pr >> ...the neesident-elect joe biden faces...a >> ...amers decided to go another way... >> ...trump campaign is saying hold owe're fighting the legal battle...>> narrator: a bitterly contested election in a country on edge. >> not in my country! >> narrator: over the past yr, a team of filmmakers across the united states has been documenting t hopes and fears of americans. >> (chanting) >> ...keep going... >> ...engage... >> their right are being taken away... >> narrator: from the earliest days of the pandemic-- the impact on health...

>> i love you much. >> it's just kind of a blur what happened after i got intubated. >> narrator: and the economy. >> we tried putting in for the small business loan, unfortunately, we weren't approved. >> we are the free people of america. >> narrator: to a summer of protest-- >> as long as they catch one dirty cop at a time, i'm happy. one at a t >> narrator: the backlash-- >> (shouting) narrator: and ultimately, the election that roused a deeply divided nation-- and the aftermath. >> (chanting) trump 2020! trump 2020! (cars honking) special presentation-- line >> we want to live! >> narrator: "american voices: a nation in turmoil". rontline is made possible by

contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. public broadcastintion for major support is provided by the macarthur foundation, committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org. the ford foundation: working with visionaries on the frontlines of social c worldwide. at fordfoundation.org. additional support is provided by the abrams foundation, committed to eellence in journalism. the park foundation, dedicated to heighteng public awareness of critical issues. and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support frojon and jo ann hagler. and additional support from laura debonis and scott nathan. (overlapping voices) >> how can i love america? i can't... i don't think i canca love america, t put that

into words. >> we don't know when it's gonna pass. >> i feel a revolution coming, it's getting closer every day. >> i have learnt to love being alone.♪ ♪ >> narrator: these are the voices of americans. (overlapping voices) >> people are getting angrier and angrr. >> i wanna be in charge of my own life! >> narrator: gathered from across a divided nation... >> we're just gog too far in opposite directions.us >>set the scene for us, how are you feeling? give us a clap, first. >> narrator: in this film, americans reflect on a year of turmoil... >> it's never gonna be the sam after this. >> i wish there wasn't as muchis hate in th world as what we have. (riot guns) >> we're scared to death of this thing and nobody wants to die. >> we have no reason to trust the state. >> i'm not going to tolerate

somebody telng me how i need to live my life. >> narrator: a pastor, a barber, an activist, a mother, a retiree, the owners of a nail salon, and of a construction compan and a flower shop, a doctor, and patient. their stories begin in march 2020, as covid was spreading, and the country was shutting down. cdc says there are now more nathan 4,200 cases of cororus. >> in iowa, governor kim reynolds has recommended... >> mass gathings are stricted to less than ten people... (radio fading) >> who so falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of arn burning fiery e. the languages fellandations and

worshipped the golden image that nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. my name is cary gordon. i'm the senior pastor of cornerstone world outreach in sioux city, iowa. how do i water baptize someone in a virtual service? how do bury the dead? how do i have a wedding?op how are have me lay my hands upon them and anoi them with oil and pray over them to be healed in the midst of a pandemic when i'm told that i cat have physical contact? ♪ last sunday morning, i drove past menards. menards is a lumberyard,

hundreds of cars. and only a quarter mile away my church in contrt, i know is empty, because they've said,c "the cis not essential." the churchs not essential. in a time of crisis with imminent death and a pandemic, the church is not essential, but menards can stay open, someone might need to buy a screwdriver. it's o. >> new numbers show the damage coronavirus has inflicted up oregon's economy. a job...oregonians are without >> unemployment is at a record high in oregon... >> people are spookebecause of covid. they're scared to death of this thing and nobo wants to die going out the house getting a haircut. my name is bryant moore. i'm a barber from portland, oregon. ♪ the bills keep stacking up... with no money coming in.

scared to look at the bills from our business, 'cause i can't pay. so i'll survive by just doing what i have to do to make it, man, you know, it's... s i would go to a senior' house or go to a bus stop, ico dn't do anything else, i had to make do. >>ro i'm having a get toget at my house. so i escaped, came here. i gotta get my hair done. he got to get his money. gonna go back looking fly. >> my business is one of yoose things where it make feel good. which we really all need to be feeling go right now. (chuckles) you know? it's just a common human thing to do, it's human to make people feel good. >> oh, yeah, go for a queen. that part. i'm hopeful. this may be the right thing to stop all this fhting amon each other. you know, democrat, republican,

independent, bck, white, yellow, whatever. so this might be the right thing. because what i've been seeing is folks been sticking together. it doesn't matter what color they are.an i seeing it in person. >> ♪ back and forth, and in and out, and back and forth again..♪ for we are strong people, and we will come out of this and be on top ain. ♪el i do bve. >> the coronavirus pandemic is putting an end to the longest economic expanon in u.s. history. >> we are going into a global recession.pa >> entirs of the u.s. economy are at a complete standstill. >> people are afraid to go out. people are afraid even to call and have something delivered. it's just a total different... >> half the sinesses are broke.

