After months of
scrutiny, analysis and scandal, the race to the White House is very nearly at
the finish line.
While many pundits
have given Clinton the edge, polls have been tighter than anticipated.
Today President
Barack Obama will rally for the last time for Clinton and, likewise, Trump will
mount his last bid to get his message across to the electorate.
All eyes now will
be on the battleground states where voters have just hours to weigh up the pros
and cons of the candidates before making their decision - between two
contenders billed as the least popular in history.
Among those key
states is Virginia which, until Democrat Obama's victories in 2008 and 2012,
consistently voted Republican.
But now, thanks to
a demographic shift and the popularity of Obama, it has become a key player in
the race.
As America gets
ready to vote tomorrow, there are fears of potential for voter intimidation
after Trump suggested his campaign would not accept the result if Clinton wins,
and claimed the voting system was rigged.
Speaking to people
in Richmond, Virginia, it seemed they were voting out of duty, but that they
were not happy with either candidate. Mary Mason in Virginia said she was
"scared to death" of what would happen if Trump became president.
"I'm very
scared about it - all of us are, my friends, my family," she stated.
"Trump scares
us to death, I don't know what he will do or what will happen. We don't really
care for Hillary either, but we will vote for Hillary because we do not want
Trump in there.
"He is a wild
man, he really is. And he discriminates against the elderly, people who are ill
and crippled. I don't want him to represent my country," she said.
Fellow resident
Tina Glass stated she thinks she will vote for Trump. Asked what kind of
America Trump as president would present, she said she hoped he would create
jobs.
"I hope there
will be more jobs, there are a lot of plants and places closed down.
"I've been
working a temp job for the last three years. I feel he will put more jobs out
there. I'm hoping what he's saying is true. We need to stop sending all our
stuff overseas and take care of our country first," she said. Robert Glass
(45), from Henrico in Virginia, said he disagreed with Trump's
"demeanour" but would be voting for him.
He explained:
"I'm Republican, been that way all my life. The way things are going, I'm
not happy with the way he behaves on interviews on TV, or his demeanour. But we
can't have four more years of Obama, which in my opinion is going to be what
will happen if Hillary Clinton is elected.
"I'm pro-gun,
and a lot of jobs are being taken away, I guess, that's what everybody is
saying. Every time you call a local service for help you get somebody from
Indonesia or India and you can't understand a word they are saying."
He added:
"Also, if you don't vote you can't complain because you did nothing."
Northern Ireland
author and playwright Colin Broderick has lived in New York for the past 28
years and said he feels the Trump movement is similar to what happened in the
UK in the run-up to the referendum vote to leave the EU.
"What you see
with the rise of Donald Trump is people being sick, sore and tired of the
status quo and the same old process," he commented. "People seem to
be tired of the notion that nothing really changes. I just can't believe it's
actually happening - but part of me feels like this is what a revolution looks
like.
"We are living
in a country where you have the democratic process and voting for someone as
off the wall as Donald Trump - people need to sit up and pay attention that
this is reality.
"You may not
like him but almost 50% of the country are leaning that way and that's a pretty
big statement."
Belfasttelegraph
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