Election security: Officials say 2024 election saw only 'minor' disruptive activities

Voting hours were extended at a number of polling sites due to technical issues.

From the polling place to the courtroom, ABC News tracks the latest election security developments on Election Day 2024 as experts warn about the spread of misinformation and disinformation from within the U.S. and abroad.

Security experts stress that the nation's voting infrastructure is highly secure, and that isolated voting issues do not indicate widespread election fraud.

For coverage of each race, see our election updates.

Nov 4, 10:33 am

How to watch ABC News coverage of Election Day

On Election Day, voters around the country will eagerly wait to hear if former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris comes out on top in the race for the White House.

ABC News will have full coverage of the presidential election results and many other key down-ballot races on Election Day and the days afterward as votes continue to get counted.

Here's how to watch ABC News live coverage of 2024 election results.

Nov 04, 2024, 3:23 PM EST

Musk's sweepstakes winners were vetted, signed NDAs: Political adviser

Before announcing the winners of Elon Musk's $1 million giveaway, America PAC employees conducted background checks on them, vetted their social media and had them sign non-disclosure agreements, Elon Musk's political adviser Chris Young testified during an ongoing hearing in Philadelphia on Monday.

The inside look at how winners were selected is at odds with how Musk himself described the "random" selection process.

"Were you surprised that he used the word 'randomly'?" Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s attorney, John Summers, asked.

"That's not the word I would have selected," Young said.

Young testified that he reviewed candidates based on the location of Musk's next rally before vetting the people who signed America PAC's petition in support of the First and Second amendments.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gestures as he steps on stage during a rally for former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Oct. 27, 2024.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

"I essentially used the petition like a job application," Young said, with America PAC considering the number of eligible voters that the candidate referred to the petition, their personality and social media history.

According to Young, Musk was notified when a candidate was selected. Young also said that winners signed non-disclosure agreements preventing them from talking publicly about their "consulting agreements."

While the testimony contradicts Musk's public statements, Young insisted that the winners "earned" their money by doing work on behalf of the PAC, seemingly supporting the defense argument that the giveaway is not an illegal lottery.

"Anyone who participated in the program knew what they were entitled to for their participation in the program," Young said.

Closing arguments in the hearing will happen after a brief break.

-ABC News' Peter Charalambous

Nov 04, 2024, 3:17 PM EST

'Candidates don't get to decide who wins elections': Michigan secretary of state

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson was asked during a press briefing Monday about the possibility that Trump could declare victory tomorrow before all the votes are actually counted.

"Candidates don’t get to decide who wins elections, voters do," Benson responded. "And so we will keep reminding folks of that truth. Candidates certainly can say and will say whatever they want to say, it doesn’t change the facts. It doesn’t change the tallies of the votes that are cast on paper ballots that will be audited after the fact and securely tabulated throughout the election to ensure the accuracy of the results, whatever those results may be."

PHOTO: Jocelyn Benson
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson shows reporters a shirt with an "I Voted" message on Nov. 4, 2024, in Detroit.
Ed White/AP

Benson added that they "hope and expect and ask all the candidates to respect the will of the people and respect those results, and to not claim something is true when it's not."

In 2020, Trump claimed to have won the election only hours after polls closed on Nov. 3, 2020, before final results were in.

Benson said she and her staff will be debunking false statements and conspiracy theories as they arise, but that "truth and transparency are on our side."

“We’ve seen how completely innocent things can be misused to spread false aspersions about our election, so let's all be vigilant," she said.

She also urged the public to question what they see on social media.

"Don't assume anything that you're seeing from a source other than a trusted voice or an election official has truth until you cross-check it with other sources of information," she said.

-ABC News' Mike Levine

Nov 04, 2024, 3:09 PM EST

Trump expected to host dinners at Mar-a-Lago on election night with club members, donors and close friends

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to host multiple dinners on election night at his Mar-a-Lago club -- including with his close friends, donors and club members, multiple sources familiar with the dinners told ABC News.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at J.S. Dorton Arena, Nov. 4, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C.
Evan Vucci/AP

Trump is expected to dine with an intimate group of close friends Tuesday night, and there will be a separate Mar-a-Lago club member dinner in the ballroom. A source familiar with the dinners said there won't be any formal speeches but Trump will likely stop by to greet them all.

Earlier that day, Trump is expected to cast his vote in Palm Beach, Florida.

Several of the attendees of the dinners told ABC News that they're planning on heading over to the Palm Beach Convention Center after the dinner.

-ABC News' Soo Rin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh

Nov 04, 2024, 2:41 PM EST

Harris emphasizes unity while addressing canvassers in Pennsylvania

Harris addressed canvassers in Scranton, Pennsylvania, ahead of a rally later this afternoon in the battleground state, where she emphasized building community and unity.

"I can feel the mood in here because it's the best of who we are as a democracy," Harris said at the event at the Montage Mountain Resort. "We are a people-driven campaign, and we love the people, and we see in the face of a stranger a neighbor, right? And that's the spirit of what we are doing."

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Montage Mountain Resort in Scranton, Pa., Nov. 4, 2024.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP

She said the "whole era of this other guy" and discussion about "trying to point fingers at each other and divide each other" makes people feel alone.

"As we are getting out to vote, as we are canvassing, let's be intentional about building community, about building community, about building coalitions, about reminding people we all have so much more in common than what separates us," she said.