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, 2:02 PM EST

Trump: Supreme Court 'hurting our country' by rulings in election-related cases 

Speaking at the first of five rallies in his final full day of campaigning, Trump railed against the Supreme Court for recent rulings not blocking Pennsylvania and North Carolina from accepting absentee ballots postmarked by Tuesday for several days after Nov. 3 -- stopping, at least for the moment, GOP efforts to stop counting ballots on election night. 

"What a horrible thing they've done. You know that puts our country in danger. Do you know what can happen? Cheating can happen like you've never seen. This is their dream," Trump said, without any evidence.

President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Fayetteville Regional Airport in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Nov. 2, 2020.
Carlos Barria/Reuters

He went on to warn of voter fraud if states can continue counting mail-in ballots in the days after the election, demanding results be tabulated on election night -- though votes are always certified in the following days and sometimes weeks. 

“What can happen during that long period of time is a disgrace,” Trump said. "Our Supreme Court, I'm just so tired of some of these horrible political decisions that are being made. It's a shame. You know, I won't get into it too much. I'm going to start getting into it because they're hurting our country very bad."

President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally at Fayetteville Regional Airport in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Nov. 2, 2020.
Carlos Barria/Reuters

Although Trump has projected confidence in winning the election, he also said "if" we win Pennsylvania when speaking to the North Carolina crowd, in perhaps a show of uncertainty in that critical battleground. 

"I think if we win this state, we win Pennsylvania -- we’re going to win Florida. We win Pennsylvania and you, we’re going to win the whole thing," Trump told the massive, mostly maskless, crowd.

Nov 02, 2020, 2:05 PM EST

Pence tells Pennsylvania: 'The time for speeches is over. The time for voting is on'

Vice President Mike Pence, taking his closing message to roughly 200 people at an airport hangar in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, this morning made a big push for supporters to get out and vote either by getting their ballots in today or in-person voting Tuesday.

"Men and women, the time for speeches is over. The time for voting is on. So I want you to leave here today, you can drop that ballot off or just make plans to be out tomorrow, but spend every free moment that you have reaching out to neighbors and friends," Pence said. 

Pence also teased his joint appearances with Trump this evening in Michigan, including the final rally in Grand Rapids, where he said they will "bring it home."

Joined by his family, all of whom were seen wearing masks today, Pence didn't acknowledge rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Pennsylvania, but he did say the administration is working on a vaccine "to put this pandemic in the past."

-ABC News' Justin Gomez

Nov 02, 2020, 1:31 PM EST

Texas Republicans ask federal judge to invalidate 127K 'drive-thru' votes

Republicans in Texas asked a federal judge on Monday to throw out 127,000 votes in Harris County the day before the election -- in a move Democrats are calling voter suppression.

The votes were cast early via a secure "drive-thru" method that Harris County says it got state approval for back in June amid safety concerns with voting in a pandemic. But Republicans argue the Harris County Clerk was acting on his own by implementing the practice.

PHOTO: Demonstrators stand across the street from the federal courthouse in Houston, Nov. 2, 2020, before a hearing in federal court involving drive-thru ballots cast in Harris County.
Demonstrators stand across the street from the federal courthouse in Houston, Nov. 2, 2020, before a hearing in federal court involving drive-thru ballots cast in Harris County. The lawsuit was brought by conservative Texas activists, who have railed against expanded voting access in Harris County, in an effort to invalidate nearly 127,000 votes in Houston because the ballots were cast at drive-thru polling centers established during the pandemic.
David J. Phillip/AP

A similar lawsuit was rejected by the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court last week and then a second time on Sunday -- a blow to Trump and Republicans who have pushed claims of voter fraud, without evidence, in response to the rulings.

Notably, Texas did not allow for no-excuse absentee voting during the pandemic as other states did, so the drive-thru voting option was developed to ensure at-risk people could vote from the safety of their cars.

At each of the 10 drive-thru centers, voters pulled up in their cars, and after their registrations and identifications were confirmed by poll workers, they were handed an electronic tablet through their car windows to cast ballots. 

PHOTO: Volunteer election poll worker Cecilia Chaboudy-Dow joins demonstrators as they stand across the street from the federal courthouse in Houston,  Nov. 2, 2020, before a hearing in federal court involving drive-thru ballots cast in Harris County.
Volunteer election poll worker Cecilia Chaboudy-Dow joins demonstrators as they stand across the street from the federal courthouse in Houston, Nov. 2, 2020, before a hearing in federal court involving drive-thru ballots cast in Harris County.
David J. Phillip/AP

Harris County, the state's most populous county which leans Democratic, has already set an all-time record for total turnout -- and these drive-thru votes amount for roughly 10% of the total early vote turnout.

-ABC News’ Jon Schlosberg

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."

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