California Votes to Continue Affirmative Action Ban

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A public vote to reinstate affirmative action in admissions at public universities in California failed in this week’s elections.Supporters of Proposition 16 hoped the state would return to allowing race and gender to be a factor in admissions at public universities, but the measure was defeated 56% to 44%.Ten U.S. states have banned such a policy – known as affirmative action: California, Texas, Washington, Florida, Michigan, Nebraska, Arizona, New Hampshire, Oklahoma and Idaho.With nine universities and 285,000 students, the University of California system is the largest in the United States. In 1996, it was among the first university systems tomore

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Biden Takes Lead in Pennsylvania, Georgia

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Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden has gained razor thin leads over President Donald Trump in Georgia and Pennsylvania, as vote counting continues Friday.The Trump campaign continues to dispute the results, however, saying in a statement Friday the “this election is not over,” and claiming the president will ultimately win after expected recounts in close state races. The Trump campaign has also filed legal challenges over unsubstantiated allegations of vote fraud and irregularities. Biden currently leads in the popular vote as well as the Electoral College count, 253-214, with a majority of 270 needed to claim the presidency for a four-year term.     Biden has moved ahead ofmore

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Trump Campaign Files Another Lawsuit Despite Legal Setbacks

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U.S. President Donald Trump’s embattled reelection campaign continued its legal challenges to vote counting Thursday even as it suffered a pair of setbacks in two battleground states key to winning the election.In Nevada, a Democratic-leaning state where former Vice President Joe Biden maintained a slight advantage over Trump in the vote count, the Trump campaign and the state Republican Party announced a lawsuit claiming at least 10,000 nonresidents had illegally voted and that their votes were being counted.“It is unacceptable in this country to have illegal votes counted, and that is what’s happening in the state of Nevada,” Trump’s formermore

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Fears Rise for Safety of Election Workers in Battleground States

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Tensions over the still undecided U.S. presidential election are prompting some state and local officials to increase security for those charged with counting the remaining votes. Supporters of Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden have increasingly focused their attention on states like Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania, where slim margins have made calling the race nearly impossible. And the tensions have grown as allegations of irregularities in the vote-counting process have sparked protests outside buildings where the tally is going on. “I am concerned for the safety of my staff,” said Joe Gloria, registrar of voters in Clark County, Nevada, onmore

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US Presidential Election Remains Undecided

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The U.S. presidential election remained unsettled Thursday, with Democratic challenger Joe Biden nearing an Electoral College majority and President Donald Trump demanding that the vote count be stopped. Republicans are filing lawsuits alleging vote tabulation irregularities. Biden leads in the Electoral College count 253-214, with a majority of 270 needed to claim the presidency for a new four-year term. But vote counting is still under way in four states that will decide the election — Georgia and Pennsylvania in the eastern part of the country, and the adjoining Western states of Arizona and Nevada.  Where things standTrump is ahead in Georgia and Pennsylvania, and Biden is leading inmore

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No Matter Who Wins US Vote, Paris Wants a Reset

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As people wait to see who will be confirmed the winner of the U.S. presidential election, politicians and analysts in France discuss the ongoing process and outcome of the vote, but especially its future impact on the relationship between the two countries.The U.S. election is all over the news in France and, since Tuesday, the French media have been covering the vote extensively.     The uncertainty around the outcome is widely commented on, especially since final results were still pending more than 24 hours after polling stations closed.   Jean-Claude Beaujour, a lawyer and vice president of France-Ameriques, anmore

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No Systemic Problems With US Election Day Proceedings, Foreign Observers Say

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Despite the pandemic, the lawsuits and the acrimonious political rhetoric, foreign election observers had good news. They did not find systemic irregularity or wrongdoing by either major party. Ursula Gacek, who headed a foreign team of observers that arrived in the U.S. in late September to study the conditions leading up to election day,  noted there were isolated cases of irregular behavior – what she called “small incidents – personal, human incidents,” a couple of which were described in detail in footnotes to the report. “But nothing,” she said, “that would impact and really fundamentally shake the confidence in themore

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No Winner Yet, But Biden’s Lead Grows in US Presidential Election

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U.S. news organizations on Wednesday projected former Vice President Joe Biden as the winner in the battleground states of Michigan and Wisconsin, putting him almost within reach of victory in the U.S. presidential election.“I’m not here to declare that we’ve won. But I am here to report that when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners,” Biden said Wednesday afternoon.Biden could reach the 270 Electoral College vote threshold needed to win the election if in addition to Michigan and Wisconsin, he holds on to his leads in Arizona and Nevada. All but Nevada went for Donaldmore

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Another Night of Uncertainty as Americans Wait for Election Result

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A day after voting ended, Americans continued to wait for the final vote tally in the presidential election. All eyes are now on a few battleground states where partial results are close and which may determine victory between Democratic nominee Vice President Joe Biden and incumbent Republican President Donald Trump. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the latest. Producer: Barry Unger …

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Protests in Several US Cities as Presidential Vote Remains Undecided

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Protesters turned out in multiple U.S. cities Wednesday to call for a complete count of presidential election votes, while smaller pro-Trump groups rallied outside vote-counting centers in Michigan and Arizona.Police in New York arrested dozens of people Wednesday night after what had been peaceful demonstrations. Officials say a small group of people “attempted to hijack” the protest by setting trash fires and clashing with officers.Protesters also marched in Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis and San Diego. In addition to calling for the votes to be counted, the demonstrators also highlighted racial inequality, the subject of numerous protests throughoutmore

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What Divides the US?

