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.

Nov 02, 2020, 12:43 PM EST

Biden: 'I'm gonna hire Dr. Fauci and we're gonna fire Donald Trump'

Making his first campaign stop of the day in Cleveland, Ohio, before barnstorming Pennsylvania, Biden opened his remarks at a drive-in rally by emphasizing to voters there are only hours left until Election Day. 

"Tomorrow, we have an opportunity to put an end to a presidency that's divided this nation. Tomorrow, we can put an end to a president that has failed to protect this nation. And tomorrow, we can put an end to a president who has fanned the flames of hate all across this country," Biden began to honking horns of support. 

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks at the 'Get Out The Vote' event in Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. 2, 2020.
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Projecting confidence in the race, Biden said American voters are taking their message -- that “it's time for Donald Trump to pack his bags and go home” -- to the polls in record early voting numbers. 

"We're done with the chaos. We're done with the tweets, the anger, the hate, the failure, the irresponsibility," Biden said.

He also drew distinctions on the coronavirus pandemic, slamming Trump for promoting baseless conspiracy theories about doctors tasked with treating COVID-19 and responding to Trump telling his supporters at a Florida rally Sunday night he might wait until after the election when chants of "Fire Fauci" erupted.

"And last night, Trump said he was going to fire Dr. Fauci. Isn’t that wonderful? I got a better idea. Elect me, and I'm gonna hire Dr. Fauci," Biden said. "And we're gonna fire Donald Trump."

Catering his message to farmers in Ohio, Biden called Trump "weak and chaotic” with China on trade, saying farm bankruptcies are up and exports are down. He argued that agricultural exports to China have been 40% lower during the Trump years than they were during the second term of the Obama-Biden administration and went on to pitch the promise of new green energy jobs in Ohio, if he’s elected. 

“Ohio, in 2008 and 2012 you placed your trust in me and Barack. In 2020, I am asking you to trust me again," Biden said, painting himself as the unity candidate. “I'm running as a proud Democrat, but I'll govern as an American president. There will be no red states and blue states, just the United States."

Nov 02, 2020, 11:51 AM EST

Georgia secretary of state predicts Election Day 'challenges'

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger held a news conference this morning from Park Tavern at Piedmont Park in Atlanta -- a polling location that had over 16,000 voters assigned to it during the June primary and some of the longest lines in the county.

Amid lingering accusations of voter suppression in the state, Raffensperger projected confidence in how the fall election has gone so far but also said there will be “challenges” on Tuesday.  

People line up to vote at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds, Oct. 30, 2020, in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

"There's never been a perfect election. This one has gone very well so far. Tomorrow we'll have challenges. The job of the counties, the poll managers, the poll workers will be to address those issues quickly. The state stands ready to help, where we can," he said.

Raffensperger said his office has secured nearly 2,000 field service technicians to address issues that may arise at the 2,400 polling precincts statewide.

Providing an update on early voting, Raffensperger said a record 55% of active registered voters have already voted in Georgia and that roughly 1.4 million "would have normally been Election Day voters."

People line up to vote at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds, Oct. 30, 2020, in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Gabriel Sterling, the statewide voting system implementation manager in Raffensperger’s office, echoed Raffensperger in saying that results in closer races will likely come on Wednesday and added they are expecting legal challenges following the election.

"We anticipate that in any situation where we have a close election like this in what is now viewed as a swing state, there's going to be challenges. There'll be challenges from Republicans. There'll be challenges from Democrats, and we expect them all to be going into court more than likely," Sterling said.

Former President Barack Obama is campaigning for Biden in Georgia Monday as Democrats sense an opportunity to flip the state which Trump won by 5 points in 2016.

-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan

Nov 02, 2020, 10:50 AM EST

Trump, Biden head out for final day of campaigning as legal concerns loom

Departing from Delaware to Ohio this morning, Biden signaled a number one to reporters with his finger before audibly saying that there’s "one day" left until the election. He waved and held up one finger again from the top of the staircase before embarking for Cleveland to kick off the final full day of campaigning. 

PHOTO: Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden says "one day" as he arrives to board his campaign plane at New Castle Airport on Nov. 2, 2020 in New Castle, Del.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden says "one day" as he arrives to board his campaign plane at New Castle Airport on Nov. 2, 2020 in New Castle, Del. One day before the election, Biden is campaigning in Ohio and Pennsylvania, a key battleground state that President Donald Trump won narrowly in 2016.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Moments earlier, Trump in Miami boarded Air Force One, heading off for five rallies across four states including a final rally this evening in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he closed out his 2016 campaign. 

Trump, predicting a "red wave" is relying on his mega-rallies to boost voter turnout and himself to victory as they did in 2016, while Democrats are calling on some star power in the eleventh hour -- recruiting Lady Gaga and John Legend for drive-in rallies in Pennsylvania this evening.

President Donald Trump arrives to board Air Force One for a day of campaign rallies, Nov. 2, 2020, in Miami.
Evan Vucci/AP

As Trump has threatened legal action to stop the counting of ballots arriving after Election Day, Biden's campaign is making clear that they are "prepared for all scenarios," including the possibility of a post-election legal fight.

 

In a statement first to Politico confirmed to ABC News, the Biden campaign urged voters to show up in "overwhelming numbers" but also emphasized their large voter protection team and the fact that they are prepared for a potential post-election fight, including making sure they have the resources to fight it.

-ABC News’ Johnny Verhovek contributed to this report.

Nov 02, 2020, 10:34 AM EST

Coronavirus surging in every key swing state in final hours of voting

With Election Day just hours away, coronavirus cases are rising in every key political battleground state around the country, according to an ABC News analysis, a striking reality that highlights the inextricable link between the pandemic and the 2020 race, despite the president’s best efforts to refocus the conversation elsewhere.

As deaths and hospitalizations are rising as well, the outbreak is hitting in record numbers nationwide -- but the virus is spreading faster in case per population in many hotly contested states, including Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Wisconsin and Texas, according to the analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

A voter cas at the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds on October 30, 2020 in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Hundreds of people lined up for about an hour to cast their ballot on the final day of early voting in Georgia.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Just this week, Pennsylvania, one of the most likely tipping points in the election, broke its single-day new case record this week with over cases 2,700 reported -- the highest since the start of the pandemic. In Wisconsin, there have been more than 150,000 new cases in just the past two months -- nearly double all the cases reported from March through the end of August combined. And Georgia, which has emerged as a competitive state, is experiencing a "surge."

Exactly how the most recent rise in cases in key swing states, which began earlier this fall, will ultimately impact the presidential election remains unclear, but experts said its effects have already been felt. Many say the surge in cases is likely to hurt the president at the ballot box, though a Trump campaign official Sunday suggested it may be to their advantage to have Democrats talking about it so much, as fear over the outbreak could prevent those more likely to support Biden from turning out on Election Day.

Record numbers of mail-in ballots have been requested, though, and early voting is smashing total tallies from 2016 and fears of getting the virus do not appear to be suppressing the drive to vote in person, even in places where cases are surging, experts said.

-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin, Soorin Kim and Mark Nichols

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