US election: Where do voters stand on the key issues with just days to go?

On Thursday night, Donald Trump and Joe Biden will face each other one last time in the final presidential debate before the US election.

The debate, at Belmont University in Nashville, offers the two candidates a final chance to make their case to voters before November 3. 

The first head-to-head between the pair was characterised by hostile exchanges and personal insults, with Mr Trump criticised for interrupting Mr Biden during his speaking slot. 

Will the final showcase have any impact on voter behaviour, or have too many people already made up their mind for it to make any tangible difference?

The US is starkly divided across partisan lines, with the chasm between party supporters on an ideological scale the widest it has been for decades under the Trump administration.

America ideological polarisation

It is the most pronounced over climate change, according to polling conducted by the Pew Research Centre. More than two of every three voters most likely to support Mr Biden said climate change was "very important" to them, compared with just one in 10 of Mr Trump’s supporters.

Inequality, whether economic or racial, is also further down the list of priorities for Mr Trump’s supporters. Just 24 per cent cited racial inequality as very important for them, rising to 28 per cent when the imbalance is financial.

With the Covid-19 death toll in the United States now above 220,000 and counting, four in five of Mr Biden’s supporters see the response to the pandemic as "very important", compared to just 39 per cent of likely Trump voters.

In what has been a seismic year across the world, the priorities of Americans have shifted considerably in just a few months.

How America is divided over the top issues

The economy has long topped lists of voters’ of main concerns when considering the best candidate and, despite the country still being beset by the Covid pandemic, that could play in Mr Trump’s favour. 

The proportion of registered voters who list the economy as "extremely important" has risen from 30 per cent in December to 44 per cent in September. With four in five Trump voters putting the economy as a top issue, the president’s management of it should be under scrutiny.

Key issues over time

Race relations and foreign affairs have also climbed lists of priorities in the wake of the George Floyd protests which shook the nation, and the insular "America First" foreign policy.

After years of anti-migrant rhetoric and the ongoing construction of Mr Trump’s "wall", concerns over immigration are falling, with the proportion saying the issue is either very or extremely important dropping from 74 to 65 per cent.

When asked what the most important problem in the US is today, the virus pandemic and poor leadership lead the charts, with Americans are less concerned about climate change, immigration and healthcare while Covid continues to sweep through the country.

What is the biggest problem facing America

Racism and violent crime are also becoming of increasing concern to Americans after a year in which protests and riots erupted across the country.

How many voters will the candidates by vying for?

The final TV debate is one of the last opportunities for undecided voters across the country to make their minds up.

But with millions of mail-in votes already cast, and millions more already in one of the two polarised camps, how many voters are each candidate vying for in reality?

Mr Biden may have an edge, with recent polling from YouGov indicating more than a quarter of his supporters have already cast their vote as Mr Trump continues to cast doubt over voter fraud.

More than a quarter of likely Biden voters have already voted

Just over two thirds of all registered voters have not yet voted but say they are likely to vote, with nine per cent saying they definitely will not and one per cent saying they do not know.

According to the same polling, four in five of Mr Biden’s supporters say they will have voted before election day, either in person (29 per cent) or by mail (52 per cent).

Despite Mr Trump’s protestations over mail-in voting, almost a third (31 per cent) of his supporters plan to vote by mail before election day.

Overall, just 28 per cent of all registered voters say they will vote in person on election day – leaving the final days of campaigning a scramble for an ever-shrinking pool of voters.