China News Service, Washington, November 3, title: U.S. election polling day: "different" Washington polling stations under the epidemic

　　China News Agency reporter Sha Hanting

　　November 3 is the voting day for the nationwide elections in the United States.

Different from the long queues of voters in the past, this year's polling stations in the capital Washington area seemed a bit "dead".

　　The Capital One Arena polling station in downtown Washington is classified as a "super polling station" due to its large capacity.

There are dozens of staff in the polling station, but only a few voters come to vote at the same time.

　　Daniel, the person in charge of the polling station, told reporters that from 7 am to 12 noon, about 200 people came to vote.

"The number of voters has dropped significantly compared with previous years, probably mainly because many voters chose to vote early due to the epidemic."

On November 3, local time, the polling station of the Brooklyn Museum in New York posted multilingual guidance prompts.

November 3 is the election day of the 2020 U.S. general election. All American voters go to polling stations to vote for the presidential election.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan

　　According to statistics from the "U.S. Election Plan" website, as of November 3, more than 100 million voters have voted in advance by mail or on-site. This number is equivalent to 70% of the total votes in the 2016 general election, a record high.

　　In the polling station, there are many places to wear masks, maintain "social distancing" signs, and provide voters with disposable hand sanitizer, and there are glass partitions in front of the staff working table.

Voters need to register and confirm with the staff after entering the polling station, and then can choose to vote through electronic screens or paper ballots.

　　Outside the polling station, some volunteers prepared free food and water for voters and staff.

Volunteer Marshall told reporters that he had already voted by mail because he was worried that it might take a long time to line up on the polling day, but he did not expect to be so "empty" that day.

　　For the general election, Marshall believes that his most concern is racial equality.

This year, African-American Freud was violently killed by police and made him "very angry."

Marshall said that he hopes the government will put racial issues in an important position and commit to reforms to eliminate systemic racial discrimination.

On November 3, local time, at the polling station of the Brooklyn Museum in New York, the staff handled registration procedures for voters.

November 3 is the election day of the 2020 U.S. general election. All American voters go to polling stations to vote for the presidential election.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Liao Pan

　　Liana, who had just walked out of the polling station, thought that medical insurance and anti-epidemic issues were her most important issues when she chose the president.

In Liana's view, medical insurance should be the "right rather than privilege" of all citizens, and "the current medical insurance problem of the epidemic has become more important."

Regarding the new crown epidemic that claimed more than 200,000 lives in the United States, Liana called it "the saddest thing I have ever experienced."

　　At a polling station in Virginia, part of the greater Washington area, John, the private owner who came to vote, told reporters that he believed that "this election is very critical and will directly affect the lives of many people."

For him, economic policies related to his own income are his most concerned topics.

"I have a family to support. I am very concerned about issues such as tax cuts and tax increases."

　　On polling day, the Democratic presidential candidate Biden appeared in the key "swing state" Pennsylvania, using the last moment to canvass for himself.

Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, told the media that he predicted that he would win the election with a "larger advantage" and was preparing to hold a celebration party at the White House.

　　At present, temporary fences have been set up in the White House and the surrounding squares and parks. The surrounding shops have sealed doors and windows with wooden boards, and many streets have been blocked. Everything is ready for this "unusual night."

　　According to regulations, Indiana and Kentucky will end voting at the earliest at 6 o'clock in the US Eastern Time, and the latest time for voting to end in Alaska will be at 1 am the next day.

However, affected by the surge in mailed votes, the US media believes that the results of the general election will likely be "late".

(Finish)