US Election 2020 highlights | US is 'entitled to know' winner on election day, says Donald Trump

AP tally shows huge surge in early voting

The latest tally of early voting in the U.S. shows that almost 102 million Americans cast their votes before Election Day, an eye-popping total that represents 73 percentof the total turnout of the 2016 presidential election.

The Associated Press tally reveals that the early vote in several states, including hotly-contested Texas and Arizona, has already exceeded the total vote of four years ago.

Early voting — whether in-person or by mail-in or absentee ballot — has swelled during the COVID-19 pandemic as voters have sought the safety and convenience it offers. The greatest gains have been witnessed in Kentucky, where almost 13 times as many voters cast their ballots early as in 2016.

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'Winning is easy. Losing is never easy', says Donald Trump at campaign headquarters

Donald Trump visitedhis campaign headquarters where he predicted his victory butacknowledged that he could lose.“I think we’re going to have a great night, but it’s politics and it’s elections and you never know,” Trump said.

He said his campaign was doing well in states like Florida, Arizona and Texas. He noted the importance of winning Pennsylvania.

"Winning is easy. Losing is never easy,” he said. “Not for me it's not," he said.

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday again sought to sow doubt over the counting of ballots beyond election day, saying the country was "entitled" to know who won on the day of the vote.

"You have to have a date, and the date happens to be November 3," he said during a visit to Republican National Committee offices in Arlington, Virginia.

"And we should be entitled to know who won on November 3." (AFP)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into a spate of mysterious robocalls urging people to stay home on Election Day, a Department of Homeland Security official said. The FBI did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

U.S. state and local officials have been raising the alarm over at least two separate automated call campaigns, whose origins and exact purpose are unclear. Experts who spoke to Reuters say they are mystified by one of the campaigns, which tells people to remain home but does not explicitly mention voting.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections will meet at 1 pm ET to consider extending polling hours at various locations, CNN has reported. According to CNN, the locations include onepolling place in Guilford County,one polling location in Cabarrus County, and two locations in Sampson County.

According to an official, one of the reasons for the extension--- which would mean that the reporting of results statewide would be delayed--- is poll workers arriving late.

Pelosi says election about 'the soul of America'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she’s “absolutely certain” that Democrats will “solidly hold” onto their House majority.

On an Election Day conference call with reporters, the California Democrat said “this election is about nothing less than taking back the soul of America, whether our nation will follow the voices of fear or whether we will choose hope.” (AP)

U.S. television news networks are preparing for an election night like no other, as a divided nation chooses the next president amid a global pandemic, with more voters casting their ballots early and by mail than ever before.

In this year's contest between Republican U.S. President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democrat, TV networks are facing heightened pressure to report election results accurately and without unwarranted speculation.

Among the challenges facing the nation - and the networks - are a president stoking fears of ballot fraud, a deeply divided electorate and the specter of a prolonged vote count, which raises the potential for protests, violence and lawsuits.

This is not just an election between Trump and Biden. This election is about democracy vs. authoritarianism – and democracy must win. The first way to do that is to get out and vote in overwhelming numbers and defeat Trump – the most dangerous president in American history.

Wearing face masks and standing spaced apart, Americans waited at polling stations early on Tuesday to choose a president on an Election Day marked so far by orderliness and short lines, even as major cities braced for potential unrest.

The masks and boarded-up stores in many city centers were reminders of two of the issues shaping 2020's polarizing elections, with COVID-19 still ravaging parts of the country after a summer of sometimes violence-marred protests against police brutality and racism.

Poll workers guessed the short lines in many places were due to an unprecedented wave of early voting, with more than 90 million ballots cast before Election Day. (Reuters)

More than 100 million Americans cast their ballots early before Tuesday's Election Day, according to the US Elections Project watchdog, a record figure partly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ballots, which were mailed in, deposited in drop boxes or cast at polling stations ahead of Tuesday, represent more than 72 percent of the total number of ballots cast in the 2016 presidential election, according to the tally by the watchdog based at the University of Florida. (AFP)

Voters in several U.S. states have received mysterious robocalls urging them to stay home on Election Day, according to state and party officials.

But midday Eastern time - with more than half the expected number of American ballots already cast - there was little sign of digital interference long dreaded by those charged with keeping the vote safe.

After a summer of nationwide protests against police violence and racism, businesses in several major U.S. cities were again boarded up as a precaution against unrest, an extraordinary sight on Election Day in the United States.

In New York City, the Empire State Building, the Macy’s department store, and the skyscraper that houses the Trump-favored Fox News channel were among buildings that were boarded up.

On Rodeo Drive, one of the most expensive shopping streets in California’s Beverley Hills, staff stripped the display windows at Tiffany & Co. and Van Cleef & Arpels of their jewels.“Hopefully this is all for nothing,” Kathy Gohari, vice president of the Rodeo Drive Committee, the merchants association, said.

The fondness among some Trump supporters to form honking, traffic-jamming caravans of vehicles has spread to New York and beyond, and more such events were planned for Election Day. Some election security experts worry the caravans could break laws, intimidate voters or spiral into violent confrontations. (With inputs from Reuters)