U.S. presidential election promises drama

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Not much about 2020 has been ‘normal’ — including the United States presidential election.

Political Science Professor Matthew Lebo, of Western University, said the contest between Republican President Donald Trump and Democrat challenger Joe Biden, which culminates on Tuesday, election day, differs from previous campaigns in several ways.

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“This year is unique in that going into it we know that Donald Trump has an advantage in the electoral college… Biden needs to win by five or six points to be comfortable in winning the electoral college,” Lebo said. “It’s unusual in that one of the candidates has been very vocal in trying to undermine faith in the election, in the electoral process, that Donald Trump has not said that he would accept a result.”

“(Biden) needs to win by such an amount so that it’s incontrovertible to people who really won’t want to believe it — and that’s a very different standard,” he said.

Large numbers of Americans are also voting by mail this time around, so it’s possible there could be enough ballots sitting in mailboxes to swing a state, he said.

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What happens if Trump is ahead in a state at 11 p.m. on election day but there are still many mailed in ballots to be counted?

Some Americans are convinced — despite studies suggesting the contrary — that people can easily vote twice, he said.

“The potential for drama is there whether those fears are reasonable or not,” Lebo said. “It is perfectly normal for votes to take a while to be counted and now that will be made to look suspicious.”

Canadians barely blinked when the Conservatives under Andrew Scheer won the popular vote in 2019, and Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister and Scheer stepped down as party leader.

Yet, many Americans express doubt in their own election system.

“People have to have their faith restored in the process,” Lebo said.

aartuso@postmedia.com

GUNS AND ELECTIONS

Walmart announces it’s pulling guns and ammo from its U.S. stores prior to the election over concerns of civil unrest, only to reverse that decision days before the vote.

BIG FIRST IN AN ELECTION OF FIRSTS

Kamala Harris: First Black and Indian American woman to run for the position of vice president. And she spent some of her adolescent years in Montreal.

REAL OR MELANIA LOOK-ALIKE?

Internet alive with rumours that White House substituting a fake Melania at Trump events, but it turns out she’s the real deal.

TRUMP’S PROMISES

— Create 10 million jobs in 10 months

— Develop COVID-19 vaccine by end of 2020

— Return to “normal” in 2021

— Bring back one million jobs from China

— No federal contracts for companies that outsource to China

— Cut prescription drug prices

— Teach “American exceptionalism” in schools

— Cut taxes, although no specific amount

— “Drain the globalist swamp”

— Increase penalties for assaults on law enforcement officers

BIDEN’S PROMISES

— Raise corporate tax rate to 28%

— Minimum offshoring tax rate of 21%

— Raise top individual income tax rate to 39.6%

— Create one million auto industry jobs

— Achieve a carbon-free power sector by 2035

— Return the expression “climate change” to government

— Use federal procurement to increase demand for American-made cars

— Reverse Trump asylum policies

— Work to close the racial wealth gap

— Give Americans a public health insurance option like Medicare

TRUMP CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS

Bobby Orr

Jon Voight

Scott Baio

Kirstie Alley

Kid Rock

Ice Cube

Lil Wayne

BIDEN CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS

Billie Eilish

Jennifer Aniston

Taylor Swift

Dwayne Johnson

Leonardo DiCaprio

(and many more)

MONEY, HONEY

Estimated total spending in 2020 presidential campaign: record $6.6 billion

Total spending in 2016 presidential campaign: $2.4 billion

Joe Biden

Contributions just from donors as of Oct. 14: $938 million

Amount raised in donations of $200 or less: $560.9 million

Donald Trump

Contributions just from donors as of Oct. 14: $599 million

Amount raised in donations of $200 or less: $368.9 million

EARLY BIRD VOTING

Number of people who voted early in 2016: 47.2 million

Number of people who had already voted by Oct. 25: about 60 million

Number of U.S. citizens living in Canada eligible to vote in 2018: 516,309

(Sources: Federal Election Commission, Centre for Responsible Politics, U.S. Elections Project, Federal Voting Assistance Program)