A person clears snow from their driveway during a winter storm warning in Walker, Michigan on January 19, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Suburban Collection Showplace on October 26, 2024 in Novi, Michigan. Photo: Getty Images via AFP

The story so far:

Around 24.4 crore people are eligible to vote for the U.S. presidential election slated for November 5. In 2020, two-thirds of the eligible voters voted. The next President of the U.S. will be decided less by these national numbers than by a few thousand voters in some key places, which are called battleground or swing States, thanks to the unique features of the country’s electoral system.

What transpired in the last two elections?

The last two elections of 2016 and 2020 demonstrated the outsize impact of the swing factor in several States, even as the country became more polarised. In 2020, President Joe Biden had a national lead of around 70 lakh votes over Donald Trump, but what mattered more were the small margins with which he won key States. Of around 67 lakh votes cast in Pennsylvania, Mr. Biden led over Mr. Trump by 81,660; in Michigan, he had 1.54 lakh more, of the total 54 lakh polled; in Wisconsin, Mr. Biden led by just 20,682 votes in a total of more than 32 lakh votes.

Editorial | Neck and neck: On the U.S. presidential election

In 2016, Mr. Trump had trailed his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton by two percentage points, which was in excess of 20 lakh votes, but he could still emerge as the winner because he won key swing States. For instance, he won Pennsylvania by 44,292 votes of the total 61.7 lakh votes polled; Wisconsin by 22,748 of the 30 lakh votes; and Michigan, by 10,704 of the 48 lakh votes polled.

How is the winner chosen?

The winner of the U.S. presidential contest is selected not by a majority of national popular votes, but by a majority in the electoral college of 538, which is 270. Members of the electoral college are apportioned between the States. Most U.S. States have a “winner-takes-it-all” system that allots all electors to the candidate who gets more popular votes. So, whether a candidate has one or one million votes more than their opponent in California, for instance, all 54 electoral college votes of the State, will be awarded to him or her.

Similarly, all 19 electoral college votes of Pennsylvania will be awarded to the winner of the popular votes within that State, regardless of the margin. This system could create the anomaly of a candidate winning the election, without winning more popular votes than the opponent, nationally. That is also why the main opponents this time, Mr. Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris, are trying to turn the battleground States in their favour in the last lap of campaigning ahead of election day.

Which are the key States that will play a role in picking the winner?

Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, and North Carolina are the battleground States of 2024; and the contest between Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris is a dead heat, going by all opinion polls. The average polling error for more than five decades in the U.S. is 3.4%. In all the seven swing States, in nearly all the polls, the leading candidate has a lead well within this margin. Like the last two elections, the margins could be very narrow and these States will decide who will be the President for the next four years. It is also possible that most of these States could swing to either side, as it happened in the last two elections, rather than being evenly divided between the two.

Even a minor swing among significant voting blocs in these States could turn the tide either way. Both candidates are trying to tailor their messages, particularly targeting these States. For instance, Latinos make up nearly a quarter of Arizona’s voters. That possibly explains Mr. Trump’s recent attempts to portray his opponent as being disrespectful of the Catholic church. In Georgia, Black votes count considerably, and Mr. Trump has been trying to mobilise them behind his anti-immigration politics. Latest polling figures show Mr. Trump gaining more ground among Latinos and Blacks. Michigan, a State that turned Republican in 2016 and Democrat in 2020, has around two lakh Muslim voters. Democrats, and Ms. Harris, face a crisis of credibility among them, against the backdrop of the conflict in West Asia. They may not vote for Mr. Trump but could turn indifferent towards Ms. Harris. Mr. Trump had won North Carolina in 2016 and 2020, but Ms. Harris is making some new inroads, according to polls.

In the last stretch, there will be further concentration of firepower by both sides on the small numbers that count as big in the elections. Catching the swing voters in these States is what both candidates are focussing on now.

A three-year-old boy shot himself in the face with his mother’s gun in the US state of Michigan. The incident took place at around 4:30 pm (local time) at St. Patrick Avenue near Elmo Street, local media reported.

As per preliminary investigation, the mishap occurred after the boy’s mother came home from work and put her gun down on the dresser, Detroit Police Department chief James White said.

The child soon got hold of the unsecured gun and accidentally shot himself. The bullet grazed his face, but the child is expected to survive. However, his condition remains critical as of Friday night.

“A three-year-old toddler roaming around, they see you put the gun down, they are probably gonna pick it up just like anything else,” CBS News quoted James White as saying.

Although there was a locked gun box inside the house, it was not used at the time of the shooting.

“It only takes a minute, less than a minute, seconds. You have to secure these weapons,” White said.

Police are now investigating whether the child’s mother had a license for the gun. With Michigan’s gun storage law coming into effect earlier this year, police said they were further looking forward to charging the woman with improper storage of a firearm, reports added.

Meanwhile, the nearby resident stated that those owning guns should lock their weapons responsibly to put an end to such incidents.

Lorenzo Hardy, who stays a few doors away from where the shooting took place, said he understands what the child may now encounter next.

“It is the trauma, it is the thing that a three-year-old has to live with for the rest of his life… It’s really sad that a child gets to hold a gun; it’s ridiculous,” Hardy said.

Detroit Police are further investigating the matter.

A 2-year-old girl who went missing in Michigan, US, with two family dogs was found asleep in the woods hours later using one of her pets as a pillow. According to Sky News, the little girl wandered away from her home on Wednesday night. Her disappearance sparked a major hunt, with drones and police dogs joining the cops and local residents to search the remote wooded area.

After several hours missing, the girl was found asleep by authorities using the smaller dog of the two as a pillow. “She laid down and used one of the dogs as a pillow, and the other dog laid right next to her and kept her safe,” lieutenant Mark Giannunzio said, as per the outlet. “It’s a really remarkable story,” he added. 

The girl, identified as Thea Chase, was first reported missing in Faithorn at about 8pm Wednesday, as per People. At about midnight, she was found around three miles away from her home by a local riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) with her two dogs lying beside her. Mr Giannunzio said that the little girl was assessed by medical staff and appeared to be healthy. 

Also Read | Parents, Aunt Arrested After 6-Month-Old Baby In US Nearly Dies From More Than 50 Rat Bites

Speaking to People, a Michigan State Police public information officer said that the smaller dog she was using as a pillow was a cocker spaniel, while the bigger dog, a rottweiler, was in “guardian mode”. As far as the police investigation, authorities don’t believe foul play or negligence played any part in the whole ordeal.

Notably, Faithorn – the region where the girl went missing – is an unincorporated village located just east of the Wisconsin state line and about 97 kilometers southwest of Marquette, Michigan. 

According to People, in May an 8-year-old boy also went missing for two days during a family camping trip in Michigan. He was discovered underneath a log where he had sought warmth and shelter. Back then, authorities said that more than 150 personnel from Michigan State Police and local police partners searched for the missing boy on foot, by air and by water.