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It is a momentous day for the country as we finally enter the vote-counting phase of the <keyword id="20181062" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="2024-Lok-Sabha-election" source="keywords">2024 Lok Sabha election</keyword> process on June 4. The 80-day, seven-phase-long process has been marred with a wide range of issues ranging from weather turmoil to vote tampering and reelections. As the final leg of counting concludes in a few hours, here’s what the vote tallying process looks like, and what is likely to happen after after the final results are announced. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Vote counting" comment="subhead" text="Vote counting"><keyword id="389062" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="vote-counting" source="Orion">Vote counting</keyword></cmsannotation> While the election process takes place in several stages, the vote tallying process is carried out simultaneously in all of the country’s 543 constituencies, with typically one counting centre in each. The tallying is done by a ‘Returning Officer’ and their assistants — officials appointed by the <keyword id="19895876" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Election-Commission-of-India" source="keywords">Election Commission of India</keyword> — in several rounds, or ‘leads’. This year, the counting process began at 8 AM IST on June 4, and is expected to carry on till beyond the afternoon. It will start with the tallying of postal ballots — ballot papers distributed to some categories of people — followed by the <keyword id="21930663" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="EVM-count" source="keywords">EVM count</keyword>. Periodically, the results of the ongoing count are announced to the media and then televised, helping the nation learn of the current political trend. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The counting process for the Lok Sabha Election" comment="subhead" text="The counting process for the Lok Sabha Election">The counting process for the Lok Sabha Election</cmsannotation> Under Rule 54 A of the Conduct of Elections Rules 1961, the process for counting votes starts with postal ballots at the Returning Officer's (RO) table. Thirty minutes into postal ballot counting, Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) votes can be counted, or immediately if no postal ballots are present. Counting officials must ensure that the EVM's Control Unit (CU) seal is intact and that the total votes match Form 17C before counting. Results from the CU are recorded in Part-II of Form 17C, and verified by the counting supervisor, micro observer, and candidate agents. If the CU's display fails, <keyword id="20991106" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="VVPAT-slips" source="keywords">VVPAT slips</keyword> are counted post-CU counting. Results for each CU are documented and signed in Form 17C, which is then sent for compiling the final result in Form 20. VVPAT slip counting starts after CU votes are counted, with mandatory verification of VVPAT slips from five random polling stations per constituency. If the victory margin is less than the rejected postal ballots, those ballots are re-verified before declaring the result. In case of a tie, the winner is determined by a draw of lots. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Results are announced" comment="subhead" text="Results are announced">Results are announced</cmsannotation> The outcome for each constituency is announced as soon as counting concludes. As per <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>’s counting system, the candidate with the highest number of votes will win for a particular constituency, regardless of whether they are able to manage a majority. These results are generally televised throughout the day. After the <keyword id="19895782" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="election-commission" source="keywords">Election Commission</keyword> of India (ECI) has tallied all 64 crore votes that were cast this year, the constitutional body will announce the results for all 543 seats. Subsequently, if the winning party of the alliance has secured at least 272 seats, the institution’s president will call upon the leader of the winning party to form a government for the next five-year term. If no group is able to achieve a clear majority, political parties may form coalitions to reach the 272 magic number. If all negotiations fail and a “minority government” cannot be formed by the largest party, the President of India may dissolve the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) and announce fresh elections. The next Lok Sabha must be announced before the current term ends on June 16. Most exit polls have indicated another landslide victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, with a third term for Prime Minister <keyword id="19895781" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="keywords">Narendra Modi</keyword>. However, early trends suggest that the Congress-led INDIA bloc is performing far better than expected. Results are expected to be clearer by the afternoon.

What will happen after the election commission finishes counting all Lok Sabha votes?

New Delhi [India], June 4 (ANI): The mammoth exercise to count votes polled for the Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 elections will begin at 8 am on Tuesday, with trends and results following shortly thereafter. Results of the <keyword id="6372146" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Assembly-elections" source="Orion">Assembly elections</keyword> in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh were held simultaneously with voting for the 543-member Lok Sabha. Results of 175 Assembly constituencies in Andhra Pradesh and 147 Assembly constituencies in Odisha and results of bypolls in 25 Assembly constituencies will also be declared today. Here're the LIVE results: <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Infographic"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> Strict security has been put in place for the smooth conduct of counting of votes for over 8,000 candidates in this general elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will seek a third consecutive term in government, while the Congress-led opposition aims to unseat them. Most <keyword id="43771" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="exit-polls" source="Orion">exit polls</keyword> have predicted a return of PM Modi to power, a development which will make him the first Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to secure a third successive term in power, Meanwhile, a delegation of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc leaders met with the Election Commission of India urging it to ensure that postal ballots are counted and their results declared before the outcome of the EVMs is announced. Earlier, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had said that a "very robust system" has been put in place. "There are around 10.5 lakh booths. Each booth will have 14 tables. There are observers and micro-observers. Nearly, 70-80 lakh people are involved in the process," he said. The national capital is all set to witness the battle. With tight security arrangements in place, Delhi is well-prepared to watch the results of the 2024 <keyword id="19923279" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha-Elections" source="keywords">Lok Sabha elections</keyword>. Around 70 companies of the security forces will be deployed at all seven counting centres across the national capital as part of the elaborate security arrangements made by the Delhi Police for today. Delhi traffic police issued a fresh advisory ahead of the counting of votes scheduled for Tuesday, listing key roads where traffic restrictions and diversions will start from 5 am onwards to ensure smooth vehicular movement. Prime Minister Modi's hometown, Gujarat, is also preparing for the vote-counting day as security forces rehearse and perform drills for the effortless conduct of D-day. Exit polls have predicted the return of the BJP to power. Various exit polls have given the BJP more than 64 seats in Uttar Pradesh. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance is poised for a hat-trick win in Lok Sabha polls with a massive majority. Exit polls were predicted on Saturday and indicated that the ruling party at the Centre would improve its performance in several states ruled by other parties. A few exit polls predicted that the BJP-led NDA could reach the goal of "400 paar" stated by BJP leaders in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls. The exit polls predicted that the ruling BJP-led NDA is poised to improve its performance over its 2019 record when it won 352 seats. Two polls predicted the BJP would also improve its numbers from the 303 seats it won in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In the 2019 elections, NDA wrested 353 seats, of which the BJP won 303 alone. The Opposition's UPA got only 93 seats of which the Congress got 52. The Lok Sabha elections were conducted in seven phases- on April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1. The counting trends and results, as per data entered by RO/ARO for AC/PC will be available on the ECI website as well as on the Voter Helpline App, both iOS and Android Mobile Apps, according to the ECI. The Voter Helpline App can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or Apple Play Store. Users can use the available filter to find out the winning/leading or trailing candidate details, along with the constituency-wise or State-wise results from the Voter Helpline App. The local display of the trends and results by the CEOs/ROs/DEOs may also be done through the Digital Display Panels, it said.

