Across the United States, polling stations have opened where one of the most uncertain presidential races will be decided, in which the chances of current President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney are nearly equal.
As expected, the votes of voters in several ‘swing’ states will determine the electoral winner and the future occupant of the White House.
After polling places traditionally opened at midnight in the small towns of Dixville Notch and Hart’s Location in New Hampshire, polling stations opened in the morning on the American East Coast, and at least 120 million Americans are expected to exercise their voting rights.
Their decision will determine the direction the country will take as well as budget spending policy, tax policy, health care issues, and foreign policy challenges.
Some American media published forecasts of election results the day before the presidential elections based on the latest national polls and in so-called battleground states, according to which President Barack Obama wins a second term with more than 270 electoral votes and only a slight majority of the total votes cast.
American public radio NPR predicts in its election blog that Obama will win a second term with an absolute majority of 277 electoral votes, while Republican challenger Mitt Romney receives 261.
The New York Times in its election blog FiveThirtyEight, named after the 538 members of the Electoral College, predicts that Obama will win 307 electoral votes to 231 for Romney, with 50.6 percent of the total votes cast, compared to 48.5 percent for Romney. According to this calculation, Obama has an 86.3 percent chance of winning, while Romney has only a 13.7 percent chance.
