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Harris promises to ‘represent all Americans’ after Biden ‘garbage’ remark

WASHINGTON — Kamala Harris said she disagrees “with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” reacting after U.S. President Joe Biden’s reference to Donald Trump’s supporters and “garbage.”

“I will represent all Americans, including those who don’t vote for me,” the vice president said.

Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, made the comment to reporters as she prepared to campaign in three states. Her words were an attempt to blunt the controversy over Biden’s rhetoric with less than a week until the end of the campaign.

The tumult began Tuesday night around the time that Harris was delivering a unifying message in a speech near the White House. Inside the building, Biden was criticizing Trump’s recent Madison Square Garden rally, where a comedian described Puerto Rico as an “island of garbage.”

“The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American,” Biden said in a campaign call organized by the Hispanic advocacy group Voto Latino. “It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”

Biden and the White House rushed to explain that the president was talking about the rhetoric on stage, not Trump’s supporters themselves. But Republicans seized on Biden’s comments, claiming they were an echo of the time when Hillary Clinton, as the Democratic nominee against Trump in 2016, said half of Trump’s supporters belong to a “basket of deplorables.”

In attacking Biden, and by extension, Harris, Republicans are glossing over Trump’s own history of insulting and demonizing rhetoric, such as calling the United States a “garbage can for the world” or describing political opponents as “the enemy within.” Trump has also described Harris as a “stupid person” and “lazy as hell,” and he’s questioned whether she was on drugs.

Trump has also refused demands to apologize for the comment about Puerto Rico at his rally, acknowledging “somebody said some bad things” but “I can’t imagine it’s a big deal.”

Political attack lines have a history of occasionally boomeranging back on people who use them. For example, Ohio Senantor JD Vance, now Trump’s running mate, once described Democrats as beholden to “a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made.”

Vance’s three-year-old comments were resurfaced once he became the vice presidential nominee, energizing Harris supporters who repurposed the label as a point of pride on shirts and bumper stickers — much like Trump’s supporters once cheerfully branded themselves as “deplorables.”

On Wednesday morning, Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, downplayed Biden’s comments in television interviews.

He told “CBS Mornings” that Biden “was very clear that he’s speaking about the rhetoric we heard,” not the supporters themselves.

Walz made a similar comment on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” where he emphasized that Democrats’ inclusive message.

“Let’s be very clear, the vice president and I have made it absolutely clear that we want everyone as a part of this,” he said. “Donald Trump’s divisive rhetoric is what needs to end.”
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Some of the most bizarre moments from US political history

The run-up to the 2024 U.S. election has been full of twists and turns but, believe it or not, stranger things have happened in U.S. election history. From incarcerated candidates to electoral mayhem, America has seen it all.
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Presidential candidates: Final pitches before US election

The two candidates for U.S. president are making what they call their “closing arguments” to voters in this final week before the election. VOA’s Senior Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti brings us the sights and sounds from two rallies.
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US court declines RFK Jr’s request to order 2 states to drop him from ballot

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a bid Tuesday by former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be removed from the ballot in Wisconsin and Michigan for the Nov. 5 election. Kennedy has said he wants voters who would have backed him to cast ballots for the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump. 

The court declined Kennedy’s emergency requests to order the Wisconsin Elections Commission and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to take him off the ballot in those states. Michigan and Wisconsin are among a handful of closely contested states expected to decide the outcome of the race between Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.  

Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch dissented from the decision concerning the Michigan ballot only. No other justice publicly dissented. 

Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist known by his initials RFK Jr., has sought the Supreme Court’s intervention in his attempts to stay on the ballot in some states while dropping off others. In September, the Supreme Court rejected his bid to be restored to the ballot in New York. 

Kennedy suspended his campaign in August and endorsed the former president’s candidacy. Kennedy has urged his supporters everywhere to back Trump and has withdrawn from the ballot in a number of Republican-leaning states.  
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For expats in Ukraine, election back in US hits home

The outcome of the U.S. election and the possible changes in Washington’s foreign policy are of special significance to the 3 million American expatriates eligible to vote in next week’s U.S. presidential elections. In few places is that outcome more tangible than in Ukraine, where a few thousand Americans have, for various reasons, chosen to live after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion. Lesia Bakalets speaks to several expatriates in Ukraine and sends this report from Kyiv.
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With a week to go, Harris, Trump trade insults

The highly contentious, tightly contested U.S. presidential election is now a week away.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, is set to deliver her so-called “closing argument” to voters in a Tuesday evening speech near the White House. Republican former President Donald Trump is campaigning in Pennsylvania, one of the seven political battleground states likely to determine the overall national outcome.