or they're out of business. >> when i started my flower shop, i started with two used cooler boxes, and a piece of plyboard across the top of the boxes in our yard. that's how i started. do you need a receipt? >> um, sure. y >> thank so much. keep me posted on that wedding. >> i will for sure. >> all right..bye bye! >> bye! >> i've been here in this on probably 24 years in this oneot so i'm kind of a staple here. but it's kind of sad to only see this many orders on my board. because normally should be about 50 to 60 orders on my board for easter. and i have one, two, three, four, five... six.

so i better do a pray dance tonigh (chuckles)n' oh, i dot know. it iwhat it is. is what it is... okay, it's done. >> which one's that? auburn. is your last one to >> where's sharon's? , >> i haven't done it yetbut it's too early to take hers. >> oh, i thought you said i was gonna take it now. >> no. >> i didn't see... >> my husband does my deliveries as much as he can do. we're just a two-man team just trying to survive. >> we got married when we were 18. we dated in high school. fromhe first time we met we were each other's best friends, sicause everybody knows ro she's a pretty special woman.ly i personal have a problem with a mask at times becausef my congestive heart failure.

air.e's times i'm fighting for hello, delivery for pat. mask because it's not going to save you," well, no, it's not going to save u, but you might save somebody else's life. >> governor ralph northam and his covid-19 response team... >> seenother spike in cases... >> repeal the state's stay-at- home order... >> sociadistancing guidelines are going to be with us... >> mimmune system is weakene so i have learnt to love being alone. i have learned to pretty darn comfortable. ♪ oh, lord, technology... just not my thing. my name is carran lewis, i live in north chestereld, virginia. e ah, good morning second baptist, praise rd, everybody. i drive close to an hour from my home to church. i got a heavy foot, but if i followed the law, it would be

clearly an hour drive. >> welcome to the second baptist church of south richmond, a cang and sharing church bringing you the word of god. >> i have enjoyed the comfort of waking up and listening to it online. >> we're now goi to have a nrtual peter verse select from the mass choir... >> i miss the environment of the building.at but s what it is, a building, because the people, we are the church. the physical human beings are the church. >> what's going on in the white house, or the state hoe, or the mayor's house ofttimes is not based on... >> i've still helped people, up groceries for a couple ofked hiends, older people that could not go out, didne the and they know my n >> our seniors, amen, because of covid-19, should not be out and abou.. >> that's right. that's part of what god wantsyo

to do, you know. just help people. ♪ for all you've done ♪or me this is the part that's scary.eo i think somee are getting too comfortable being at home watchi the service. ♪ they all belong to you ♪ thank you, jesus ♪ for blessing me >> president trump appears to be stoking unrest in states around the u.s... >> where long-term damage from a shuttered economy... >> signs urging aders to re-open utah... >> you can't do one size fits all. you can't shut everybody in, you can't make healthy people wear masks. oh, that's looking nice. you look so happy about it. i am amy garner. and i am a mom of six kids. okay, where did you want the bow?

we say, like, economy, sometimes we just think of finances as a whole of society, but insteader i see my browhose business was going down. that triggered the stress, wch triggered his health issues, which triggered his ntal health issues, and he was gone in 60 days. three years o, he took his life. this is my brother, brian. yeah. (sighs) i wanted to save other families from going through what we went throug (voice cracking): sorry. passionate about not shutting things down, letting people choose. are we sheep or are we people? >> people! >> let's go to work! >> that doesn't mean that we don't believe there are people at extra risk, or that we don't love them or accept their concerns. i'm like, mine says, my... our definition, oh, "your definitioe ofential is not the same as

mine." so, i'm like, theyeally are missing out on the hardworking people who can't earn moy for their family, like... is going to go wayr.suicide you take away people's connections, their hobbies, their friends, their worship, eir work, and everyone's gonna be depressed!es and i am so d to have a family of children and husband. wht? about the people who do it's heartbreaking. >> small business is the lifeblood of this country, and we cannot kill it any longer. a open for business today! >> this is my first rally, so i'm really hpy to be here with all of you guys, all of you patriots, all of you activists! >> i really hope people will let go of what we're stuck in, what we're stressed out aboutt righnow, and take into consideration the long-term impact of what's going on. >> ♪ god bless america my home sweet home ♪

