Voters across the country are heading to the polls to cast their ballots in the 2020 election on Nov. 3.
Voters are not only choosing the next president—the winner is expected to be President Donald Trump or Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden—but a range of other offices, including Congress.
Links:
DC Boarded Up as City Expects Post-Election Riots
Poll Closing Times in All 50 States
7 Senate Races Likely to be Called on Election Night
Pelosi: House Prepared to Decide Presidential Election Victor
No Evidence of Foreign Election Interference So Far, DHS
See the latest updates below:
Biden Says Turnout ‘Overwhelming’
Biden on Tuesday afternoon told reporters that he’s hearing about overwhelming turnout.
“What I’m hearing is that there’s overwhelming turnout. And overwhelming turnout particularly of young people, of women, and an overwhelming turnout of African American voters, particularly in Georgia and Florida, over the age of 65. The things that are happening bode well for the base that has been supporting me. So we’ll see,” Biden said in a gaggle in Pennsylvania.
Asked if he’s confident that he’s on track to win, Biden said he does not know.
“I don’t know. For example, if Florida came in by 1 it’s over. Done. If Florida doesn’t come in and what happens is the early vote occurs in some other states, I think we’re going to do well in them and we’re going to re-establish that ‘blue wall,’ I feel good about that. Just so uncertain. Look—you can’t think of an election in the recent past where so many states are up for grabs. The idea I’m in play in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, I mean come on,” he said.
Biden’s campaign said earlier Tuesday that the Democratic nominee could lose Florida and Pennsylvania and still win if he secures other battleground states like Michigan and Wisconsin.
Police Arrest Man Carrying Gun Outside Polling Site
Police officials in North Carolina said they arrested a man on Tuesday who was carrying an unconcealed gun outside a polling site.
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department said Justin Dunn was legally carrying the gun but “continued to loiter” near the site after voting.
Police officers received a call for service about the man possibly intimidating other voters, officials said.
After receiving another call for service, officers arrested Dunn for second-degree trespassing.
“Dunn was asked to leave the property by an official presiding over the precinct location in front of officers and voluntarily left without further issues. Dunn was also banned from returning to that location by the precinct official,” the department stated.
Florida Governor: Result Should Be Known on Election Night
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday predicted President Donald Trump will win the crucial state and said election result should be known well before midnight.
The Republican believes Trump will receive more support in Miami-Dade County than in 2016 on his way to a similar victory in that election.
“He’s got people energized down there like he didn’t have in 2016, so I think he has the advantage going in on Election Day into Florida. And if the folks who normally vote, vote, then I think he’s going to end up winning Florida, probably in the same ballpark that he did last time, maybe a little more,” DeSantis, a former U.S. representative in his first term, said.
Voting Machine Issues Resolved in Crucial PA County
Issues with voting machines in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, were resolved before noon, an election official said.
“The County has 129 polling places open and there were a few reported issues this morning. Most of these issues were technical in nature and were resolved once the problem was diagnosed. All polling places are open at this time,” David Pedri, manager for Luzerne County, said in a statement released before the afternoon.
Voting machines went down earlier Tuesday, WBRE reported.
“A cheer broke out when the door opened, and then when the first person came out, he said ‘it’s all like confusion, there’s four machines, only one is working’ and that’s when everybody got a little bit like, ‘wow, we’ve got work to go to, and I don’t know if I’m gonna make it’. I hope everything gets straightened out,” Dan Warakomski of Nanticoke told the broadcaster.
Voting machine issues have also been reported in other states, including Georgia and New York.
The issues are likely not cyber attacks, a federal security official said.
Trump Says He May Address the Nation Tuesday Night
President Donald Trump said he’s mulling an address to the nation on election night, regardless of whether results are available.
“I may, I mean, we’re gonna have to see we have a big night planned, we’re gonna have a very big night,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question in Arlington, Virginia.
Trump is watching the returns come in from the White House in Washington.
Some states are expected to announce unofficial winners on election night while authorities in others have said it could take several days to figure out who won.
Biden plans on addressing the nation on Tuesday night, his campaign announced on Monday.
He will be joined in Wilmington, Delaware, by his wife, Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and her husband.
North Carolina to Keep 4 Sites Open Longer
The North Carolina State Board of Elections voted Tuesday to keep four polling places open longer because they opened late, which is expected to delay statewide reporting of results.
The longest extension was 45 minutes for a site in Sampson County. That means the state can’t publicly report any statewide results until 8:15 p.m.
The state’s more than 2,600 polling places are otherwise scheduled to close at 7:30 p.m. But state elections officials said in a news release last week that if hours are extended at any polls, they wouldn’t publicly post any results until all polls are closed.
