US presidential election remains uncertain with Trump’s fierce chase

The U.S. presidential election about a month away remains uncertain. While Democratic candidate Joe Biden stays ahead with a significant lead in national polls, President Donald Trump is fiercely chasing in several swing states, making the election result unpredictable.

According to RealClearPolitics, an American polling data aggregator, on Monday (local time), President Trump is only one percent behind Biden in Florida and North Carolina, traditional purple states. New swing states, such as Ohio and Iowa, are also showing changes in polls, indicating intense battles ahead.

In the U.S. presidential election under the indirect election system, a candidate wins the election by earning more than 270 votes from a total of 538 electoral college votes distributed among states. Most states have the winner-take-all system, which means a candidate who wins even one more vote than the other in a state takes all of the electoral college votes assigned to the state.

According to RealClearPolitics, Biden and Trump have secured 222 votes and 125 votes, respectively, considering the approval rating of each state. Twelve swing states with 191 electoral college votes – six traditional and six new battleground states – are categorized as unpredictable. Depending on the results of the swing states, this year’s presidential election result will be decided.

Three debates between the presidential candidates, the first of which will be broadcasted at 9 p.m. on Tuesday Eastern time or 10 a.m. on Wednesday Seoul time, are the key events to convince voters in the last minutes of the presidential campaign. The two are expected to persistently criticize each other’s weaknesses while showcasing their own strengths to appeal to voters.


lightee@donga.com