Biden casts 2024 presidential ballot amid tight race between Harris, Trump

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) – With Election Day eight days out, US President Joe Biden cast his early ballot in his home state of Delaware Monday, months after dropping out of the race and endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris, in the race against Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Rather than jump to the front, Biden waited his turn in a line of about 100 people for about 30 minutes, chatting with his fellow voters at the polling place in New Castle, a city just south of the state capital.

“Joseph Biden, now voting,” a poll worker announced after the president signed in.

Biden had hoped to be on the ballot this year, but made the decision to drop out after a June debate performance that raised further concerns about his mental acuity. While he lent Harris his full-throated endorsement, he has largely remained off the campaign trail amid sagging popularity.

Biden was asked if casting his early ballot for Harris marked a bittersweet moment for him after ending his 50-year political career by withdrawing from the White House race.

"This is sweet," he replied.

An average of polling compiled by the RealClearPolitics website shows Trump and Harris in a virtual dead heat nationally ahead of next week’s election, set for Tuesday, Nov. 5. But Trump leads in key battleground states that will be pivotal to the race's outcome.

Trump's lead is narrowest in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and North Carolina, where the ex-president is ahead by 0.1%, 0.3%, 0.5%, 0.7% and 0.8%, respectively. He leads by 1.5% in Nevada and 2.3% in Georgia.

Those states are pivotal, because the US does not directly elect its presidents. Instead, the process plays out via the Electoral College where 538 representatives cast their ballots in line with their states’ outcomes.

Either candidate needs to secure 270 Electoral College votes to claim victory. Electors are allocated to states based on their population, and most states give all of their electors to whichever candidate wins the state in the general vote.

The winner-take-all model is not followed in Nebraska and Maine, however, which instead allocate their votes proportionally based on their final outcomes.