This is the latest episode of the Chocolate News Podcast. We bring you news that discusses issues affecting the Black community.

On today’s show, we discuss the aftermath of 2024 Presidential Election, the closure of numerous Frisch’s restaurants, and more.

This week’s episode is hosted by John Alexander Reese (Digital Editor, The Cincinnati Herald) and Andria Carter (Digital Correspondent).

The views expressed on this podcast do not necessarily express the opinions of The Cincinnati Herald.

Originally recorded on Wednesday, November 13, 2024.

The post Chocolate News: 2024 Election Aftermath appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

By Dawn Montgomery

Political yard signs can symbolize intentions and allegiance. But this year, they’ve also symbolized betrayal. During this general election, Black women were led to believe that more White women would stand with us. Exit polls, however, told a different story. Despite overwhelming displays of support, more White women still chose to vote for the convicted felon, reality TV star, and rapist. White women answered the call but left us hanging at the polls.

A Familiar Disappointment

I live in DeKalb County, Georgia, and the abundance of Harris-Walz yard signs could’ve fooled me. But I’ve seen this before, back when Stacey Abrams ran for governor. White women showed up, put up signs, attended rallies, knocked on doors, and phone-banked. Yet, when it came time to vote, they let us down—not once but twice. I’ve been here for over 15 years, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that political signs are symbols without weight.

In every election, I’ve talked with White women. Most aren’t the primary earners in their families and vote along party lines, aligning with the preferences of their fathers and husbands. These conversations reveal a reluctance to break from tradition, even when their votes affect women and certainly when their votes impact the lives of people who look like me.

The Illusion of Solidarity—Symbols Are Not Enough

On social media, I’m seeing White women posting pictures of blue bracelets to “prove” they didn’t vote for Trump. “The blue bracelets are something White women are wearing so others can see that they didn’t vote for Trump,” says Liberal Lisa from Oklahoma on X. Chile, bye. These bracelets are hollow symbols, empty gestures that mean nothing to me. An accessory to claim distance from Trump’s legacy is superficial comfort, while the choice to not stand with us in the voting booth is far more profound.

I’ve seen Black Lives Matter signs and black squares posted on Instagram to “prove” support for Black people, but we now know that was a lie, too. Will those same people who claimed Black lives mattered now take down their Harris-Walz signs and show their true selves?

Navigating these truths is a daily struggle for me—professionally and socially. White women often misuse their privilege, supporting us only when it’s convenient. Seeing overqualified Black women sabotaged or abandoned by White women at critical moments is a constant emotional challenge. It’s exhausting to live with this reality, especially when solidarity seems like something they pick up and discard at will.

One clever campaign ad from Harris-Walz spoke directly to White women. “Your Vote, Your Choice” emphasized that their vote was private—independent of their household situation. Another was from Olivia Howell Dreizen, the “Vote Without Fear” campaign, which empowered women to consider the greater impact of their choices. But it seems many still couldn’t choose the roadmap to freedom—even when it was handed to them.

A Call for Action Beyond Words

White women, I want to believe you care, but actions speak louder than yard signs, bracelets, or Instagram posts. Show up in our communities, advocate in your workplaces, and stand up to dismantle the structures that uphold white supremacy. Only through real action will we know where you stand.

If you choose not to act, we see you—and we know exactly where you stand. Good luck these next four years.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of BlackPressUSA.com or the National Newspaper Publishers Association.

The post The Illusion of Allyship. White Women, Your Yard Signs Mean Nothing to Me appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

This is the latest episode of the Chocolate News Podcast. We bring you news that discusses issues affecting the Black community.

On today’s show, we discuss the results of the 2024 Presidential Election and more.

This week’s episode is hosted by John Alexander Reese (Digital Editor, The Cincinnati Herald) and Andria Carter (Digital Correspondent).

The views expressed on this podcast do not necessarily express the opinions of The Cincinnati Herald.

Originally recorded on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.

The post Chocolate News: Trump defeats Harris appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

This is the latest episode of the Chocolate News Podcast. We bring you news that discusses issues affecting the Black community.

On today’s show, we discuss the results of the 2024 Presidential Election and more.

This week’s episode is hosted by John Alexander Reese (Digital Editor, The Cincinnati Herald) and Andria Carter (Digital Correspondent).

The views expressed on this podcast do not necessarily express the opinions of The Cincinnati Herald.

Originally recorded on Wednesday, November 6, 2024.

