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.
Top headlines:
- Kavanaugh revises Wisconsin opinion at request of Vermont
- Supreme Court rejects GOP attempt to block extended ballot deadline
- Trump, Biden condemn violence in Philadelphia
- Biden early votes in Wilmington, expands on health care plan
- 2020 election cost projected to near $14 billion, twice the amount spent in 2016 cycle
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, Harris campaign in Arizona as coronavirus cases surge
Trump held a rally with hundreds of supporters in Bullhead City, Arizona, this afternoon as coronavirus cases in the state surge and the situation begins to resemble the early stages of the summer spike that made Arizona one of the worst hot spots in the world.
“You are so lucky, people, that I took you on this journey with me,” Trump told the enthusiastic crowd, aiming to pitch himself both to Arizona voters and Nevadans just across the Colorado River.
At one point, Trump defended what he called his "reputation" for stiffing people, saying people who do a “lousy job” don’t deserve to be paid -- using whoever set up his microphone at the rally as an example.
“Whoever did this microphone, don't pay them. You know, I have a reputation for not paying. And it's a false reputation. When somebody does a lousy job like a microphone that is no good or like teleprompters that fly with the wind, I say don't pay them,” Trump said.
Sen. Kamala Harris is also campaigning in the Cooper State this afternoon, opting for drive-in style rallies and roundtable events, as opposed to the shoulder-to-shoulder events the Trump campaign has hosted. In a parking lot at Pima Community College earlier in the day, Harris pushed back on Trump calling her a “female socialist.”
“You know there has been some talk about my values. Let me just tell you, Tucson, I am a proud patriotic American. I love my country and our values reflect the values of America,” Harris said.
-ABC News’ Averi Harper