Lok Sabha elections 2024 results: Mammoth vote-counting exercise set to begin at 8 am, amid high security

<ul class="summary-list"><li>High prices helped Trump get elected. Economists say his proposals could also be inflationary.</li><li>Lower taxes, new tariffs, and deportations are seen by some as driving inflation and higher rates.</li></ul>A key sticking point for the 73,479,065 Americans (and counting) who voted for President-elect Donald Trump <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-trump-won-election-high-prices-cost-of-living-unemployment-2024-11">was inflation</a>.Many people tired of high prices on everything from cars to gas to eggs and milk ended up voting with their wallets. Some of the states that saw the biggest swings towards Trump were ones where real <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-trump-won-election-high-prices-cost-of-living-unemployment-2024-11">wages had declined</a>, giving people less spending power to fend off rising prices.However, if Trump follows through with his campaign promises, some economists say it is likely that his second term will result in the type of inflation increase that helped him secure the White House.While the extent to which the new regime is inflationary depends on how many proposals actually get executed, a consensus is building that the more heavy-handed versions of Trump's agenda would lead to higher prices.It's a notion the Trump camp has pushed back against. In August, on the campaign trail, the president-elect said his proposals would not influence US prices are swore to push them lower.In the week leading up to the election, Taylor Rogers — a Republican National Committee spokesperson — <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cost-expensive-goods-price-impact-presidential-election-scenarios-trump-harris-2024-10">told BI in a statement</a> that, if elected, Trump would "once again cut taxes and unleash American energy to lower prices on groceries and other goods."<h2 id="192b47c8-9f61-4858-a383-70b2e3a515cc">Inflationary promises</h2>The main Trump proposals viewed as inflationary are: sweeping tariffs on imports, mass deportation of immigrants, and lower taxes.Trump has proposed a universal tariff of as much as 20% and as high as 60% for goods from China.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-trump-won-election-high-prices-cost-of-living-unemployment-2024-11">According to the US Census Bureau</a> broad tariffs would impact the price of automobiles, drugs, food and beverages, furniture, and household appliances, and an <a target="_blank" rel=" nofollow" class="" href="https://taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/tpc-trump-tariffs-would-raise-household-taxes-and-slow-imports">analysis</a> by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center said that Trump's tariff proposals would decrease post-tax incomes by an average of $1,800 in 2025.Tariffs are paid for by the companies importing goods into the country, rather than by the companies exporting their products to the US.Typically, US companies simply pass the tariff costs to consumers via higher prices, and company executives <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-tariffs-threats-world-ceos-thoughts-trade-2024-11">are already signaling this to investors.</a>"If we get tariffs, we will pass those tariff costs back to the consumer," Philip Daniele, CEO of AutoZone, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tariffs-higher-inflation-fed-interest-rates-taxes-mortgage-rates-2024-11">said on a pre-election earnings call.</a>"We're set to raise prices," Timothy Boyle, CEO of the retailer Columbia Sportswear, told the Washington Post about potential tariffs in October. "It's going to be very, very difficult to keep products affordable for Americans," he added.Trump's promise to deport of millions of immigrants <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/immigration-jobs-economic-impact-inflation-job-market-wages-paul-krugman-2024-7">is also seen as likely to boost inflation by shocking the labor market,</a> especially in the sectors with large immigrant workforces like construction and agriculture.A shortage of labor in these areas of the economy is expected to force companies to raise wages to attract new workers, which could then in turn raise prices to make up for the higher cost.The CEO of the National Association of Homebuilders<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-deportation-immigration-policy-election-housing-home-prices-construction-costs-2024-10"> told Business Insider</a> before the election that mass deportations would ultimately lead to higher home prices and a slower pace of building."It's pretty clear to me, all else being equal, you reduce the labor supply very abruptly, and you're going to get an increase in inflation because of an increase in prices," economist Wendy Edelberg <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-mass-deportation-immigraiton-plan-federal-reserve-inflation-2024-9">told Business Insider in September.</a> "That's relatively straightforward."Finally, lower tax rates are typically viewed as stimulative for the economy and could unleash a wave of spending on goods and services by both consumers and businesses, with prices rising in the face of higher demand.<h2 id="ad348b73-8929-4bf9-b3cc-6702834bdfdc">Possible inflation fallout</h2>If Trump delivers on all of these proposals, then a rebound in inflation is all but guaranteed, economists have said."We're talking about an inflationary shock that is bigger than almost anything else that you could do through federal policy," <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393333138">left-leaning</a> Nobel laureate <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-harris-economy-outlook-inflation-job-market-election-paul-krugman-2024-10">Paul Krugman said</a> of the tariff plan.A new bout of inflation would put the Federal Reserve on notice to start hiking interest rates again, which would further strain consumers via higher borrowing costs.The bond market is already signaling this. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/bonds/surging-treasury-yields-after-trump-win-show-borrowers-may-not-get-relief-2024-11">Yields have surged since Trump's election victory</a> and market-based inflation expectations have jumped to the highest level since April, as measured by the five-year breakeven inflation rate."It reflects legitimate worries about the path of government spending and what that could mean for inflation," Ned Davis Research economist Veneta Dimitrova said in a note on Friday."With the economy already operating slightly above potential, additional government stimulus at this stage of the business cycle will likely be inflationary," Dimitrova added.It's worth noting that the tariffs Trump enacted in his first term did not result in a significant inflation increase. The difference this time around — and the reason inflation forecasts are more stark — is how much deeper and more wide-reaching Trump's tariff proposals are for not just China but also the rest of the world.

Economists say Trump could give Americans the very thing they voted against

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Kamala Harris is projected to have won a potentially critical Electoral College vote in Nebraska.</li><li>Thanks to Nebraska's unusual way of awarding votes, she has carried a district containing Omaha.</li></ul>Vice President Kamala Harris' increasingly perilous <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/election-results-trump-harris-presidential-election-2024-11">path to the White House</a> is still alive thanks to her projected win of Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, carrying an area that was once reliably Republican.With over 80% of the expected vote in, Fox News and The New York Times have called the district and its Electoral College vote for Harris.Democrats needed some good news after former President Donald Trump's early projected win in North Carolina. He is also leading in Georgia and Arizona, though it is too early to project those states.Nebraska and Maine are the only two states to award some of their Electoral College votes by congressional district. By winning the Omaha area, Harris would probably become president by sweeping the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harris-trump-blue-wall-economic-message-unions-michigan-pennsylvania-wisconsin-2024-10">"blue wall" states</a> of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin even if she were to lose every other battleground state. Provided there are no unexpected upsets, she would win with 270 electoral votes to 268.The bad news for Harris is that Trump is leading in all three blue wall states as votes continue to be counted.Trump and his allies tried to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-nebraska-2nd-electoral-college-vote-omaha-harris-mcdonnell-2024-9">pressure Nebraska lawmakers</a> to change the state law just months before Election Day, seeking to avoid this exact scenario. Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, had promised to call a special session to push through the change, but Republicans in the officially nonpartisan state legislature were unable to overcome a likely filibuster. If the race were to end in an Electoral College tie, it would be turned over to the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives to decide. Only twice in US history, most recently in 1825, have lawmakers settled the election.Republicans easily won the statewide popular vote, but Democrats for the third time in five presidential cycles have now been able to win just enough votes in and around Nebraska's largest city. Barack Obama narrowly won the district in 2008, and Biden beat Trump by nearly 7 percentage points in 2020. Democrats have gleefully labeled the area "the Blue Dot," and yard signs with such an image were sprinkled around the city synonymous with the billionaire investor <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-kamala-harris-endorsement-politics-donald-trump-president-election-2024-10">Warren Buffett</a>.Neither Harris nor Trump campaigned in the city, though both of their running mates — Gov. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-vice-president-tim-walz-career-facts-2024-8">Tim Walz</a> of Minnesota and Sen. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-vice-president-jd-vance-career-facts-2024-7">JD Vance</a> of Ohio — campaigned in the Omaha area. Walz is a Nebraska native.