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Many Americans are surprised that the U.S. presidential election has been so closely fought, reflecting the deep divide within the country. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee hears from two different realities in America. Camera: VOA    Producer: Elizabeth Lee …

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US Youth Vote of Color Highest for Democrats

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While the 2020 U.S. presidential election remains undecided, data show that the youth vote— specifically youth of color — in most states widely supported Democratic candidate Joe Biden.Citing data compiled by the National Election Poll exit polls and AP VoteCast data from the Associated Press, the youth vote in key states the morning after Election Day was:Pennsylvania: Youth made up 14% of the vote and supported Biden by +23.Michigan: Youth made up 15% of the vote and supported Biden by +29.North Carolina: Youth made up 16% of the vote and supported Biden by +16.Georgia: Youth made up 21% of themore

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US Voters Weigh In on a Variety of Ballot Initiatives

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Americans voted on a variety of ballot initiatives during the 2020 elections, in addition to president and members of Congress.     According to CBS News, at least 120 initiatives were on the ballot in 32 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.   Ballot initiatives offer voters a chance to directly change state laws or a state constitution.     The highest profile initiative was in California, where Proposition 22 determined if app-based companies like Uber, Lyft and others could continue classifying workers as independent contractors instead of company employees. Fifty-eight percent voted in favor of the proposition.more

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Vote Counting Continues in Tense US Presidential Race

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The winner of the U.S. presidential election remained in doubt Wednesday, with the outcome hinging on a handful of states where a flood of mail-in ballots sparked by the coronavirus pandemic remained to be counted.President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden both won states they were expected to win in their bid for a majority in the Electoral College that determines who wins the White House in the country’s indirect form of democracy.But the outcome of contests in several states — Georgia and Pennsylvania in the nation’s East and Arizona and Nevada in the West — was unsettled as officials counted millionsmore

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North Dakota Candidate Wins Election Weeks After Dying of COVID-19

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Election officials in the upper midwestern state of North Dakota say a 55-year-old candidate who died of COVID-19 in early October, has been elected to a seat in the state legislature.Officials say David Andahl, a Republican candidate for the state 8th District legislative seat, contracted the virus during a surge in infections and died October 5.  His family, in a posting to Facebook, said he suffered from other health issues that complicated his infection, though they did not elaborate.Election officials chose to leave Andahl’s name on the ballot after the state attorney general said, should he win, his replacement could bemore

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Race for the White House is Too Close to Call

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Americans are still waiting for the final vote tally in battleground states to determine whether incumbent Republican President Donald Trump will continue to be the country’s chief executive for the next four years, or be replaced by his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the latest.Produced by: Barry Unger    …

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US Officials Confident in Secure Election, Turn Focus to Disinformation

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U.S. security officials are bracing for a new round of potential attacks on the country’s election, with polling sites across the country starting to shut down and unofficial results starting to come in. “We’re not going to let our guard down,” a senior official with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) told reporters late Tuesday, speaking only on the condition of anonymity. “It’s presenting a whole new attack surface,” the official added. U.S. election security officials had expressed confidence the 2020 election would be “the most secure election in modern history” heading into the nationwide vote. Some officials Tuesday even described the threatmore

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Americans Go to the Polls

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More than 100 million Americans had already made their choice before Election Day, in early voting and voting by mail. Amid a pandemic, and ready for possible protests, tens of millions cast their ballots on Election Day.  Camera: Vero Balderas, Matteo Ghidoni, Esha Kaur Sarai, Gary Jaffe, Adam Greenbaum, Carolyn Presutti …

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Who Will Control the US Senate?

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Control of the U.S. Senate remained uncertain early Wednesday as a handful of races in states including North Carolina, Maine and Georgia remained too close to call.   In Colorado, Democrats made a key pickup when Republican incumbent Cory Gardner lost to Democratic challenger John Hickenlooper, the former governor. Gardner is the last remaining Republican statewide official in a state that was once considered an election battleground.   According to the non-partisan Cook Political Report, just seven of the 35 Senate seats up for election Tuesday were rated true toss-ups. Senate Republicans went into Tuesday holding a 53-47 majority, but faced a tough election cycle since they aremore

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