Millions of Americans voted in an atmosphere of no confidence on Tuesday in a decisive election for the presidency of Joe Biden and for the ambition of rival Donald Trump to win back the White House in 2024, according to AFP.

“We need all hands on deck to elect Democrats,” Joe Biden tweeted. Referring to several issues such as abortion rights, he insisted: “This election is too important to stay on the sidelines.”

Plagued by record inflation, the 79-year-old president risks losing control of Congress in these traditionally unfavorable midterm elections and seeing his actions crippled for the next two years.

His predecessor, Donald Trump, who strongly supported a number of Republican candidates, is counting on their success to give him the best start in the presidential race.

During the last meeting, he promised to make a “very important statement” on November 15. “It’s going to be a very interesting day for a lot of people,” he promised as he left a polling place in Florida on Tuesday.

In the meantime, “I think we’re going to have a really good night,” the 76-year-old billionaire confidently added.

New problems with voting machines

However, soon after, he again brought forward allegations of election fraud. After discovering that voting machines had malfunctioned in a densely populated area in Arizona, he wrote on his platform Truth Social: “Again? People will not accept it.”

Local officials acknowledged the problem but assured voters they have other voting options in this election, which includes the entire House of Representatives, a third of the Senate, numerous local elected offices and a series of referendums.

Despite their reassurances, these obstacles were a source of concern.

“I hope everyone will be civil” and accept the polls’ verdict, Enrique Ayala, a 64-year-old retiree, told AFP in McAllen, Texas.

During the campaign, “there was a lot of tension and misinformation,” said Robin Girdar, a 61-year-old doctor who came to vote for the Democratic Party in an office in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, lamenting that “the search for truth and compromise is gone. in this battle.”

In fact, each camp dramatized the stakes in the election: Democrats presented themselves as defenders of democracy and abortion rights against Republicans, who were seen as “extremists”; Conservatives defended the order against the so-called “weak and radical” left on security and immigration.