The Associated Press reported on September 20 that on-site voting for the US presidential election began on September 20 local time. After a summer of political turmoil, this milestone event kicked off a six-week sprint before Election Day. Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia were the first to open early on-site voting, and voters have lined up in long lines. By mid-October, more than a dozen states will open on-site voting.
The report said that before the in-person voting began, the US political arena had experienced a turbulent summer. President Biden withdrew from the election and Vice President Harris became the Democratic candidate. Republican candidate Trump suffered an assassination attempt. Just nine weeks later, another assassination attempt against him occurred. Election supervisors across the country are stepping up security to ensure the safety of staff and polling places.
According to the report, some voters said that one of the main reasons for not wanting to wait is the possibility of chaos on Election Day. In many places in Virginia, early voting has been popular. Eric Spicer, the election director of Fairfax County, said that during the 2020 election, about a third of local voters came to the polling place on Election Day, while others chose to mail their ballots or vote in person in advance. Given the ongoing difficulties facing the U.S. Postal Service, some voters may choose to vote in person in advance instead of mailing their ballots to ensure that their votes are counted.
After the Federal Reserve announced a rate cut, Republican presidential candidate and former President Trump and Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Harris began to exchange sharp words again. Trump said that such a large rate cut showed that "the economy is very bad"; Harris called the rate cut "good news", promised to lower prices, and attacked Trump's economic plan.
According to Bloomberg, Trump said at a campaign event in Manhattan that the rate cut was "very unusual" and either meant that "the economy is very bad" or that "they are playing politics." In an interview with U.S. media on the 19th, he said that the rate cut was a "political move to try to keep someone in office," but it would not work because inflation was already so severe.
Harris said in a statement that the rate cut is "welcome news" for Americans who are suffering from high prices, and her top priority if elected president will be to reduce the cost of daily life. According to Harris, if Trump is elected, he will use the "Trump tax" to increase the annual expenses of an average American family by nearly $4,000.
Trump's economic plan includes imposing high tariffs on imported products. Harris said at a campaign rally in North Carolina in August that this is equivalent to imposing a "Trump tax" on daily necessities imported from other countries, which will increase the burden on Americans' lives and "destroy Americans."