Romney nailed it when he said 47% of voters will vote Republican no matter what. We could have bombs, concentration camps, you name it. Doesn't matter.

Jim Wright

So, what have you learned?
I mean, you should have known this already, but it's obvious many of you didn't.
So, what have you learned?
I'll tell you: people lie.
That's what you learned.
"Decent" Conservatives are embarrassed to vote for Trump.
They are (and note the quote marks before you reach for the keyboard).
Decent Republicans, or at least those who think of themselves as such, they're embarrassed by Trump.
They're embarrassed to see what's become of their political party, their ideology, the so-called Party of Lincoln.
They're embarrassed to see the hate, the racism, the bigotry, the sexism, the nationalism, the Swastikas and the Confederate flags and all the things that so much resemble 1930's Germany -- oh, I don't mean they're embarrassed by those things themselves, I mean they're embarrassed to see Trump waving it around out in the open.
See, so long as they keep their white sheets hidden away in the closet and they're not actually burning crosses in a black family's front yard or shoveling Jews into the ovens, they can pretend they're not horrible people.
They can pretend they really ARE living up to those ideals their religion tells them are the ticket to some better afterlife.
And there's Trump, reminding them everyday who they really are.
Rubbing their noses in it.
Some, well, they embrace it. They mount flags on their trucks and shout it from the windows. They'll be the first ones in line when the job of Concentration Camp Guard opens up.
But many? Maybe even most?
They're embarrassed.
So, when the pollsters call, they lie about who they're going to vote for.
Trump? I just can't. I'm a republican, but I'm voting for Joe!
And we wanted to believe them.
We wanted to believe our neighbors and our countrymen really WEREN'T a bunch of fucking Nazis.
But when no one can see, when they're all alone in the voting booth, then they cast their ballot for hate, fear, bigotry, and more Trump, because secretly, that's who they ARE.
That's who they really are.

Pollsters are polling the wrong people or not polling the right people. In this era without landlines or print media, people blocking all anonymous calls, they may not be able to gauge the vote accurately. I think some of the vote isn't out yet and some of it may have been suppressed. The polls were off. We will see just how far off when the final tally is in. They may have gotten the winning POTUS right, we shall see. They got the actual numbers wrong, there is no doubt about that.

You reveal your bias and its underlying White Privilege by not listing Voter Suppression as a choice when that has been repeatedly documented.

Because sheep have to follow no matter the shepherd. It's all they know.

IMO, The U.S. population, as in the Trumppets, has dumbed down so far and deeply that it supports stupidity, racism, misogyny, tyranny, nepotism, etc, etc completely.

Popular vote as of now stands at 72.8 million for Biden and 69.2 million for Trump, Biden has received more votes than any candidate in history, even more than Obama and is almost 1 million more popular votes than Trump vs Hillary which was basically 3 million. This said, the electoral college is planned to make elections close and that is why we have to wait. The split is basically 52 to 48. Trump voters are mostly made of people who are highly suceptible of being influenced by disinformation and fear of things they don't really know or understand, a large majority of them are either racist or xenophobic or both, many are mysoginists, ignorant and irrational. Your choices are improperly phrased, reread them, for example, if you are a Trump supporter wouldn't this also mean that you are convinced he is the better choice? Why support him if not? What narrative in the Biden platform mentions that America "is fundamentally flawed"? None. There is systemic racism that must change, there are many policies that must be improved or actualized, like the electoral college or the lifetime appointments, quite a stretch from this to implying that Biden espoused a platform of saying that we live in a "fundamentally flawed America." Quite the opposite. Biden's message was always that united we can achieve anything we want. Oh, and while there are many "closeted" bigots as you describe them, there are many more openly racist bigots. The count is not over and the analysis of the demographics hasn't even started.

Because the average IQ of the American Citizen is 100. This means that all the Trump supporters can have double digit IQ's, which goes a long way toward answering your question.

I'm sure most of them think he's the better choice, I doubt they are introspective enough to know why they think that.

The most important issue to most people is a strong economy, and before COVID it was perceived by many that Trump deserved credit for it. Now we need a rebound and they aren't convinced Biden could lead it. IMO.

Think that says neither of them are popular regardless of what their respective parties would have you believe...

Trump loves em stupid....and they haven't disappointed.....he speaks and hates at their level.

Part of the problem is that the US operates on a 2 party system for practical purposes, almost all other Western Democracies have more than 2 parties but the US has never really managed more than 2 serious parties. People were left with 3 choices, vote for a fascist, vote for another old, white dude who is long past his prime or vote for a fringe party like the Libertarians or the Greens. Given the available options, combined with the pandemic and the economic uncertainty, it's not so surprising that it is a close race.
People want equality and decency for the most part but when it comes to opening their wallet and paying for it then it's not so straightforward for a lot of people.