Both candidates, each disparaging the other as unfit to lead the country for a new four-year term, are looking for any small advantage to woo the sliver of voters who have not made up their minds in what could be one of the country’s closest votes in decades.  

Polls show the contest in a virtual dead heat, with Harris and Trump tied in some crucial states or only narrowly ahead or behind, all within the statistical margin of error. A few thousand votes in each of the seven key states could prove crucial.

Last-minute speeches by Harris and Trump could sway some undecided voters to finally make a choice, but the campaigns’ get-out-the-vote efforts targeting their already likely committed supporters to cast their ballots in the last days of the campaign or on Election Day could prove even more decisive.

Nearly 49 million people have voted early, either at polling stations or by mail, ahead of next Tuesday’s official Election Day, according to the University of Florida’s Election Lab. More than 155 million voted in the 2020 election.

Before heading to Allentown, Pennsylvania, a city with a Latino-majority population, Trump spoke at his oceanside Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He described Harris as “grossly incompetent … a total trainwreck.”

But Trump took no questions from reporters and did not mention comic Tony Hinchcliffe’s joke at a Trump rally Sunday at New York’s Madison Square Garden, claiming the Hispanic U.S. territory of Puerto Rico is a “floating island of garbage.”

Trump’s campaign has distanced itself from the joke. Trump has not publicly commented about the remarks but told ABC News he does not know Hinchcliffe, saying, “Someone put him up there. I don’t know who he is.”

Trump also maintained he didn’t hear the joke, even as it has been played on television and written about extensively. When asked what he made of the joke, he did not take the opportunity to denounce it, repeating that he didn’t hear it.

He called the New York rally “an absolute lovefest.”

Puerto Ricans living on the island are Americans but cannot vote in the election because only people living in U.S. states, not territories, can vote in presidential elections. But hundreds of thousands of people who grew up on the island have moved to the U.S. mainland, as have their relatives, and they can vote in whatever state they live in.

With hundreds of thousands of Puerto Rican votes critical to the outcome in some of the battleground states, the Harris campaign quickly produced a digital ad saying Latino voters “deserve better” than what the former president represents.

A Harris campaign official told NBC News that the 30-second spot will run online in battleground states on platforms like YouTube TV, Hulu and Snapchat, where Latinos consume a lot of their media.   

Pennsylvania alone, which both candidates see as crucial to winning the presidency, is home to more than 300,000 eligible Puerto Rican voters, according to the Latino Data Hub at the University of California Los Angeles.  

There are also sizable Puerto Rican populations in North Carolina, Wisconsin and Michigan, three other battleground states.  

On the campaign trail, Harris and Trump have traded frequent insults.

Trump has described Harris as someone with a low IQ and said she would be like “a play toy” for other world leaders. “They’re going to walk all over her,” he has said.  

Some of Trump’s former top aides from his 2017-2021 term in the White House described him as a fascist with the intent to govern in a second term as an authoritarian. Harris said she agreed with the characterization.  

Trump returned the taunt to describe Harris the same way.

Harris is doing five interviews ahead of her speech on the Ellipse where she plans to portray Trump as a threat to American democracy. Local police are anticipating a crowd of about 50,000 people.

The Ellipse is the same site where Trump exhorted his supporters on January 6, 2021, to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell” to try to block Congress from certifying that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated him in the 2020 election.  

More than 1,500 protesters were arrested for their roles in the ensuing riot at the American seat of government, where 140 law enforcement personnel were injured. The demonstrators caused $2.9 million in property damage to the Capitol as they smashed windows and doors and rampaged through congressional offices.  

More than 1,000 rioters have been convicted of an array of offenses, with some of the most serious offenders sentenced to years of imprisonment.

Trump says if he wins the election, he might pardon them.  

The Harris camp says that in her speech she will contrast what she says her presidency would encompass compared to a second Trump tenure, contending that Trump will be focused “on himself and his ‘enemies list’ instead of the American people,” while she will be “waking up every day focused on a ‘to-do list’ of priorities to lower costs and help Americans’ lives.”  

Harris has often said it is time to “turn the page” on the Trump era.

U.S. presidential elections are not decided by the national popular vote but rather through the Electoral College vote, which turns the election into 50 state-by-state contests, with 48 of the 50 states awarding all their electoral votes to the winner in their states, either Harris or Trump. Nebraska and Maine allocate theirs by both statewide and congressional district vote counts.   