(cheers and applause) >> mr. trump is now insisting the states have step up their testing. >> fewer than than one percent of all texans have been tested... >> testing will be a big factor in making sure texans are healthy enough to fully reopenth economy. >> clearly, we're in the middle of a pandemic, and we're suffering much worsewe would have had we had a competent, science-based head of state. my name isr. christine edy ma, i am a family practice doctor in cedar park. when the covid-19 pandemic started, we were left without any guidance. individual clinics like mine, doctors like me, weren't really given any information about how to manage the pandemic, and so we kind of all had to make it up on t fly.

we didn't know the processes that we needed to use to be able to manage patients as they came in. it takesetween one and three days to get a result. sorry... (patient coughing) i one of thcovid-19 testers at my workplace. t'is is a deep nasal swab, very uncomfortable. pull your mask down, i think you've had this before so you know what's coming... we didn't have equipment, we didn't have test ks, and it was very stressful. (indistinct chatter) it was just a mess for monthsnd and monthsonths. ♪ deaths the united states has now reached a stunning 50,000. >> had at least one underlying health issue... >> a new effort to kee chicagoans safe during the coivd-19 pandemic... >> in early april was when i started feeling lightheaded, dizzy, um... i was coughing.of i lost my sensaste and smell.

because i have an underlying t condition,hought my symptoms were relad to that. >> you're wearinyour mask wrong. you have to cover your nose. my name is mayra ramirez. i am 28 years old. (chuckling) one day i woke up, i w so we, i just fell over. (breathing deeply and rapidly)yt evhing was, like, dark.me and i mber calling out for my boyfriend, i was li, eorge, george," like, and he would, like, run and, like, help me, and i was like, "okay, i really need to go to thegey r" they, like, immediately, like, put me in a room, didn't even ask me my name or anything. (medical equipment beeping) i remember a doctor came in sure we're gonna have to pretty intubate you, do you have someone that can make medical decisions for you?" then, um... it's just kind of a blur, what happened after i got

intubated. ♪ >> the day they told us that mayr um, it was her last day we're all on the trampoline, just... my mom was crying, um, my sistersall my aunts were there, they were crying. they didn't know what to do. and we were just planning, um, to go pick up a corpse. i was trying to avoid >> i love you so much. >> uh-oh (chuckles). >> medical people arerful people, they're heroes. but they're not omniscient. and they make mistakes and they contract one another. everyone's going to die at some pot. as a christian, we believe that

we're set free from the ar of death. >> do you have any hand sanitizer? >> we do. >> we're spiritual beings and we require fellowship. >> it's a beautiful day! >> i know, it's gorgeous! >> if it's okay to take a risk and go to stores, i think it's okay to take a risk and go to church. >> 99. >> phew! >> try to keep families together! (people chatting) >> welcome back into the church building! (cheers and applause) (chuckles) whoo-hoo! (cheers and applause) praise the lord! ew're going to teach you a song this morning as we re-enter the church, you can stand with us ♪ ♪ oh, christ be magnified ♪ just let his prayers arise m ♪ christ nified in me

hallelujah! i said hlelujah! (overlapping chatter) >> the attempted arrest was caught on camera. night'seo of las confrontation shows a white police officer with his ee pinning down the neck... >> his name was george floyd, he's on video saying, "please, please, i can't breathe" as a minneapolis police officer... >> we're just like, man, this is crazy... we're already fighting a common terror, which is covid, and now this now? you know, people were just pissed off, like, this is just ridiculous-- how can you killis an? >> no justice, no peace, prosecute the police! >> the outrage began with a deo showing an officer kneeling on floyd's neck. >> many people have gathered in front of the third precinc.. >> sitting here in front of officers who are complicit in the murder of george floyd. >> thousands packed the ea... >> protesting the death of >> how many times have we

watched police offics murder people? (crowd reacting) >> you're numbo it after so many of them. it's been happening for so long. l don't shoot, hand's up! >> but then it'sittle different, you're like, wow, that just happened right here on 38th. the fact that it happened in my neighborhood was what really pulled me into it. (overlapping chatter) people are getting angrier, and angrier, and angrier, and buen hold up... we have a whole nch of police with helmets right in front of us. (glass shattering) >> crowds of protestors faci off with officers in riot gear. (explosion booms)om (explosions bo (woman screaming) >> (chanting): i can'tathe! >> protests turned violent last night. >> overnight protests left parts of downtown in ruins >> multiple fires were set, ndows smashed, and store looted.