As this is an atheist site, I think I should point out that religion teaches people to only pay attention to the facts that fit the narrative of what they want to believe. I think this is a primary influence as to why so many peopel voted for Trump.

Add in the closet racists and bigots, and also "celebrity worship", and between all three you have covered almost everybody who voted for him.

All democracies become split down the middle. Because each side coming from one direction, tries to grab as much of the demographic as it can, by appealing to the centre but starts to loose support from its loud outer fringe as it moves into the centre. Forcing a state of balanced halves, with no room for third opinions.

That means that it is almost inevitable that in all democracies, the majority in the centre of the political bell curve, are forced into choosing the lesser of two evils all the time. Perhaps that is a good thing, since it helps to stop apathy. But it can also lead to dangerous swing politics, where any movement towards the extreme by one side is seen as an invitation and compulsion, to become more extreme by the other, the swings often becoming deeper and more reactive over time, until constant changes of policy from one extreme to the other begin to damage the states institutions.

I remember reading many years ago, the naturalist Konrad Lorenz. Who lived through the nineteen thirties in Germany. Proposing that this was observable in German politics before the collapse of the main parties, admitting the then tiny Nazi party in, to make a grab for power.

Some people hold that well designed electoral systems, based on things like proportional representation could prevent political division and swing politics, but of course that is at the cost of apathy and possible corruption, by entrenched political castes.

Everybody is racist.
That's why we need a government.

Strangely we had time today at my workplace to discuss some of this in a civil way. I found it amusing that when I said Trump wanted the counting stopped when he saw he was losing, a couple of co-workers said with a straight face that he wanted counting stopped as he was winning. As if that would make any difference at all. I was quick to point out to those who claimed Trump won that he only had 214 electoral votes. That isn't winning. Then one man wanted to know why there was so much counting and no answers would satisfy him. He claimed that Mexicans and other illegals would be voting before it's over just to get the numbers up.

Now read that again and even try reading between the lines and you will find out what is wrong with Trump supporters. In short, they simply believe what they want to believe. I get it that everyone is angry and both parties need to fix this. It was all of this anger that got Trump elected. What his supporters got was false hope. I think they were tired of lies out of DC.

There is about a 4,000,000 difference between Biden and Trump at the moment. I don't think that is "so close".

We are still fighting the Civil War. Just not with some folks favorite tool, armaments. The "right" won this election just not the Executive Branch. Republicans keep the Senate, increase the House, not one Republican Assembly overturned, & we are as divided as ever. But it looks like rural vs urban. I am not happy. But then I rarely am. Pay some taxes Amazon!!! =0{

Throughout history polls, or Poles as Trump called them in a tweet, although I don't see what central Europeans have to do with it, have often been wrong. Why ?. Possibly because some people deliberately try to give a false impression or are embarrassed at revealing their choice of candidate, as may be the case with some Trump supporters.

A very good question and I am sure many are wondering about it.

Here are my thoughts:

1. Russia is manipulating the voting machines although Trump's government officials would not admit it because it is benefiting their candidate,
2. This is more likely because how is it that mail in ballots favor Biden while machine votes favor Trump? Is that just a coincidence? OR
3. The conservatives truly came out in high numbers on the election day and the Republican Party said that registered 8 million new voters in the rural area in the battleground states who never voted before. If this is true, Republicans again have caught Democrats flat footed like they did in 2016.

How is it possible that now two elections in a row that the actual results come out entirely in contrast to all opinion polls?
The sudden wins are only happening to the Republicans! I can understand polling margin errors but Sarah Gideon in Maine who was consistently ahead of Susan Collins suddenly loses by 12% points? Cunningham in NC consistently ahead by a lot first but now is losing to Perdue?

I am leaning towards election meddling most likely by Russia. No other country other than China has the technological ability and China does not love Trump. Russia has been choosing candidates in all Baltic, Central American countries and it is reported that it is doing it in India. No matter what opinion polls say in India, no matter how how much the prime minister is hated or disliked or is unpopular.. he always seems to get a thumping majority every time and everywhere.

The polls were equally wrong regarding Republicans other than Trump. Susan Collins was supposed to lose. Thom Tillis was supposed to lose. David Perdue was supposed to lose. So there is something going on other than Donald Trump and his personal psychological relationship to voters.

Polls rely on people to voluntarily comply to give information to the pollster. Trump supporters tend to not trust government, and they tend to not trust pollsters. Then there is the "busy factor". I received multiple calls from pollsters while I was working, and I just hung up the phone. A retired grandmother who sits home watching CNN all day listening to anti-Trump propaganda is more likely to spend the time talking to the pollster about her opinions than someone like me who is running 2 businesses.

I think you SHOULD include the choice of "All of the Above and more Besides."

The popular vote will be close to 10 percent i believe.