The number of electoral votes in each state is based on population, so the biggest states hold the most sway in determining the overall national outcome, with the winner needing 270 of the 538 electoral votes to claim the presidency.   

Polls show either Harris or Trump holds substantial or somewhat comfortable leads in 43 of the states, enough for each to get to 200 electoral votes or more. Barring an upset in one of those states, that leaves the outcome to the remaining seven states – a northern tier of three states (Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin), two states in the Southeast (Georgia and North Carolina) and two in the Southwest (Arizona and Nevada).   

Polling in the seven states is easily within the margins of statistical error, leaving the outcome in doubt in all seven. 
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US farmers weigh tariffs, farm bill as Election Day nears

U.S. farmers are facing economic headwinds as they head to the polls this election year. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more from Illinois
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Unpacking the difference between the Electoral College and the popular vote

Americans go to the polls November 5 to choose the next U.S. president. However, the national vote tally does not determine which candidate wins the White House. The Electoral College has the final say. But how does this work?
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The potential impact of Trump’s tariff proposal

Former U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed sweeping tariffs if elected for a second term: a 20% universal tax and 60% tax on goods from China. He argues that the policy will help create jobs, shrink the national debt and boost government revenue for public services, such as child care. Most economists, however, agree that it is ultimately U.S. consumers who will pay more. Economists also warn of unintended ripple effects that could do more harm than good to the U.S. economy. This explainer video explores how increased tariffs might affect U.S. buyers, domestic and foreign producers, and the budget.
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Fast facts about the US election

The U.S. presidential election takes place Nov. 5. Here is a primer on some basic facts and information regarding the election.

Who is running in the US elections?

Apart from the most prominent contest — the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump — there are myriad other races on the ballot, spanning national, state and local levels.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election as they are every two years, with members of the House serving two-year terms. In the Senate, where members serve six-year terms, 34 of the 100 seats are on the ballot this year.

In state governors’ races, 11 seats are up for grabs. There are also thousands of state and local races, including seats for state lawmakers, mayors and municipal positions.

Apart from these races, many states also have measures, known as referendums, on the ballot that ask voters to decide on a range of issues, from abortion law to tax policy and marijuana use.

When does voting take place?

Each state is different. Nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia offer some version of in-person voting on Election Day, which this year is Nov. 5. Most states also offer mail-in voting, in which voters can return their ballots by mail or to a designated drop-off location. A majority of states also offer early voting, with the earliest states having begun voting in September.

WATCH: Millions who don’t cast ballots on Nov. 5 are still voting in US election

What are the battleground states?

The seven states where the race between Harris and Trump is predicted to be the closest are: Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin and Nevada. Battleground states can shift over time and are also known as swing states, toss-up states or purple states (the color resulting from a mix of the traditional Democratic color — blue — and the Republican color — red).

WATCH: What makes Nevada a ‘pure battleground’ state

Who can vote in the election?

To vote in the U.S. presidential election, a potential voter must be a U.S. citizen, 18 years old on or before Election Day, and meet residency requirements, which vary from state to state.

Potential voters must also be registered to vote by their state’s voter registration deadline. Some states also restrict voting for those with felony convictions or people who are mentally incapacitated.

Generally, Americans who live abroad can vote by absentee ballot. However, for the general presidential election, U.S. citizens who reside in U.S. territories — including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Marianas Islands and American Samoa —­ cannot vote.

Who is projected to win?

Polls for the presidential race have been split since the two main candidates were finalized at their party conventions in late summer. However, in the weeks leading up to the election, the polls have tightened even further. Many polls now show the margin between the candidates in all seven battleground states — where the outcome of the vote will likely be determined — to be within the polls’ margins of error.

WATCH: Pennsylvania: The state that could decide it all

How does the Electoral College work?

When U.S. voters cast their ballots for president, they do not vote for their presidential candidate directly. Technically, they choose electors, part of the Electoral College, who then choose the president. The Electoral College is a state-by-state system made up of representatives, or electors, that are allocated based on the voting results in each state.

The framers of the U.S. Constitution wanted a presidential candidate to win a series of regional elections, as opposed to one nationwide vote, so that the president could better represent the diverse interests of the country. In all but two states, all of a state’s electors go to the winning candidate no matter how narrow a popular victory.

There are 538 electors, a number that always stays the same. That number is equal to the total voting membership of the United States Congress — 435 representatives, plus 100 senators, as well as three electors from the District of Columbia. To win the presidency, a candidate must win a majority, or 270, of the electoral votes.

