America to decide the next president of the United States today

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:23:43 -0500

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Millions of Americans will vote in person in the 2024 Election on Tuesday as the nation decides who will be the next president of the United States. 

As of 8 a.m. ET, polls are open in 38 states and the District of Columbia. 

Polls opened in certain parts of Vermont at 5 a.m. ET on Nov. 5, quickly followed by Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey, New York and Virginia at 6 a.m.

North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia began voting at 6:30 a.m. 

At 7:00 a.m., polls opened in Alabama, Delaware, the District of Columbia, eastern Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Wyoming.

At 8 a.m., polls opened in Arizona, western Florida, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

Arkansas is next to open at 8:30 a.m. 

Polls will be open nationwide by 12 p.m. ET. 

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 10:33:05 -0500

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Former President Donald Trump won about half of the 50 states in 2020 but it was not enough to get him across the finish line as far as the Electoral College is concerned.

Trump won about 47% of the popular vote and 232 electors, to Joe Biden's 306 electors.

In all, Trump won Alaska, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina.

Two states, Nebraska and Maine, divvy up their presidential electors by congressional district.

In Maine, Trump was awarded one elector from the Pine Tree State's rural 2nd congressional district, and in Nebraska, was awarded four electors for winning the two geographically larger of the three congressional districts. Biden was awarded one elector from Nebraska for winning the district mostly encompassing urban Omaha.

Biden's victory largely hinged on his very narrow victories in Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania -- states where Trump upset his 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton.

This cycle, Trump also has eyes on otherwise outlier states like New York and Virginia.

Both are heavily blue, electorally speaking, but encompass vast rural areas friendly to conservative politics, such as Southside Virginia and the Adirondack region of New York.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 10:17:33 -0500

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In 2020, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris won 25 states, the District of Columbia and part of one state which divides its electoral votes. The Democratic ticket that year swept the Lower 48’s Pacific coast, winning California, Oregon and Washington – as well as Hawaii.

It also won the desert states of New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada. Biden and Harris won Colorado as well as one of Nebraska’s electoral votes.

Biden-Harris performed well in the upper Midwest, winning Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan, as well as the swing states of Pennsylvania and Georgia.

While former President Trump made a play for Virginia, which is deeply red outside the Washington, D.C. metro area, the Democrats took home the Old Dominion.

Biden and Harris also won the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland and every electoral vote in New England except one in Maine – which, like Nebraska, divvys-up its votes.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 10:01:00 -0500

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Republican candidate for vice president Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio spoke to reporters after casting his ballot in Cincinnati on Tuesday and urged voters to support former President Trump in the 2024 Election.

"I feel good," Vance said. "You never know until you know. But I feel good about this race. I felt good about my own race a couple of years ago, when I voted in this exact same spot. Hopefully it goes as well for President Trump and me as it went for me a couple of years ago in the state of Ohio." 

Asked if he had a message for Democratic voters, Vance said that all Americans are "fundamentally on the same team" regardless of who wins. 

"Well, look, I think our message is, first of all, we do expect to win. But obviously, no matter who wins, half the country, as you said, is going to be at least partially disappointed. I think my attitude is the best way to heal the rift in the country is to try to govern the country as well as we can, create as much prosperity as we can for the American people and remind our fellow Americans that we are all fundamentally on the same team, however we voted," he said. 

"I certainly hope you vote for Donald Trump today. I think that his policies are going to promote peace and prosperity for our citizens. But if you vote the wrong way, in my view, I'm still going to love you. I'm still going to treat you as a fellow citizen. And if I am lucky enough to be your vice president, I'm going to fight hard for your dreams and for your family over the next four years."

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 09:48:44 -0500

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While he lost the popular vote by nearly 3 million, Donald Trump scored a victory in the Electoral College in 2016 largely thanks to upset victories in the Rust Belt states. That was fueled in part by what strategists believe was a lack of focus on the region by Hillary Clinton.

Ultimately, Trump received 304 electoral votes and Clinton 227: he flipped six states won by Democrats in 2012: Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Maine’s 2nd congressional district. 

He lost Nevada – which Republicans are trying to flip in their favor this year – but won virtually every other state that could potentially be up for grabs in this election, including Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Texas.