>> as far as volunteering efforts go, so far you're our go-to volunteer coordinator ri>>t? eah. >> so we really have to get her engaged with... >> them. >> them. my name is tayo daniel. i'm from south minneapolis, minnesota, co founder of 10k. you know, we were listening to the news, and the naative that they're spreading was likeo h these looters and rioters, peop from minneapolis, just burning down their own city" and all that kind of stuff, and i i was like, man... i'm from here and i know everybody that lives here, we're not like that. so a lot of guys from neighborhood dided to get together and create the 10k foundation. and we want to show that we can have a peaceful protest. >> 10k is about, it's about mobilizing 10,000 people and the power in that, the sovereignty in being able to mobilize 10,000 people. i'm royce white, i grew up here in the twin cities. i was an athlete. in 2013, and had a huge fight

with the nba regarding mental health policy. you know, when all the protests broke out, my first thought was, i'headed down there. i'm not gonna claim to have a crystal ball as to what's gonna happen, i really have no clue. i'm just gng off of pure opinion. the four officers were arrested and, temporarily, that's enough justice until we wait and see what happens with the court process. i know people are still ve unhappy, they're not in the uproar that they were in, obviously, when the city was burning down or even a few days ago when we marched. ever day we get away fm it, that energy's gonna go down a little bit. i think it's spiking up in otheh places arouncountry. i want the goal of this march to be how can we re-grab some of that energy? ♪ (helicoptedroning)

>>she reason why we're here because the history has been misconstrued, because every 4th of juli used to go out and party, and i used to just... really scream independence. not realizing that my ancestors with the same color skin of mine were not independent. theyere in chains, they were being whipped, they were being tortured. people, the time is right now. n everybody say that one time? on the count of three say the "the time is now," one, two,e! thre >> the time is now! say it again! >> louder!e is now! >> the time is now!he >> t time is right now. ♪ (chains dragging) >> look, we did our best toin ththrough how the protests would put people at risk forra covid-19 tmission. but, at the end of the day, there's no way that we could allow the state to tell us,

"hey, we're going to kill black men out on the streets, and al, stay in your house because we also... you know, because of covid-19." ♪ if you think about the historical context of black men, black people in this country in general, we have no reason to trust the state. in general, when we wake up in the morning, there's no good reason for us to have any faith in the state. and maybe in times where there needs to be a trust, it falls through. yeahmaybe black people shoul have more trust in the state when it comes to covid-19, but it's a tough sell.he >>eason why we're doing this silent march is because when you take a moment of silence, you're taking a moment of silence for t dead. for the eric garners, for the breonna taylors, for the george floyds.>> ey, it is what it is, this is a war. this is a war. and so the only other option is to, you know, board up in your house and wait for the next george floyd to be murdered.

i mean, that's just the reality. (light chatter, shuffling) >> protestors have been on the streets of richmond for several weeks now. >> the one-time capital of the confederacy is in the throes of change as statues commemorating confederate leaders come down... >> i am grateful to is generation of black youth and white youth that are not rioting, they're protesting, and they'rsmart, and they're doing it right. i'm going in from over here... i cided one sunday, i said you know what, i'm stepping outf onth, i'm going down to see what this it's about. >> black lives matter! >> i kept seeing ion the news and i just did not believe thepo way media waraying it, that it was that bad.

>> do you understand you are a spirit being that lives in a body, your body will die...d, >> understan'm 63, i'm deadly afraid of covid, but it's worth it to come out and show my support. >> batck lives matter, may allrl lives matter, i'mma stand for >> i met some terreople, had great conversations with people. (laughter) the diversity is what makes me feel good about it. the black and the whites are coming out here. and as long as they catch one dirty cop a time, one dirty , cist, dirty politician, dirty lawyer-- i'm hape at a time. 'cause this 400 years of this (bleep). (overlapping voices) >> we are out here to end systematic racism. we're out here to defund the i grew up in ruralnia, the closest town was bowling green. therwere some whites that we talked with, but i didn't play

