Hundreds of U.S. based Upsilonians will be casting their votes in the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. With over 78 million Americans having already cast their ballots by mail or through early voting, chances are many Fil-Am Upsilonians may have already voted.

The contest between Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump will be a nail-biter, if the latest polls are to be believed.

According to the latest national election-eve polling, Harris has a slim three-point margin over Trump, 51% to 48%, well within the margin of error. Other polling has it as a virtual tie. There are seven swing states that will decide the election - Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The New York Times/Siena College poll released Sunday shows Harris ahead in Georgia, North Carolina, and Nevada as well as Wisconsin — with Pennsylvania and Michigan in a tie. Trump is ahead in Arizona. Even if the tied states went to Trump, those leads would be enough for a narrow Harris Electoral College victory. The lead for each candidate is within the margin of error, and the winner will probably not be decided until several days after election day, with millions of mail-in ballots having to be counted, and in some states, by hand.

Also at stake is control of the Senate and the House. There are 34 Senate seats and all 435 House seats up for grabs.

The Democrats currently have a slim two-seat majority in the Senate, 51 to 49 (there are actually 47 democrats and 4 independents who caucus with them). The Republicans have an eight-seat majority in the House, 220-212, with three vacancies. Whether or not support for Harris or Trump will translate down-ballot remains to be seen.

A majority of Fil-Am Upsilonians reside in the solid blue states of California, Illinois, New York and New Jersey. A few live in the reliable red states of Ohio, Texas and Florida. Florida used to be a battleground state but has voted solidly Republican in the last three presidential contests. Some Upsilonians reside in the swing states of Nevada, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

There are many Upsilonians who are registered democrats and registered republicans, and this always elicits lively debates and discussions on social media; still, some are independents with no party affiliation. It is probably true that more Fil-Am Upsilonians tend to vote blue, although no survey nor poll has ever been done to confirm this. It might be a meaningful project for the Upsilon Sun to conduct one in the near future.

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