Nov 02, 2020, 8:53 PM EST
The states to watch
ABC News Political Director Rick Klein breaks down the key states to watch in the battle for the White House and for control of the U.S. Senate.
Judge rejects GOP effort to throw out 127K Texas votes
More than 96 million people have cast their ballots -- an early voting record.
Last Updated: November 3, 2020, 12:09 PM EST
On the eve of Election Day, President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden had only hours left to make their closing arguments to voters in a contest both are calling the most important of their lifetime.
With more than 95 million Americans having already cast their ballots -- an early voting record -- time was running out for Trump and Biden to sway uncommitted voters.
Trump had five rallies in four states -- North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin -- as both candidates planned to barnstorm the states they deemed critical in a final full day of campaigning overshadowed by coronavirus cases rising in nearly every election battleground.
Biden went to Ohio and Pennsylvania, closing out the day at a drive-in rally with Lady Gaga in Pittsburgh. His running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, is also campaigning in Pennsylvania and finishedd her day at a drive-in rally with John Legend in Philadelphia. Their ticket's top surrogate, former President Barack Obama, campaigned in Georgia and Florida.
Vice President Mike Pence had a pair of rallies in Pennsylvania -- a state Trump won by one point in 2016 and one where a Democratic win this time would leave him with an exceedingly narrow path to victory -- before joining Trump on the trail in Michigan.
Top headlines:
- Nov 02, 2020, 3:36 PM EST
- Nov 02, 2020, 2:02 PM EST
- Nov 02, 2020, 1:31 PM EST
- Nov 02, 2020, 12:43 PM EST
- Nov 02, 2020, 9:44 AM EST
Here is how the day is developing. All times Eastern.
Nov 02, 2020, 8:02 PM EST
Trump, Pence appear at Michigan rally
At his third rally of the day -- the first of two in Michigan -- President Donald Trump spoke for over an hour and told supporters in Traverse City something that he has told each battleground state that he has visited which is that if he wins their state, he wins the whole thing.
"This is a -- this is a big important place. We -- if we win Michigan, it's over. It's over, we win the whole thing," Trump said. "Four more years and then we can finish the job we started so well. We can finish the job."
Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Pence spoke ahead of Trump and delivered a near-verbatim stump speech, although to a much larger than usual crowd for the vice president. Pence normally draws a few hundred supporters out at his rallies -- never anywhere close to the thousands of supporters that Trump draws.
-ABC News' Terrance Smith
Nov 02, 2020, 7:44 PM EST
Absentee ballot rate of return in 11 competitive states
As Americans are urged by election officials to return their absentee ballots as soon as possible, several states have begun reporting the number of mail-in ballots they have received to date.
Using data collected by the United States Elections Project, ABC News calculated the absentee ballot rate of return for 11 states deemed as competitive, and which also provide complete information on both absentee ballot requests, and the number of ballots returned.
This is the latest data analysis:
ARIZONA -- As of Nov. 2
Absentee ballots requested: 3,448,181
Ballots returned: 2,471,577
Rate of Return: 71.7%
*Arizona does not distinguish between mail ballots returned and early in-person votes.
FLORIDA -- as of Nov. 2
Absentee ballots requested: 6,004,485
Ballots returned: 4,649,919
Rate of Return: 77.4%
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
GEORGIA -- as of Oct. 31
Absentee ballots requested: 1,782,653
Ballots returned: 1,223,123
Rate of Return: 68.6%
IOWA -- as of Nov. 2
Absentee ballots requested: 1,002,273
Ballots returned: 955,975
Rate of Return : 95.4%
MICHIGAN -- as of Nov. 2
Absentee ballots requested: 3,318,609
Ballots returned: 2,841,696
Rate of Return: 85.6%
John Moore/Getty Images
MINNESOTA -- as of Nov. 2
Absentee ballots requested: 2,055,519
Early vote: 1,716,675
Rate of Return: 83.5%*
*Minnesota does not distinguish between mail and in-person ballots on their state reports. Thus, the statistics reported combine all in-person early and mail ballot votes.
NORTH CAROLINA - as of Nov. 2
Absentee ballots requested: 1,455,328
Ballots returned: 937,895
Rate of Return: 64.4%
NEW HAMPSHIRE -- as of Oct. 27
Absentee ballots requested: 225,002
Ballots returned: 181,577
Rate of Return: 80.7%
NEVADA -- as of Nov. 2
Ballots sent out to active registered voters: 1,768,994
Ballots returned: 545,399
Rate of Return: 30.8%
*Note: Every active registered voter in Nevada was automatically mailed a ballot this election. Historically, most Nevadans vote early in person. In 2016, for example, approximately 48% of Nevada active registered voters cast ballots during early voting and about 24% of active voters voted in person on Election Day. It seems that despite the mail ballots going out to all active voters, many are still opting to vote that way (though the mail turnout is much higher than usual -- only about 5% voted via absentee ballots in 2016).
PENNSYLVANIA -- as of Nov. 2
Absentee ballots requested: 3,097,640
Ballots returned: 2,414,351
Rate of Return: 77.9%
WISCONSIN --as of Nov. 2
Absentee ballots requested: 1,421,390
Ballots returned: 1,241,690
Rate of Return: 87.4%
-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos
Nov 02, 2020, 7:10 PM EST
Melania Trump to vote in Palm Beach Tuesday
First lady Melania Trump will vote in Palm Beach Tuesday morning, according to her chief of staff and spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham.
Hannah Mckay/Reuters
The president cast his ballot last month in person in Palm Beach County.
-ABC News' Ben Gittleson