Board Chair Damon Circosta confirmed at the meeting Tuesday that the extended hours would delay the public release of results.
The polling places that opened late include one site in Cabarrus County, one in Guilford County, and two in Sampson County. The delays were at least partly due to issues with printers or other electronic equipment. The extensions, which only apply to the individual precincts and not other sites in those counties, range from 17 minutes to 45 minutes and match the extra time it took to get them open.
Board Executive Director Karen Brinson Bell said at a news conference in the morning before the vote was held that it’s not unusual to extend polling place hours on Election Day.
Trump Predicts Victory But Acknowledges Uncertainty
President Donald Trump on Tuesday predicted he will win the presidential election while thanking campaign staffers at Republican National Committee offices in Arlington, Virginia.
“We’re seeing lines of people. And they’re wearing a lot of red material, including hats. But no, I was saying, in certain areas, that would be Trump areas, we’re seeing lines of people that are extended for miles. You’re seeing it too. I mean, you don’t have to say you, but you’re seeing it too. So I think we’re gonna have a great night. But it’s politics and its elections. And you never know, I can say that,” he added.
Trump said he has not been thinking about giving a speech in the case of a win or a loss.
“I’m not thinking about concession speech or acceptance speech yet. Hopefully, we’ll be only doing one of those two. And you know, winning is easy. Losing is never easy, not for me, it’s not,” he told reporters when asked about the matter.
The winner of the election could possibly be known before Nov. 4, Trump said, depending on the extent of a victory.
Voting Machine Issues Likely Aren’t Cyberattacks: DHS
Voting machine problems that cropped up on Election Day aren’t believed to be cyberattacks, a security official said Tuesday.
“When you see tech challenges or failures, it is very, very, very, rarely a cyber issue, based on everything we’ve seen, that’s what’s going on out there,” Christopher Krebs told reporters during a briefing.
Krebs directs the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
In another briefing, acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf said that officials have no indications that a foreign actor “actor has succeeded in compromising or affecting the actual votes cast in this election.”
“But we do remain on high alert here at DHS and just throughout the day, and beyond to make sure that the integrity of our election infrastructure is maintained,” he added.
Melania Trump Votes in Florida
First Lady Melania Trump voted in person at a poll site in the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday morning.
She told reporters that she was feeling “great.”
“It’s Election Day, so I wanted to come here to vote today for the election,” she responded when asked why she did not vote with President Donald Trump last week.
Voting Machines Working in Georgia County After Glitch
Officials in a county in Georgia said Tuesday that all polling stations are up and running after a glitch caused voting machines to stop working.
“All polling stations in each precinct are now up and running as they should be,” Spalding County said in a mid-morning statement.
The county had said previously that there was a “county wide technical issue with all polls,” prompting them to deliver provisional ballots to every location.
Biden Visits Childhood Home in Pennsylvania
Biden has returned to his roots on his final day of campaigning with a visit to his childhood home in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Biden arrived at the small, white two-story house, welcomed by more than 100 people cheering across the street. Biden greeted the crowd and said, “It’s good to be home!”
Biden lived in the home until he was 10 years old. On Tuesday, he walked up the front steps and chatted with the current owners before going in with his granddaughters. When Biden came out, he said the current residents had him sign their wall.
Biden then walked across the street to greet his supporters, who cheered his name and applauded.
Pennsylvania is key to Biden’s White House hopes. He plans to visit Philadelphia later on Tuesday.
Trump Says He ‘Won’t Play Games’ by Declaring Early Victory
President Donald Trump said he has a “solid chance” of defeating Democratic rival Joe Biden on Nov. 3, and that he will not declare victory early.
“Well, we feel very good,” Trump told Fox News on Tuesday morning, noting the large crowds at recent events in Michigan and other states as a positive trend.
Over the past several weeks, Trump has been holding numerous rallies—sometimes up to five per day—in key battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Florida, North Carolina, and others. Biden, meanwhile, is making an Election Day appearance in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Trump concluded his final rally early on Tuesday morning in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Authorities Monitoring Voting, Threats
Federal authorities are monitoring voting and any threats to the election across the country at an operations center just outside Washington, D.C., run by the cyber-security component of the Department of Homeland Security. Officials there said there were no major problems detected early Tuesday but urged the public to be wary and patient.
U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director Christopher Krebs said from the center there was “some early indication of system disruption,” but he did not elaborate. He says he has “confidence that the vote is secure, the count is secure and the results will be secure.”
Krebs says officials have seen attempts by foreign actors “to interfere in the 2020 election.” But he says officials “have addressed those threats quickly” and “comprehensively.”