While Republicans typically count out California’s 55 electoral votes and New York’s 29, which reliably favor Democrats, in recent elections, including 2016, they’ve been boosted by Texas’ 38 votes and Florida’s 29. 

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 09:33:39 -0500

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There are seven swing states which are considered “toss up” in this year’s presidential election, according to Cook Political Report’s Electoral College ratings. Those states are Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Georgia and Michigan are the most coveted of the seven, because they each have at least 15 electoral votes. The rest award only 11 or fewer.

Pennsylvania holds the most votes and has emerged as the most critical battleground state in this year’s presidential election cycle. The state has played host to the only presidential debate. Harris unveiled her economic platform in the Keystone State. And former President Donald Trump was almost assassinated in the state while campaigning in the small town of Butler. Trump won the state by 1 percentage point in 2016, but lost it by the same margin in 2020.

Georgia and North Carolina, both of which carry 16 electoral votes, are close runners-up to Pennsylvania, in terms of importance for the campaigns. North Carolina hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since 2008.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 09:18:24 -0500

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Trump ally and British parliament member Nigel Farage says Vice President Kamala Harris should pardon the former president if he loses in order to “dampen down potential tensions” following Election Day.

Farage, the leader of the Reform UK party, made the remark this week in an interview with The Telegraph, during which he declared that “I still think he is going to win.”

“If she gets in on Tuesday I hope she pardons him. She could look magnanimous and it would dampen down potential tensions,” Farage said.

In September, Judge Juan Merchan decided to postpone Trump’s sentencing in New York v. Trump until after the presidential election. Trump had been found guilty in an unprecedented criminal trial on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.

Farage was spotted at Trump's rally in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Monday evening. On Tuesday morning, he posted a video from the Keystone state predicting a Trump victory. 

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this update.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 09:04:03 -0500

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An observation: The Harris campaign has not been talking much about early voting data. When they have figures they feel good about, they share them – like last week, when they announced that women have made up 55% of early voters across battleground states.

But for the past two days, we’ve received few hard numbers on young, Black, and Latino early turnout – instead they’ve been sharing numbers for doors knocked and calls made.

They have shared some anecdotes – like high young voter turnout in college towns, where you’d expect it, and statements about enthusiasm. But they’re not giving out the kind of details that the Trump campaign is touting – like the Republican share of the early vote among new or infrequent battleground voters, Republican share of male vote across battlegrounds, and returned mail and early turnout comparisons to 2020.

The Harris campaign maintains they still have multiple pathways to 270 – but publicly they’re projecting less confidence than in previous cycles at this point. It may be that the GOP embracing early voting wound up increasing turnout among lower propensity Republican voters, which is giving Dems heartburn.

Harris is obviously animating a different swath of the electorate than Biden did in 2020, but it’s also but it’s also interesting that the final two weeks of Biden’s 2020 campaign included 4 stops in Florida, 3 in Ohio, and 1 in Iowa. Harris is spending more of her time in Dem strongholds, trying to lock down and turn out the base.

Another challenge for anyone trying to read the tea leaves: polls have not accurately measured either the impact of Dobbs or support for Trump in past elections.

This post originally appeared on X.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:48:04 -0500

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., predicted that Republicans will win big tonight bolstered by turnout from first-time supporters.

"I have been everywhere. We've been in Pennsylvania, of course, but I've done campaign events in over 260 cities across 40 states. We did two in Virginia yesterday. We've been all over the place. So, there are people coming to the events, Rachel, that have never been there before. And I think the Hispanic and Latino vote is going to be historic this time," Johnson told "Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy.

He said he thinks there will be a demographic shift towards Republicans from voters who believe "the Democratic Party has abandoned the values of their community." 

"My gut tells me that we are going to outperform the polls," Johnson added. "The polls have him about even everybody says it's a coin toss, if that's true. Trump always outperforms the polls. I believe it. But I want to say every single vote counts, especially in the swing states. Take nothing for granted. We need every single vote today." 

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:33:15 -0500

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Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina and Arizona are the seven swing states widely expected to be the ones to determine the 2024 presidential election.

Of the swing states, the Democrats’ “blue wall” is considered the lynchpin of Democratic victory. Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan were all reliably blue states until Trump won them in 2016, and the gap has been closing ever since as blue collar Rust Belt voters trend rightward. Biden recaptured all three states in 2020.

