Sunrise host Nat Barr surprised an American by highlighting the major differences between the Australian and American voting systems.
As Kamala Harris and Donald Trump make their final addresses to voters before Wednesday’s election, Barr, who is in Washington to cover the election, revealed that many Americans had not yet cast their votes.
“They say that around 74 million people have already voted, which represents almost half of the total of those who voted the last time,” he explained.
‘It sounds impressive, but considering that 160 million people voted in the last election and there are around 245 million eligible voters, we are still about 80 million short.
‘This shows how crucial it is to get people out to vote. Voting in the United States is not mandatory as it is in Australia.
‘I mentioned this to a woman, I said, “Oh, we have to vote,” and she said, “What do you mean?” I explained to him that voting is mandatory.
Then he asked, “What happens if you don’t vote?” and I told him there is a fine.
‘She couldn’t believe it. That’s why you’ll likely see celebrities like Beyoncé, LeBron James, and Taylor Swift perform tomorrow night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the swing state with the most electoral college votes. “That’s why all these stars are showing up to encourage people to vote.”
Later in the show, Barr suggested that Donald Trump could benefit from the ‘bro vote,’ young, straight Christian men who feel politically marginalized, during an interview with former Obama administration official Peter Loge.
Nat Barr is in Washington as part of the network’s coverage of the US presidential election.
Barr suggested that Republican candidate Donald Trump was benefiting from the ‘bro vote’, young heterosexual Christians who feel rejected by other candidates.
‘What’s up with the “brother vote”?’ she asked.
‘There has been a lot of talk about Trump attracting men.
“One theory is that straight, white, Christian men who want to be part of a movement that doesn’t reject them are voting for him.”
Lodge explained that Trump is encouraging many young people to vote.
“There are two groups of voters here: one who would never vote for a woman or a Democrat, and another of younger men who may not have voted before but who Trump is encouraging to turn out as he has in past elections,” said.