US Elections: Exit poll states economy, racial inequality most vital issues among voters

According to an exit poll in the ongoing US Presidential Election, the most important issues for American voters are economic problems and racial inequality, while the COVID-19 pandemic comes only third. As many as one-third of respondents primarily focus on the economic situation, while one-fifth view racial inequality as the main issue of the presidential elections, CNN reported.

COVID-19 not the most important issue for US voters?

As per the poll, the COVID-19 pandemic is the foremost issue for only one out of six US citizens despite it being the worst-affected country with over 9,365,360 COVID-19 cases and 232,484 deaths due to the virus. 11% of respondents feel crime and safety, along with health care are a matter of concern.

According to the poll conducted by CNN, a total of 51% of voters are negatively assessing the country's efforts to fight the pandemic, whereas 48% share the opposite outlook. Moreover, for 52% of respondents, it is more important to stop the spread of the virus than to protect the economy. The poll was conducted among 7,774 voters at 115 polling locations as well as 4,919 early and absentee voters by phone.

'There's no reason to play games'

Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would declare victory in the presidential elections "only when there is a victory". "There's no reason to play games. I look at it as being a very, very solid chance of winning here. I don't know how they rate the chances," Trump said on "Fox & Friends" during a morning phone interview, as quoted by CNN and added, "I think a lot of that has to do with the tremendous crowd size."

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Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday promised that if he gets elected he would not differentiate between the Democrat and Republican states. "I promise you this, as I'm running as a proud Democrat if you elect me, I'm going to be an American President, there will be no red states or blue states just the United States of America," Biden said while addressing his supporters in Philadelphia. Addressing the magnitude of the novel coronavirus, he assured people that the nation would overcome the pandemic by making "smart moves".

Over 100 million people have already voted and some states, such as Pennsylvania, will report the in-person vote count before moving through the absentee ballots. Some 239 million people are eligible to vote this year. The mail-in ballots could take days to be counted - meaning a winner might not be declared in the hours after polls close on Tuesday.

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(With agency inputs)

(Image Credit: AP)