Election 2020 updates: 'I think the mute is very unfair': Trump on debate mics

A candidate's mic will be muted at the debate while the other answers a question

ByLibby Cathey
Last Updated: October 22, 2020, 11:56 AM EDT

With 13 days to go until Election Day, and President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden racing toward Nov. 3, voters are turning out in record numbers to cast their ballots early.

Roughly 43 million Americans have already voted in the 2020 election, reflecting an extraordinary level of participation and interest despite unprecedented barriers brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

In the final weeks of campaigning, the president remains on defense as his approval rating drags. He's hosting rallies this week mostly in states he won in 2016 including Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.

Biden, maintaining a lead in national polls -- his largest of the election, according to FiveThirtyEight's average -- has no public events on his schedule this week so far ahead of Thursday's final presidential debate with Trump. Staying off the trail ahead of debates is a pattern for the former vice president.

Polls indicate a huge pre-Election Day edge for Biden and a sizable Trump advantage among those who plan to vote on Nov. 3 itself. Trump has sowed doubt in the mail-in ballot process -- and imminent election results -- for months.

The rhetoric between candidates is expected to heat up ahead of their second and final showdown in Nashville.

All 50 states plus Washington, D.C., currently have some form of early voting underway. Check out FiveThirtyEight’s guide to voting during the COVID-19 pandemic here.

Top headlines

Here is how the day is unfolding. All times Eastern.
Oct 21, 2020, 1:37 PM EDT

Harris: Election will 'be decided by you, North Carolina'

Harris started her North Carolina day trip with a stop in the liberal city of Asheville, addressing a small crowd of about 25 spectators in socially distanced circles from a parking lot at the University of North Carolina at Asheville.

Sen. Kamala Harris, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's running mate, waves to the press as she exits her plane at Asheville Regional Airport on her way to an event on Oct. 21, 2020 in Asheville, N.C.
Angeli Wright/Asheville Citizen-Times via USA Today Network

The vice-presidential candidate addressed Trump's handling of the pandemic and his administration's efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. She closed her brief remarks by talking about the electoral importance of North Carolina.

“The outcome of this race will in very many ways be decided by you, North Carolina. It will be. And in that way, the choices and the decisions you are making will impact people around the country," she said. 

After her remarks concluded, Harris seemed to forget she wasn’t wearing a mask and walked toward masked spectators who had abandoned socially distant spots to speak with her. US Secret Service handed her a mask, she put it on and she briefly greeted supporters from a socially distant spot.

Trump has a rally in Gastonia this evening as the race remains tight in the battleground state.

-ABC News' Averi Harper

Oct 21, 2020, 12:35 PM EDT

Maryland man charged for threats to kidnap and kill Biden and Harris

A Maryland man has been charged for making threats to kill and kidnap Biden and Harris.

James Dale Reed, of Frederick, Maryland, allegedly left a threatening note on the doorstep of a home displaying Biden/Harris signs in the front yard.

PHOTO: James Dale Reed, of Frederick, Md., is pictured in an image from Ring camera footage that was used by law enforcement officials to identify the man accused of making threats against former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris.
James Dale Reed, of Frederick, Md., is pictured in an image from Ring camera footage that was used by law enforcement officials to identify the man accused of making threats to kidnap and kill former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris.
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

Reed was captured by the home’s Ring camera. He is charged for making threats against a major candidate for president and vice president.

Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden speaks while Sen. Kamala Harris listens following a coronavirus briefing with health experts at the Hotel DuPont on Aug. 13, 2020, in Wilmington, Del.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images, FILE

-ABC News’ Jack Date

Oct 21, 2020, 12:00 PM EDT

Early voting turnout shatters records, more than 40 million cast

With less than two weeks until Election Day, early voting continues to hit record numbers across the country. 

More than 40 million votes have already been cast and at least 84 million ballots have been requested in the 2020 general election, according to the United States Elections Project, spearheaded by University of Florida political expert Michael McDonald.

At this point in 2016, 5.6 million votes had been cast.

Residents wait in line to vote in the Midtown neighborhood on Oct. 20, 2020, in Milwaukee. Today is the first day of early voting in Wisconsin, which is considered a battleground state for the 2020 presidential election.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

The unprecedented early voting numbers can be attributed to the coronavirus pandemic as well as an increase in voter interest. Voters are more eager to cast a ballot ahead of Election Day where polling sites could be viewed as overcrowded during pandemic standards. 

-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh

Oct 21, 2020, 11:15 AM EDT

More than 75,000 votes cast in-person in Wisconsin's 1st day of early voting

Early in-person voting continues in Wisconsin after a record first day with 75,519 votes being cast Tuesday and some voters showing up to their polling sites before dawn with folding chairs, snacks and medication to stand in line.

People wait in line to cast their ballots outside Frank P. Zeidler Municipal Building on the first day of in-person early voting for the Nov. 3, 2020 elections in Milwaukee, Wis., on Oct. 20, 2020.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images

The early voting period in Wisconsin lasts through Oct. 30, though the schedule is different in every municipality and is expected to bring a surge of absentee ballots in a state already boasting strong turnout: As of this morning, Wisconsin voters have cast nearly 40% of the total votes counted in the state in 2016.

Because Wisconsin voters fill out absentee ballots in-person, election clerks in the state won't start counting these votes until Election Day, so the timing of the results could vary depending on the staff available to each municipality.

A man casts his ballot at the Washington Park Library on the first day of in-person early voting for the Nov.3, 2020 elections in Milwaukee, Oct. 20, 2020.
Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images

In Madison, the City Clerk said 6,000 poll workers are signed up, compared with 3,000 for the 2016 election, and they "do not anticipate running any later than usual." Meanwhile, over in Milwaukee, the chair of the Milwaukee Democrats has been telling voters they should be prepared to wait until Nov. 11 so that people aren't concerned by delays.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett