Election 2020: SCOTUS rejects attempt to block extended ballot deadline

This was the Pa. GOP's second attempt to block the extension for mail-in ballots

With six days until Election Day, and President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden racing toward Nov. 3, more than 71 million Americans have voted early so far -- a record.

The president continues an aggressive, defensive campaign as polls show him trailing nationally and in several battleground states key to his reelection hopes. He has back-to-back rallies in Arizona Wednesday.

Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, is also in Arizona making stops in Tucson and Phoenix. Biden will deliver remarks on his plan to beat COVID-19 from Wilmington, Delaware.

Vice President Mike Pence, meanwhile, has campaign rallies in the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan.


0

Wisconsin Election Day preparations

Meagan Wolfe, Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator, joined ABC News Live to discuss Election Day preparations and urged voters, at this point, to drop off their ballot in person or in a dropbox rather than rely on the Postal Service.

"We're at this critical juncture before the election, returning your absentee ballot either in person to your local election official or in a Dropbox in your community is really the best option," Wolfe told ABC News Live Prime Anchor Linsey Davis.

Since so many Wisconsin residents have voted early or will over the next few days, Wolfe said she does not anticipate Election Day crowds being an issue.

"We expect that there'll be about 40% of our expected turnout that come to the polls on Election Day," she said.

-ABC News' Jon Schlosberg


Trump campaign releases 'American Dream Plan'

While Trump was speaking at his second rally in Arizona and stumping to Latino voters, he mentioned the "American Dream Plan," a new plan targeted towards Latino and Hispanic communities nationwide.

According to the campaign, the plan is promises to add 500,000 Hispanic-owned businesses, increase capital for minority entrepreneurs through Opportunity Zones, create 2 million new jobs for Hispanic Americans, increase access to home ownership, bolster school choice programs, and deliver a resolution to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program with a permanent solution that benefits both Americans and recent arrivals.

'Latinos for Trump' advisory board member Alfredo Ortiz said that Trump's "American Dream Plan" gives Hispanic Americans another reason to vote for Trump.

Earlier Wednesday the Trump campaign also launched three new Spanish-speaking ads targeted towards Latino voters in South Florida, Central Florida, Arizona and Nevada.

-ABC News' Terrance Smith


Trump wraps up Goodyear, Arizona, rally

After relentlessly downplaying the virus at recent rallies this week, disparaging testing, and complaining about the media's continued coverage of the worst pandemic in a century that continues to surge -- Trump at his Goodyear, Arizona, rally appeared to pull back those comments a bit.

The president did not mention the word "COVID," as he has been, often repeating it multiple times seemingly exasperated by having to discuss the virus.

Trump also didn't explicitly say "we are rounding the turn" or try to uses testing as an excuse for the surging cases. But the president did continue to claim he's done "a great job we've done in fighting the China virus," and claimed he was "immune" while sharing a fist-bump on stage with Sen. Rand Paul. The immunity duration after contracting COVID-19 remains unknown, according to experts.

-ABC News' Will Steakin


How DC officials perform signature verifications

ABC News Live got an exclusive look at how election officials in Washington, D.C., perform signature verifications before mail-in ballots are counted.

Trained staff manually inspect each handwritten script and visually compare it to an electronic version associated with the voter's driver's license or other official record.


Trump campaign blames Omaha post-rally scene, which Biden slammed, on 'local road closures'

The former vice president slammed Trump for the botched scene after his rally in Omaha, Nebraska, Tuesday night, saying the president "gets his photo op then he gets out" leaving "everyone else to suffer the consequences of his failure to make a responsible plan."

Hundreds of Trump supporters were stranded for hours in near-freezing weather following Trump's Tuesday rally, waiting for buses to return them from Eppley Airfield hanger to their cars, resulting in some requiring medical attention and being taken to the hospital.

Forty buses had hauled approximately 25,000 people from parking lots to the airport hanger throughout the day, according to officials. When the rally finished around 9 p.m., people flooded out of the venue to be transported by the Trump campaign in charter buses back to their cars 2.5 miles away, but many ended up walking back or waiting hours in 30-degree weather well into the night hours after Trump had left the state.

The mismanaged post-rally scene by the campaign resulted in attendees, including some elderly, requiring medical attention on-site and at least seven being transported to the hospital, according to the Omaha Scanner, a local police tracker that monitors official radio traffic. A preliminary report from the Omaha Police Department also confirmed that number.

Since many attendees chose to walk back to their cars instead of waiting for buses, foot traffic slowed bus trips "considerably," according to officials who attempted to clear the congestion. Police said the last person was loaded into a bus from the rally site around 11:50 p.m. and traffic returned to normal at about 12:30 a.m.


The Trump campaign blamed the delay on "local road closures" in a statement to ABC News.

"Because of the sheer size of the crowd, we deployed 40 shuttle buses instead of the normal 15, but local road closures and resulting congestion caused delays. We always strive to provide the best guest experience at our events and we care about their safety," said Trump campaign spokesperson Samantha Zager.

-ABC News’ Will Steakin and Terrance Smith