Florida
The First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS) angered social media on Tuesday when she went out to vote without wearing a mask. In September, Melania Trump, her husband Donald Trump and their son Barron Trump tested positive for coronavirus.
However, the FLOTUS could be seen walking to the polling booth at Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Centre in Palm Beach, Florida, without a mask on Tuesday, as her husband battles Joe Biden for a second shot at running the United States. According to the press at the booth, Melania was the only one not wearing a mask there. Washington Post journalist Mike Madden quoted a press pool report that read: “At 10 am, Melania Trump entered the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Centre in Palm Beach to vote.
People took to social media to remind the first lady that had been careless without wearing a face covering when she went out to vote. According to an emergency order by Palm Beach County, facial coverings are to be worn in businesses and establishments, in public places and county and municipal government facilities. Critics of President Donald Trump have often criticised him for not taking the coronavirus seriously and not taking enough measures to contain the disease.
More than 230,000 people have died from the novel coronavirus in the US and more than 9.4mn people have contracted the disease in the country. By early Wednesday, the race was down to a handful of states, and both Trump, 74 and Biden, 77, had possible paths to reach the needed 270 Electoral College votes to win the White House.
Shortly after Biden said he was confident of winning the contest once the votes are counted, Trump appeared at the White House to declare victory and said his lawyers would be taking his case to the U.S. Supreme Court, without specifying what they would claim. “We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election,” Trump said. “This is a major fraud on our nation. We want the law to be used in a proper manner. So we’ll be going to the US Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop.” He provided no evidence to back up his claim of fraud.
Polls have closed and voting has stopped across the country, but election laws in US states require all votes to be counted, and many states routinely take days to finish counting ballots. More votes stood to be counted this year than in the past as people voted early by mail and in person because of the coronavirus pandemic. Biden is pinning his hopes on the so-called “blue wall” states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania that sent Trump to the White House in 2016, although they could take hours or day to finish counting. Biden has a narrow lead in Wisconsin while Trump is ahead in Michigan and Pennsylvania, with more mail-in ballots that are likely to lean Democratic still to be tallied.—AP
