The ideals of the founders are on the ballot

World view - The jury remains out on the verdict of the American electorate. While historians are virtually omniscient at predicting the past, we are not much better than most observers at predicting the future.

- Joseph J. Ellis

Two predictions are, however, reasonably obvious: first, that Donald Trump will struggle to accept the verdict if he loses; second, that Kamala Harris will almost certainly win the popular vote, but could lose the election because of that strange American contraption called the Electoral College.

More broadly, a longstanding American dilemma is on the ballot. Are a majority of American voters prepared to accept and even embrace the fact that we are a multiracial society—in effect, that Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream has become reality? Ms. Harris' supporters are betting that we are. Mr. Trump's supporters are betting that we are not.