Does the popular vote matter?

The Electoral College winner determines the presidency, not the popular vote. It is possible under the U.S. system for a candidate to become president without winning the popular vote. That is because a candidate’s winning states could be won by small margins while their losing states are lost by bigger margins.

This has happened to five presidents: John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, George W. Bush and Trump in 2016.

Critics of the Electoral College point to these cases to argue that the system does not represent the national will. Supporters of the Electoral College say the system protects small states as well as geographically large states with small populations.

How are the votes counted?

The U.S. does not have a central election committee — each state organizes its own process for counting the ballots. Local and state officials report the election results in real time, and news agencies then use those results, often along with statistical techniques, to project a winner.

News outlets often “call” a winner before every ballot is counted and before officials announce the final results. This is because it usually takes days or weeks before all votes are counted in many districts and often, partial results are enough to mathematically determine a winner. However, when a race is close, news agencies usually wait to call a winner until final results are given.

The first results are not reported until polls have officially closed.

When will the results be known?

In-person voting ends the evening of Nov. 5 with each jurisdiction setting its own time for the closure of polls. Because states have various rules for when ballots can be counted and when mail-in ballots can be accepted, some states will likely not know final results until the day after the election or even later. Close races can also make it difficult for news agencies to call the winner as soon as polls close. As in 2020, when it took several days until they announced the result of the presidential election, it is possible that high-level national races, including the presidency, will not be known until several days after Nov. 5.

How is the election certified?

After votes are tallied, they are certified at the local and state levels. States then issue paperwork identifying the electors who represent the candidate who won the state vote. Electors are typically elected partisans or are appointed by political officials. They meet in their states in December to cast their votes for president and vice president. Then the new Congress, which is seated in January, meets to count the electoral votes and officially announces the winner. The president is sworn into office in an inauguration ceremony on Jan. 20.
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US ballot boxes under attack; Homeland Security warns of ‘heightened, dynamic’ threat environment

Washington — A series of attacks on ballot collection boxes across the United States is ratcheting up the pressure on state and local officials, who are hoping to oversee a safe and peaceful presidential election, both for early voting underway across much of the country and for when millions of Americans go to the polls next week.

The Northwest U.S. state of Washington confirmed to VOA Monday that local police and the FBI are investigating reports of a suspected “incendiary device” that was placed in a ballot drop box in Vancouver, Washington, early Monday.

Officials said no one was injured but that some of the ballots were damaged. Video obtained by local media showed firefighters responding to the scene, with some of the ballots burning on the ground.

Officials across state lines, in nearby Portland, Oregon, reported one of their ballot boxes was also attacked with an incendiary device, about 30 minutes earlier. But a fire suppressant system inside the collection box prevented damage to all but three of the ballots.

“Make no mistake, an attack on a ballot box is an attack on our democracy and completely unacceptable,” said Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade in a statement shared with VOA.

Washington state’s secretary of state likewise condemned the apparent attacks.

“I strongly denounce any acts of terror that aim to disrupt lawful and fair elections in Washington state,” said Steve Hobbs. “We take the safety of our election workers seriously and will not tolerate threats or acts of violence that seek to undermine the democratic process.”

The attacks on ballot boxes in Washington and Oregon follow last week’s attack on a mailbox with election ballots in Phoenix, Arizona, in the country’s Southwest. Officials there arrested a suspect for setting fire to the mailbox, damaging about 20 ballots.

The spate of attacks on mailboxes and ballot collection boxes comes as U.S. security officials are issuing new warnings about potential election-related violence at the hands of U.S.-based extremists.

“We expect DVEs [domestic violent extremists] will pose the most significant physical threat to government officials, voters, and elections-related personnel and infrastructure,” the Department of Homeland Security said in an unclassified assessment issued in late September.

Potential targets, the assessment said, included, “polling places, ballot drop box locations, voter registration sites, campaign events, political party offices, and vote counting sites.”

The DHS assessment warned the biggest threat likely stems from what it describes as “anti-government or anti‑authority DVEs [domestic violent extremists], many of whom likely will be inspired by partisan policy grievances or conspiracy theories.”

The DHS and FBI have also amplified their warnings in a series of nonpublic security bulletins sent to police agencies across the country, some of which were obtained by Property of the People, a nonprofit group that describes itself as “dedicated to the aggressive pursuit of governmental transparency.”

Some of the bulletins reviewed by VOA cited growing calls on social media for attacks on ballot collection boxes as well as growing calls for civil war following the attempted assassination of former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump this past July.

