Key issues for voters in closest US presidential election
Voters fill out ballots in booths during early voting in the Brooklyn borough of New York City in a past election. Americans will head to the polls on November 5 to vote in the 2024 presidential election.
As Americans vote for their next president on Tuesday, the usual dividing line is often that of the party: Democrat vs Republican.
But there are other issues that could play a decisive role in the mind of voters to choose between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
Several opinion polls indicate that the 2024 US election remains a tight race between the two presidential candidates, but seven major issues could influence how the country votes.
Polls have shown that, on average, 41 percent of respondents will consider the economy, 21 percent the protection of democracy and 12 for immigration policy.
Other issues like reproductive rights (11 percent), health care (six percent), climate change (three percent) and foreign policy at two percent are also useful.
With regard to the state of the economy, inflation has fallen dramatically from its peak of nine percent in June 2022 to three percent now, and food price inflation is just over two percent, according to the latest official figures.
Both candidates say they will address high prices. Trump promises to ensure prices come down while Harris backs a federal government ban on price gouging on food and groceries.
When it comes to protecting democracy, the 2016 and 2020 elections come to the fore, with Trump in the spotlight. In the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton, who won the popular vote but lost the electoral college to Trump, raised concerns about rigging, with Russia being accused of interfering in the election.
In 2020, after losing to President Joe Biden, the then incumbent Trump vehemently rejected the results and led a series of protests, culminating in the chaotic events of the January 6, 2021 insurrection, when he addressed his supporters who stormed Capitol Hill in Washington DC in what was seen as an attempted coup two months after his defeat.
As a consequence, he unceremoniously left the White House, refusing to hand over to his successor Biden, the 46th President. Some 21 percent of the voters are said to be concerned about protecting democracy in the world’s freest country, putting pressure on the Republican candidate as he continues to push his “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Former vice president (Republican) Dick Cheney has declared his support for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris over Trump.
Some Republicans unhappy with Trump's control of their party and his actions have thrown their weight and support behind Harris, including several former senior aides to former presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. Former Congresswoman Liz Cheney, a Republican, but now a fierce critic of the party's candidate, has sided with Harris.
“In our nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our republic than Donald Trump” Cheney had said on September 6, 2024.
“As citizens, we have a duty to put country above partisanship to defend our Constitution. That is why I will be casting my vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.”
In response through a social media post, Trump called the Cheneys (Liz and Dick) “irrelevant RINOs” (Republicans in Name Only), a term he uses to describe Republicans who oppose him.
Some 12 percent of the registered voters are concerned about immigration. US border policy remains a key election issue for both candidates, with some polls indicating that 77 percent of Americans believe the southern border is either an ongoing crisis or is a major problem.
53 percent support the expansion of the border wall and 63 percent would support the president temporarily closing the border to asylum seekers if the border is overwhelmed. Trump has promised to carry out what he calls the largest deportation operation should he find his way back to the oval office, targeting undocumented immigrants.
America’s foreign policy is also a big issue. Middle East crisis shadow in Gaza is a crucial matter that has both candidates gasping for breath on pronouncements to commit.
Iran’s increasing direct confrontation with Israel, a key US ally, could make the Middle East conflict a higher priority issue for American voters, particularly in Michigan, one of the battleground states and home to the highest concentration of Arab Americans.
