Dale looks ahead to the US Election with Scotsman investigations correspondent Martyn McLaughlin
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00:00Hello, welcome to the Scotsman's daily video bulletin for this Tuesday.
00:04My name is Dale Miller.
00:05I'm deputy editor of the Scotsman, and I'm joined by our investigations correspondent Martin McLaughlin.
00:12Martin, it's felt like you've been writing about Trump and this US presidential election for weeks, if not years.
00:18So we'll get around to the build up to the big one shortly.
00:23I just want to talk about the front page of the Scotsman today, firstly.
00:27And you can see Battle for America.
00:29We lead on some of the build up coverage there, much of it produced by Martin that you can read currently at Scotsman.com.
00:36Stuart Hogg pleading guilty around domestic violence as well.
00:42That is the front page picture and the early release of a prisoner back behind bars in 12 hours.
00:49In fact, just over 170 inmates and their release was vetoed by prison governors.
00:56An interesting story that's linked to the early release of prisoners that have been taking place to to try and release the pressure on the country's prisons.
01:05You can read all those stories at Scotsman.com.
01:08Martin, it's been a mammoth build up.
01:12Let's put it that way. And it's only I think it was four months out from the election that we knew Joe Biden was stepping down.
01:19It was going to be Kamala Harris up against Donald Trump instead.
01:22But the build up has felt like it's been going for ages.
01:25But we're here now. How have you viewed the build up?
01:28And just how important do you think this election is not just for America, but perhaps more widely the Western world as well?
01:35I think there's no doubt it's the most consequential election in modern American history.
01:40And the aftershocks of how Americans vote deal is going to have massive impacts.
01:48This side of the Atlantic, you look at the repercussions for the likes of NATO funding.
01:54The war in Ukraine and the situation in Gaza.
02:00There's just three examples of how this election could reshape parts of the world and really have a major impact globally, not just in the US.
02:13Like you say, it feels like this election campaign has pretty much been going on for the past four years.
02:22That's part of American politics is a kind of perpetual state of campaigning.
02:26But this time around, it certainly has felt even more intense than before.
02:33It feels like a lifetime ago that Joe Biden dropped out.
02:37And, you know, we've had all sorts of flashpoints throughout this campaign from an assassination attempt to numerous legal challenges,
02:47controversies and the kind of rhetoric on the part of Mr. Trump's campaign that has really doubled down on what we've seen from him over the past 10 years.
02:58So it's not over yet and it could not, may not be over for a few days to come.
03:04But I think most people will be glad that this kind of campaign is nearing an end because it has taken its toll.
03:11I think a lot of ordinary Americans are feeling very anxious and nervous.
03:16And I'm sure those emotions are felt by people in Scotland and around the world as well.
03:21And Martin, just to reference, we've done a Trump in Scotland series that ran at the Scotsman and in print throughout last week where we sort of touched on these links to Scotland.
03:31They're extensive. So we care about the result here as well, don't we?
03:35Yeah, absolutely. I mean, Donald Trump has been a presence in Scotland for good or worse for the best part of two decades now.
03:44Obviously, he has two significant golf resorts and hotels in the country here.
03:50And, you know, we'll be keeping a close eye on those resorts come what may from the US election.
03:56But as one of the pieces I wrote pointed out, if he is reelected to the White House, that raises all sorts of questions about how US government money will go to his resorts in respect of Secret Service staff coming to protect not only him, but his adult sons.
04:13So there are lots of repercussions from a Scottish perspective, which we'll be keeping an eye on.
04:19Martin, say that I know you and I have watched US election counts before, but say you're fresh to this, you're fascinated, you want to watch it.
04:28How are things going to play out from later this evening, UK time?
04:32What's the timing? When may we hear about some of the key states and when may we get a result?
04:39Well, really, it all kind of starts to kick off around about midnight when we start to get kind of early indications of how some states have voted.
04:47There's about 76 million earlier mail-in votes, which we'll be able to get results for relatively early doors.
04:58But the reality is it all depends not only in a state by state basis, but sometimes in a county by county basis.
05:05The way votes are tallied up in the US is quite a byzantine and complex process.
05:12The good news is that some states like Georgia, for example, have made changes to their electoral law.
05:20So it should be easier and quicker to get results and hopefully we'll have a fair idea by midday Wednesday of the state of play.
05:31In that swing state. Conversely, there are other kind of crucial battleground states where the result may not be known for several days.
05:40In Nevada, for example, voters are allowed to mail in their vote on election day and provided it arrives before November the 9th, it will be valid.
05:50So if the vote there is on a knife edge and Nevada emerges as a key swing state that could determine whether Miss Harris or Mr.
06:00Trump wins, you know, it could be like 2020, it could be up to a week or perhaps more.
06:07It really depends. And the polls are really too close to call.
06:12Martin, given how extensive the buildup has been, it would perhaps be fitting if it took the best part of a week before we actually knew the result as well.
06:20You will be able to stay up to date with all the very latest at the Scotsman.com.
06:26We will be running a live blog across the night covering every update, including which states may or may not be declared and where the state of play is as polls close across America.
06:38We'll also be bringing you the very best of our coverage throughout the buildup via that blog.
06:43You can find all of that, including the parts in the Trump in Scotland series at Scotsman.com.
06:49If you're looking for it, you can go to the World tab where you'll get all the very latest.
06:54Martin, thanks for joining us and taking us through that.
06:57Thanks to everyone at home watching and tune in later tonight.
07:02Cheers. Cheers.