The post Chocolate News: Trump Wins appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

By Farida Jalalzai, Virginia Tech

Kamala Harris was a candidate of many firsts, including the first Black and South Asian woman to run for president as the Democratic nominee.

Her resounding, swift loss in the presidential race to Republican Donald Trump on Nov. 5, 2024, means many things to different people, including the fact that American voters are unable to break the glass ceiling and elect a woman as president.

Amy Lieberman, a politics and society editor at The Conversation U.S., spoke with Farida Jalalzai, a scholar of women political leaders and gender in politics, to better understand the significance of Harris’ defeat – and how the U.S. stands apart from other countries that have had female leaders.

How important was Kamala Harris’ gender in her loss?

I can’t say it was a main reason she lost. But what I can say is it was a factor that contributed to her lack of support, especially when you compare her performance with Joe Biden’s in the same places and with almost all of the same voting groups he won in 2020. Gender was part of the campaign landscape in many different ways this election. Trump and his supporters used insulting tropes about what a woman leader would look like on the world stage. He used a lot of misogynistic and racist appeals in his campaign and tried to mobilize voters in ways that aimed to reinforce patriarchy.

What does Harris’ loss say about where gender equality stands in the country?

I am not surprised that the glass ceiling for women in politics is still super durable in the U.S. This is an example of the country’s limits of making true progress on women’s empowerment and equality. Of course, the fact that Harris was a woman of color vying to be the first woman president of the U.S. is pertinent.

Trump asserted that the country needs a strong man to lead. He portrayed Harris as a liberal extremist and generally got the message through that a woman would not be up to the job of president.

When Geraldine Ferraro ran as the first female vice presidential candidate nominated by a major party in 1984, there were a lot of questions about whether she would be tough enough on the world stage. Now, there are still questions about whether a woman would be tough enough to lead.

How does this election compare with Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign against Trump?

In 2016, Hillary Clinton highlighted the historic nature of a woman running for president of the U.S. – and, of course, she received nearly 3 million votes more than he did, though she still lost the election. Harris was reluctant to mention the historic nature of her candidacy. She did not mention this when she gave her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in August 2024. She recently explained this by saying, “Well, I’m clearly a woman. The point that most people really care about is can you do the job and do you have a plan to actually focus on them.”

Another important factor is Trump’s political trajectory. In 2016, Trump was still seen as an outlier and an extremist. Many political scientists – including myself – did not think he would receive the nomination, let alone win the general election that year. We see now that Trump is the new normal of the Republican Party. More moderate Republicans, such as Liz Cheney, are also not in power anymore. The party has become more extreme.

Is the country moving backward on gender equality, or is it stuck in neutral?

A few months ago, I would have said that the country is moving forward, but I feel like it’s moving backward now. That Trump’s sexist and racist messages resonated with a substantial number of people – or at least did not bother some enough – is a concern. Trump also said extreme things about women in 2016, including calling Hillary Clinton “a nasty woman.” This time around, these attacks seemed more normalized, saying that Harris was in a powerful political position only because she traded sexual favors, for example.

Women have led other countries. What makes the U.S. different?

The U.S. is a nuclear power and a major military and economic force. These realms are typically stereotyped by some as masculine. The president stands atop the U.S. political system and is directly elected. Women leaders often ascend through appointment as prime ministers in parliamentary systems. One of the vulnerabilities of prime ministers is that their terms in office are less secure. The traits deemed fitting for these roles – seeking compromise, for example – may prove less of a challenge to women than they would if they were seeking to be president of a powerful country like the U.S. on the world stage.

Only two women presidents in power in presidential systems were directly elected, and they are in Honduras and Mexico. The former is a former first lady, and the latter has strong ties to her predecessor. While women have been presidents of countries, several, such as the current presidents of Ethiopia, India and Greece, are essentially symbolic. Those positions are very different from the U.S. presidency, which has a more dominant role.

It is also pretty uncommon for a woman to be elected president in a presidential system without being a member of a powerful political family or without being supported by a male predecessor. When you look at Laura Chinchilla, the former president of Costa Rica, or former president of Brazil Dilma Rousseff, what connected a lot of these female politicians is that they were very much aided by male predecessors.

Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner, the former president of Argentina, had a wealth of political experience before she came to office in 2007, but she served immediately after her husband, Néstor Kirchner, was president.

