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2024 election updates: Harris says Trump 'fanning the fuel' of division after rally

"It is absolutely something that is intended," Harris says of racist rhetoric.

Last Updated: October 28, 2024, 2:06 PM EDT

As we head into the final full week of campaigning before Election Day, the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll shows Kamala Harris with a slight 51-47% lead over Donald Trump among likely voters nationally -- but the polls in the battleground states remain essentially deadlocked within the margin of error.

Fallout continues over racist comments made at Trump's big rally on Sunday at Madison Square Garden and Harris is preparing for her "closing argument" Tuesday night on the Ellipse near the Capitol and White House in Washington.

Oct 28, 9:37 am

More than 41 million Americans have voted early

As of 5:45 a.m. ET on Monday, more than 41 million Americans have voted early, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida.

Of the 41,989,199 total early votes, 21,111,171 were cast in person and 21,338,290 were balloted returned by mail.

On Monday, voters in Washington, D.C., can start casting their ballots early, in person. Almost all of the states that offer in-person early voting have begun offering it by now.

-ABC News' Oren Oppenheim

2 hours ago

Harris slams Trump's MSG rally and comedian's Puerto Rico comments

Harris criticized Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden, saying the former president is "fixated on his grievances, on himself and on dividing our country."

"It is absolutely something that is intended to and is fanning the fuel of trying to divide our country. And as I’ve said many times, I'll say tomorrow night in my speech, there's a big difference between he and I," Harris told reporters as she departed Joint Base Andrews for a day of campaigning in Michigan.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the media before boarding Air Force Two to depart for Michigan, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, October 28, 2024.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

Asked to respond to the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's comments about Puerto Rico at the rally, which the Trump campaign has tried to distance itself from, Harris pointed to her support for Puerto Rico as a senator and her "opportunity economy" proposal.

"I'm very proud to have the support of folks like Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez and others who were supporting me before that nonsense last night at Madison Square Garden, and are supporting me because they understand that they want a president of the United States that’s about uplifting the people and not berating, not calling America a garbage can, which is what Donald Trump, those are the words he has used."

3 hours ago

Virginia asks Supreme Court to allow voter purge

Virginia has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to lift an injunction against enforcement of an executive order that would result in the removal of 1,600 alleged noncitizens from the voter rolls just one week before Election Day.

The lower court said Virginia's action violates the National Voting Rights Act's "quiet period" clause, which bars states from systemically removing voters 90 days before an election.

The state argues that the court violated the "Purcell" principle of interfering with a state electoral process too close to an election.

The injunction will "irreparably injure Virginia’s sovereignty, confuse her voters, overload her election machinery and administrators, and likely lead noncitizens to think they are permitted to vote, a criminal offence that will cancel the franchise of eligible voters," the state writes.

The court has asked for a response from the Justice Department and voter groups by 3 p.m. Tuesday.

-ABC News' Devin Dwyer

3 hours ago

Burned ballot boxes reported in Oregon and Washington

Police are investigating arson at a ballot box in Portland, Oregon, where officers responded to reports of a fire overnight.

Security personnel extinguished the ballot box fire, located outside the Multnomah County elections office, and a Portland explosives unit removed the incendiary device from the box.

ABC affiliate KATU reported Monday another ballot box incident in Washington state, where police were responding to smoke coming out of a ballot box in Vancouver. The Clark County auditor told KATU that hundreds of ballots were inside the box at the time.

Read more here.

10:47 AM EDT

Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez show support for Harris after racist comments at Trump rally

Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican artist and one of the world's biggest music stars, posted support for Harris on his Instagram after racist comments about Puerto Rico were made by a speaker at Trump's rally on Sunday.

He posted a video of Harris discussing what's at stake for Puerto Rican voters as she rolled out a "new Puerto Rico Opportunity Economy Task Force."

"I will never forget what Donald Trump did and what he did not do when Puerto Rico needed a caring and a competent leader. He abandoned the island, tried to block aid after back to back devastating hurricanes, and offered nothing more than paper towels and insults," Harris said in the video, referring to Hurricane Maria in 2017.

Bad Bunny reposted the message to his 45 million followers.

Jennifer Lopez posted the same video from Harris to her own account, which boasts 250 million followers.

Ricky Martin encouraged his followers to vote for Harris as he responded to a clip of comedian Tony Hinchcliffe calling Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage." Martin wrote, "esto es lo que piensan de nosotros" or "this is what they think of us."

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