Madonna shows support for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris with voting selfie

Singer urges voters to ‘get out there and take responsibility’

Madonna at a film screening in London on 15 September 2016 (BEN STANSALL/AFP via Getty Images)

Madonna has come out in support of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, announcing she has officially cast her ballot for the Democratic ticket in the 2020 presidential election.

The singer shared a series of selfies on social media over the weekend, urging others to go to the polls as well.

“The three faces of a girl who just Voted!!” she wrote, next to three Stars and Stripes emoji. “Get out there and take responsibility people!!”

Madonna ended her message with the hashtag #bidenharris2020, making clear that she had decided to support the two Democratic candidates.

The artist has been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump and his administration. Last week, she shared another social media post encouraging others to vote in the 2020 election.

A few days later, she spoke out in defence of Kamala Harris, after some criticised the vice-presidential candidate’s facial expressions during her debate with Mike Pence.

“Kamala For President…” Madonna wrote. “If Kamala were a man no one would make comments about her facial expressions. Do people fixate on Trumps facial expressions?? That are hideous and rude every time he speaks.”

She called the criticism “another example of sexism and racism in America”, adding: “Kamala is an intelligent, compassionate, well spoken leader who stands for justice and equal rights for all people.”

The general election will take place in the US on 3 November. Tens of millions of Americans are expected to vote by mail due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The shift to mail voting means it is more likely than usual that the winner of the 2020 presidential race will not be known on election night, but that does not mean the results will be flawed or fraudulent.

Election officials in some key battleground states have warned that it might take days to count the votes given what they expect will be a surge of ballots sent by mail.

Because processing mail ballots is more laborious than in-person voting, states that haven't updated their laws and systems for the different workload can see delays. While each state runs its own process, mail ballots can take longer to count.

In some states, the ballots can be accepted several days after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked before polls closed. And while some states count the ballots as they come in, others — notably the critical battlegrounds of Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — have laws that forbid processing mail ballots until Election Day, guaranteeing the count will extend well past that night.

Additional reporting by AP