Nevada has flip flopped somewhat regularly in the past but has gone reliably blue since 2008.

Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona are all reliably Republican states that have been drifting blue in recent years. Hillary Clinton captured Georgia in 2016 and narrowly won in North Carolina and Arizona. In 2020, Biden took Arizona and Georgia, whereas Trump held onto North Carolina.

According to recent Fox News polling, Harris is up by one point in Arizona and two points in Georgia and Nevada, with Trump maintaining a one-point lead in North Carolina. Harris leads Trump by four points in Wisconsin, two in Pennsylvania, and Michigan is a dead heat between the two.  

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:17:50 -0500

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U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg defended Vice President Kamala Harris' policies on Tuesday morning, making a final pitch to voters on why the Democratic nominee should be elected president.

Appearing on "Fox & Friends," Buttigieg said Harris has "been very clear about her policies down to the percentage point level," citing her proposal to raise the capital gains tax to 28%. He contrasted Harris with Republican nominee former President Trump, who he argued "to this day can't even say what his health care plan is, just a 'concept of a plan.'"

"Look, we know the fundamentals of the differences in economic vision. He's going to do tax cuts for the rich and he's going to do this import tax, the tariff that will add $4,000 for a typical family. She's going to do a child tax credit expansion and middle class tax cuts," he said.

The secretary clashed several times with host Brian Kilmeade, who challenged Buttigieg's assertion that Trump's tax cuts mostly benefitted the wealthy. Pressed on Harris' energy policies, Buttigieg also denied that Democrats have any plans to mandate electric vehicle purchases. 

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 07:47:44 -0500

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While the majority of voting locations face few problems on Election Day, there have been some notable issues in the past that are worth mentioning.

The chief among them, with special relevance this year due to a series of brutal hurricanes hitting the southeast, is weather and other environmental impacts. During the 2024 Republican primaries, a blizzard in Iowa was feared to affect turnout by all sides and, in 2020, whether or not the coronavirus pandemic would affect turnout was closely monitored. Additionally, multiple studies have affirmed that bad weather conditions can negatively affect turnout among less determined voters.

Additionally, a growing trend in recent years has been protesting outside of polling locations. All states have laws against electioneering, political activity near polling locations, so they can only do so much. During the 2020 election, Trump supporters held a protest outside of a polling location in Virginia and armed protestors have been spotted outside of vote counting locations in the aftermath of the election. 

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 07:33:02 -0500

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Early in-person and mail-in ballots have begun pouring in across the country, and the tally in each state reveals mounting voter enthusiasm. 

States have long allowed at least some Americans to vote early, like members of the military and people with illnesses unable to get to the polls. Many states expanded eligibility in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the last presidential election, mail ballots tended to skew Democratic. In 2020, 60% of Democrats reported voting by mail, compared to 32% of Republicans, according to a 2021 study from the MIT Election Data and Science Lab.

As of Monday evening, over 81 million ballots have been cast nationwide.

This is an excerpt from an article by Morgan Phillips and Rémy Numa.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 07:19:05 -0500

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The weather forecast for most of the country will be rather tranquil for Election Day, with large parts of the East and West coasts remaining dry, but a cold front stretched across the heartland will be the focal point for showers and thunderstorms.

The frontal boundary will mean cities such as Chicago, St. Louis and even Tulsa, Oklahoma, will be in the rain zone, and behind the front, cooler air will exist over much of the Rockies and Plains. Those in the Northwest could have snow in the forecast for Election Day.

According to the FOX Forecast Center, some battleground states, including Michigan and Wisconsin, are likely to see rain on Election Day. Meanwhile, temperatures in northern Nevada are expected to dip below freezing, where snow is possible.

Voters in western North Carolina will be casting their ballots in the wake of Helene's deadly flooding. As cleanup efforts continue in the region, temperatures will be in the 50s and 60s in places like Asheville, which was hit hard by the devastating flooding.

Political experts contend weather conditions on Election Day – whether rainy or sunny – can influence voter enthusiasm. However, with over half the country voting in advance of Nov. 5, Election Day increasingly resembles an extended election season rather than just a single, important day.

A 2007 university study found that Republican-leaning voters turned out more than those voting for Democrats during rainy weather. Researchers found that voter participation dropped off about 1% per inch of rain, and snowfall decreased turnout by nearly half of a percent for every inch of accumulation.