Harris' chances are still alive after she won a key vote in Nebraska

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Republicans in Israel are working hard ahead of the election.</li><li>Israel has the fourth-largest US expat community, with up to 200,000 eligible voters.</li></ul>Judith Segaloff has been busy in the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-donald-trump-15-days-swing-states-polling-2024-10">run-up to the election.</a>"From early in the morning, until late at night, people are calling me, people are WhatsApping me, people are asking how to get their ballots," she told Business Insider during a phone call. "It's non-stop."Born in the US, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/60000-american-jews-live-in-west-bank-settlements">Segaloff now lives in the West Bank</a> in a settler community that the International Court of Justice says is illegal.Working with the Republican Overseas in Israel group, she is emerging as a key organizer to mobilize the GOP vote in what <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harris-trump-presidential-election-swing-state-polls-sun-belt-2024-10">looks like a very close race.</a>Expats' votes are counted in the last state they lived in. As a former Michigander, Segaloff's vote is powerful.She has been reaching out to other US voters living in Israel, originally from battleground states, in the hope of helping to secure a win for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/donald-trump">former President Donald Trump.</a>"I think that we could influence the swing states and move them a little bit," she said.<div type="image" title="An Israeli flag is displayed in front of a building near a road sign for the US embassy in Jerusalem on September 27, 2023." height="2432" width="3648" msid="114727058" hostid="261" sizebytes="1007938"></div>According to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.fvap.gov/info/reports-surveys/overseas-citizen-population-analysis">Federal Voting Assistance Program</a>, Israel has the US's fourth-largest expat community and about 147,000 eligible voters. iVote Israel, a voting resource for Americans in Israel, estimates the number at around 200,000.The pool of voters isn't huge, but in such a close election, it could prove significant.Matanya Harow, iVote Israel's national director, said most voters contacting them are from New York, New Jersey, and California, but a significant number come from battleground states, mainly Pennsylvania and Michigan."I believe that they can have quite a sizable impact," he said.With days to go, absentee ballot registration deadlines for many states have already passed, so iVote Israel is primarily helping voters return their existing ballots — a process that varies by state.Historically, the challenging task has stunted turnout in Israel. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.fvap.gov/uploads/FVAP/Reports/FVAP-VoterBrief_211105_v1a.pdf">According to the FVAP</a>, only about 5% of American voters in Israel cast their ballot in 2020.Nonetheless, both parties are trying.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/democrats-investment-voters-abroad-us-election/">According to CBS News,</a> the Democratic National Committee allocated $300,000 for Democrats Abroad to reach overseas voters—a first in a presidential election cycle.Although the official Democrats Abroad in Israel group disbanded over a disagreement shortly after last year'<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-hamas-october7-attacks-middle-east-lebanon-war-2024-10">s October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks</a>, a new organization formed — American Democrats in Israel.Heather Stone, the group's executive vice chair, said they've received "thousands" of calls from swing-state voters living in Israel. "It's down to the wire," she said.She said those voters see <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/kamala-harris">Vice President Kamala Harris</a> as supportive of Israel and its ability to defend itself. They are, she said, also motivated by other issues like<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-vote-abortion-top-issue-2024-biden-trump-guide"> abortion,</a> healthcare, the economy, and the climate crisis."We don't check our values just because we moved across the ocean," Stone said.<h2 id="a3a834ae-ff15-4a91-9554-0a29772b433f">The GOP pitch — protecting Israel's security</h2>The Republican camp appears to be zeroing in on Israel's defense and security.Sen. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jd-vance-60-percent-chance-trump-wins-betting-markets-kalshi-2024-10">JD Vance,</a> Trump's running mate, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.jpost.com/american-politics/article-824435">said in a video earlier this month</a> to American voters in Israel that if Harris becomes president, "it's going to lead to broader regional war or maybe even worse."Trump has previously made the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://thehill.com/homenews/4889959-donald-trump-israel-will-cease-to-exist-kamala-harris/">unfounded claim that Israel would cease to exist</a> within years if he doesn't win.The message resonated with some American voters in Israel, particularly given <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-fighting-war-3-fronts-hamas-lebanon-syria-middle-east-2023-10">Israel's simultaneous fights with Hamas, Hezbollah, and other regional foes</a>"We're fighting for our survival right now, our sons and daughters — of Americans — are being killed in Gaza and Lebanon," Raphael Gantshar, a New Yorker who moved to Israel 17 years ago, told BI.He said American voters in Israel will be asking, '"Which presidency is the one that will save the lives of my children?"Gantshar believes Trump is the answer and will vote for him for a second time. He said he feels the former president understands better than Harris how to stabilize the region, which he believes aligns with the best interests of the US.<div type="image" title="US President Donald Trump watches as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) speaks from the Truman Balcony at the White House during the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accord." height="2560" width="3840" msid="114727064" hostid="261" sizebytes="264084"></div>For Tzvi Silver, who moved from New Jersey 13 years ago, Israel's security is a concern, but he doesn't necessarily buy the apocalyptic warnings."I don't think that Vice President Kamala Harris being elected will necessarily be good for Israel," he said."I'm also not concerned that I'll wake up on the day after the election, November 6, and all of a sudden the Jewish state will, God forbid, be gone or something like that."Silver said that he had been convinced to vote for Trump based on his track record, highlighting the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jared-kushner-founding-nonprofit-focused-middle-east-report-2021-5">Abraham Accords </a>— agreements from Trump's presidency that promoted Arab-Israeli normalization — and the state of the US economy.Although Silver is firm in his decision, that is not the case for everyone around him. He said his in-laws plan to vote for Harris, while his wife may vote for Trump for the first time.<h2 id="3975bf45-0b1c-4720-81d3-7d574642a678">In Trump-friendly Israel, American expats are divided</h2>In general, Israel is Trump-friendly territory. There's even <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/some-israeli-conservatives-said-trump-just-like-one-of-us-2022-11">a town square named after him.</a>According to a <a target="_blank" href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/israel-us-election-poll-trump-harris-vote-preference/story?id=114474257">national Langer Research/PORI poll </a>of 1,012 Israelis last month, Trump is comfortably ahead of with 56% of preferences to Harris' 24%.In contrast, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-claims-jewish-voters-leaving-democratic-party-2019-3">Jewish voters in the US</a> overwhelmingly tend to support the Democrats.While no specific polls exist for US voters in Israel, Uriel Abulof, an associate professor at Tel Aviv University's School of Political Science, believes opinions are divided, primarily along religious lines.He said that among American voters in Israel, Orthodox Jews are more likely to support Trump, while secular Jews tend to favor Harris.For those in the middle, their choice is likely to hinge on who they believe will best protect Israel, Abulof said.This may in turn be influenced by their support for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netanyahu-israel-congress-hamas-gaza-war-aid-palestinian-protest-2024-7">Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.</a>He said, "In this age where everything is so personalized, if Bibi says, and effectively he does, that Trump is better for Israel, then they would vote for Trump."For the Republicans Overseas in Israel, they're banking on a sizable number of those people being from swing states.Or, as Segaloff wrote in a WhatsApp message, "Here's hoping."

