By Nikhila Natarajan
New York, Nov 3 (IANS): "Edgy", "knotted up" and "just waiting for November 3 to be over" is how anxious Americans in the crosshairs of multiple crises are describing their state of mind as they count down the hours to the US 2020 election on November 3.
"We first thought we would drop our ballots at the post office but finally we went on a bitterly cold day, waited in line and dropped it off in person," Mrs. Sloane, a senior in Union County, New Jersey, told IANS.
"I'm not watching TV on November 3. I'm not sure I can take it, it's just too toxic," Sloane said, as her husband looked on from a distance.
The Sloanes are not alone in their angst. They don't agree with Trump that people are tired of "Covid, Covid, Covid", they are angsty and "scared".
Voters arriving in record numbers to cast early ballots say they are worried about things they never imagined they would be thinking about with such intensity: What if Trump takes this to the courts? What if Trump declares victory if he's ahead in the early vote count? What if gun toting folks take to the streets? How far off are the pollsters, this time?
Raw nerves were made worse Monday morning when cars filled with Trump supporters were seen trying to push a Biden-Harris bus off the road. The FBI is investigating even as the clock ticks down to the wire and the threat of post-election violence looms.
Already, 300 lawsuits have been filed over the election across the country, mostly around changes to procedures driven by the pandemic.
Pennsylvania is increasingly shaping up to be the post election litigation hub. Here, the state court ordered that the deadline for receiving and counting mail in ballots is Friday, November 6 - a ruling that the Supreme Court left in place but may revisit.
That's not all. Trump has reportedly told his inner circle that he will prematurely declare victory on election night if he looks like he's "ahead," even if crucial states haven't finished counting.
The Biden campaign isn't ruling out declaring victory for themselves tomorrow.
Both sides have lawyered up, more than 97 million Americans have voted - a record, 231,000 Americans have died since March, and it's finally down to the wire.
Expect early results to trickle in just past 7 pm EST on November 3 - that's 5:.30 a.m. IST, November 4. We may not know the eventual winner on Election night, though.