With the majority of the electorate taking advantage of early voting methods, millions will have little to do on Election Day other than relax and watch the results come in.

This is an excerpt from an article by FOX Weather's Andrew Wulfeck.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 07:06:10 -0500

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During the 2020 election, the formal verification of votes within several swing states trickled in over the month of November. Many of the states called the race before the votes were formally verified, leaving many people confused as to why. 

The reason for the delay primarily had to do with mail-in voting and the methods by which it is counted. When someone votes by machine, everything is automatically tracked and logged by the computer. When one votes by mail, every aspect of that needs to be handled manually — letters need to be opened, signatures verified, voting sleeves inserted into machines, etc. The unprecedented amount of mail-in votes that were submitted, mostly due to the coronavirus pandemic, bogged down the system and led to delays. 

Additionally, while many states get a jump on the process, states like Pennsylvania do not permit workers to begin counting and certifying votes until Election Day. Some states, like Nevada, accepted ballots that arrived up until a week later, so long as they were postmarked on Election Day. All of these small factors combined led to the race being called roughly four days after Election Day. 

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 06:50:54 -0500

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Americans can expect, based on past elections, for some states to see delays in counting ballots on Election Day. 

While the 2024 election is set to take place on November 5, it can take days, or even weeks, for every state to certify their election results. 

Arizona, which did not certify its 2020 election results for several weeks, usually experiences a delay in ballot counting. The state enacted a new step in the ballot counting process this cycle, which could add even more time to the process, to require ballot counters to hand count ballot envelopes dropped in ballot boxes before they are tabulated.

This year, however, several swing states are implementing new rules for counting ballots in an effort to certify the results sooner.

Nevada ballot counters will be able to begin counting votes in the morning on Election Day, as opposed to years prior when they could not begin until early voting closed. 

Michigan will allow for ballots to begin being counted eight days ahead of Election Day in an effort to certify the results at a faster pace.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 06:35:44 -0500

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Vice President Kamala Harris has focused her 2024 campaign around several policy issues, some of which she flipped on since her 2019 presidential bid. 

Immigration – Millions of illegal immigrants have come through the southern border after the Biden-Harris administration halted the Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" policy. Harris has described the issue at the southern border as a "crisis" and top issue of concern during her campaign, frequently mentioning her support for a bipartisan border bill as reference to her support for border legislation.

The economy – Harris has put an emphasis on lowering prices, saying she will implement a child tax credit of $6,000 for low to middle- income parents of newborns. The proposal is similar to that of GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, who proposed a $5,000 child tax credit.

Health care – The Democratic nominee has highlighted creating what she calls an "opportunity economy," if elected. She touted expanding the Affordable Care Act and making permanent the Biden-Harris tax credits. 

Abortion – The vice president has also made abortion access another focal point of her campaign and that she backs eliminating the 60-vote filibuster requirement in order to reinstate Roe v. Wade, which would federalize abortion access nationwide.

Guns – Harris has said that if elected, she would ban semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines, require universal background checks and support red flag laws. She also said she would crack down on unlicensed gun dealers.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 06:20:36 -0500

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On the eve of the U.S. election, former President Trump received a round of last-minute endorsements from high-profile names, including Joe Rogan and Roberto Clemente Jr., son of the baseball legend. 

With less than 24 hours to go before the election, podcaster and comedian, Joe Rogan formally endorsed Trump for president, ending speculation. 

Posting on X, Rogan highlighted his nearly three hour interview with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who has already supported Trump. 

"The great and powerful @elonmusk. If it wasn't for him we'd be f---ed," Rogan said. "He makes what I think is the most compelling case for Trump you'll hear, and I agree with him every step of the way." 

And leaving no room for doubt, Rogan wrote: "For the record, yes, that's an endorsement of Trump." 

Earlier Monday, Robert Clemente Jr., son of the Puerto Rican baseball legend, formally endorsed Trump in the city where his father played. 

Clemente Jr. joined Trump on stage in Pittsburgh where he praised the former commander-in-chief. 

"For the first time, I had to take a step forward. It is very important for me to support this man, because I believe tomorrow is a change of time," Clemente Jr. said. "My father, the name Clemente, what it means is goodwill and unity. I believe that your team is going to bring it all home. I believe in everything that you stand for right now," he told Trump.