There is a complexity to these cases, and a lot of these women brought in their own political credentials and experience. But there is still a tendency to have the additional demand that women in politics have these connections.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Farida Jalalzai, Virginia Tech

Read more:

• Trump’s comeback victory, after reshaping his party and national politics, looks a lot like Andrew Jackson’s in 1828
• Kamala Harris’ sudden political rise echoes that of another female politician, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern
• US voters say they’re ready for a woman president − but sexist attitudes still go along with opposition to Harris

Farida Jalalzai does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

The post Glass ceiling persists for women leaders appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

A diverse group of supporters, family members, and well-known allies, including D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, NAACP President Derrick Johnson, a host of other elected officials, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, looked on as Vice President Kamala Harris emerged onto the stage at Howard University to the stirring strains of Beyoncé’s “Freedom.” Jeezy’s song “My President,” which features the stirring line “My president is Black,” energized the crowd before her entrance, setting the scene for a moving farewell speech. The atmosphere was charged as Harris began, looking out at a sea of American flags and expectant faces at her alma mater.

“Every one of us, no matter who we are or where we start out, has certain fundamental rights and freedoms that must be respected and upheld,” she stated, pausing as applause swelled from the crowd. Harris made it clear that while her campaign had reached its end, the fight for justice and equity was only beginning. “We will continue to wage this fight in the voting booth, in the courts, and in the public square,” she affirmed, issuing a call to action that echoed her campaign’s spirit.

Harris addressed the emotions that many in the crowd were visibly grappling with. Speaking directly to the young people watching, she said, “It is OK to feel sad and disappointed, but please know it’s going to be OK… Sometimes the fight takes a while, that doesn’t mean we won’t win.” She reminded them, “Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars,” a line that drew a mix of cheers and solemn nods as the crowd took in her message of resilience.

Reflecting on the campaign, Harris shared her pride in the coalition they had built. “We have been intentional about building community… bringing people together from every walk of life,” she said, emphasizing the need to accept the election results but with an eye to the future. “This is not a time to throw up our hands,” she declared, urging her supporters to channel their emotions into continued efforts. “This is a time to roll up our sleeves.”

Harris acknowledged the fight ahead, framing it not as a loss but as a turning point. “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” she said firmly. “That is a fight I will never give up.” She took a moment to express her gratitude to those who had stood by her side, including her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, and her vice presidential candidate, Tim Walz. “I am so proud of the race we ran and the way we ran it,” she said. Her voice cracked slightly as she added, “We owe loyalty not to a president or to a party but to the Constitution of the United States.”

She acknowledged her call to President-elect Donald Trump, stating that she offered assistance to him in the upcoming transition. She urged her supporters not to give up, and to keep fighting for the Constitution and Democracy.

As she neared the end of her speech, Harris’s words took on an unmistakable urgency. “The fight for our freedom will take hard work, but like I always say, we like hard work,” she told the crowd. She urged them to continue engaging, reminding them that meaningful change requires sustained effort.

With a final, defiant wave, Harris walked off the stage arm in arm with Emhoff, her head held high as Beyoncé’s “Freedom” filled the air once more. Her last words: “Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”

The post VP Harris urges supporters to continue fighting appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s words mirrored Shirley Chisholm’s groundbreaking observation decades ago: “Of the two handicaps, being Black is much less of a handicap than being a female.” Crockett’s reflection on Donald Trump’s resounding victory over Vice President Kamala Harris pointed to what many saw as a dissonance between the candidate and the country’s decision. Crockett highlighted Harris’s qualifications, intelligence, and kindness compared to Trump, yet acknowledged the public’s apparent preference for fear over progress. “As I said many times on the trail, this election was more about us and what it is that we wanted for our future… and well PROJECT 2025 is loading,” she warned, referencing the former president’s sweeping agenda.

For many African Americans, Trump’s victory felt like an isolating moment, a reaffirmation of what they’ve long suspected: their allies were never permanent. Bishop Talbert Swan put it bluntly on social media: “There is no Black/brown coalition…Latinos voted on the side of white supremacy. We’re in this by ourselves.” Swan’s words echo the sentiments of many Black voters who watched as Latino support for Trump surged, even as his platform targeted marginalized communities. Meanwhile, Black voters were again held to their high standard of loyalty to the Democratic Party, only to feel abandoned as alliances dissolved and communities prioritized their own survival.

