Betting odds on Presidential election results are displayed on screens along The Strip, on Nov. 5, in Las Vegas.John Locher/The Associated Press
Nebraska Norm is looking around for his wife, Sheila, when she turns the corner of the lobby of Trump International hotel clutching a gift bag.
“You didn’t buy more stuff,” Norm sighs.
“I did,” she says.
Sheila pulls out a teddy bear with a band around its waist emblazoned with the word “Trump.”
“I couldn’t help myself,” she says. “Isn’t he adorable?”
Norm and Sheila Grange are from somewhere in Nebraska. Norm doesn’t want to say exactly because he doesn’t trust the media. On that front he takes his marching orders from the man he already voted for in Tuesday’s election: Donald J. Trump.
He and Sheila are both wearing matching shirts decorated with American flags and the words “God Bless America.” They both have “Make America Great Again” hats – his black, hers red – studded with rhinestones. Norm says he can’t wait for things to return to “normal” after Mr. Trump gets elected again, taking square aim at President Joe Biden and Vice-President and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
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“He’s got a lot of work to do because Biden and Kamala have messed things up so bad,” Norm says. “I don’t think Trump will be able to fix it all in four years. It will take longer than that. JD [Vance] will have to clean up the rest later.”
For the Granges, hope for America rests solely on Mr. Trump’s shoulders. Looking around the lobby and the sea of MAGA hats, most people here feel the same way. Staff will often urge guests to have a “Trumptastic day.”
Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris both visited Nevada several times in the lead-up to Tuesday’s vote. It’s a state that has voted for the winner of the presidential election nine out of the past 10 elections. Las Vegas, in particular, is a city where the cost of living and immigration are issues that resonate.
During the campaign, Mr. Trump promised to exempt tips from taxation for service industry workers. Ms. Harris soon followed with the same pledge. Latinos make up a large swath of the work force in Sin City. It’s estimated that 20 per cent of the state’s total voter population in this election comes from this demographic. They have traditionally voted Democrat, but in this election all bets are off.
An election worker oversees the voting process on Election Day at a polling station in Galleria At Sunset mall in Henderson, Nevada.David Swanson/Reuters
Anthony Brown, 25, is an Uber driver whose family hails from Costa Rica. He voted for Mr. Trump.
As he cruises along a city street with rap music blaring, Mr. Brown says he doesn’t like the way Mr. Trump speaks about women or the Black and Latino communities, but he still supports him.
“The thing is, Trump is a business guy and this country is a business,” Mr. Brown says. “That’s the way you have to look at it. Plus, Kamala is weak and Trump is strong. If Kamala gets in we’re going to have a world war. I can tell you that right now. With Trump there was no wars because people were afraid of him.”
Mr. Brown says Mr. Trump also has it right when it comes to immigrants storming the southern border. “They’re trying to steal our jobs,” he says. “I have to pay taxes to take care of their kids. I don’t want to pay for their crap. I can barely pay for my own stuff.”
In a low-rise office park 10 minutes from the Strip, Sonaar Luthra is helping a small, but dedicated and earnest group of Democratic volunteers who are trying to “cure” as many “sick” mail-in ballots as possible. In recent elections in Nevada, about half of voters cast ballots by mail. Among the reasons a ballot can be rejected, one is when a signature doesn’t match the one on file. Or when a signature is illegible.
What Mr. Luthra and his team are doing is trying to reach these people to see if they can help correct the problem. “A lot of what we’re trying to do is just strengthen trust in the system,” he says. “We want people to know that if they get notified there is a problem with their vote, there is a way to rectify it. I think there is a lot of goodwill to be generated by what we’re doing.”
People who often have the most problems in this regard are seniors who have developed tremors that affect their signature or young people who never had to sign a cheque in their life and have a signature that is nothing more than a scribble.
In an election where voter fraud is an issue on many people’s minds, trying to bring some transparency to the matter can be important, even if it doesn’t ultimately mean a vote for your party, Mr. Luthra explains.
It could be days before the final results of Tuesday’s election are known in Nevada. Postmarked ballots are allowed to arrive up to four days after voting day. And voters have until Nov. 12 to address mistakes in their ballots. In 2020, it took four days for the Associated Press to call the state for Mr. Biden.
Back at Trump International, the election party is in full swing. MAGA hats are everywhere. Glasses are being clinked. Here, the mood is optimistic. Here, America will soon be great again.
“Three cheers for Trump,” someone screams, and everyone chimes in.