And earlier Monday, Randi Mahomes, the mother of star Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, endorsed Trump during a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Bradford Betz.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 06:04:50 -0500

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Former President Donald Trump has focused on relaying his position on five key issues during campaign stops this cycle.

Since launching his re-election campaign, Trump has focused heavily on the issue of illegal immigration and has blamed the Biden-Harris administration for the influx of migrants that have come through the southern border after they halted the Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" policy. 

The former president has also made the economy a focal point of his race, frequently pointing out high prices and referring to the state of the economy under his administration during campaign stops. 

Energy has also been one of Trump's top issues this cycle. The former president has made various campaign stops in key oil dominant states, such as Pennsylvania and Michigan, to tell voters that he wants to "unleash energy dominance," if elected.

Trump has highlighted crime in major cities across the U.S., which he has tied to the immigration crisis. He has expressed staunch support for law enforcement and funding police departments across the U.S.

Throughout his campaign, Trump has advocated for "free and open trade." He vows to strengthen U.S. manufacturing and end reliance on countries like China.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 05:50:39 -0500

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Election Day has a long and interesting history as the development of the country and its history was formed.

The first Election Day was held on November 7th, 1848 when Whig party candidate Zachary Taylor defeated Democratic candidate Lewis Cass. This was the first time that a presidential election was held on a fixed date thanks to legislation passed by Congress in 1845 to deter voter fraud.

The Constitution does not say when election day was to be held and Election Day was decided by farming communities and the harvest season. Election Day was held in November because in the 1800s most citizens worked as Farmers and lived far from polling places, often having to travel a day or two to vote in a single election and in November the busy harvest season came to an end which gave time for farmers to vote which varied throughout the states.

It was not until 1845 that congress stepped in to make a uniformed day for presidential elections leading to the creation of a Federal Election Day. 

Fox News'  Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 05:41:18 -0500

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After the election is called, each state’s votes will be used to indicate which slate of electors voters want to appoint for the Electoral College vote. When voters submit their ballots on Election Day, they are actually determining which candidates’ and state parties’ electors they want to vote in the Electoral College. Once everyone has voted and the election winners in each state are called, the state’s executive is expected to prepare a certificate of Ascertainment of appointment of electors, which names the electors and the votes cast. The certificates must be issued at least six days before the Electoral College vote in mid-December. 

On the day of the electoral vote, electors meet in each state and record their votes. Afterward, the electors sign, seal, and certify several sets of the votes. A sealed certificate of the votes is sent to the President of the Senate and the Archivist and has to be received before the fourth Wednesday in December. Then, on or before Jan. 3, the archivist transfers sets of the certificates to Congress. On Jan. 6, Congress meets in a joint session to count the electoral votes. The President of the Senate then declares the winner of the election. On Jan. 20, the president and vice president are inaugurated. 

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 09:23:26 -0500

Recent U.S. elections have been rife with accusations of voter fraud – and in particular, claims that the names of dead persons are used to illegally obtain and cast ballots in favor of a certain candidate. But this type of voter fraud in U.S. is actually exceedingly rare as concluded by a number of studies, including research that was commissioned at the behest of Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign.

A 2020 Stanford University analysis of 4.5 million voters in Washington state found just 14 cases of potential “deceased voter fraud” over an eight-year period, while an exhaustive AP analysis found fewer than 475 potential cases of voter fraud in six swing states challenged by Trump out of a combined total 25 million votes. 

Other organizations, including the conservative Heritage Foundation, found just 1,500 total cases of voter fraud over a 40-year period, mostly due to mistakes.

Court cases involving “deceased voter fraud” are almost nonexistent, though one Pennsylvania Trump supporter pleaded guilty in 2021 to using his dead mother’s name to vote in the 2020 election.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 09:22:31 -0500

Former President Donald Trump bid farewell to his trademark rallies during an early morning stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his last event on the 2024 campaign trail.

"Your support means more than anything you can even understand… this is my last rally, can you believe it? The rallies, these big beautiful rallies, there’s never been anything like it and there never will be," Trump told supporters at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan at a rally in the early morning hours on Tuesday.

The comments come after a whirlwind day for Trump, who wrapped up his 2024 campaign with stops in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

The former president didn’t take the stage in Grand Rapids until after midnight Tuesday, meaning Trump spoke to supporters at his last event on election day in his final pitch to be sent back to the White House.

