D-DAY - Pro-Biden Jamaicans throng polls as Trump clutches a

Trump supporter Carol Reed cheers at an intersection during a rally in Mount Clemens, Michigan, on Thursday, October 29. About seven in 10 voters say they are anxious about the election, according to an AP-NORC poll in September.


Millions of voters forecast to turn out today will help decide the future of America as two vastly different visions clash in an epic election that climaxes amid a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic and the casting of record-high early ballots.

On the eve of today’s polls, President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden completed whirlwind blitzes in crucial states that could hold the keys to victory in the United States’ complicated Electoral College system.

But fears linger that the final decision, which could come well beyond election day as the count of the nearly 100 million early ballots begins, threatens political instability and riots as Trump’s rhetorical attacks on the integrity of mail-in votes could trigger clashes in the streets. He has already issued an ominous warning that things could get “physically dangerous”.

In Philadelphia’s Center City, a number of business people, anticipating possible violence, closed early on Monday and boarded up their establishments. Over on Market Street and 56th Street in Philly, some Caribbean businesses mounted plywood reinforcements amid concerns that political violence could boil over in a year marked by countrywide demonstrations and hostilities between civilians and the police.

However, Jamaican and Caribbean nationals’ voter participation this presidential election cycle is expected to hit historic highs, with the overall volume of ballots expected to exceed 2016’s record 139 million.

“Every Jamaican or Caribbean person I have spoken with has either already voted or will be voting today,” said Blaine Stoddart, president and founder of Young Caribbean Professional Network based in Pennsylvania.

Stoddart said that some estimated 50,000 Jamaican voters from South New Jersey, Delaware, and Philadelphia have either voted or will be voting today. Three-quarters of Philly’s nine million electors had, as at last Friday, voted early.

“People are really motivated to vote in this election,” he told The Gleaner, citing the attempt to avoid fatigue from long lines amid coronavirus social-distancing requirements.

According to Stoddart, an estimated 400,000 people from Philadelphia who either did not vote in 2016 or are first-time voters have already cast ballots.

Nadine Ward, a Jamaican who lives in Indiana, said that the four people in her household who are eligible to vote will backing Biden at the polls.

Dr Karren Dunkley said that the focus has been on completing plans to mobilise voters, especially the elderly, today.

“This is the most organised I have seen the Jamaican and Caribbean community in a presidential election,” she said.

Dunkley, who will be voting today, said that many Jamaican expats and descendants have been sending text messages to voters about polling station locations and identification requirements, as well as encouraging voters to take along family members. Members of the community have also been manning phone banks giving voters’ last-minute tips on voting.

Una Clarke, the first Caribbean-born woman elected to New York City’s legislature, said that the enthusiasm among Jamaican and Caribbean nationals was at a historic high.

Clarke, a Jamaican immigrant, said that people are motivated to vote for three reasons: immigration; the Biden ticket having Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris, who has roots in the island’s northern parish of St Ann; and Trump’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Clarke, 85, said that she has been fielding queries from Caribbean youth on the voting process.

“They have been standing in lines for early voting and I am confident that those who did not take advantage of early voting will be turning out to the polls Tuesday to make their voices heard,” she said.

“I am expecting a very strong turnout today by the Jamaicans across the United States,” she said.

Rupert Francis also forecast a strong turnout by Jamaicans.

“I have been receiving many calls encouraging me to go out and vote, and this is replicated across the board to many Jamaicans,” he said.

And Andrew Sharpe, of the Authentic Caribbean Foundation in Massachusetts, said that his organisation is trying to get out as many voters as possible in the eastern region as well as getting people to work at polling stations.

“There are some 150,000 Jamaican and Caribbean people in this region as we aim to get out as many of these voters as possible,” said Sharpe.

Michael Blake, New York State Jamaican assemblyman, said that he has been reaching out to compatriots in South Carolina, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan and other states.

Many churches have also joined the get-out the-vote effort within the Jamaican community.