The 2024 presidential election is underway, with voters across the United States casting their ballots to decide between Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump. The outcome of the election is expected to be highly competitive, with several key battleground states playing a crucial role in determining the winner.
The electoral map for the 2024 election bears some similarities to the 2020 landscape, with seven states identified as critical battlegrounds: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. These states are pivotal because they have the potential to swing the election, with Pennsylvania’s 19 electoral votes being the largest prize among them.
Each candidate is vying for at least 270 electoral votes to secure the presidency. The Electoral College system, which allocates electoral votes based on each state’s representation in Congress, remains the decisive factor. States like Maine and Nebraska use a split system, where two electoral votes go to the overall state winner and one vote is allocated to the winner of each congressional district.
The 2024 election also sees changes in electoral votes due to population shifts. Six states have gained electoral votes: Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina, Oregon, and Texas (which gained two). Conversely, seven states have lost electoral votes: California, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
The counting of votes, particularly mail-in ballots, could lead to delays in announcing the winner. States like Michigan, Georgia, and North Carolina have pre-processing laws that allow for earlier verification of mail ballots, while others like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin prohibit such processing until Election Day. This could result in a prolonged wait for the final results.
Both candidates have focused on key issues such as the economy, immigration, and reproductive rights. Kamala Harris’s campaign has emphasized her vision for a transformative new era, including enhancing the care economy and safeguarding abortion rights. Donald Trump’s campaign has centered on themes like economic growth, immigration policies, and crime.
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