“The United States remains in a heightened, dynamic threat environment and we continue to share information with our law enforcement partners about the threats posed by domestic violent extremists in the context of the 2024 election,” a DHS spokesperson told VOA, when asked about the bulletins.

“DHS continues to work with our partners to evaluate and mitigate emerging threats that may arise from domestic or foreign actors,” the spokesperson added. “The department continues to advise federal, state, and local partners to remain vigilant to potential threats and encourages the public to report any suspicious activity to local authorities.”

While U.S. security officials believe the biggest threat of violence may come from U.S.-based anti-government or anti‑authority extremists, U.S. intelligence officials have raised concerns that adversaries like Iran and Russia may also be pushing them to carry out attacks.

A declassified U.S. intelligence assessment issued last week warned officials are “increasingly confident” that Russia is starting to engage in plans “aimed at inciting violence.”

It further assessed Iran also “may try to incite violence.”
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Explainer: Where do Harris and Trump stand on social welfare?

washington — With the U.S. presidential election coming November 5, the importance of social welfare — such as government-run programs for pensions and health care, known as Social Security and Medicare, along with affordable housing, and support for families — is again in the spotlight.

More than 71 million people in the U.S. received benefits from programs administered in 2023 by the Social Security Administration, which helps retired workers and people with disabilities. But the Social Security Trust Fund and Medicare, a federal health insurance program for the elderly, are running out of funds, and without a new source of funding or cuts in benefits are expected to become insolvent by 2035 and 2036, respectively.

Both candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, have pledged to protect Social Security and Medicare.

But the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget released an analysis this week that said, if left unaddressed, Harris’ economic agenda would see Social Security go bankrupt in nine years, while Trump’s agenda would force its insolvency in six years.

Meanwhile, a housing shortage is driving up prices to buy and rent, while high mortgage rates are slowing home sales, and both candidates are discussing ways to help families with the rising cost of raising children

So, how do the two candidates plan to address these issues?

The candidates have stark differences in their social welfare policies that reflect the values of the two dominant political parties in the U.S., the Democratic and Republican parties, on government intervention and personal responsibility.

Harris and the Democratic Party have generally advocated for the government to actively support vulnerable groups and those struggling to get out of cyclical poverty through higher taxes on the wealthy, which they see as key to achieving social equity and promoting economic mobility.

In contrast, Republicans, including Trump, have generally emphasized the importance of individual accountability, market mechanisms and lower taxes to encourage productivity, arguing that too much government intervention will weaken the economy.

But there is some overlap, especially when it comes to helping families.

VOA Mandarin has compiled the positions and views of the two candidates on Social Security and Medicare, affordable housing and supporting families:

Social Security and Medicare

Trump’s policy: Trump wants to ensure the sustainability of Social Security and Medicare through economic growth, which he hopes to boost by lowering taxes and reducing what he calls “unnecessary” government spending by increasing the privatization options of the health care system to fuel market competition to reduce costs. He also advocates for eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits, arguing that older people should not pay taxes on their benefits. Critics say this will make it even harder to pay for the program.

Harris’ policy: Harris wants to expand Social Security benefits through the Social Security Expansion Act, which proposes raising minimum benefits and adjusting how the cost of living is calculated. She also advocates for long-term home care to be included in Medicare to ease the burden on families caring for the elderly and children. Critics say expanding the programs will make it even harder to pay for them. Harris’ policy continues the Biden administration’s stance of raising taxes on wealthy individuals earning more than $400,000 annually to secure funding for Social Security and Medicare. Harris also says health care costs can be controlled through drug price negotiations and reducing fraud.

Housing

Trump’s policy: Trump wants to promote housing market development by reducing building and land-use regulations to increase the housing supply and reduce home buying costs through competition. He opposes construction of low-income housing in traditional single-family housing areas and blames some of the high housing costs on inflation and illegal immigration, both of which he says he’ll reduce if elected, including through mass deportations. Critics argue that housing prices spiked with rising interest rates and high demand during the COVID pandemic and say mass deportations would only worsen the supply problem as much of the construction labor force consists of immigrants.

Harris’ policy: Harris advocates for tax incentives and increased federal funding to support affordable housing construction that markets are not serving and says her plan will add 3 million new homes within the next four years. She supports a $25,000 down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers and restricting companies from large-scale acquisitions of residential properties to combat speculation and protect the housing needs of ordinary families. Critics argue that low-income housing reduces nearby property values and that raising subsidies for home purchases could drive up demand and lead to higher housing prices.

