There are also the names and pictures of Maryland's senators and courts. After nearly 25 years of living in the US, this is my fifth time voting. The previous four times, I always voted on the first Tuesday of November. But this year, because I was busy, I took the opportunity to vote early at a location near my company.

Served to the teeth

Because Maryland is a "holy land" of the Democratic Party, Mr. Trump's team did not bother to spend money on advertising, so all they saw were signs of Ms. Harris and Mr. Wilz - the Democratic presidential and vice presidential candidates. When I went to vote, I saw that they served me to the teeth. From the moment I entered the gate, someone greeted me and gave me enthusiastic and thorough instructions. The staff here were all elderly, retired, volunteered or hired to work during this period. I was asked to turn off my phone. After checking my name, age, and address without having to show any documents to prove it (because election fraud is a serious crime, no one would dare to violate it), I chose to vote on the machine. The staff led me to the machine, typed in the votes and showed me in detail. Then they let me vote freely. In addition to voting for the president, I also chose a senator representing Maryland in Congress and a judge for the district and state. Then I voted on abortion regulations and various government borrowing projects for public works. After five minutes, I finished my ballot. I printed it out and put it in my file. An employee took me to another station and asked me to put it in the machine to read the results myself. After the machine received the data, everything was done, the employee thanked me, wished me a good day and smiled and told me to remember to take the "I Voted" sticker (voted) to the gate as a souvenir.

The most exciting moment in America

The capital Washington DC and its surrounding counties/cities are strongholds of the Democratic Party. One thing is for sure, even if the whole of America turns red (the symbol of the Republican Party), DC will remain blue. So the billboards in DC are mainly of Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz. Going a little further into the suburbs or countryside, the red of Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance (the Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates) will appear. In the morning, go to work, turn on the radio, listen to the election. Go to the company, listen to the discussion of the two candidates' policies. In the afternoon, come home, turn on the TV, all the news about the vote. Perhaps this is one of the most exciting and exciting moments in America, when the whole world is watching and waiting anxiously for the next president of this powerful country. In the middle of Eden Center, the largest shopping mall of the Vietnamese community in Falls Church (Virginia), where last August, Mr. Trump unexpectedly appeared at Truong Tien restaurant to have lunch to win over voters, the election atmosphere was quite lively. Passing by and looking around, I also heard Vietnamese people here talking about Mr. Trump's recent visit and who they would vote for. But that probably wouldn't "paint red" these cities next to the capital Washington. But that doesn't mean DC residents are confident in their party's upcoming victory like President Biden did four years ago. The government and residents are mentally preparing for many scenarios next Tuesday. One is that Ms. Harris wins and Mr. Trump and his supporters will protest the election results like they did four years ago. The second is that Mr. Trump wins and DC residents will sadly put everything aside to accept this truth. And they will have to endure a long four-year term of eyesore, with Mr. Trump appearing on their soil every day. In previous elections, supporters of both major parties hated and despised each other. But since Mr. Trump appeared on the political stage, the contradictions and divisions have been pushed to the peak.

"Civil war" in the family because of choosing sides

Minh Tu, who has lived in Phoenix (Arizona) for more than 10 years, said that yesterday his family had a "civil war" over which side to vote for. Arizonans are also very divided. Factory workers are not interested in who becomes president, because whoever becomes president, they will pay more taxes, not less. Asians like Koreans and Vietnamese in Arizona are still crazy about Mr. Trump. The streets of Arizona display more pictures and slogans of Ms. Harris's campaign than Mr. Trump's. It is predicted that Arizona will remain blue this year, as they did four years ago. Tu said that few older Vietnamese people there vote, they mostly sit and listen to YouTube, watch Facebook, and then fall in love with... Mr. Trump. Partly because they don't know how to register and are busy working on election day. As for voting by mail, you still have to register and sit and read the ballot all afternoon to finish it. California is a stronghold of the Democratic Party with the most electoral votes. But one thing is for sure, Orange County, which has a large Vietnamese population, is red. Mr. Cuong in Orange County said that at this time of year, the election atmosphere is very bustling. Early in the morning, people go out to have breakfast, drink coffee, and listen to everyone's lively discussions. But this year, the situation is completely boring because not long ago, Mr. Andrew Do - a former Orange County supervisor - was arrested for bribery and corruption, shaking the Vietnamese community, so people are indifferent to voting and who will be president. In contrast to California, Texas is a super red state. But in the recent election, the Democratic Party dominated Harris County and the city of Houston. In 2020, in Harris County, President Biden defeated Mr. Trump by 56% - 43% but lost 6% of the total vote in the state. In recent years, many people from blue states, especially California, have come to Texas and chosen Houston as their home. So Democrats here always hope that one day Texas will become a fierce battleground state to add more excitement. But that seems unlikely in a short time. Thanh, a restaurant owner in Texas, said that the night before, he gathered at a friend's house for a meal. Everyone patted him on the shoulder and told him to remember to vote red, not blue. Thanh said not to worry, no matter how he voted, this state would be red. A friend, after vaguely guessing that he was a Democrat, unfriended him on Facebook. But regardless of whether they are Democrats or Republicans, no matter how much they disagree, I think most Vietnamese and other ethnic groups in the US hope that the next president will come up with a new economic policy to reduce the still-high inflation , lower interest rates, and reduce home prices when everything is increasingly beyond the reach of American taxpayers.