withny, it was no white kids up the street that i played with or anything, they didn't do... we didn't do that in mera.ru ing, laughter) that's where i grew up as a child. yeah. i'm at the monument right now as we speak. having big fun, man. (fireworks crackling, whistlg) each experience i had out here has been different. >> we will never allow an angry mob to tear down our statues or erase our history. >> i come early and i ave before it gets too late. (crowd shouting indistinctly) one evening i didn't understand

what was happening when i saw like 14 licears coming up in th. (crowd shouting) and i just begged them to allow me to go to my car and leave. i just wanna go home, please. i just wanna go home. my car's (indistinct)... i can't get over there. g >> you cwait in your car. we'll be out of here in just a second. we'll be out of here in just a second. you can go wt in your car. e and they were very kind. they even helpedget out and i was gone. , whitpeople, that i have knn for years are very decent people othe surface. can't see what we're seeing. head. can do is just shake my (indistinct chatter)

>> another intense night here in the ci of richnd as protestors took to the streets... >> a peaful protest in virginia also turned violent people in richmonded... >> i don't think our country could be any more divided than we are right now. the country is, is horribly divided right now and, and more and for what?we ever have been. for what gain? i'm a father of four young kids. i'm also a business owner. i own a constrtion company. i'm huge rights acvist. i believe in our constitution. i believe in the way our constitution was intended to be read and not interpreted. if anybody had told us this was gonna ended up happening, nobody would have believed it. no. >> like i say, racism is out there. that's what it is. (bleep), i got more black friends than i could ever

imagin i got one black friend and i specifically tell people that that's my brother. (both ughing) and we talk about it all the time. it'sidiculous, man. >> people that are doing all this are just out just to wreck stuff.dy >> my same bhat i call my brother he said it too. he said, "man, it's crazy," lives matter thing, but yetck they're going in and destroying old black people's businesses ond.>> yeah. >> you know what i mean? >> i don't know how everything got so race-oriented all of a sudden here within the past year, honestly.th um.., that kind of blows my mind. ♪ so as far as the platform or tha cause that the lives matter rallies are for, i think raising awareness for police brutality, sure. if you want to focus on any aspect of it that could have ave positiffect on the american people, you could bring up that one aspect. but it doesn't just happen to

black folks, happens to whitepe folks, hap to asian fos. it happens across all walks of are, no matter what race youou are.>> re we jumping? >> we all need to work together in a common cause to defend our freedoms. not to fight against each other and empower more regulation (indistinct chatter) ha >> two crise converged: protests or the death of george floyd and the pandemic. the u.s. death toll now topping country...he most in a an right now we have a situation where black amerdie out of proportion to any kind of parameter that you can think of. >> all lives do matter but they won't until black lives matter first. (crowd cheering, applauding) sometimes when you have specific type of community that hurting, it is okay to

focus on them for a little while until thingset better. and then whethey do get better, then all lives will matter.s (ched applause) >>dehen the george floyd murr s this pandemic.in the middle and so, for me aa healthcare provider, really felt that it was my resnsibility to not aspose myself to the potential for getting the diand spreading on to my patients. (crowd chanting) but i was happy that so manyco people were ng out of theirs hod out of their workplaces to be involved in those protests. >> black lives matter! >> we were there, you know, in in solidarity. we have a very long history of systemic racism in this couny that persists today. you have to look at the lives that are most at risk in our

country. the ones that are being lost out of proportion to every oer category of american. >> black lives matter! >> black lives matte >> protests turned violent after demonstrators clashed with oakland police officers. there is significant pr erty damage to businesses in the downtown area of oakland after these protests last night. >> my understanding is it's actually a good movement, in my aopinion, but there's jus bunch of other protesters, a small percenge of it, that are... they're giving it a bad name. ♪ my name is jason tolentino and s i own a nailon. >> well, actually, i'm the one who wanted to open a shop. ommy name is jamie, i'm fr vietnam. no way! >> oh no! >>eally?! it's all closed. >> i told myself before i'm 30 i will own something. so when i'm 28, just take all

to go buy a shop art aing, just business. ♪ >> we've been open for about three years, and so far, everything's great. besides this, of course. the pandemic has taken a huge to. we're just trying to get by doing whatever we can to survive. ♪ then now when we have this going on, which made it even worse. it's mainly just for insurance purposes. it did get vandalized or looted it's not fair for someone like me who's trying to make this community better. meand next thing you know e just takes it away and ruins thu wholness itself. there is the racism in america. and, at the moment, i think it's st getting worse. want to not be harassed by the