Republicans are mobilizing expat votes for Trump in Israel, hoping to tip the scale in battleground states

In the grand scheme of the 2024 election, cryptocurrency is not a big deal. It ranks extremely low on the list of priorities for most voters, if it even registers at all. Crypto isn't really a big deal in the broader financial system either. And yet it's playing a big role in politics, including at the very top of the ticket.Crypto corporations have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crypto-bitcoin-election-spending-kamala-harris-donald-trump-2024-8">dumped some $119 million into this year's federal elections</a>, more than any other industry. Crypto-backed groups have worked against Democratic figures such as Sen. Katie Porter and Rep. Jamaal Bowman, both of whom lost their primaries, and now they're backing Sen. Sherrod Brown's Republican opponent in Ohio, Bernie Moreno, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/sherrod-brown-crypto-bernie-moreno-millions-1235102478/">to the tune of some $30 million</a>. Through super PACs, crypto money is flowing to downballot candidates on both sides of the aisle. The groups have largely steered clear of the presidential race, but both candidates have taken notice of crypto's influence. Former President Donald Trump has been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-bitcoin-stance-2024-7">courting crypto-focused voters</a> and is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-crypto-partners-chase-herro-zachary-folkman-lawsuits-jail-debt-2024-9">trying to launch some sort of digital-asset venture</a> of his own. Vice President Kamala Harris is paying lip service to crypto, too. If you can't beat the crypto bros, join 'em, or at least give them a wink and a nod.Trump and Harris have different reasons to try to attract the crypto community — donors, voters, the fact that the former president likes anyone who flatters him, etc.To some extent, it's a "might as well"-type situation. Except for the people who really care about crypto, nobody actually cares about crypto, so being nice about it is basically free. And in a race with a razor-thin margin, everything counts — including, maybe, the vote of some dogecoin-loving guy in a crucial Wisconsin county or an extra few thousand dollars from a tech donor who had been sitting on the sidelines.Trump has not always been a fan of crypto. Back in 2021, he said it seemed like a scam and described it as a "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/crypto-potentially-a-disaster-waiting-to-happen-trump">disaster waiting to happen</a>." On the 2024 campaign trail, however, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-going-for-crypto-bro-vote-world-liberty-financial-2024-9">Trump has been happy to embrace the community</a>. This summer he appeared at a bitcoin conference in Nashville, where he vowed to make the United States the "crypto capital of the planet" and told the audience to "have fun" with their bitcoin and the other things they were playing with. He also attended an accompanying fundraiser, where tickets maxed out at $844,600.Big names in the arena, such as Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss of Gemini and Facebook fame, have thrown their support behind Trump. He's made all sorts of promises about crypto, including that he'd create a "strategic national bitcoin stockpile" and that under his watch, crypto rules would be written by people who "love" the industry rather than "hate" it. So why the flip-flop? For one thing, crypto is sort of a natural fit for Trump. It has a libertarian and freedom-focused bent that aligns more naturally with the GOP, even though Trump is far from a libertarian. Its fans/users/investors are disproportionately young men, a constituency whose vote the Republican nominee is courting. There's donor money to be had here, and his campaign knows it. Not to mention that Trump has long been into <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-products-that-disappeared-list-2018-4">weird</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-university-professor-stephen-gilpin-2018-4">sketchy</a> business ventures, and while not all crypto projects are scams, there does seem to be a lot of them."With Trump, you always have to view almost everything he does through the transactional lens," said Adam Kovacevich, the founder and CEO of Chamber of Progress, a left-leaning tech-industry coalition.All of Trump's courting of the crypto industry is possible because Democrats left open an opportunity for him to pounce. President Joe Biden's administration — namely Gary Gensler, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission — has <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/currencies/gary-gensler-sec-cryptocurrencies-bitcoin-ftx-binance-roundup-views-2023-9">taken an antagonistic stance toward crypto</a>. Others in Biden's orbit, such as Lina Khan, the chair of the Federal Trade Commission, have been <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ftc-chair-lina-khan-60-minutes-americans-privacy-big-tech-2024-9">quite tough in their approach to the tech industry</a> more broadly. It left a bad taste in the mouths of a lot of powerful people in Silicon Valley and venture capital. That's given Trump a way to make inroads and, in turn, rake in some donor support."There's no question that Trump and the Trump campaign were absolutely using crypto as a wedge against Biden because Biden had historically been pretty down on crypto," said Sheila Warren, the CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, an advocacy group.You can tell that the Trump camp thinks this is a good issue. When I reached out for comment, Brian Hughes, a senior advisor to the campaign, sent over a statement describing "crypto innovators and others in the technology sector" as "under attack" by Harris and the Democrats and arguing that no presidential candidate "has been more supportive of the crypto community" than Trump. The campaign also sent a litany of articles about various criticisms of crypto from left-leaning senators including Elizabeth Warren, Jon Tester, and Bernie Sanders. The Harris campaign declined to comment on the record.Trump's interest in crypto isn't just political; it's personal — as in his personal finances. The billionaire-ish businessman has disclosed that he <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-called-crypto-scam-now-owns-million-ethereum-disclosure-bitcoin-2024-8">owns over $1 million worth of ether</a>. In September, he unveiled his own crypto venture, World Liberty Financial. The details remain pretty scant, but some of his kids are into it, including his youngest son, Barron. It's fair to have some skepticism about what it will do, how it will work, and whether it's legitimate. It's fair to have the same questions about Trump's entire crypto pivot, too."His original approach on crypto was a common-sense recognition that it was a pyramid scheme, and it's thrown out to the wind because it's been convenient to do so," said Robert Weissman, a copresident of Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group. "But to the extent he's able to look at something cleanly when he did, he thought it was a scam. Now he's embraced it as his scam."Harris' advance into crypto on the campaign trail has been subtler — and more recent — than Trump's. She's not about to tattoo "I &lt;3 BTC" on her forearm or anything; she's just telling the guys (it's almost all guys) who did that that she's open to chat.The vice president's camp has reportedly been making overtures to the crypto industry for weeks, undertaking the endeavor pretty quickly after Biden dropped out of the race and she became the presumptive nominee. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/1a4c5066-9cc0-4849-993b-06a28022ad66">July report from the Financial Times</a> said her advisors had begun approaching companies to try to "reset" the relationship with the industry and put out feelers about meeting with firms such as Coinbase and Circle. A <a target="_blank" href="https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/26/kamala-harris-donald-trump-crypto-00171365">Politico report</a> from about the same time described crypto advocates as hopeful about Harris, given that she's from California, a tech-heavy state.In early August, volunteers organized a Crypto4Harris town hall that was attended by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, the Wall Street financier Anthony Scaramucci, and the billionaire investor Mark Cuban. Ron Conway, a Democratic megadonor and venture capitalist who stopped supporting crypto super PACs after they began spending against Sherrod Brown, has been optimistic about Harris. In July, he called for the tech community to unite behind Harris and defeat Trump. "I have known Kamala for decades," he wrote, "and she's been a fighter, a leader, and an advocate for the tech ecosystem since the day we met."The campaign's outreach inspired some cautious enthusiasm in the crypto community, but there's a difference between a candidate's surrogates saying something and the candidate saying it themselves, which is what some in the industry were waiting for.In late September, Harris addressed crypto directly at a weekend Wall Street fundraiser in New York, where she said her administration would "encourage innovative technologies like AI and digital assets while protecting our consumers and investors." A few days later, she reiterated her support in a speech on the economy, saying the US would remain dominant in "AI, quantum computing, blockchain, and other emerging technologies." She's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.semafor.com/article/09/26/2024/harris-escalates-her-courtship-of-crypto">reportedly dispatched aides</a> to do more outreach. One way to read Harris' efforts is as a sort of olive branch to the tech community, a signal to Silicon Valley, venture capital, and startups that she's not aligned with the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-vcs-in-silicon-valley-2024-7">Biden administration's hard-nosed approach to tech</a>. It makes it easier for donors who were hesitant to support her to finally throw in, and her openness to conversation puts some tech minds at ease. It's about crypto, but it's also more than that. By coupling mentions of digital assets and blockchain with AI, Harris weaves it into her broader economic message about innovation and entrepreneurship."The Biden administration has been so hostile to crypto that the main challenge for the Harris campaign has been to say in a clear and credible way that they recognize that and they want to depart from that strategy," said Rachael Horwitz, the chief marketing officer at Haun Ventures, a venture-capital firm. "It's a big hill to climb because so much trust has been lost." Horwitz added that before Harris' late-September remarks, "there were only campaign surrogates asking the industry to take their word for it that behind the scenes she is more pro-tech and pro-innovation than Biden."To be sure, Harris hasn't spoken at length about crypto, and what she has said is quite vague and generic. It's a stance a lot of policymakers hold — yes, we want to foster innovation, and yes, we want to protect consumers in the process.While Molly White, a crypto researcher and critic, described Harris' recent statements about crypto as "middle of the road," she said she thought the crypto industry was "definitely taking an optimistic view."Ultimately the question is not only what will the candidates say but what will they do.Horwitz said she saw this as "a longer-term issue that goes beyond statements during a campaign where action is the only real path to signaling to founders and the venture community that whomever is president believes that blockchain technology is here to stay and America should lead."Crypto is not going to decide the 2024 election; issues like abortion and immigration and the economy and overall vibes are going to do that. But the industry has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-bitcoin-mines-american-electricity-china-crypto-ban-energy-crisis-2024-9">amassed some significant financial power </a>that it's clearly willing to wield politically, and that can be tough for politicians to ignore. It's got some sway in the political discourse, too, as prominent crypto figures weigh in on the race and deploy their donations accordingly."There's a grand narrative of crypto of the industry spending a ton of money and shifting the center of gravity on crypto policy, including by making it something that politicians feel they have to talk about, when it's really overall pretty unimportant and not something on anybody's radar," Weissman said.A statistic crypto boosters typically deploy is that about one in five Americans have owned crypto, the argument being that that ownership will affect their votes. It's a dubious claim — just because you have $50 in bitcoin doesn't mean it's determining what you do in November. There isn't a huge block of crypto voters up for grabs. But given how close the race is, a light appeal probably doesn't hurt any candidate. Trump is clearly targeting young men, and crypto is a thing they like. The problem is that young men generally aren't rushing to the polls. "Are they winnable? Sure. Are they going to vote? Who the heck knows," said Dan Cassino, a professor of government and politics at Fairleigh Dickinson University who researches polling and masculinity. "Getting people under 25, under 30 to vote is hard for any campaign. But getting especially men under 30 to vote, no one even bothers."The crypto industry doesn't mind the attention it's getting from policymakers. It helps crypto executives get meetings on Capitol Hill to try to craft favorable legislation. It gets them the ears of lawmakers who might ultimately decide how their companies are regulated and by whom. At the presidential level, there are some appointees that the crypto and tech industries would very much like to be out — Gensler at the SEC, Khan at the FTC."It's very clear from a lot of the reporting that Harris has gotten an earful from people in the business community about Gensler and crypto and about Lina Khan and the FTC," Kovacevich, at the Chamber of Progress, said.Crypto companies, like most businesses, don't really want to make partisan enemies. To get things done in Washington, it's a good idea to have friends on both sides of the aisle, even if not everyone is a bestie."Crypto is purple," Warren, from the Crypto Council for Innovation, said.What Harris or Trump will actually do on crypto is unclear, but that's not really the point right now. The point is to make nice with tech and try to win in November.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emily-stewart">Emily Stewart</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

