Across the US battleground states, voters voiced anxiety about Tuesday’s election finale, divided — like the country at large — by starkly different visions of the future.
The solemn nature of the voting process provided a contrast to the hyper-charged campaign cycle, marked by Kamala Harris’s late entry, two assassination attempts on Donald Trump, and often vicious rhetoric.
Millions stood in line patiently, sometimes displaying their preferences on T-shirts or hats, or simply carrying American flags.
“This election is foundational for the future of our democracy,” said Sam Ruark, a 50-year-old green campaigner in the hurricane-hit mountains of North Carolina, one of seven swing states that will decide the election.
When asked about their choices, voters often echoed the main policy talking-points from the campaign, from immigration and abortion rights to the economy.
“We don’t need another four more years of high inflation, gas prices, lying,” Darlene Taylor, 56, told AFP in Erie, a bellwether county in Pennsylvania — which is the biggest and most prized of the swing states.
Wearing a homemade T-shirt bearing the names of Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance, she said her main issue was to “close the border” to migrants.
“America comes first, and Harris is not going to support that,” added Taylor, who said she lived on disability benefits.