law. there's nothing wrg with protesting. you can protest all yo we live in america. ngt when you start vandali small businesses, that part is wrong. (overlapping voices) >> now amidst of all this chaos now, it could be easy to forgett that we are still in a pandemic. >> one of the first receive a double lansplants to is now recovering. 28-year-old mayrramirez received a lung transplant at chicago.tern medicine in >> when i first woke up fromy lung transplant, i was a vegetable, i couldn't move a finger, i couldn't, you know, i could barely wiggle my toes. i couldn't talk. i was in a lot of pain, i was unmfortae. i was like really disoriented at the time. i felt like i had only been

there for like three days or so. i didn't realize that i was intubated ansedated for six weeks. (shouting, explosion, sparks) the tv would be on and, you know, they would talk about all and george floyd, otest.ppening, i was like, "can i just go back to being sedated? like can i wake up when this is over?" the world was so ugly. literally, cities are burning. i, i just couldn't take it. >> the radical dems are pushing as many left-wing activists and anarchis as they can into the streets of america. i derstand the president i on the phone now. >> well maybe the point of great success, you know... >> my feelings with the black lives matter is all lives matter. not just black, not pink, white ra purple. it's not just on.

i think it's wrong, basically, what the officer did. i think he should pay a price for what he did. but i look back in history. i had a great-great-grandfather that helped with the slaves. he helped run the underground railroad. he was ambushed by white people who felt the slaves should stay slaves. so, you know, when they sit there and say every white person is racist or bad, i'm n racist. i'm not d. i'm a human being. i respect them. i expect to be respected back. >> george floyd's name is on a list now, a very long list, a centuries-old history... >> people told me that these protests had become about more than george floyd. that they're about this long history of police brutality. >> all you have to do is look at history. if you flip the pages back from history, it speaks for itself.

>> there is another vigil for george floyd that is getng underway right now at peninsula park.ee >> i kseeing africanan americeople get killed by cops all across the nation...in (crowd chant ...and nothing's happening. >> no peace! >> you look at arin history and it's ugly. (cheers and applause) people are hurt, people are tired of... they're tired of being tired. >> they're sworn to protect this country... >> when i look at history, we prt. nothing changed. we protest now. nothing's really changing. and that's hurtful. >> from day one, america has been based off of the subjugation of black and indigenous people. (cheers and applause) >> yes! yes! speak it, sister! how can i love america? love america.on't think i can america hasn't loved me, that's

for damn sur >> power to the people! >> power to the people! >> power to the people! >> power to the people! >> black power! >> black power >> black power! >> black power! >> power to thpeople! >> power to the people! >> all power to the people! >> all power to the people!fi the ght is real. but it's always been here. now it's to the surface in 2020. now where do we go from here?et >> you need toff your damn phones and recording (bleep) and (bleep) start getting (cheers and applause) >> millions of people all across america are casting their votes on who they want to lead they f. >> it has been a campaign year unlike any other and now 100 million people have vod already. >> record breaking early voting continues. massive early vote total includes more than seven million californians who have already returned their mail-in ballots. >> i wish there wasn't as much hate in this world as what we have. i don't caref you're a dem, i lin't care if you're repubn,

i don't care if you're in the middle. there's so much hate. i hope president trump wins.ce viresident biden, i feel, is-- and i hate to say the age thing, because he's probably my age maybe. oh my he is... i don't know how old he is. um... i think he's too old. i think he's too feeble in his mind. i just wish it was over. yay! (chuckling) >> illinois election officials reporting seeing early voting numbers they have not seen in prior elections. >> recovery is pretty slow andar really h i have someone else's lungs and

be like a slap in the face if i didn'try my hardest. >> you're here to vote? >> mm-hmm. >> okay, so you're goigo through the revolving doors. >> i avoid going anywhere. so i requested the mail-in ballot, but it ner arrived. hi. um... mayra ramirez. i saw one person who like didn't have their mask on properly and that upset me a little bit. my umber one topic of st during this election is, you, knalthcare reform. i think this is the first time that during an election that we've actually expected like riots and violence and protests. regardless of how the results go, i think we're all still expecting it.♪ ♪ >> so far this election is on track to set a record. >> california's top election official assuring folks there v are safe ways e during a pandemic. all ballots will be... >> all right, everything's...