Trump’s Grand Rapids event marked the third time the former president ended his campaign in the West Michigan city, having concluded his former runs at DeVos Place in Grand Rapids in 2016 and the city’s airport in 2020.

The event also signified how critical of a prize the swing state of Michigan would be for his White House bid, a state where both campaigns have combined to double the number of events and visits that were held there in 2016 and 2020.

Trump was able to narrowly capture the state in his race against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2016, but then lost it to President Biden in another nail-biter in 2020. Michigan promises to play a similar role in determining who ultimately wins in 2024, joining the states of Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as the critical battlegrounds in this year’s election.

Trump, who has said this will be his last campaign even if he were to lose to Vice President Kamala Harris, at times struck a reflective tone during the Grand Rapids event, thanking supporters in Michigan who have supported him through three runs for president.

"You’re really incredible people," Trump said.. "Now it’s nine years and we’ve been fighting side-by-side every step of the way we’ve been together."

This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News' Michael Lee.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 09:21:58 -0500

How late can you cast your vote in the U.S.? 

Here’s a state-by-state breakdown of when various polling places will close, but you should also contact your state or local election office for the most up-to-date information and site-specific hours.

6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST): Parts of Indiana and Kentucky.

7 p.m. EST: Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, and Vermont, as well as western parts of Indiana and Kentucky.  Parts of Alabama, Florida, and New Hampshire also close at this hour.

7:30 p.m. EST: North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia. Parts of New Hampshire.

8 p.m. EST: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C. 

Partial closures in Florida, Kansas, Michigan, New Hampshire, North and South Dakota, and Texas.

8:30 p.m. EST: Arkansas. 

9 p.m. EST: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. 

Partial closures in Kansas, North and South Dakota, and Texas.

10 p.m. EST: Montana, Nevada, Utah. Partial closures in Idaho and Oregon.

11 p.m. EST: California and Washington. Partial closures in Idaho and Oregon. 

12 a.m. EST: Hawaii. Partial closures in Alaska. 

1 a.m. EST: Partial closures in Alaska.

*The states split between multiple time zones include Idaho and Oregon, divided between Mountain and Pacific Time; Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee, split between Eastern time and Central time; and Kansas, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, and Texas, divided between Central and Mountain times. Alaska, for its part, is split between the Hawaii-Aleutian time zone and the Alaska time zone. 

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 09:21:22 -0500

Shortly before Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage on the "Rocky Steps" of the Philadelphia Art Museum at her final rally before Election Day, billionaire Oprah Winfrey declared her fear a Donald Trump presidency could curtail Americans' right to vote.

Winfrey was introduced by Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff around 11 PM ET on Monday, and brought to the dais with her 10 first-time voters who have or will be casting a ballot for Harris, including MLS Philadelphia Union forward Eddy Davis III.

Winfrey recounted hiking on a recent Sunday and meeting a woman who said she would "sit this [election] out."

"So I said, ‘sit this one out’. We don't get to sit this one out. -- If we don't show up tomorrow, it is entirely possible that we will not have the opportunity to ever cast a ballot again."

"And let me be very clear, if you do not make sure that the people in your life can get to the polls, that is a mistake."

Winfrey added that supporting Harris is a vote to protect and defend the Constitution.

She also quoted from former President John F. Kennedy's "ask not what you can do for your country" address, adding "what you can do for every young woman who has died because she was not eligible to receive the emergency medical care she desperately needed because of the abortion ban – and what you can do for yourself and what you can do for everyone and everything you cherish, is vote."

This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News' Charles Creitz.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:04:35 -0500

There have been just five U.S. presidents in history who were elected without carrying the popular vote, most recently, of course, Donald Trump in 2016. Trump edged out Hillary Clinton in the key battleground state of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan to win the electoral vote despite earning 2.8 million fewer votes nationwide than his Democratic rival.

Here are the other four presidents who’ve eked out similar, somewhat unconventional paths to victory:

John Quincy Adams: In 1824, Adams lost both the popular and electoral votes to Andrew Jackson, a member of the same party and one of four candidates vying for the presidency. Jackson had secured a plurality of the electoral votes, but not an outright majority. The top three candidates were then sent to the House of Representatives for a final vote, which selected Adams over Jackson.