Helping families

Child Tax Credit (CTC)

Trump’s policy: Trump as president temporarily raised the CTC, from $1,000 to $2,000 per child in 2017 and expanded the income cap to make more families eligible, but the expanded program expires in 2025. If elected again, Trump says he’ll make this policy permanent. However, a key requirement is that only households making income are entitled to the tax credit as Trump believes it incentivizes people to work. Critics say it’s unfair to unemployed parents who are already struggling.

Harris’ policy: Harris wants to reinstate and expand the CTC to families without income so that all families with newborns receive a $6,000 tax credit per child, those with children aged 1-6 get $3,600 per year for each child, and those with children aged 7-17 receive $3,000 per child. Critics say the subsidy would weaken incentives for unemployed parents to find work.

Paid family leave

Trump’s policy: Candidate Trump’s policy on family leave — to take care of a child, or sick relative or personal medical issue — is not so clear, though his campaign says he supports it. As president, he signed into law 12 weeks of such paid leave for federal employees and a tax credit for companies that give low-income workers paid family leave.

Harris’ policy: Harris supports 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for all employees that would be funded through a payroll tax shared between employers and employees.

Childcare costs

Trump’s policy: In September, Trump suggested revenue from tariff increases could raise money to support childcare, and his running mate, JD Vance, has suggested more family members, such as grandparents, should be involved in family childcare to reduce expenses.

Harris’ policy: Harris proposed capping family spending on childcare for low-income workers to 7% of household income and raising the level of wages for childcare workers while lowering the cost of care.

Critics note that neither candidate has provided details of their plans.

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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Biden casts 2024 election ballot near his Delaware home

NEW CASTLE, Delaware — President Joe Biden has cast an early ballot in the 2024 general election. 

It’s a bittersweet moment for Biden, who decided to end his reelection campaign in July because of growing concerns about his health and Democrats’ worries about his chances of defeating former President Donald Trump. Biden voted on Monday at the state of Delaware Department of Elections, not far from his home outside Wilmington, Delaware at an early voting site, where voters were lined up on the street to cast ballots. 

Biden chatted with voters as he waited in line to cast his ballot, and helped push an older woman in a wheelchair ahead of him. The president waited in line for about 40 minutes before he cast his ballot. 

He handed his identification to the election worker, who had him sign a form and announced: “Joseph Biden now voting.” 

As the president cast his ballot behind a black drape, some first-time voters were announced and the room erupted in cheers for them. 

For all but a few years since 1970, Biden has either held office or been running for one during election season. 

But this year, his hopes lie with a newer generation of Democrats, including three on the Delaware ballot looking to make history. 

Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden endorsed after dropping out, is vying to become the first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to serve as president. 

State Sen. Sarah McBride is looking to become the first openly transgender member of the U.S. House. 

McBride, a longtime friend of the Biden family, had served as an aide in then-President Barack Obama ‘s administration and on the campaigns in 2006 and 2010 for the president’s late son Beau Biden’s runs for Delaware attorney general. She also worked for former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell. 

McBride hopes to succeed Democratic Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who wants to become Delaware’s first Black woman to serve in the U.S. Senate. She has served as Delaware’s lone representative in the House since 2017. 

On Monday, Biden had breakfast with Blunt Rochester. He’s known her family for decades, and campaigned with her father, Theodore “Ted” Blunt, who served on the Wilmington City Council for almost a quarter century, including as president. Biden on Sunday evening formally endorsed Blunt Rochester, cutting a video for her campaign in which he called her “Delaware through and through.” 

Blunt Rochester is vying to succeed Sen. Tom Carper, who has held the seat since 2001 in the solidly Democratic state. He is retiring. 

Early voting in Delaware began on Saturday.

 
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America’s youngest voters help get out the vote for November election

The youngest voters taking part in the U.S. presidential election are called Gen Z. They range in age from roughly 18 to 27 years old. From learning how to vote, to soliciting support door to door, many are embracing the civic process of voting. VOA’s Laurel Bowman has our story. VOA footage and video editing by Saqib Ul Islam.
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How Green Party candidate Jill Stein could affect US election results

In next month’s U.S. presidential election, Green Party candidate Jill Stein is polling at around 1%. But her candidacy could have an outsized impact on the outcome, with some political analysts predicting that even a small percentage of votes for Stein could make a difference in crucial swing states. Maxim Adams has the story. VOA footage by Artem Kohan.
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