>> no! i put my name here? >> you gotta sign... well i got no pen. again. gotta walk back out you have a pen? you gotta put your address... it literally says on the topit gonna invalidate it if you don't sign it. >> whoa! (laughing) >> um, i would rather not say who i voted fo i just want everything to come back to normal. that's all.at all i'm praying for really. people will be surprised, but i don't want to say who i voted for. >> i just vote for myself or i vote for the lady! , i vote for the lady! >> you voted for that lady. you don't even know her name.'t >> i dnow who she is, but it seem like she's the only lady, so i vote for the lady ♪ i vote for the woman! >> well, you have a right to do that. ♪ >> it's been ahile since i voted,ou know, due to my situation. i'm here at the polling station. m here with my dad-- the o.g.

i made a lot of bad decisions when i was younger getting in fights, had an assault charge, things like that. trying to do the right thing. it's never too late to do the that's for sure. thve made a vow to myself that i'll never do noing illegal again. you know, i'll never go to jail again. i need to register. so i just felt privileged to be able to get out and vote. there are a lot of people that are not allowed to vote or can't vote so it's important that the people who have the privilege of voting take that step and make that initiative. >> the polls in iowa are openig until 9:00 t for anyone who chooses to vote in person. acutss the state there are a 1,200 locations. >> gonna have to put this on now. you're supposed to find people y that represent, donald trump cannot represent me, he does not represent my beliefs. of course, i can't vote for joe biden for the very same reason. >> thank you for voting.te (indistinct ch

>> i will sleep good tonight. because someday, as a christian, i believe christ will turn and all wrongs will be righted and justice will prevail. and my job is to keep speaking the truth as a minisr. >> big rac biglectoral vote fight tonight, too early to call. >> we will be getting some resus, actually we think, th hour from kentucky from indiana, all the poles not osed... >> i'm equally excited and nervous. i've been thinking about how four years ago, i didn't think i was going to make it four years. joe biden was not my first choice. my first choice was kamala thharris, who thankfully i vice presidential candidate, soon to be vice esident. >> in the commonwealth of massachusetts... >> yay! joe den wins massachusetts! >> ...joe biden the projected winner tonight. >> my gut is telling me biden's gonna win. but i'm so nervous about the possibility of contested

election. but i think that it's unlikely. i veink that we're going to a good win tonight. a very heated cont the thick of >> it is closer than the democrats wanted it to be. it is closer than any democrat is cfortable with right now. we'll have to wait and see how that comes in. >> i anticipate some very uneasy people on either or both sides angry about not gettg their )ay. (nearby drumming whoever wins, which i hope it is not trump, we shouldome together. (crowd singing indtinctly) w thisk i felt a kind of likeigh of relief, are changing, things are, things shifting in, in a different direction. (crowd singing indistitly) ,

you know, it was was an invigorating space to see a lot of people that not necessarilye look l, but wanted the same types of things that i want in america. >> vice president joe biden will win pennsylvania and nevada, putting him over the 270... >> across the country, pro-trump protesters gathering at state capitols, echoing the president that the election was stolen. (engine revving, crowd cheering) (tires squeal) >> because i was really just so sick of politics i wanted to write in jesus. aughs) but that doesn't do anything. so, i was surprised, i felt prompted to vote for trump. >> we are very much in asp itual battle right now. we are invoking christ, because christ is the way, and christ is the only way that we're going tv triumph evil. (cheers and applause) >> i really hope representatives will be the voice of the people,

and that there will be a middle ground. biden probably can't accomplish erything he wants, but a part of me fes devastated because i feel like it's taking society in a completely different direction. >> stand by and stand down. no, we're not standing down. we're here, we're nna stand. we're gonna stand fast. we're gonna wait for orders. >> cheers and celeations in the streets of minneapolis. >> celebrations by joe biden supporters have been going on all day, including hin the metro. (horns honking) i'm just excited that overall that more people got involved in the voting process. becausthat way we're going to be able to hold these elected ngficials more accountable. (car hor honki)hi so i a lot of people are going to be looking at joe biden like, "okay, you were talking that talk, now are you gonnawa the walk?" what do you guys think of the election? >> oh yeah! >> we're good. >> i was relieved to the point where it's like, "okay, this step has been handled. now, what's the next step?" you know, it's not over, this ie beginning. (car horns honking)