Rutherford B. Hayes: Like Adams, Hayes’s 1876 victory over Samuel Tilden, a Democrat, was decided by Congress after Republicans contested the results of three state elections. The dispute prompted Congress to create a bipartisan commission which ultimately ruled in favor of Hayes and his electors. Hayes won with 185 electoral votes.

Benjamin Harrison: In 1888, Harrison lost the popular vote to Democratic president, Grover Cleveland, by an estimated 90,000 votes, but won the Electoral College votes by a strong 233-168 majority. Cleveland then ran against him again and won in 1893, making him the only U.S. president to serve two non-consecutive terms– pending, of course, the results of the 2024 election.

George W. Bush: In 2000, Texas Gov. George W. Bush lost the popular vote to Democratic Vice President Al Gore by 500,000 votes but secured the presidency, in a famously heated election that hinged on the state of Florida, allegations of “hanging chads” in punch-card ballots, and ultimately, a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court ruled in Bush’s favor, and he ultimately bested Gore with a 271 to 266 electoral advantage. 

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:03:52 -0500

There have been growing calls in recent years to reform or abolish the Electoral College completely in favor of the popular vote, amid criticism that the electoral system overlooks voters in all but a handful of swing states, giving outsize representation to states with a smaller population.

The push has been backed primarily by Democrats, whose presidential candidates Al Gore and Hillary Clinton each won the popular votes but lost the presidency in 2000 and 2016, respectively.

But the push to do away with the system is not new. Since the 1800s, members of Congress have introduced more than 700 proposals to reform or eliminate the Electoral College by way of constitutional amendment. 

But the most popular alternative in recent years, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, works around the constitutional amendment process. . If put in place, it would require a state’s electoral votes to go to the candidate that wins the national popular vote. 

The compact would only take effect, however, if states with a combined total of 270 electoral votes agree to join – and to date, the compact’s Democrat-led supporters have failed to secure buy-in from many Republican-led and toss-up states. 

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:03:19 -0500

Voting in the name of a deceased person is a form of voting fraud and it is in which someone, either a citizen or noncitizen, casts a vote for any election in the name of a deceased person who was left on the voter registration list after their passing. Like other forms of voting fraud, this voting in the name of a deceased person is a crime and each state has varying penalties for these crimes such as fines and probations.

This was one of the main arguments of the Trump campaign in the 2020 election, However, in states including Arizona, Virginia, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia, they were found to be false, and only very few cases were substantiated. To combat this, many states have created signature verification and additional laws to safeguard their elections from people who try to fill out and submit votes on behalf of dead relatives and other citizens. 

Fox News' Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:02:45 -0500

The Electoral College is the system in which votes are counted, processed, and verified during the US presidential elections every four years. Within the electoral college states are a selection of electors who meet to cast votes for presidential and vice presidential candidates after Election Night before sending their count to Congress to verify. Overall there are 538 electors in total which represent the 50 States and Washington DC, however, US territories such as Puerto Rico, American Samoa and others do not have representation in the Electoral College when deciding the President. 

The Electoral College was designed by Alexander Hamilton in Federalist Essay No. 68 and it is meant to give an equal say in the elections in an effort to protect the interests of states with smaller populations from being left out of the electoral process due to other States having larger populations. Each state is given a specific number of votes, that number is determined by adding the number of Senators and Representatives for each state, and, in the case of Washington DC, the city has 3 electoral votes to represent them in the Electoral College. 

Fox News' Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:02:08 -0500

In the United States there are multiple requirements for voting within Elections. The major requirement is that voters must be a US citizen to vote in Federal elections. Some areas of the United States allow for non-citizens to vote in local elections but not federal ones. Voters must be 18 years or older before Election Day to vote. Some states allow for 17 year olds who will be 18 by Election Day to vote in primaries. Voters must register before the deadline to be put on voter rolls, however North Dakota does not require voter registration and it is the only state to do so. 

In the United States, those who are not noncitizens, convicted of a felony or currently serving time for other types of crime, in US territories, and/or have some mental disability may not be or are not able to vote. These rules vary by state. Over recent years, Congress has debated whether or not these groups of people should have the right to vote in general and local elections leading to the argument of if this is a type of voter suppression or not. 

