Obama calls Trump 'wannabe king' at Harris event

At least a dozen voters in Mesa County, Colorado, had their ballots stolen and fraudulently filled out without them knowing, Secretary of State Jena Griswold announced Thursday.

After the stolen mail-in ballots were returned to the clerk’s office via the Postal Service, the state’s voter signature verification system flagged discrepancies with the signatures on some of the ballots, she said. When election officials reached out to the voters to offer them a chance to “cure” the issue, the voters informed the officials that they hadn’t voted, according to Griswold.

Three of the stolen ballots that passed the signature verification process were successfully cast.

"This attempt at fraud was found and investigated quickly because of all the trailblazing processes and tools Colorado has in place like signature verification, ballot tracking, and the curing process," Griswold added. "Every eligible Colorado voter will be able to make their voice heard this election."

The Mesa County District Attorney's Office is investigating the fraud scheme.

Earlier this month, Tina Peters, the former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder, was sentenced to nine years in prison for leading a security breach of the county's election system.

Peters, a Republican, was convicted for giving an individual affiliated with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a Trump ally, access to the election software she used for her county. Screenshots of the software appeared on right-wing websites.

-ABC News' Laura Romero

Harris running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz made a quick visit to a canvassing event at the Pitt County Democratic headquarters in Greenville, North Carolina, on Thursday afternoon and delivered a stump speech focused on energizing volunteers.

He also repeated his criticism of Trump wishing he’d had generals like those of Adolph Hitler.

"She’s got a to-do list, he’s got an enemies list," Walz said, contrasting Harris and Trump.

Walz said that just when he thought Trump "couldn’t get any lower," the accounts of John Kelly, the former Trump chief of staff and Marine four-star general surfaced.

"The idea that the people closest to him, four-star generals, telling us that that guy's fantasizing behind closed doors, that he wished he had Adolf Hitler’s generals. That is so damn disqualifying," he said.

Walz shifted to Trump ally billionaire Elon Musk and repeated an insult that he hurled during a campaign stop in Madison this week calling him a dips***. Walz joked that was a Minnesota term.

"I think that's a North Carolina term, too, right?" he asked. "I said that wasn't a pejorative. That's just it, standing up there as the richest man in the world. Instead of putting your money in to help people and end homelessness or end hunger or do all that you're looking for."

-ABC News' Isabella Murray

NBA Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett announced a get-out-the-vote tour "that merges basketball and voter registration."

The Hoop it Up 2 Vote campaign will tip off in Milwaukee on Saturday, then goes to Detroit on Sunday and Philadelphia on Nov. 2. It includes a 3-on-3 tournament, 3-point contest and other games.

Attendees will also have access to complimentary rides to polling locations and voter registration booths, organizers said.

"Everybody needs to get out to vote on November 5. This isn’t the time to sit on the sideline talking about your vote doesn’t count," Garnett said in a statement.

As lawmakers in North Carolina consider legislation to expand early voting in counties hard-hit by Hurricane Helene, the state’s top election official pushed back Thursday against making last-minute changes to early voting sites.

"Poll workers don't grow on trees, and they certainly don't when you're in a disaster situation where people may have been displaced," North Carolina State Board of Elections Chair Karen Brinson Bell said during a press call.

Brinson Bell said that legislation requiring countries to expand their early voting sites could "present challenges" to strained election officials in western North Carolina.

Over 2 million voters have cast their ballot in North Carolina since early in-person voting began in the state last week. Despite the damage from Helene, 76 early voting sites are in operation across the 25 counties covered by the federal disaster declaration.

"What has happened thus far is that in most of these counties, we are seeing turnout that's on par or greater with 2020. We feel like the early voting sites that they've identified that are right for their counties are working," Brinson Bell said.

-ABC News Peter Charalambous