Black Voters Flock to Early Voting in US Presidential Election... "Must Stop Trump's Re-election to Survive"

Waiting in Long Lines for 10 Hours to Vote
"Concern That Democracy Will Collapse if Trump Is Re-elected"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] In the early voting that began ahead of the U.S. presidential election, a record number of Black voters in the United States have turned out. U.S. media report that the urgency to prevent President Donald Trump's re-election, which is seen as essential for survival, is driving up early voting rates among Black voters.

According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 19th (local time), Black voters are turning out in record numbers at early voting sites, including mail-in ballots and in-person early voting, which started two weeks before the U.S. presidential election. WP reported that Black voters are willing to stand in long lines exceeding 10 hours to cast their votes. WP analyzed that Black voters are deeply concerned that democracy could be irreparably damaged if President Trump is re-elected, interpreting this as a matter of life and death for them.

President Trump has exhibited racist behavior by not denying white supremacist views even at public campaign events, and the disproportionate death rate among Black communities from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has heightened their sense of crisis. According to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Black people are about twice as likely as White people to be infected with and die from COVID-19, and their hospitalization rate is up to five times higher.

This atmosphere among Black communities is reflected in high early voting rates. In North Carolina, where early voting began on the 15th, the proportion of Black voters on the first day exceeded 30%, higher than the 23% recorded during the presidential election four years ago. In Georgia, the proportion of Black voters in early voting was 32% as of the 15th, surpassing the figure from four years ago, and early voting rates were also high in areas such as Detroit and Milwaukee, WP reported. According to polls conducted by WP and NBC last month and this month, support for candidate Biden among Black voters was overwhelmingly high at 92%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.