Why Trump and Kamala are both courting the crypto-bro vote

The <keyword id="19895876" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Election-Commission-of-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Election Commission of India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Election Commission of India">Election Commission of India</keyword> (ECI) has officially announced the schedules for the upcoming Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, setting the stage for crucial state elections next month. Here’s what voters in these states can expect: <h2>Maharashtra: Single-phase voting on November 20</h2>Maharashtra will head to the polls in a single phase on November 20, with vote counting scheduled for November 23. This election will see a high-stakes contest between two major coalitions: the <keyword id="19924537" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maha-Vikas-Aghadi" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Maha Vikas Aghadi" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Maha Vikas Aghadi">Maha Vikas Aghadi</keyword> (MVA) and the <keyword id="21555670" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maha-Yuti-Alliance" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Maha Yuti Alliance" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Maha Yuti Alliance">Maha Yuti Alliance</keyword>. The MVA consists of <keyword id="19905331" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uddhav-Thackeray" source="keywords">Uddhav Thackeray</keyword>'s Shiv Sena (UBT), the <keyword id="19895371" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Congress" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Congress" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Congress">Congress</keyword>, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) under Sharad Pawar. Meanwhile, the Maha Yuti Alliance brings together the <keyword id="19931558" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharatiya-Janata-Party" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Bharatiya Janata Party" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Bharatiya Janata Party">Bharatiya Janata Party</keyword> (BJP), Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, and the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP. This intense battle for control over the 288-seat Maharashtra Assembly follows the end of the current term on November 26. The model code of conduct has come into immediate effect in Maharashtra, guiding political parties on appropriate campaigning practices and ensuring fair elections. <h2>Jharkhand: Two-phase voting on November 13 and 20</h2>In Jharkhand, voting will occur in two phases: the first on November 13 and the second on November 20. The results will be declared on November 23, alongside Maharashtra’s. This election focuses on the 81-seat Assembly, with a fierce competition expected between the ruling <keyword id="20028356" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jharkhand-Mukti-Morcha" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Jharkhand Mukti Morcha" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Jharkhand Mukti Morcha">Jharkhand Mukti Morcha</keyword> (JMM)-Congress alliance and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which includes the BJP, All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU), and Janata Dal (United). Jharkhand’s current Assembly term expires on January 5, 2025. The elections will feature 29,562 polling stations across urban and rural areas to accommodate the state’s 2.6 crore registered voters. This diverse electorate includes 66.84 lakh young voters and 11.84 lakh first-time voters, with special arrangements for 3.67 lakh persons with disabilities. <h2>Pre-election preparations</h2>The ECI’s preparations for the elections began in September, with teams visiting both states to assess readiness. Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, alongside Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, met with local officials, district collectors, and political representatives to evaluate logistical arrangements and security measures. In Maharashtra, the Maha Yuti Alliance and the MVA have been ramping up their efforts to secure <keyword id="23060079" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="voter-support" source="keywords">voter support</keyword> in what is expected to be a dramatic electoral showdown. In Jharkhand, the ruling JMM, which is part of the INDIA bloc, is eyeing another term despite recent controversies surrounding Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who faced legal challenges earlier this year. The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance remains strong, as the party is expected to contest all 81 seats in the Assembly. (With inputs from agencies)