“Black people are tired,” shared journalist Kathia Woods on Let It Be Known, the Black Press of America’s daily news broadcast. This sentiment of exhaustion has been echoed across social media, as Washington Informer journalist Anthony Tilghman tweeted an arresting graphic illustrating Black Americans’ sense of isolation: “This presidential race highlights the significant influence of race on the election outcome,” Tilghman wrote. “A majority of white women and men expressed reluctance towards having another Black president in office, regardless of the individual’s qualifications.”

Public figures sounded their own alarms on the social media landscape. Cardi B took to Instagram, bluntly posting: “I hate ya’ll bad,” in a pointed message to Trump voters. Justice correspondent Elie Mystal offered a sobering perspective: “Black people are relatively well prepared for what’s about to happen because it’s happened to us before. America has done this to us before.”

The stakes stretch further than any one individual’s leadership, with significant consequences predicted for American institutions. Actor Wendell Pierce, reflecting on Trump’s influence on the Supreme Court, tweeted, “The Supreme Court will be changed for a generation… I’ll never see a moderate court again in my lifetime.” For others, Yvette Nicole Brown captured the sentiment that the rest of the country may now begin to feel what Black communities have long endured. “The rest of you are about to be shocked by how America treats you when it doesn’t care about you… The find out phase has begun,” she posted.

Across demographics, voting trends highlighted a widening rift as each non-Black group increased their support for Trump. “When we say Black people have no permanent allies… we mean Black people have no permanent allies,” noted one commenter, underscoring a stark double standard: the willingness to elect a convicted felon, with seemingly little regard for qualifications or integrity.

The sense of betrayal was palpable in many reflections. Elie Mystal captured this frustration, stating, “Watching Latinos chase model minority status has never sat well with Black people, but this is a wound the Black community won’t soon forget.” The solidarity once hoped for among marginalized groups seems distant, fractured along lines of race, ideology, and self-interest.

Meanwhile, University of South Carolina Professor Sueanna Smith weighed in on the structural underpinnings of this political moment, explaining, “There is a reason why educated people vote blue. What we’re seeing is the uneducated population of America holding the rest of the country hostage. This is why there’s such a push to weaken education, ban books, and outlaw the teaching of Black history by the Republican Party.”

As Mystal aptly put it, “One thing I do worry about, is that the ‘solidarity’ between ‘people of color’ has been significantly damaged. Black people have learned that all we have is each other.”

The post Election proves Black Americans have no allies appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

If there were a job description for the presidency, it might as well be written in bold print: women and people of color need not apply. America made history on November 5, though not the kind many would have foreseen. Voters chose a convicted leader whom a jury has found guilty 34 times, a man whom a judge ruled committed massive business fraud, while another court determined he had sexually assaulted a journalist.

They chose the felon over the prosecutor, fascism over democracy, and servitude over freedom.

Latinos and white women, many of whom once more voted against their own interests, who have borne the brunt of his attacks, were primarily responsible for this outcome. But plainly put, Donald Trump has ascended to the highest office in the land once more. A bruised Kamala Harris, meanwhile, didn’t bother to address the thousands of heartbroken supporters who had gathered at Howard University and soaked up hours by dancing, praying, and hoping that they’d witness the first woman—and first Black and Southeast Asian woman—claim the presidency. As the clock ticked toward midnight, it became clear: Trump had taken the race, and, surprisingly, it wasn’t even close.

“I have to say from basically start to finish this night has been clear,” election analyst Harry Enten said on CNN. “There hasn’t been any weird shifting directions. It’s basically been Trump since we got the first counties in. Very much unlike 2020 when there was whiplash as the vote count went on.” Unofficial results showed that Trump earned at least 276 electoral college votes compared to Harris’s 223.

The battleground states that so-called experts had insisted were in play weren’t close at all: North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio all went Trump.

Riding Trump’s wave, the GOP regained control of the Senate, guaranteeing the rapid implementation of their sweeping conservative agenda, Project 2025. Democrats held out hope for the House, but with Trump facing little to no punishment for his alleged crimes, many wonder if it matters. Many European leaders watched the results overnight.

A French official told NBC News that President Emmanuel Macron viewed the results with some sleep breaks in between. He was one of the first to congratulate Trump, posting on X that he was “ready to work together as we did for four years.”

