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2024 election updates: Trump rides to rally in marked garbage truck

Trump continues to slam Biden over reaction to controversial MSG rally.

Last Updated: October 31, 2024, 6:32 AM EDT

Six days until Election Day, much of the political debate is about "garbage."

First, the backlash over a comedian's racist comments about Puerto Rico that former President Donald Trump has not apologized for -- and now President Joe Biden appearing to call Trump's supporters "garbage" and stepping on Vice President Kamala Harris' message of unity aimed at attracting disaffected Republicans.

Oct 31, 6:09 am

More than 59 million Americans have voted early

As of 5:45 a.m. on Thursday, more than 59 million Americans have voted early, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida.

Of the total number of early votes, 31,018,125 were cast in person and 27,952,363 were returned by mail.

Voters make selections at their voting booths inside an early voting site on Oct. 17, 2024 in Hendersonville, N.C.
Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

Oct 30, 2024, 6:25 PM EDT

Harris brings her closing argument to Pennsylvania: ‘Turn the page’

Harris brought her “closing argument” to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Wednesday, highlighting what she said is a clear contrast between her and Trump, and encouraging voters to cast their ballots in the election’s final days.

“We know we have an opportunity in this election to turn the page on a decade of Donald Trump trying to keep us divided and afraid of each other. That is who he is. But Pennsylvania, that is not who we are,” Harris said, swapping out "America" for "Pennsylvania" from her speech at the Ellipse the night before.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at a campaign event at the PA Farm Show Complex and Expo Center, Oct. 30, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa.
Matt Slocum/AP

Harris was interrupted several times by pro-Palestinian protesters.

“We are six days out of an election. We are six days away from an election. And ours is about a fight for democracy. And your right to be heard. That is what is on the line in this election. That is what is on the line in this election,” Harris said as she was being jeered by a protestor holding up a large Palestinian flag.

“Look, everybody has a right to be heard. But right now, I am speaking. And one of the biggest issues that folks around the country want to talk about and hear is about how we are going to bring down the price of living for working people," she said.

-ABC News' Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie

Oct 30, 2024, 5:18 PM EDT

Voters, Dems ask Supreme Court to reject RNC appeal of Pennsylvania ballot case

Two Pennsylvania voters and the state's Democratic Party asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject a Republican request to block counting of provisional in-person ballots cast by people whose mail-in ballots were not put into a required security envelope.

The Democrats argued the Pennsylvania Supreme Court delivered a "straightforward" decision that state law permits voters whose mail ballots were not counted to "exercise their statutory right to vote provisionally rather than be disenfranchised altogether."

The party contends that the RNC has no standing to bring a challenge in the case because it involves two ballots from the 2024 Democratic primary in which the Republican Party could not have been "injured."

They also argued that the so-called Purcell principle -- of nonintervention by courts close to a voting period -- does not apply to state courts.

The Democrats also said the Republicans' request for segregation and non-counting of provisional ballots would be a "sweeping" intervention and imposition on county boards of election which are not even parties to the case.

-ABC News' Devin Dwyer

Oct 30, 2024, 4:59 PM EDT

Michigan authorities charge 'non-US citizen' with illegal voting

Authorities in Michigan charged an unidentified non-U.S. citizen with allegedly illegally registering to vote and casting a ballot.

More specific details about the case, which took place in Ann Arbor on Sunday, were not immediately available.

The case was referred to law enforcement by a clerk, according to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Washtenaw County Prosecutor Eli Savit.

"We are grateful for the swift action of the clerk in this case, who took the appropriate steps and referred the case to law enforcement. We are also grateful to law enforcement for swiftly and thoroughly investigating this case," they said in a joint statement.

"Noncitizen voting is an extremely isolated and rare event. Investigations in multiple states and nationwide have found no evidence of large numbers of noncitizens registering to vote. Even less common is a noncitizen actually casting a ballot," they added.

-ABC News' Mike Levine

Oct 30, 2024, 4:50 PM EDT

'It's invaded our home,' PA nuns swept up in misinformation campaign

A nun in Pennsylvania who was swept up in a misinformation campaign boosted by a Republican activist said she's praying to be left alone.

Cliff Maloney, who runs a door-knocking organization, claimed in an X post one of his staffers visited an address in Erie, Pennsylvania, last week and was told none of the 53 registered voters who used that address actually lived there.

Sister Stephanie Schmidt of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie, Pa., talks with Jay O'Brien of ABC News, Oct. 30, 2024.
ABC News

However, the address is home to 55 resident nuns of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie. All but two of the nuns are registered to vote.

“It's invaded our home, if you want to describe it that way,” Sister Stephanie Schmidt, the prioress, told ABC News.

Maloney also posted the names and political affiliations of each nun on his X account, something Schmidt said made her empathize with countless other Americans caught up in misinformation on social media.

“It was very concerning, because this was a blatant lie, putting out to the public information that was just wrong,” she said.

“This campaign is filled with so much deceit, so much misinformation, and we have to wake people up, which is another reason why we're going public with this, to alert people to not believe everything you read,” Schmidt added.

Maloney has not responded to repeated requests to answer questions from ABC News.

He later posted an update claiming his team was "analyzing" the new information about the nuns’ residence and said, "Once we have proof, we will be content."

Schmidt says one of the things she’s praying for most is for this misinformation to leave them alone.

-ABC News' Jay O'Brien

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