Trinis living in the United States have voted in the country’s 60th presidential election, which they say could be the most crucial election in terms of policies that could affect them.

Some of those voters told the Express yesterday that the process had gone smoothly and fairly, with some choosing early voting a few days before, while others went to the polls yesterday.

A common practice among them was the participation of younger people in the voting process.

Considered by foreign analysts to be one of the tightest races in the recent history of American politics, polls in the United States through yesterday had Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump in the lead. neck and neck, each needing at least 270 votes. 538 electoral votes to win the presidency.

Local political analysts say the outcome of the race remains too close to call and could be determined by yesterday’s turnout.

Responding to an invitation from Express to share their experience on social networks, readers reported a quick vote at the polls yesterday.

One commenter said he voted at 6 a.m., when polls opened.

“There weren’t many people. It was about a five minute wait at the district booth to register. Less than five minutes to fill out the ballot and hand deliver it to the scanner. I waited to make sure it was scanned and the vote count increased,” he continued.

Many others have reported a smooth experience, without any issues. The staff was also helpful, they said.

Another commenter added: “Here in Southern California, my wife and I arrived at the voting center around 7:10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. Voting began at 7 a.m. The line was short when we arrived. It took us about 20 minutes to vote. Once we finished, the line was much longer. Everyone was in order and behaved well.

Other people said they opted for early voting, which also went smoothly.

“I voted early on Friday, the line was a little long but it moved quickly. Everyone was pretty nice and everything went well,” said one reader.

Ballot security checks

Tri-American Mitch Singh, who has lived in the United States for more than 30 years, is legally blind and uses the mail-in voting system.

“They posted the ballot at our house (in Florida), so we could have voted at any time. But they called us first and made sure we (including his Trini born wife) were US citizens. So they did a background check on us – we got our passports back – and they made sure before they sent out the ballots. We got the ballots back on Sunday, and they took them and checked them. In Florida, there are security checks when submitting the ballot.

“It was really easy. I’m legally blind, so my wife helped me, I signed as best I could. We took it into account and this morning (Tuesday) I called around 9 a.m. and I was happy to hear that my vote had been counted,” he told the Express during a telephone interview.

A California resident and U.S. citizen for more than 50 years, who asked to remain anonymous, said she voted by mail two weeks ago to avoid the last-minute hassle associated with “same-day” voting.

Asked about the mail-in voting process, she said: “It’s beautiful. I do it without stressing. I am able to take my time. My process is very stress free. I don’t wait until the last day.

This, she added, allows any discrepancies to be verified and corrected.

“I get mine so early that if there was a problem I would have known about it. That’s one of the reasons I’m doing it early,” she added.

This election was marked by an increase in the number of young voters, she observed.

She added: “Most people I know feel it is their duty and responsibility to vote. I heard that many young people, who don’t usually vote, went to vote en masse.”

Don’t take risks

In Virginia, a Trinidad-born, Carenage-raised man who has been a U.S. citizen for nearly 50 years said his voting experience was “nothing unusual”:

“It was uneventful because I live in the state of Virginia and they allow in-person early voting. I voted until the end of September. I am generally an early voter. I don’t like to go there the same day in case something happens; I don’t want to find myself in a situation where I can’t vote,” he said in a telephone interview yesterday.

However, he added that while he did not see the outcome of this election significantly affecting American politics, he believed it would affect the mood of the country.

“This could derail much of the progress the world has made. I am more concerned about international affairs and world affairs. These will be affected,” he said.

Another Trinidadian woman living in Brooklyn, New York, said she was happy to vote. The woman, now in her 60s, emigrated to the United States when she was a teenager. She added that she saw Haitians who did not speak English not failing in their civic duty.