Nat Barr stuns American woman after sharing a fact about Australia as she covers the US election
Sunrise host Nat Barr surprised an American by highlighting the major differences between the Australian and American voting systems.
As Kamala Harris and Donald Trump make their final speeches to voters ahead of the election on Wednesday, Barr, who is in Washington to report, revealed that many Americans have not yet cast their votes.
“They say about 74 million people have already voted, which is almost half of the total that voted last time,” Barr said.
‘It sounds impressive, but given that 160 million people voted in the last election and there are approximately 245 million eligible voters, we are still about 80 million people short.
‘It shows how crucial it is to let people vote. Voting in the US is not compulsory as it is in Australia.
“I was telling this to a woman and said, ‘Oh, we have to vote,’ and she said, ‘What do you mean?’ I explained that voting is mandatory.
“Then she asked, ‘What happens if you don’t vote?’ and I told her there is a fine.
‘She couldn’t believe it. That’s why you’ll likely see celebrities like Beyoncé, LeBron James and Taylor Swift perform tomorrow night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the swing state with the most Electoral College votes. That’s why all these stars are coming out to encourage people to vote.”
Later in the show, Barr suggested that Trump could benefit from the “bro vote” — young, heterosexual Christian men who feel politically left out, during an interview with former Obama administration official Peter Loge.
Nat Barr is in Washington as part of the network’s coverage of the US presidential election
Barr suggested that Republican candidate Donald Trump was taking advantage of the “bro vote,” young heterosexual Christian men who feel rejected by other candidates
“What about the ‘bro voice’?” she asked.
‘A lot of attention has been paid to Trump attracting men.
“One theory is that straight, white, Christian men who want to be part of a movement that doesn’t reject them are voting for him.”
Lodge explained that Trump is encouraging many young men to vote.
“There are two groups of voters here: one who would never vote for a woman or a Democrat, and another of younger men who may not have voted before but who are motivating Trump to act, as he has done in previous elections,” he said.