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

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.

Oct 21, 2020, 8:46 PM EDT

Supreme Court blocks curbside voting in Alabama

The U.S. Supreme Court moved to block curbside voting in Alabama Wednesday night, suspending -- for now -- a lower federal court order that had mandated state officials provide the accommodation for voters with disabilities during the pandemic. 

The decision came from the court's five conservative justices who voted to grant the stay. The liberals -- Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan -- dissented. 

"Plaintiff Howard Porter, Jr., a Black man in his seventies with asthma and Parkinson’s Disease, told the District Court: '(S)o many of my (ancestors) even died to vote. And while I don’t mind dying to vote, I think we’re past that -- we’re past that time.' Election officials in at least Montgomery and Jefferson Counties agree," wrote Sotomayor in a written dissent. 

"They are ready and willing to help vulnerable voters like Mr. Porter cast their ballots without unnecessarily risking infection from a deadly virus. This Court should not stand in their way," she wrote. "I respectfully dissent."

Alabama officials had opposed implementation of curbside voting, which has not been common practice during elections. The state argued in court documents that it would "cause confusion and much harm" and potentially compromise ballot secrecy. 

The ruling signals the high court's continued deference to state legislatures and local election officials in setting election policy and an aversion to having federal courts impose new rules so close to Election Day.

-ABC News Senior Washington Reporter Devin Dwyer

Oct 21, 2020, 8:37 PM EDT

DNI: Russia, Iran have obtained voter data in election interference campaign

Senior national security officials alerted the American public Wednesday that Iran and Russia have both obtained voter data in their efforts to interfere in the 2020 U.S. election.

"This data can be used by foreign actors to attempt to communicate false information to registered voters that they hope will cause confusion, sow chaos, and undermine your confidence in American democracy," Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe said in a surprise news conference Wednesday evening.

Ratcliffe also announced that Iran was separately behind a series of threatening emails that were found to be sent this week to Democratic voters, which he said was "designed to intimidate voters, incite social unrest and damage President Trump."

--ABC News' Alexander Mallin and Luke Barr

Oct 21, 2020, 6:59 PM EDT

Obama warns against Democratic complacency

At the drive-in rally, Obama also issued a stern warning against Democratic complacency and said that the election has to be a decisive win as Trump sows doubts in its results.

"I don't care about the polls. There were a whole bunch of polls last time. Didn't work out," Obama said. "Because a whole bunch of folks stayed at home and got lazy and complacent. Not this time. Not in this election."

He went on to outline his belief that voting is the only remedy to right the wrongs of the Trump administration.

Former President Barack Obama speaks during a drive-in rally while campaigning for Democratic nominee Joe Biden, Oct. 21, 2020, in Philadelphia.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

"In the end, Pennsylvania, that's what voting is about. Making things better, not making things perfect. But putting us on track so that, a generation from now, we can look back and say 'things got better starting now,'" Obama said. "Voting is about using the power we have and pooling it together to get a government that's more concerned and more responsive and more focused on you and your lives."

"I'm asking you to believe in Joe's ability, in Kamala's ability, to lead this country out of these dark times and help us build it back better because we can't abandon those who are hurting right now," he added.

Obama left the stage to Bruce Springsteen's "Land of Hope and Dreams" and put back on his mask which read "vote."

"Honk if you're fired up. Honk if you're ready to go," Obama said to blaring horns as he closed out the rally. "Are you fired up? Are you ready to go? Let's go make it happen. I love you, Philadelphia."

It was Obama's most critical speech of Trump yet.

-ABC News' Molly Nagle and John Verhovek

Oct 21, 2020, 6:19 PM EDT

Supporters blare horns as Obama takes the stage in Philadelphia

Former President Barack Obama arrived at a drive-in rally at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, to encourage early voting and emphasize down-ballot races in the battleground state. 

"Man, it is good to be back in Pennsylvania," Obama said in his first day of in-person campaigning for Biden. He immediately took a swipe at Trump, speaking to his rally in Erie Wednesday night in which Trump delivered a shorter-than-usual speech before urging voters to turnout early. 

"Apparently he complained about having to travel here. Then he cut the event short. Poor guy. I don't feel that way. I love coming to Pennsylvania," Obama said. "You guys delivered for me twice, and I am back here tonight to ask you to deliver the White House for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris."

Former President Barack Obama speaks during a drive-in rally while campaigning for Democratic nominee Joe Biden, Oct. 21, 2020, in Philadelphia.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Obama went on to criticize Trump's leadership, hitting the administration's attacks against the Affordable Care Act without having a replacement health care plan and what he called its mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Presidents up for re-election usually ask if the country is better off than it was four years ago. I'll tell you one thing, four years ago, you'd be tailgating here at the LINC instead of watching a speech from your cars," Obama said. 

"Donald Trump isn't suddenly going to protect all of us. He can't even take the basic steps to protect himself," he added.

The former president weaved insults of the president in with compliments of his former vice president.

"Now, he did inherit the longest streak of job growth in America, but just like everything else he inherited, he messed it up," Obama said. "Joe sees this moment not just as a chance to get back to where we were but to finally make long overdue changes so that our economy actually makes life a little easier for everybody." 

Obama's remarks were met with honks of approval as roughly 200 cars sat parked in a semicircle around the stage. Several attendees moved to sit on top of and around their cars to get a better view of the stage.

People wait for a campaign event with former President Barack Obama at Citizens Bank Park as he campaigns for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, Oct. 21, 2020, in Philadelphia.
Matt Slocum/AP

Prior to the event, Obama also made a brief stop at a community organizer event, where Biden-Harris supporters were handing out signs, buttons and hand sanitizers to a local North Philadelphia neighborhood.