Candidates prepare for 2nd and final debate
Trump and Biden will face off in a final presidential debate this evening.
With 12 days to go until Election Day, and President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden racing toward Nov. 3, voters have turned out in record numbers to cast their ballots early as the candidates head to Nashville for a final showdown.
More than 45 million Americans have already voted in the 2020 election, reflecting an extraordinary level of participation and interest despite unprecedented barriers brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
The candidates face off in the final presidential debate of the 2020 election cycle from Belmont University in Nashville Thursday evening -- their last chance to pitch themselves to tens of millions of voters in primetime before Nov. 3.
In the final weeks of campaigning, the president has remained on defense as polls show him trailing nationally and in several battleground states key to his reelection hopes.
Biden, maintaining a lead in national polls -- his largest of the election, according to FiveThirtyEight's average -- stayed off the trail ahead of the debate, a pattern for the former vice president. The debate offers Biden a platform to solidify his lead so long as he avoids any major mistakes in the homestretch.
Polls indicate a huge pre-Election-Day edge for Biden and a sizable Trump advantage among those who plan to vote on Nov. 3 itself. Trump has sowed doubt in the mail-in ballot process -- and imminent election results -- for months.
All 50 states plus Washington, D.C., have some form of early voting underway. Check out FiveThirtyEight’s guide to voting during the COVID-19 pandemic here.
Latest headlines:
Plexiglass partitions erected for presidential debate
Plexiglas partitions were placed on the debate stage next to each candidates' lectern as a precaution for the second and final presidential debate in Nashville on Thursday.
Plexiglass became an issue prior to the vice-presidential debate when the two campaigns squabbled over whether to have physical barriers separate the two candidates.
The insistence on barriers was initially met with resistance by Vice President Mike Pence's team, but they were ultimately used.
First couple departs for debate in Nashville
President Donald Trump and Melania Trump held hands as they departed Washington for Nashville to attend the final presidential debate, marking the first lady's first public appearance since she and the president announced they tested positive for COVID-19.
The first couple emerged from the White House residence and waved to supporters who gathered to see them off. They stood at some distance from the assembled crowd, but they did not wear face coverings.
Once at Joint Base Andrews, the first couple again held hands as they walked across the tarmac with mask-wearing escorts. The pair did not take any questions.
Melania Trump was supposed to join the president on the campaign trail on Tuesday but that appearance was canceled due to a "lingering cough."
The White House previously told ABC News that the president and first lady had both tested negative since falling ill but as of early Thursday afternoon hadn't released information verifying negative tests ahead of the debate.
-ABC News' Jordyn Phelps