Severe weather hits swing states on election day, voting may be affected

On Election Day in the United States, some key battleground states were hit by strong cold fronts, with heavy rain and severe storm weather. The heaviest rainfall was recorded from eastern Texas to the border between Missouri and Illinois, including the city of St. Louis. Many flash flood warnings have also been issued in these areas. Although the rainfall will slowly shift eastward, the rain that has already fallen may affect voters trying to go out to vote in the early morning. The front will continue to move eastward, bringing showers to battleground states such as Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, as well as southern Louisiana. In previous elections, rainfall has led to a slight decrease in voter turnout. Among the seven battleground states, Wisconsin has the worst weather, and the Storm Prediction Center has issued a severe storm threat of Level 1 to Level 5 for most of the state. Widespread showers and even thunderstorms may bring gusts of more than 60 miles per hour and brief tornadoes. (Jin Shi)