The US Election: News Updates

24 September 2020

The race for the US presidency is on!

In the run-up to elections, people are asked which way they are going to vote - these are called opinion polls. See who is ahead in the national polls here. The person who gets most votes usually wins, but not always! This is because they have a system called the Electoral College, which you'll learn why in Session 2. So, experts also make forecasts of how likely someone is to win - check out the latest forecasts here!

Latest news:

President Trump and Joe Biden have disagreed over the decision not to charge any police officers over the killing of Breonna Taylor, an unarmed black woman who was shot six times in a police raid on her home in March. Read what happened to her here.

Breonna's family sued the Kentucky city for the death and a £9.4m settlement was agreed. However, they also pressed for charges for the officers who fired the shots, but this did not happen.

About the decision, Donald Trump said he "thought it was really brilliant".

However, Joe Biden, said the decision "does not answer" the call for justice, while telling protesters to act peacefully.

The killing of Breonna Taylor, and the decisions made afterwards, are stirring a lot of debate about police treatment of black people in the United States, ahead of the US election. Read more about the reaction here.

Donald Trump has vowed to fill the empty seat on the United States Supreme Court after the death of the pioneering judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg (read more about her here!). The Supreme Court is made up of 9 judges and is the highest in the land - it settles really big disagreements, including to do with the law. It is made up of judges nominated by Democratic presidents and Republican presidents. Most recently, it has had 5 judges nominated by Republican presidents, and 4 from the Democrats. Ruth Bader Ginsbury was nominated by Democratic president Bill Clinton.

This has angered Joe Biden and the Democratic Party because judges appointed to the Supreme Court have the position for life (if they want it!) and a judge nominated by President Trump will mean there will be 6 judges from Republican presidents and 3 from Democratic presidents. They worry this will mean a higher chance of the court voting on big debates in favour of the view held by widely by Republicans. Also, they feel any nomination should wait til after the election - like what happened in 2016 when Barack Obama wanted to nominate a judge.

Read the full story here!

Donald Trump and Joe Biden have been exchanging their views on a potential coronavirus vaccine, and trading insults too.

President Trump suggested that a vaccine might be possible before the election in November, and accused Joe Biden was anti-vaccine.

Mr Biden showed his scepticism about Mr. Trump's willingness to listen to the scientific advice. He said: "If I could get a vaccine tomorrow, I'd do it. If it cost me the election I would do it." Read the full story here.

The Democrat and Republican parties have also held their 'Conventions'. This is where the party's presidential candidate is officially confirmed, and the party has the chance to share its aims and promises to the country.

Joe Biden said that this election will determine "what America will look like for a long, long time...."

President Trump has said that this is the most important election in the history of the country.

Where to find more updates:

The BBC has a page dedicated to stories on the US election - visit it here.

What do you think about these breaking stories? Add your comments below and remember to give reasons for your opinions and provide links to your sources if you give us new information.

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