PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — The importance of Pennsylvania to the result of today’s United States election was further highlighted on Monday, with both US Vice-President Kamala Harris, the Democratic party candidate, and Republican former President Donald Trump engaging in last-minute campaigning here.

Pennsylvania, with 19 electoral college votes, is the biggest battleground of the seven swing states that can decide the election. The others are Arizona, with 11 electoral college votes; Georgia, with 16; Michigan, 15; Nevada, 6; North Carolina, 16; and Wisconsin, 10.

“If we win Pennsylvania, we win the United States of America,” Eric Trump said moments before his father took the stage at a rally in Reading, Pennsylvania.

The claim was repeated by the elder Trump.

“If we win Pennsylvania, we win the whole ball of wax — it’s over,” he said to loud cheers.

“When you vote, I will end inflation. I will stop the invasion of criminals coming into our country, and I will bring back the American dream… After four years of economic suffering we will create the greatest economic boom the world has ever seen. All those companies that left us, they are all coming back,” he said, promising improvements to the economy — one of the major issues heading into today’s election.

“I have been waiting four years for this. We all have been waiting four years… Just show up and vote, and if you have someone else who is lazy, bring that person too,” Trump said, and described today’s election as one of the most important political events in America’s history.

“…But you have to get out, we have to vote. What we really should do is just swamp them,” Trump declared before claiming, without providing evidence, that Republicans were leading in early voting.

He then took a swipe at his opponent over the management of the country.

“Kamala broke it and I will fix it — and fast,” he said.

Meanwhile, Harris similarly pointed to the importance of winning Pennsylvania.

“We need to finish this strong and get this done, so let’s get out the vote,” she told cheering supporters in Allentown, approximately 30 miles away from Reading.

“We need everyone in Pennsylvania to vote. You are going to make the difference in this election,” added Harris.

She commended the Puerto Rican community for their commitment, before promising that she will represent all ethnic groups.

“I will be a president for all Americans so Allentown, this is it… one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime — and momentum is on our side,” she said.

She emphasised the need for a new type of leadership and expressed confidence of victory.

“We have momentum, because our campaign has tapped into the ambitions, the aspirations, and the dreams of the American people. We are optimistic and excited about what we will do together, and we here know it is time for a new generation of leadership in America,” Harris said.

“I am ready to offer that leadership as the next president of the United States of America… Make no mistake: We will win. And one of the reasons we will win is because I do believe when you know what you stand for you know what to fight for. We have an opportunity in this election to finally turn the page on a decade of politics that has been driven by fear and division. We are done with that,” she said, adding that the US is looking forward to a new beginning.

“America is ready for a fresh start. America is ready for a new way forward where we see our fellow American not as an enemy but as a neighbour. We are ready,” she said while stressing that she is “not afraid of tough fights”.

In addition to the economy, immigration and reproductive rights are major issues in this election which opinion polls have predicted will be so tight that there might not be a result tonight.

That possibility was addressed by John Kincaid, professor of political science at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania, in a discussion Monday morning with foreign journalists covering the election.

“There is a lot of worry as to whether there will be a certification of the votes, and one of the counties [which] there is worry about is Northampton county. We have one member of the county election board who is talking about the possibility of not certifying the election, [but] I doubt that is going to happen,” he said.

“If the county refuses to certify the election [then] the state can step in and take over, but it will delay the results. There will be a legal battle, and it may be several days before we get the results from some of these counties,” he added.

A similar concern was raised last Saturday by Pinny Sheoran, president of the League of Women Voters of Arizona.

“Until the elections are certified, it is not over, and in Arizona that has been a huge problem. It was a problem in 2021, it was a huge problem in 2022. There are laws that protect the certification. We have 15 counties in Arizona, and each of those counties has to certify county-level elections, presidential elections, federal elections. They have to count and audit the voters, and then the auditing report has to be given to an elected group to approve and then [this is] sent to the secretary of state for filing with the federal elections,” she explained.