, economic and geographical barriers between them.
The 2020 elections also come in light of unprecedented tension between Washington and Beijing, which threatens to initiate a cold war between the two most powerful countries in the world today, economically, politically and technologically, and this does not mean ignoring the silent tension between Washington and Moscow against the background of many issues, the most important of which is Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Moscow paid Taliban fighters for the killing of American soldiers.
For its part, Iran monitors every word that the Democratic candidate Biden speaks in an attempt to read his perception of dealing with Iran, and some Arab capitals and Israel are holding their breath until the final results are known after the two parties invested a lot of political capital, and they reached a historic peace agreement between Gulf countries and Israel.
The lawyers of the two parties struggle
Perhaps there are no two candidates at greater disagreement about America’s future and the direction they want to take in than it is today between Biden and Trump, and regardless of what happens, today Tuesday, it is certain that there will be weeks of disputes and legal battles that will follow, and the two campaigns have already sent lawyers to Many states, and the details of that battle will vary from state to state, but the outlines are clear;
There is one side that wants to count all the votes legally cast, which is not what the other side does.
During the first presidential debate, which was held on September 29, Biden shouted at Trump, saying, "You are the worst president America has ever had." Today, the world is watching millions of Americans between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, to say their final word about Donald Trump.
The average of most opinion polls is that Biden will win, and for Trump to win, there must be a greater error in the polls than there was in 2016, and regardless of who wins today, the results are likely to have consequences for how politics is practiced, and on the shape and nature of the Americans' relationship. The world and each other.