In Europe, the viability of NATO and other trans-Atlantic alliances hangs in the balance. Despite controversy over Labor Party officials openly backing Harris, Prime Minister Keir Starmer had little choice when he expressed optimism about the “special relationship” between the U.K. and U.S., saying, “I look forward to working with you in the years ahead.”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, himself viewed as the kind of dictator Trump promises to become, appeared ecstatic, writing on X, “The biggest comeback in U.S. political history! A much-needed victory for the World!” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took a more formal tone, emphasizing Germany’s commitment to working with the U.S. “promoting prosperity and freedom,” while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the E.U.-U.S. relationship as “a true partnership.”

Back home, the path forward looks perilous for Trump’s political enemies. The outcome is a catastrophe for the world, many said. While Harris’s campaign was characterized by skill, grace, and a desire to become the first female president in America’s 248-year history, Trump’s campaign was marred by vulgarity, inflammatory rhetoric, and an attitude toward immigrants that often-echoed history’s darkest chapters. It may have been fair to ask, how was the race even close?

Exit polls reveal that white women, who appeared on the verge of breaking free from the grip of MAGA ideology, voted heavily for Trump despite his disregard for their rights and autonomy. Latino voters also leaned toward Trump, despite his incendiary rhetoric, which included labeling Puerto Rico as an “island of trash” at a recent Madison Square Garden rally.

Democrats must also face the reality of their shocking defeat. After a final debate in which some questioned his cognitive skills, the party sidelined President Joe Biden yet failed to portray Trump as the volatile threat he posed. With his 2020 victory in hand, Biden had warned that he alone could defeat Trump. But instead of managing their issues internally, Democrats choose to embarrass Biden, forcing him out just over 100 days before the election.

Although Harris raised unprecedented amounts of cash and had the backing of global celebrities, she and the Democratic National Committee faced criticism from Black Americans. There were complaints that the campaign appeared to scapegoat Black men, with even former President Barack Obama publicly admonishing Black voters for not doing enough.

High-ranking Democrats, including DNC Chair Jamie Harrison and former Congressman Cedric Richmond, played and lost the dangerous game of alienating Black voters, too. The campaign and the DNC largely ignored the Black Press, notably the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)—the trusted voice of Black America. Instead of engaging with Black-owned outlets in a move that would not only have provided needed resources for these African American small businesses while helping to get the party’s vital messaging to a critical constituency, the DNC choose to enrich wealthy mainstream outlets and leave out the Black Press. The DNC betrayed the NNPA by allowing the DNC to approach some Black newspapers with miniscule ad buys.

Harris’s campaign, if reluctantly so, only carried through on Biden’s original promise to spend the same $1.5 million with the Black Press of America that Biden’s people had promised. The paltry sum even rankled high-ranking Black lawmakers like Congressman Benny Thompson of Mississippi, who led the House Committee investigating Trump. Harris’s campaign and the DNC wrongly determined that the nearly 200-year-old Black Press couldn’t reach Black and Latino communities as effectively as megastars like Beyoncé, Tyler Perry, and Samuel L. Jackson. Instead, as an extension of the Biden administration, they offered cursory invites to functions like the White House’s Black Excellence celebration, and, after some pleading, access to campaign events like the vice president’s closing argument on the Ellipse and her no-show appearance at Howard University.

There’s little doubt that limited ad buys and the flat refusal to engage the Black Press backfired.

A lack of Trump’s accountability made the mistakes worse. Following his second impeachment by the House, Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, who had called Trump “stupid” and “despicable,” had the opportunity to bar Trump from ever running again. But McConnell balked, and Trump was acquitted. After Trump incited the January 6 insurrection, Democrats in Congress led a drawn-out investigation before finally recommending criminal charges. By the time prosecutors in New York, Georgia, Washington, and Florida issued indictments, Trump had rebranded these as “political witch hunts,” gathering momentum as a martyr figure.

“For nearly a decade, he has tapped into America’s id,” U.S. Guardian editor Betsy Reed observed, pointing to a painful racial history stoked by Obama’s election and a sense of displacement among white Christian Americans. Xenophobia, Reed added, remains the backbone of Trump’s political identity. His campaign’s investment in ads stirring fear over transgender rights (“Kamala’s agenda is they/them, not you”) only magnified the appeal.

With a sinister assist from billionaire Elon Musk, Trump secured his victory. “Now brace for another Trump inauguration—American carnage redux—and another fantastical claim about his crowd size,” Reed declared. “Brace for norms to be trampled, institutions to be undermined, opponents to be targeted for retribution. Brace for an Oval Office occupied by a malignant narcissist without guardrails this time. Brace for unhinged all-caps tweets that trigger news cycles and move markets. Brace for national anxiety off the charts and global tremors from China to Ukraine. Brace, also, for a new resistance and surge of anti-Trump energy.”