ECI Announces election schedules for Maharashtra and Jharkhand; both states to vote in November

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Trump is leaning on Elon Musk's super PAC to get out the vote.</li><li>The Trump campaign said its turnout operation continues to expand and praised Musk's "genius."</li></ul>After walking onstage in Folsom, Pennsylvania, as country music blared, Elon Musk stood in front of a giant American flag and delivered a dire warning to the hushed crowd.The 2024 election would determine "the fate of Western civilization," he <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ-wxScI5Jo&amp;t=28s">told the crowd</a> last Thursday during a town hall in the "linchpin" swing state — and he said the race would be tight.In Pennsylvania, this could mean a difference of "10,000 votes, it could be 1,000 votes, it could be 10 votes," Musk said. "So every incremental person makes a huge difference."Musk is doing more than just speeches to turn out those voters.Musk's America PAC has become a key component of the Trump campaign's get-out-the-vote efforts, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/sep/26/trump-voter-turnout-elon-musk-pac">multiple</a> <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/18/magazine/trump-donors-silicon-valley.html">reports</a>.While the Trump campaign has its own volunteer operation called <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://trumpforce47.com/">Trump Force 47</a>, it has increasingly focused on harnessing supporters as poll watchers, paving the way for legal challenges to the election, according to The New York Times.Musk's super PAC support is the latest way the billionaire, who formally <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-endorses-trump-after-pennsylvania-rally-incident-2024-7">endorsed Trump</a> in July, is <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-trump-superpac-donations-politics-2024-10">throwing his massive influence</a> — and wallet — behind the former president as Election Day nears.<h2 id="224a0ff6-3567-4d87-a17e-7fd5fa45e46a">Musk has become increasingly key to Trump's campaign</h2>Musk established America PAC <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-trump-america-pac-targets-young-men-vote-2024-9">to support Trump</a> and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-super-pac-spending-competitive-house-races-republicans-2024-9">other GOP candidates</a>, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-trump-america-super-pac-2024-10">contributing $75 million of his own money</a> in just the most recent filing period, according to Federal Election Commission records.At one point, Musk hoped his PAC could get more than 5,000 canvassers to reel in between 800,000 and 1 million votes for Trump in swing states, The Times reported, with a focus on unregistered or inconsistent voters.Musk has been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-campaign-trail-pennsylvania-donald-trump-key-swing-state-2024-10">hitting the stump himself</a> in Pennsylvania, offering <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-1-million-giveaway-legal-questions-2024-10">$1 million daily giveaways</a> to voters in swing states those who sign a petition.Trump — who has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-elon-musk-beg-for-help-online-feud-esclates-2022-7">trashed Musk in the past</a> — is now basking in the billionaire's support, floating a role for Musk in his administration to cut government spending."He's a great patriot, he's a brilliant guy, too," Trump <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KycxFyyirgg&amp;list=RDNSKycxFyyirgg&amp;start_radio=1">said</a> last week at a campaign event in Atlanta.Trump's campaign has followed suit with the praise and touted Musk's support in numerous fundraising appeals. "I LOVE ELON MUSK! He's great," the campaign said in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://secure.winred.com/trump-national-committee-jfc/lp-hf-sms-dn-register-new-voters-v1?utm_medium=sms&amp;utm_source=lp_lp_hf&amp;utm_campaign=20241019_tnc_registernewvoters-v1_hf_dtrump_lp&amp;utm_content=donate&amp;amount=&amp;recurring=true&amp;utm_term=&amp;utm_term=null&amp;vari=16312235416&amp;exitintent=true">text message</a> to potential donors Saturday, urging them to "go dark MAGA."<h2 id="d8bcad69-9c15-41e9-a1ab-faa27c4f1a8b">The Trump campaign said turnout efforts continue to expand</h2>A Trump campaign spokesperson told BI that its Trump Force 47 turnout operation has 33,000 volunteers and counting.Its efforts are focused on low-propensity voters and early voting, the spokesperson said, adding that "allied efforts will knock on a projected 15 million doors" across battleground states.The campaign did not clarify how much of those efforts would come from super PACs.But some of America PAC's canvassing efforts may be experiencing setbacks. <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/19/trump-campaign-leaked-data-voters-elon-musk">The Guardian reported</a> that roughly 25% of door-knocking efforts in Arizona and Nevada were flagged as false, with canvassers claiming to visit houses they hadn't.America PAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. It denied to The Guardian it was experiencing fraud at the levels reported.In a joint statement, the canvassing firms hired by America PAC told the Guardian they were "fully confident in the authenticity of our door counts" and added that they were "on pace to exceed every single one of our door goals."<h2 id="e7de2ba3-d810-420a-982c-70d7ac9388a1">The Harris campaign's more traditional ground approach</h2>The Kamala Harris campaign, meanwhile, is taking a more traditional approach to its field operations as polls remain <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-donald-trump-15-days-swing-states-polling-2024-10">historically tight</a>.Harris' battleground states director Dan Kanninen <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/10/11/inside-harris-campaigns-ground-game/">told The Washington Post</a> that it's hired 2,500 staff in more than 350 swing state offices for its ground operation, along with "hundreds of thousands of volunteers."Kanninen likened Trump's ground game to "phone calls and spam from telemarketers," telling The Post that the reliance on paid operations from outside groups was "just not very effective."The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request seeking more details about its ground game efforts or its thoughts on Musk's contributions.

Elon Musk is becoming a key part of Trump's get-out-the-vote plan

The counting of votes for <keyword id="65591" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="mizoram" source="Orion">Mizoram</keyword> Assembly polls began on Monday morning amid elaborate security arrangements in all 11 districts of the state. Additional Chief Electoral Officer H. Lianzela said that initially, postal ballots are being counted and then, the counting of votes polled through the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) would be taken up. Over 4,000 officials including women are engaged in the counting process. These officials are posted at 40 counting halls under 13 centres in 11 districts to count the votes, the official told IANS. Director General of Police, Anil Shukla said that adequate security measures have been taken for the smooth conduct of the counting process. Adequate contingents of Central Armed Police Forces and Mizoram Armed Police have been deployed across the state to maintain law and order. More than 80% of the 8.57 lakh voters exercised their franchise to decide the electoral fate of 174 candidates, including 16 women. The ruling <keyword id="297846" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="mizo-national-front" source="Orion">Mizo National Front</keyword> (MNF), the main Opposition Zoram People's Movement (<keyword id="746547" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="zpm" source="Orion">ZPM</keyword>) and the Congress have fielded candidates from all 40 seats while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is contesting on four seats. The BJP has fielded candidates on 23 seats with a special focus on linguistic minority inhabited areas, especially where the Reang and Chakma tribal communities are in reasonable numbers in the voters' list. Besides them, 27 independent candidates are also in the fray. The counting of votes was earlier scheduled on Sunday in the Christian-majority state (87%) but after repeated appeals by all political parties, NGOs, Civil Society Organisations, churches, youth and student bodies including the influential Young Mizo Association (<keyword id="549549" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="yma" source="Orion">YMA</keyword>), the Election Commission of India (ECI) rescheduled the counting to Monday. Polling for the 40-member Mizoram assembly was held on November 7.

