America goes to the polls next week for crucial midterm elections that could see the Democrats lose control of Congress. In this special edition, we look at why Tuesday's vote is so important. We also take a trip down the Mississippi River to talk to voters about some of the key campaign issues. Finally, we report on how the city of Charlottesville has changed since a young woman was killed at a protest against White supremacists there in 2017.
On Tuesday November 8, Americans will head to the polls for all-important midterm elections. It's a vote that could make or break the rest of President Joe Biden's term. What are the midterms and why are they so important? What would it mean if Joe Biden were to lose the Democrats' already slim majority in Congress? FRANCE 24's Erin Ogunkeye tells us more.
One of the hot-button topics in these elections is abortion, an issue that came to a head in June when the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling from the 1970s that had guaranteed abortion access nationwide. The debate is particularly sensitive in the midwestern state of Wisconsin, where a law dating back to 1849 that bans nearly all abortions has now been put back into effect. The law is currently being challenged in court and the state's attorney general says he won’t enforce it. But for now, all abortion clinics in Wisconsin have shut down, forcing women to travel to neighbouring states for a termination. FRANCE 24's Fanny Allard reports.
>> Watch all the reports in our 'Down the Mississippi' series
Many American voters are also concerned about the growing political divide in the US. The rhetoric is not just increasingly divisive, it has even emboldened people to use violence in order to attain their political goals. One of the most shocking examples of that came in 2017, one year after Donald Trump's election, in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was the scene of violent and deadly protests led by White supremacists who were angry over the city's decision to take down a statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee. A counter-protest the next day ended with the death of a young woman who was killed when a neo-Nazi rammed his car into the crowd. Five years later, FRANCE 24's Fanny Allard and Matthieu Mabin returned to Charlottesville to see how the city has evolved since that tragic day.
>> Watch the full version of our Revisited show on Charlottesville
