Which way will the US election go? And why should we care?

Two days to go to what could be a defining event in modern history, the 2020 US presidential election.

Will the morning newspapers of November 4 declare, “Biden Wins,” or “Trump Is Back,” or, more likely, “Counting Goes On”? The experts warn that it could take days or even weeks to determine a winner.

Millions more Americans are voting by post this time because of the coronavirus pandemic, meaning a delay in counting ballots is highly likely.

Previously, postal voting was restricted to the elderly or the sick or people who are away from their home state. But the practice is now widely permitted in most states. In the 2016 presidential election, nearly one quarter of votes were cast by post. This time, that number will be doubled.

Psephologists in London say that postal voters are more likely to be Democrats than Republicans, which could explain President Donald Trump’s denunciations of mail-in voting and his blocking of extra cash for the under-funded US Postal Service.

Trump has claimed that the election could be subject to “tremendous fraud,” through postal ballots, though there has been no evidence of this, Nevertheless, it could be a reason he might advance for refusing to accept the result.

Supreme Court

Democratic candidate Joe Biden has said he will accept the full result. Trump said he believes the election could end up in the Supreme Court. This has happened before.

In the 2000 election, Democrat Al Gore claimed the narrowness of his defeat in Florida should lead to a recount. After 36 days, the Supreme Court rejected his claim and the Republican George W. Bush was confirmed as President.

If the election should go before the Supreme Court this year, Trump and the Republicans would be pleased because the Court now has a 6-3 majority of conservative judges.

Only days before the election, the US Senate confirmed Judge Amy Coney Barrett, 48, a conservative nominated by Trump, to fill the seat of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal icon, who died in September.

The Senate Republicans voted 52-48 to approve Mrs Barrett, overcoming the unified opposition of Democrats. Biden called the move rushed and unprecedented.

At 48, Mrs Barrett is the youngest of the justices. A devout Catholic, she is the mother of seven children, two of them adopted from Haiti. Her record is conservative on issues such as abortion and gay marriage.

Finally, a clarification is offered for Brits and East Africans and others whose national elections are won by the person who secures the most votes. US presidents are decided by the candidate winning enough state votes.

Electoral College

The winner in each state takes a certain number of electoral votes based roughly on the size of its population. To win the White House, 270 electoral votes are needed.

In 2016, the Democratic candidate Hilary Clinton polled more votes overall but Trump won the Electoral College tally.

Why should the American presidential election bother the rest of the world? Because the United States remains the world’s strongest nation and its leader the world’s most powerful person. His or her decisions affect not only American citizens but all of our futures.

At a time of international disequilibrium and internal divisions in many nations, nothing is more important than moderation and good sense in Washington DC.

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The number of very old people in the UK is growing steadily and they include Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 94th birthday earlier this year.

The latest figures show there were 605,181 people aged 90 or older in 2019 compared to 584,024 in 2018, a rise of 3.6 per cent. Twice as many women than men reach this landmark.

The oldest living citizen, Joan Eileen Hocquard of Poole, Dorset, died shortly after reaching her 112th birthday in March. Although that left some 860 Britons aged over 105, there were fears that the coronavirus pandemic could cut the numbers since the elderly are particularly vulnerable to Covid-19.

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Some good medical news amongst all the bad: A bandage has been invented that could revolutionise fracture treatment, according to British scientists.

The bio-material contains both stem cells and mature bone cells and is applied to the broken bone area like a plaster.

Dr Shukry Habib of King’s College, London, said the bandage speeds up healing dramatically and could make a drastic difference in recovery times for patients with serious bone breaks. Clinical trials are now planned.

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I had a terrible row with my wife last night, but in the end she came crawling to me on hands and knees.

Gosh, that’s amazing. What did she say?

 “Come out from under that sofa, you horrible, little coward.”

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Wife wins again: My husband has been standing in the rain for hours now, just staring at the window. I think if this goes on, I’ll just have to let him in.

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