that's just one man. the president doesn't make the world a better place, the peoplt make the worldter place. the people living in it. (car horns honking) >> so let's talk about what vote says about the country.is joe biden got a record number of votes. >> we have half a nation that believes that we had an unfair election. we have another half of the nation that thinks everything is just great, wonderful. i hope it's wrong, but i see to many commeby too many people. i feel a revolution coming. it's getting closer every day. somebody is going to be dumb enough to fire the first shot. and we're gonna have somele serious pr. i hope i'm wrong. >> i hope you're wrong too. >> and i hope i'm not here to see it. ♪ >> i'm ready for you... >> okay, i'll be right there. i think the immediate future holds turmoil and fear andab

concert ere we go next. we are ready to do some covid testing now. i actual fear that people are going to say, "whew, joe biden n, we're done, we can go back to doing and living our normal live" all right, this is a nasal swab. both sides of your nose.an ne who thinks that the election getting called is the end of the work that needs to be done is mistaken. and we'll have results for you within 24 hours. ♪ av >> ino regrets about voting for the libertarian candidate. i'm tired of people voting for the lesser of twevils. you know, voting democrat n because itot trump. or voting republican because it's not biden. wouldn've really mattered who they're one in the same. i think our culture is going to stay divided.

the division that has been created here recently is, is something that we've regressed to. that's going to take generations to recover. i think our culture is going to be horribly scarred by this. and i don't know what it's going to be blamed on in the end, or how it's going to be spun, but i think our culture a whole has gone down a deep, deep, dark hole. ♪ >> whoo-hoo! president biden! yay! that was for you. we have a president.♪ let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me. ♪ he can't fix this messgh over you can't fix it in a week, a month, but it's over. thank odness, it's over. ♪ let peace begin with me

let this be the moment now. ♪ but now we worry about what's let there be peace.t. (crickets chirng) >> go to pbs.org/frontline for an interview with the filmmakers about how tund and followed their subjects. >> i don't know how everythingac got sooriented all of a sudden. >> it's alwayseen here. now it's to the surface in 2020. now where do we go from here? >> and learn more about the communities covered in the film. connect to the frontli community on facebook and twitter, and stream anytime on the pbs video app or s.org/frontline. >> she is a won of unyielding loyalty to the constitution. >> ...likely swing the eological balance sharply to the right. >> narrator: a supreme court takeover 30 years in the making. >> when bork got taken down,

they promised never to forgive. >> it was raw politics, and it was war. >> mitch mcconnell is a tactica. genius >> i will be mindful of who came before me... >> she cld be on the u.s.t supreme courfor 30 maybe even 40 years. >> we're living in the era of the mcconnell court now. >>byrontline is made possibl contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. and by the corporation for public broadcasting. major support is provided by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation, committed erto building a more jt,nt and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org. the ford foundation: working with visionaries on the frontlines of social chang worldwide. at fordfoundation.org. additional support iided by the abrams foundation, committed to excellence inur lism. the park foundation, dedicated to heightening public awareness of critical issues.

and by the frontline journalism fund, with major support from jon and jo ann hagler. and additional support from laura debonis and scott nathan. captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org "frontline" programs, visit our website at pbs.org/frontline. ♪ ontline's, "american voices: a nation in turmoil" is availablon amazon prime video. ♪

>> you're watching pbs. >> ...continues to grapple with the impact of the ongoing pandemic... >> narrator: the truth is rarely black and white. >>..protesters versus frontline workers... >> ...filled with so much uncertainty... >> narrator: but if we ask the hard questions... >> ...death toll in the u.s. tops 200 thousand... >> narrator: check the facts. >> ...the internet is disrupting... >> ...is amazon taking ovethe world a good thing?" >> narrator: dig a little deeper. >> boom! >> narrator: and take a breath... the truth is closer than you

e: kenneth strouphe american system of democracy

is still very much an experiment. jamebee bouie: democracy has somewhat discredited. ted cruz: that system, it is the most successful democratic system the world has, i think, evereen.r: ian bremme i experienced the american dream. there's no other coury in the world that i could create from nothing where i am today. jalane schmidt: this isn't the land of the free. that hasn't been the experience of many people. [explosions] tim kaine: teare is an existentialt in the world right now. chris sabatini: we're facing one of the great ideological battles our time. michael abramowitz: global democracy really depends steven levitsky: thethat dey on a strong american democracy.y is not the way it died 50 or 60 yearsgo. we usually think of a violent takeoverpo or seizure or. today, the dominant way in which democracies d is much more subtle. derek mitchell: really, populists rise to power through election. [crowd cheering]