Interesting facts about 2020 US presidential elections

NEW DELHI: The US presidential elections have become a talking point not only in America, but the rest of the world. As the world awaits the results of this keenly-contested battle, we bring you some interesting trivia about the 2020 US elections.


* Polls amid pandemic: It is the first time a presidential election has been held in the throes of a deadly pandemic that has affected not only every corner of the country, but the whole world. A 1918 midterm election, in the midst of the Spanish flu pandemic, saw voter participation drop 20% - although the fact that 2 million men were fighting in World War I also had an effect. By the time Republican Warren G Harding won in 1920, the flu had passed.

* Voting by mail or otherwise: This year, the pandemic has sparked an unmatched shift to early voting, by mail or otherwise, and rising expectations that days or weeks might pass before the outcome is known. A record 100 million Americans opted for early voting in the presidential polls.

* Most expensive elections: The 2020 US election cycle, including presidential and congressional races, came with a massive price tag of $14 billion, making it the most expensive polls in history. The figure has is more than the combined figures of the amount spent during the last two election cycles.



Facts about candidates
* If defeated, Donald Trump will be the first president ever to be defeated by a former vice president.

* Trump's re-election would mark the first time in US history that voters re-elected four presidents in a row. The current record of three was set by the team of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe in the years from 1801 through 1824. Later, Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama also shared the record from 1993 and 2016.

* Trump could still make history by losing. If Trump loses and Biden doesn't seek re-election in 2024, the US would see the first elected, back-to-back one-term presidencies since Benjamin Harrison and Grover Cleveland in 1889-1897.

* Oldest President: If elected, Biden will beat Trump's record as the oldest president ever to take the oath of office — and beat it by eight years. Biden, who began his national political career as the sixth youngest US senator in history when he was sworn in at 30 years, one month and 14 days old, could become the oldest president elected and the oldest to serve at the age of 78 years and two months on Inauguration Day (Reagan was 77 years, 11 months and 14 days old on his last day in office).

* First President from Delaware: Biden could be the first president from Delaware and the first to have had so long a career in the Senate (1973 to 2009).

* A VP gap: Biden could be the 15th vice president to ultimately get the top job, and one of only six to ascend by election rather than the resignation, natural death or assassination of a sitting president.

* If elected, Kamala Harris would become the first female US vice president in history. She also happens to be the first black woman to run for Vice President and the first south Asian VP nominee.