While many across the globe and in America ask how Trump returned to power, Reed concluded with an ominous reflection: “America had ample opportunities to stop Donald Trump, but each time, it failed. It won’t turn into an autocracy overnight, but there’s no doubt this is a democracy in decay.” And in a piercing final remark, she paraphrased Oscar Wilde: “To elect Trump once may be regarded as a misfortune; to elect him twice looks like madness.”

The post Trump returns to power in surprise victory appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

The nation wakes up to Election Day with heavy hearts and nerves on edge as Americans decide the future in one of the most pivotal and high-stakes elections in modern history. Downtown Washington, D.C., and major cities brace under the weight of both the election’s outcome and the threat of violence, a chilling reminder of the turmoil that followed the 2020 election.

Voters will now have to decide between former President Donald Trump, who has increased his rhetoric to include threats to imprison and even execute political rivals, and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running on a platform of bringing the country together and healing its divisions.

“We stand today in the fullness of our faith, power, and purpose,” said Waikinya J.S. Clanton, founder of Black Women for Kamala. Clanton emphasized that her organization is more than a political group. “This journey began with a divine whisper—to build a sacred sanctuary where Black women’s power could shine undimmed and our purpose expand unlimited,” she noted.

With over 78 million early votes already cast, results are expected to roll in throughout the night. However, as polls close in Indiana and Kentucky at 6 p.m. ET and in Georgia and North Carolina, two crucial battleground states, at 7 and 7:30 p.m. Eastern, respectively, early insights could emerge. A decisive victory in one or both states could pave a clearer path, but a tight race would extend the wait for a definitive answer.

Heightened security blankets Washington, D.C., where federal and local officials have fortified the White House, Capitol, and Harris’s residence with barricades, restricted zones, and street closures. Many businesses have boarded up windows and bolstered security, unwilling to take chances. Eric J. Jones from the Apartment and Office Building Association remarked, “It’s just fear—businesses are taking no chances.”

In D.C. and cities nationwide, private security firms report a spike in demand as businesses brace for potential unrest. At Howard University, where Harris will spend election night, streets are closed off for several blocks around The Yard. Supporters and media await what could be a history-making speech from the vice president, marking a powerful close to her final campaign push.

While Trump’s final campaign stops saw smaller crowds and more heated rhetoric, Harris’ rallies in crucial swing states brought thousands of people to Philadelphia, along with performances by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin. On the campaign trail, Trump’s language has intensified to unprecedented levels, even simulating a lewd act on stage, leaving audiences shocked.

The battleground states stand as the ultimate deciders, with every vote holding weight in Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, which close their polls by 8 p.m. Eastern. But Pennsylvania and other Blue Wall states, such as Michigan and Wisconsin, are likely to see extended vote counts due to high volumes of mail ballots. If early results favor Harris in Georgia and North Carolina, her path to victory will look clearer; if Trump takes the lead, the race could hinge on states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, and counting may continue into the following days.

Western states like Arizona and Nevada may ultimately hold the final answers if results remain unclear in the East. Arizona’s polls close at 9 p.m. ET, and Nevada’s an hour later. Both states are heavily reliant on mail-in ballots, meaning final tallies could be further delayed.

Several fast-counting congressional districts, including Virginia’s Second and Seventh and North Carolina’s First, might offer hints of broader trends. However, the nation remains focused on the top of the ticket.

Campaigning in Michigan, Harris’s running mate Tim Walz made a pitch to men, whom Trump is also courting. “I want you to think about the women in your life that you love,” Walz said. “Their lives are at stake in this election.”

The post A Divided America Votes as Nation Braces for Impact on Election Night appeared first on The Cincinnati Herald .

By Amy Dacey, American University

Unlike many other countries, where the president or prime minister is chosen by direct popular vote, in the United States a candidate may win the popular vote and still not be elected to the nation’s highest office. The U.S. also differs from most other democracies in that it has no independent electoral commission to certify the final vote count.

So who actually confirms the winner?

Step 1: Before Election Day

American democracy has many elected officials – state, local and national – and many processes for getting into office.

I have been working on election campaigns since I was 8 years old, when my dad ran for school board and I went door to door asking people to vote for him. I’ve also worked on local, congressional, senate and presidential races and now direct an academic research center on politics.