Counting of votes begins for Mizoram Assembly elections

Back in 2015, when Donald Trump first descended from his golden escalator in New York City, Alexis García was attending high school in the Texas border town of Rio Grande City. In those days, it seemed, everyone in his classes hated Trump. The town of 15,000 serves as the seat of rural Starr County, which is 97% Latino and has voted for the Democratic candidate in every presidential election for the past 100 years. García was too young to vote in 2016, but he supported Bernie Sanders. That year, Hillary Clinton destroyed Trump in Starr, winning 79% of the vote.But after Trump took office, García began to find himself drawn to Trump's bombast. He liked the nicknames Trump came up with for his opponents — they reminded him of his own nickname, Pelón, meaning baldy for his buzzed hair. "Trump is like a schoolyard bully," García tells me, meaning it as a compliment. By the end of 2017, as a high-school senior, he'd become a full-fledged Trump supporter.At first, seeing how his classmates went after other Trump fans, García chose to keep his political conversion to himself. "Tienes nopal en la frente," his friends would tell Trump supporters — you've got a cactus on your face. The meaning of the insult was clear: You're only Mexican on the outside. When García finally told people he liked Trump, he was denounced as a racist. "How can you do this to your own kind?" people would ask."Coming out as a Republican was probably worse than coming out as an LGBT person," says García, who works at a local supermarket. "They would shame you for it."<div type="image" title="Alexis García" height="1500" width="2000" msid="113985767" hostid="261" sizebytes="137552"></div>At the time, García felt like he was part of a minority in South Texas. MAGA was a sort of counterculture among Latinos, a tiny band of provocateurs who enjoyed pissing off the dominant Democrats. But beneath the surface, a seismic shift was underway. When the results were counted on election night in November 2020, García was as shocked as everyone else to discover that Republican turnout in Starr County had nearly quadrupled from 2016. Joe Biden still won, but barely — 52% to Trump's 47%. Trump had gained more ground in Starr than in any other county in America.Since then, political analysts have been questioning whether Democrats are losing their long-standing advantage among Latino voters. How had a candidate who once called Mexicans "rapists" done so well in a Mexican American county? In July, before Biden exited the race, polls found his support among Latinos had fallen below 50%. And even since Kamala Harris won the nomination, polling has indicated she's likely to win no more than 58% of Latino voters — a far cry from what Democrats used to muster. That's especially significant this year because Trump doesn't need to win a majority of Latino support to retake the White House. If he can peel off enough of the 36 million Latino voters, especially in hotly contested swing states such as Arizona and Nevada, it could prove to be the margin of victory.<div type="image" title="An empty street in Roma, Texas" height="1500" width="2000" msid="113985769" hostid="261" sizebytes="294998"></div>In late July, after Biden dropped out of the race, I traveled to Starr County to see why this longtime Democratic stronghold has been shifting steadily to the right. To be sure, Starr differs from other border towns in some significant ways, especially in its relative dearth of recent migrants. But the county underscores how being Latino is becoming less predictive of how someone will vote. The area is working class, and its politics are similar to much of rural America. There's a reverence for law enforcement and the military, a sense of economic instability, and a nagging suspicion that liberal elites in Hollywood and on Wall Street think of locals as ignorant hicks. In Trump, they see a man who offers something different. "People tell me they're going to vote for him," García says. "Trump is going to win."On a humid July morning, Benito Treviño, 77, is walking along the dirt road of his ranch, nestled among the thickets of Tamaulipan thornscrub that grow north of Rio Grande City. Reaching up, he grabs a bean pod from one of the large mesquite trees. "We can grind these into flour with a hammer mill we built," says Treviño, a biochemist and botanist by training who now runs a native-plant nursery. Like the mesquite and huisache that thrive in this arid climate, he has deep roots in Starr County.Treviño traces his family's ancestry back to the earliest Spanish colonists, who made their homes on thin ranches along the Rio Grande. When the US annexed half of Mexico in 1848, those Mexican ranchers suddenly became American. Instead of them moving to America, America moved to them. Today, many South Texans like Treviño see themselves as more Tejano than Mexican American.This explains, in part, why Biden's campaign struggled to get traction among many Starr residents. His 2020 playbook for Latinos was built around celebrating immigrants and affording them a sense of belonging — one of his slogans was "Todos con Biden." But many here don't identify as immigrants. Treviño was born in 1947 and grew up helping his parents work the lands his family had been on for generations. He's American.Like almost everyone in his generation, Treviño was raised as a Democrat, he says, for one simple reason: There were no Republicans in Starr County. "I never heard the word 'Republican' growing up," he says. "There was no Republican Party here." For more than a century, Democrats enjoyed complete control of local government, often running unopposed in general elections. That dominance, at its worst, led to graft and corruption as powerful families passed down elected offices like heirlooms. When Treviño's father spoke out against the local leadership in Starr, the Democratic bosses found a way to show their displeasure: Treviño claims that when officials decided to improve a dirt road that ran through the county, they left the stretch in front of the Treviño home unpaved.<div type="image" title="Benito and Toni Treviño" height="1500" width="2000" msid="113985772" hostid="261" sizebytes="326624"></div>The machine politics compelled Treviño to turn away from the Democrats. He was also prodded by his wife, Toni, a chemist turned lawyer who moved to Starr from Houston. As an outsider and self-identified libertarian, she was shocked by the county's rampant cronyism. "Why are you a Democrat?" she asked her husband. "You're a hard worker. You're very conservative in your values." The Treviños became Republicans, and today Toni serves as the chair of the Starr County GOP.While the worst instances of machine politics were eradicated by the 1980s, many old-timers like Treviño remain deeply suspicious of the Democratic Party. In South Texas counties where Democrats have controlled local politics for generations, Republicans can offer themselves as the party of something new. And polls indicate the same shift taking place across the country: Latinos are much more likely to see Trump, rather than Harris, as the candidate offering a chance at major change.If any place embodies the dual identity among Latinos in Starr County, it's the Rancho Cafe in the tiny town of Roma. On the outside, the restaurant has the wooden facade of an Old Western saloon, complete with a covered wagon in the dirt parking lot. Inside, however, it's classic Tex-Mex. Traditional Mexican dresses hang for sale along the walls of the café, and the servers greet you in Spanish.<div type="image" title="Rancho Cafe" height="1500" width="2000" msid="113985757" hostid="261" sizebytes="276360"></div>At lunchtime, Aliriam Perez sits sipping a bowl of caldo. Both her parents are from Miguel de Alemán, a Mexican city across the border that would blend in seamlessly with Roma if it weren't for the heavily patrolled river separating them. Perez grew up mostly on the US side, though she crossed over frequently to spend time with family. Her mother was adamant that Perez never lose touch with her culture — she didn't want her daughter to become "pocha," Americanized. Though Perez at times rebelled against her mother's wishes, at 34 she's come to appreciate the importance of her Mexican heritage. Now that she has two boys of her own, she's raising them bilingual. "It's part of their history," she says. "It's where they come from."Growing up, Perez wasn't very political. But that changed when she married a local police officer. In 2020, during the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the murder of George Floyd, Perez was deeply offended by the way Democrats supported calls to "abolish the police." It felt like an affront to her husband, who was "out there putting himself in danger," she says. Breaking with her mother, who believes that it's crucial for Mexican Americans to vote against Trump, Perez began volunteering with the local Republican Party. As she sees it, a vote for "law and order" Trump is a way to both honor and protect her husband and other first responders. Democrats maintain a significant advantage among Latinos like Perez's mother, first-generation immigrants who speak Spanish as their first language. But that advantage weakens among the second and third generations — not because American-born Latinos like Perez are more distant from their heritage but because they've started to prioritize other issues in the voting booth. The top two concerns among Latinos this year are the same as those for their fellow Americans: the economy and healthcare. In one recent poll, only 9% of Latino voters cited immigration as their top priority.Starr's economy is propped up not only by law enforcement, including the Border Patrol, but also by the oil and gas industry. During García's childhood, he recalls, his immigrant father would make the long drive out to the Permian Basin in West Texas, where he worked as pipe fitter. Oil production has grown under Biden, and Harris says she has no plans to ban fracking. But to García, it's obvious that Republicans are far more keen to expand drilling. Voting for Trump, as he sees it, is his best bet to keep his dad employed.To be sure, "oil worker" is not a big part of Latino identity in swing states like Arizona and Nevada. Democrats, in fact, have long played to Latino voters by emphasizing the discrimination they face in the energy industry and law enforcement. But that appeal is beginning to lose its appeal. Perez says she knows racism exists in America — a white worker in an Alabama Dairy Queen once refused to serve her because she's Mexican. But she doesn't see discrimination as the province of any one political party. "There are Democrats who are racist and there are Republicans who are racist," she says. Latinos still tell pollsters they consider the Democratic Party more welcoming to them than Republicans. But there are signs the political cohesion of "Latinidad" is beginning to fracture. Across the country, Latino Republicans say they feel more able to wear their politics on their sleeve. When people give them a hard time about voting for Trump, they've adopted a proud and defiant comeback. "¿Y qué?" they reply — "So what?"In his home on his ranch along the northern edge of Starr County, Rick Guerra keeps one room as a sort of museum of his time in the Army: his vest from his days as a tank gunner during the invasion of Iraq, his boots from his deployment in Afghanistan. On one wall, there's a collection of medals and challenge coins. As a teenager, Guerra helped his father and brothers build this very house. After he retired from the Army, he moved in with his wife and two children.<div type="image" title="Rick Guerra" height="2667" width="2000" msid="113985775" hostid="261" sizebytes="288906"></div>Leaning conservative since he was a kid, Guerra became a dedicated Republican during his time in the Army — and he'd like to see America return to the days of George W. Bush, when the military was flush with cash. Like many Latino-majority counties in Texas, Starr sends a higher percentage of its young men and women to the military than the rest of the country. Most families have at least one veteran in their family tree, and that has contributed to the fiercely pro-military tenor of the local political culture.There's another dynamic at play on Guerra's ranch: This is rural America, where Democrats have been hemorrhaging support for over two decades. Today, the political gulf between urban and rural areas is a greater divide than the split between North and South. While three-quarters of rural Americans are white, huge swaths of rural counties in Texas and other states are majority Latino. As a result, millions of Latinos are beginning to experience what demographers call "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/10/20/midterms-rural-urban-divide-resentment/">rural resentment</a>" — like other MAGA supporters, they feel disrespected by politicians and the media on the urban coasts. And efforts by Democrats to counter such perceptions, like passing the Inflation Reduction Act to create energy jobs in rural areas, have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.barrons.com/articles/biden-rural-voters-big-spending-infrastructure-inflation-reduction-act-8df204b9">had little effect on attitudes</a> among Latinos and other rural voters."If you're blue collar, you're blue collar — it doesn't matter where you're from," Guerra says. "And if you're blue collar, you want a president who is going to get his hands dirty and do stuff for the country and its people."Trump's working-class support in Starr has been most visible in the string of "Trump Trains" that have been taking place across South Texas. In June, at the first rally of the summer, I speak with a professional portrait photographer named Roel Reyes as he's adjusting the flags on his motorcycle on the southern edge of Route 83. He's flying the Texas Lone Star flag next to the Stars and Stripes; on the front of his bike are two signs that proclaim "TRUMP 2024." Reyes smiles as pickup trucks and other bikes pull over behind him, all of them flying Trump banners. Before long, the parade of vehicles snakes 15 miles southeast from Roma to Rio Grande City.In 2020, during the early days of the pandemic, Reyes helped organize the county's first Trump Train. At the time, the riotous parades felt like a protest as much as a rally, a way to openly flout the COVID shutdowns being enforced by local Democrats. Reyes recalls getting plenty of "single-finger salutes" from townspeople. But the trains also gave him the sense that Trump was more popular in Starr than the polls might indicate. During the rallies, he'd get waves from local folks he knew would never admit to supporting Trump in mixed company.<div type="image" title="A patrol vehicle" height="2667" width="2000" msid="113985764" hostid="261" sizebytes="586914"></div>"Trump puts the country first. He puts God first — he's for border control," Reyes says. Next to him, an off-duty Border Patrol agent who has joined the Trump Train nods in agreement.Local Democrats and Republicans agree that the trains gave Trump an electoral advantage in 2020. During the pandemic, Democrats — following strict instructions from the Biden campaign to avoid spreading the virus — stopped knocking on doors and focused instead on their digital strategy. Republicans, meanwhile, kept staging the Trump Trains, knocking on doors, and throwing well-attended barbeques and "asadas." Democrats have become accustomed to hemorrhaging support from working-class white voters. But now it's clear that more and more Latinos — who are overrepresented in the working class, especially in South Texas — are flocking to the Republicans. Being Latino, it appears, no longer dictates how someone will vote.The Trump Train being held is small, but Reyes already has plans to hold larger rallies all across the border lands. This first train, he says, "will be like the trailer before the movie." But it's hard to hear him. Every few minutes, passing trucks honk their horns, their drivers waving out their windows at the sea of MAGA flags blanketing the dry, thorny landscape that once belonged to Democrats.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/jack-herrera">Jack Herrera</a> is a freelance journalist who reports on how immigration and demographic change impacts individual lives. He was previously a national correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and senior editor at Texas Monthly.