Krebs says Election Day “in some sense is half-time.” He says, “There may be other events or activities or efforts to interfere and undermine confidence in the election.” He asks all Americans “to treat all sensational and unverified claims with skepticism and remember technology sometimes fails.”
Former Trump Lawyer Votes for Biden
Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for President Donald Trump, said he voted on Tuesday for Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
“Guess what I did this morning … bright and early?” Cohen wrote on Twitter, posting a picture of himself with an “I Voted!” sticker.
Cohen used hashtags to say he voted for Biden.
Others also crossed the aisle to vote for Biden.
Ryan Mahoney, former communications director for the Republican National Committee, announced Monday that he chose the Democrat.
Businesswoman Carly Fiorina, former Ohio Gov. and GOP presidential candidate John Kasich, and former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder are among the other Republicans who are opting for Biden over Trump.
The president has earned support from a number of Democrats, including nine mayors in Minnesota, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and state Georgia Rep. Vernon Jones.
National Guard Troops Deployed to Chicago
Troops from the Illinois National Guard are in Chicago if there are riots or civil unrest after Election Day, according to Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Pritzker said in a daily briefing that deploying the Guard to Chicago was a similar action that his administration took in September after the protests following the officer-involved killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky.
“We’ve made sure that our National Guard is simply in a state of readiness,” the Democratic governor said during a press conference on Monday.
Ohio County Turns to Backup System
Ohio’s Franklin County, the most populous one in the state, switched to paper poll books after they experienced technical problems on Election Day, said Secretary of State Frank LaRose on Tuesday.
Franklin County includes the capital city, Columbus.
County officials said the board of elections “will be using its backup paper poll books to check in voters today,” according to a statement.
“This is why we have contingency plans in place and the process is working. We decided to go with the backup paper poll books to ensure that one voter can only cast one vote,” they added.
Pennsylvania AG Defends Post
Pennsylvania’s attorney general defended a social media post in which he insisted Trump will lose.
“First off, there’s a lot of nonsense coming from the other side,” Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said in a Tuesday morning virtual appearance on CNN.
“And I think it is clear, if someone felt that they had a good shot at winning the election—and the polls are what they are, suggest that he’s not—if someone felt confident in their ability to win the election with a certified electorate, then why would they be going to court over and over and over again to try and subtract votes?” he added.
Voters Head to Polls
Polls opened Tuesday morning in all 50 states.
Lines started outside many polling stations as voters showed an eagerness to choose the next president.
In Concord, New Hampshire, 70-year-old Linda Eastman said she was giving her vote to Trump, saying, “Maybe he wasn’t perfect with the coronavirus, but I think he did the best that he could with what he had.”
In Virginia Beach, it was a vote for Biden from 54-year-old Gabriella Cochrane, who said she thought the former vice president would “surround himself with the brightest and the best” to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
Biden Departs for Scranton
Biden was driven to the Wilmington airport early Tuesday to fly to Scranton, Pennsylvania.
While Trump held rallies into the early hours of Nov. 3, Biden stopped before midnight and returned home. Trump has no rallies scheduled today; Biden will speak to supporters in Scranton before traveling to Philadelphia.
Biden, his wife, and two granddaughters first stopped at St. Joseph’s Church for mass.
The Wilmington departure was scheduled for 8:15 a.m. The event in Scranton was tentatively slated to start at 9:30 a.m.
Asked how he’s feeling today, Biden told reporters, “Good!” He gave a thumbs up and went to his plane.
Trump was slated to leave the White House at 9:45 a.m. for a visit to the Republican National Committee annex in Arlington, Virginia. He was supposed to return to the White House by noon.
Trump boarded Air Force One around 1:30 a.m. after a midnight rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Trump Urges People to Vote
Trump in Grand Rapids urged people to vote as he predicted a “red wave.”
“Go out and vote,” he told the crowd of thousands before leaving the stage.
“So we think we’re going to have a red wave. They call it the great red wave like nobody’s ever seen before, like nobody’s ever seen,” Trump said earlier in the event.
The president believes things are looking good for him in many states, naming Minnesota, Florida, and North Carolina, among others.
Biden in his last stop of the day, in Pittsburgh, told the crowd: “Pittsburgh there’s one more day, one more day to show who we are once again. Tomorrow we can end the presidency that has divided this nation.”
“If I’m elected president, we’re going to act, on day one we’re going to act to get COVID under control, on day one of my presidency I’ll put in action a plan that I’ve been talking about for months,” he added.
Jack Phillips, Tom Ozimek, Allen Zhong, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