What’s striking is that every race is different, from deadlines and filing process to certification. Here, I’ll focus on the presidential race.

The unusual and complicated presidential election certification process in the U.S. entwines all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the Senate, House of Representatives, the National Archives and the Office of the Federal Register. It also involves the Electoral College – a uniquely American institution that convenes in 51 separate locations once every four years to pick the president.

This monthslong process was custom designed as a compromise by the Founding Fathers, who did not believe the American people should directly choose the president and vice president but did not want to give Congress the power of selection, either.

The Constitution declares that American presidential elections occur on the first Tuesday in November, every four years. But the federal election process actually begins in October, when the Archivist of the United States – a presidential appointee responsible for maintaining the government’s most important official documents – sends a letter to the governor of each state.

The document outlines their responsibilities regarding the Electoral College, which is not a place but a process by which electors – people who are chosen by their party – vote for their party’s presidential candidate.

The machinery of the Electoral College is complicated, but in short, Americans vote for electors and the electors vote for the president. Then, the winner is declared – right?

Read more:
How is the American President elected?

Step 2: After Election Day

Not quite.

Once a final tally of voters’ in-person, mail-in and provisional ballots has been concluded, all 50 governors prepare their state’s Certificate of Ascertainment, a document listing their electors for the competing candidates.

Each state completes that process at its own rate. This year, because of all the lawsuits disputing the results of the 2020 election, there are new procedures in place to expedite challenges to a state’s Certificate of Ascertainment by an aggrieved candidate. Once completed, copies of the Certificate of Ascertainment are submitted to the U.S. Archivist.

After the governor submits names to the Archivist, each state’s Electoral College electors meet in the state capital – D.C.’s meet in D.C. – to formally cast their votes for president and vice president on the first Tuesday after the second Wednesday in December. This year, that’s Dec. 17, 2024.

In ways that vary state by state, each state’s electors prepare six Certificates of Vote. One of them is sent by registered mail to the president of the U.S. Senate and another to the Archivist of the United States. The remaining four certificates are sent to state officials.

That fulfills the Electoral College’s duties until the next presidential election.

Step 3: Congress meets

On Jan. 6, Congress convenes to count the electoral votes and certify the winner of the election.

Because the sitting vice president also serves as president of the Senate, Kamala Harris will preside over this count in 2025, just as Vice President Mike Pence did in January 2021 when Joe Biden officially became president-elect. Each state, called upon in alphabetical order, files its votes.

This process is normally ceremonial, because by January the media has declared a winner and usually a concession speech has been given. But, officially, it is the moment of truth.

On Jan. 6, 2021, an armed pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying Biden’s victory. Both chambers of Congress were evacuated during the attack, and five people were killed.

Lawmakers reconvened a few hours later. It is the vice president’s job to announce the results and ask whether there are any objections. After the violent assault on the Capitol, most Senate Republicans abandoned their plans to dispute Biden’s win in 2021, but six still objected.

Objections are not unprecedented. In 2001 Democratic House representatives tried for 20 minutes to block Florida’s highly contested electoral votes for George W. Bush.

Both of those efforts failed because objections had to be signed by both a member of the House and the Senate before being voted on by both chambers of Congress. Lodging challenges got harder following legislation passed in 2022. Now, 20 senators and 87 House members must back any challenge to the certification of a state’s Electoral College results.

In 2021, it fell to Pence, as president of the Senate, to declare Biden – not Trump – the next president of the United States. He fulfilled his constitutional duty despite immense pressure from Trump to subvert democracy.

After the Senate certifies the election results, all the Certificates of Ascertainment and Certificates of Vote become available for public review at the Office of the Federal Registrar for one year, then transferred to the National Archives for the permanent record.

Those who question the outcome of a U.S. election, in other words, can double-check the tabulations themselves.

What happens in a tie?

In the extraordinary event that no candidate wins in the Electoral College, the House of Representatives meets to elect the next president. This is how John Quincy Adams became president in 1824.

Established almost 250 years ago, this complex process is a foundation of American democracy. Many have questioned whether this antiquated system truly represents the will of the people in modern America.

But for 2024, with a few tweaks, it remains the process that will decide the presidential race.

This article was originally published during the 2020 presidential election. It was updated on Nov. 1, 2024.

This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Amy Dacey, American University

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Amy Dacey is the former CEO of the Democratic National Committee. She has donated to the Harris for President campaign in the 2024 election cycle.

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