Fox News' Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 08:01:13 -0500

Gwen Walz, wife of Minnesota governor and Democratic vice presidential hopeful Tim Walz, indicated offering tampons in school bathrooms would help students learn to read during an appearance on Katie Couric's podcast Sunday, October 27,

Couric asked Walz about her husband being called "Tampon Tim," a nickname coined by conservatives after he signed a bill in his state that would put free menstrual products in all school restrooms, including boys' rooms.

"If kids are hungry in school, what that does to brain and learning, you're not going to learn to read," Walz said. "So if you're talking about learning to read and closing gaps then you better take away the barriers for that. If that's tampons, then that's tampons, right?"

"Take away the barriers and let's get to the real work of this, not get lost in what are components and, as some people would say, you know, equaling the playing field or whatever it might be," she said. 

This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News' Kendall Tietz.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 01:04:00 -0500

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Sirius XM radio host Megyn Kelly campaigned for former President Trump in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania in hopes of convincing the remaining undecided president to rally behind him over Vice President Kamala Harris.

Kelly revealed Monday on her show that the Trump campaign had invited her to appear alongside the Republican nominee in Pittsburgh. She previously announced she would vote for Trump in the presidential race against President Biden before he withdrew from the race.

Kelly joined Trump on stage to praise him as a "protector of women" and that is the reason she is endorsing him.

"He will be a protector of women. And it's why I'm voting for him," she said. "He will close the border. He will keep the boys out of girls sports and where they don't belong. And you know what else? One more thing. He will look out for our boys, to our forgotten boys and our forgotten men. Guys like you. Guys like these guys. Who got the calluses on their hands? Who work for a living with the beards and the tats. Who maybe have a beer after work and don't want to be judged by people like Oprah and Beyoncé, who will never have to face the consequences of her disastrous economic policies."

The former Fox News anchor famously had a tense relationship with Trump during the 2016 election cycle.

This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 00:55:46 -0500

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Voters in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, were split between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in the famous midnight vote.

Trump and Harris each received three votes.

In 2020, President Biden secured all five votes in Dixville Notch.

Four years prior, Democrat Hillary Clinton received the most votes with four, followed by two votes for Trump, one vote for Libertarian Gary Johnson and one write-in vote for now-Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 07:56:59 -0500

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has indicated that former President Donald Trump plans to give him "control" over the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Kennedy indicated that Trump "promised" him "control" over "public health agencies, which are HHS and its sub-agencies, CDC, FDA, NIH, and a few others," plus the USDA. 

He made the comments in a video clip that has been circulating online. 

The New York Times reported that Kennedy noted via text that the video was a recording from an internal talk with campaign workers regarding get-out-the-vote efforts for Trump.

"I stand ready to help him rid the public health agencies of their pervasive conflicts and corruption and restore their tradition of gold-standard, evidence-based science," Kennedy said in a statement, according to the outlet.

The HHS secretary and USDA secretary posts are both cabinet-level positions.

"No formal decisions about Cabinet and personnel have been made, however, President Trump has said he will work alongside passionate voices like RFK Jr. to Make America Healthy Again by providing families with safe food and ending the chronic disease epidemic plaguing our children," Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. 

"President Trump will also establish a special Presidential Commission of independent minds and will charge them with investigating what is causing the decades-long increase in chronic illnesses," she added.

This is an excerpt from an article written by Fox News' Alex Nitzberg.

Tue, 05 Nov 2024 01:03:24 -0500

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Media outlets will likely make some unofficial calls on election night from states where the contest is not very close, but expect a process of at least a few days – and potentially as long as several weeks – before the final call is made on who the next president is in 2025.

Every state handles its elections differently, but they all have laws guiding the certification timeline. Generally, after all votes in a state are counted, a board of state election officials reviews the count to assess it for accuracy and completeness. Once that review is completed, the results must then be certified at both the local and state level. 

The certification process includes a review by election officials, boards of canvassers or those given authority to certify under state law. Certification may come from the state’s chief election official, which can range from its Secretary of State or Lt. Governor to its board of canvassers or other state-level entity. In the end, it is up to Congress to certify the results at the federal level. At that point, we have a new president.     

In 2020, the last state to certify its vote count was California, on Dec. 11. However, it took more than 2 months from Election Day before Congress officially certified the votes.