Trump demonizes immigrants. So why is he winning so many Latino votes? 

Citing the Conduct of <keyword id="19895095" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="election" source="keywords">Election</keyword> Rules, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Monday said the <keyword id="21922459" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="count" source="keywords">count</keyword> of <keyword id="20105752" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="postal-ballots" source="keywords">postal ballots</keyword> will start first across all counting centres and asserted that there was "no doubt about it". Responding to questions at a press conference here, he said after half-an-hour of the start of the postal ballot count, the counting of votes recorded in the electronic voting machines will commence. A delegation of the opposition parties had on Sunday met the Commission to demand that postal ballot count should start first and the results of postal ballots should be announced first. "Rules clearly state (Rule 54A) that postal ballot count will start first. On all centres in the country it will start first, no doubt about it. After half-an-hour we start the <keyword id="20041623" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="EVM" source="keywords">EVM</keyword> count. So, there are three countings which are happening simultaneously - it happened in the 2019 elections, it happened in all the assembly polls held thereafter. It happened yesterday also in case of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim assembly (vote count). We can't change anything mid course. Why can't we change, because it is compliant with the rules," he said. He said the postal ballot count and then the EVM count and finally the marching of VVPT slips with EVM results will continue. In majority of the booths, the number of postal ballot is less. It will automatically end first, he pointed out. Since 2019, VVPAT (paper-trail machine) slips from five randomly selected polling stations per assembly constituency (or segment in cases of <keyword id="19895394" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="lok-sabha" source="keywords">Lok Sabha</keyword> seats) are matched with the EVM count for greater transparency.

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