Joe Biden has accused President Trump of being ‘terrified’ of what will happen in the state
Republican legislature in Pennsylvania, a crucial presidential battleground, refused to allow counties to begin processing absentee ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day.
The controversial move is sure to cause chaotic delays, reporting inconsistencies, and legal challenges, ABC News reports. The state isn’t expected to have every vote counted until Friday, at the earliest.
“We’re already trying to run a successful in-person election on Election Day,” said Lisa Schaefer, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania. “Trying to add processing of mail-in ballots on Election Day basically means we’re trying to run two elections at the same time.”
Will Donald Trump repeat his Pennsylvania victory from four years ago or will Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden bag the 20 electoral votes in his home state? Time will soon tell.
“What’s most important is that we have accurate results and that every vote is counted, even if that takes a little longer,” Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said an hour after polls closed. “So I’m urging Pennsylvania to just remain calm, be patient, stay united on election night and in the days ahead.”
theGRIO previously reported, during a campaign stomp in Pennsylvania on Sunday, Biden said Trump is “terrified” of the possible election results.
According to the New York Post, Pennsylvania proves to be one of the most pivotal battleground states in the presidential election. Biden urged his supporters to vote during a drive-in rally in a Philadelphia church parking lot.
“President Trump is terrified of what will happen in Pennsylvania,” Biden said. “He knows if you have your say, he doesn’t stand a chance.”
Biden also warned of GOP efforts to “suppress” voter turnout while addressing how Trump gained Pennsylvania in the 2016 election by nearly 44,000 votes.
“Every day — every day — is a new reminder of how high the stakes are, of how far the other side will go to try to suppress the turnout, especially here in Philadelphia,” Biden said.
Meanwhile, two federal lawsuits filed by Republican lawmakers aim to prevent absentee votes that arrive after polls close Tuesday from being counted, PBS reports.
At least eight Pennsylvania counties won’t start processing ballots until Wednesday morning: Beaver, Cumberland, Franklin, Greene, Juniata, Mercer, Monroe, and Montour. Trump won these counties in 2016, except for Monroe.
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The. U.S. Postal Service is arguing that the judge’s order would be disruptive to its Election Day operations and that it had ‘physical and operational limitations’
WHAT HAPPENED:
The U.S. Postal Service says it can’t meet a federal judge’s order to sweep processing centers for undelivered mail-in ballots. It is arguing that doing so would be disruptive to its Election Day operations and that it had “physical and operational limitations.”
THE SIGNIFICANCE:
Disputes about mail ballots, particularly those received after Election Day, could be the fuel for court fights over election results in some states.
U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan’s order came after weeks of bruising court decisions for an agency that has become heavily politicized under its new leader, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. DeJoy, a major GOP donor, made a series of controversial policy changes in the summer that delayed mail nationwide, fueling worry about the service’s ability to handle the unprecedented crush of mail-in ballots.
(Credit: Judge Emmet G. Sullivan/ Getty Images)
At the same time, President Donald Trump has baselessly attacked mail voting as fraudulent throughout his campaign.
Much of Sullivan’s order hinged on postal data showing roughly 300,000 mail-in ballots in several states, including battleground states Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin, had not received scans showing they had been delivered. The agency has disputed the accuracy of the figure, saying it has pushed to ensure same-day local delivery of ballots by circumventing certain processing steps entirely, leaving them without the final delivery scan.
Sullivan had given the agency until Tuesday afternoon to search 27 facilities in several battleground areas for outstanding ballots and send out those votes immediately.
The Postal Service said it had already conducted rounds of morning checks at all its processing hubs. Further, the agency said has been performing daily reviews of all 220 facilities handling election mail and planned another sweep hours before polling places closed Tuesday.
The judge accepted the agency’s response but set a Wednesday hearing “to discuss the apparent lack of compliance with the court’s order.”
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Officers in Graham, North Carolina are being sued for voter intimidation and violation of constitutional rights, according to BuzzFeed. Over 200 people attended the I Am Change event that took place this past weekend. The event was designed to encourage voters to get to the polls on the last day of early voting.
During the event, marchers paused for eight minutes and 46 seconds of silence, the amount of time former police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on George Floyd’s neck. Marchers say officers began to pepper-spray them after that.
“The police violence in Graham, N.C. perpetrated against a group of peaceful and primarily Black protestors over the weekend is yet another clear violation of the right to free speech and the right to vote,” per a statement by Kristen Clarke, the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
The lawsuit says the force used by Graham police chief Kristy Cole and Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson against the marchers violates the First, Fourth, and 15th Amendments and other voter laws. It was filed on behalf of Edith Ann Jones, Rev. Gregory Drumwright, and Justice for the Next Generation and is supported by the North Carolina ACLU.
(Adobe Stock)
In a press release, the Graham Police Department said they asked protestors to get out of the road after the tribute to Floyd because traffic began to back up and when they refused, things escalated. The group moved to another area but police shut down the march for ‘conduct’ police deemed unsafe and when the crowd refused to disperse, they made arrests and pepper-sprayed them again. The police said they issued a warning before they took action, but the lawsuit says they did not.
“During the rally, the Graham Police Department made eight arrests for different offenses to include resist delay and obstruct, failure to disperse, and one count of assault on a law enforcement officer,” a portion of the statement read. “Demographic details will be released on a later date. Prior to this march the Graham Police Department initially had contact with the organizer. However, the organizer failed to establish viable communication with our department for the planning portion of the rally.”
They also say the organizer agreed that marchers would be strictly prohibited from blocking roadways.
Marchers say they won’t be deterred and the defendants who have brought the lawsuit intend to ensure voting rights for the future.
“Racially motivated attacks on peaceful demonstrators is a form of grotesque voter intimidation and we cannot continue to let these acts of violence continue,” Clarke said.
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Cori Bush defeated longtime Rep. William Lacy Clay over the summer in a primary
Cori Bush, an activist who became nationally-known as she protested the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, has been elected to Congress.
Bush was the projected winner in the 1st Congressional District between Republican Anthony Rogers and Libertarian Alex Furman,The New York Timesreports. Her win was immediately welcomed on Twitter by progressives who have championed her campaign.
“It’s official. The first-ever recruited Justice Democrat candidate @CoriBush is going to Congress. Six years ago police officers maced Cori in Ferguson as she helped spark a global movement,” the political action committee Justice Democrats tweeted.
“Three months from now she’ll be holding police accountable as a member of Congress.”
It's official. The first-ever recruited Justice Democrat candidate @CoriBush is going to Congress.
Six years ago police officers maced Cori in Ferguson as she helped spark a global movement.
Three months from now she’ll be holding police accountable as a member of Congress. pic.twitter.com/Fskoa1QQ65
Earlier in the day, Bush spoke of her expected win and the honor that would come with being the first Black woman congressman elected to represent Missouri. She cast her ballot wearing a mask that had Breonna Taylor’s image emblazoned on it.
“I am humbled and honored to be a part of this day, but to also be on this historical ballot as the Democratic nominee for the first district here in Missouri — poised to be the first Black congresswoman from the state of Missouri, the first woman from this district ever, the first Missouri nurse, and the first activist fighting for Black lives going to Congress,” she said, according to the St. Louis American.
Missouri Democratic Congressional Nominee Cori Bush speaks during a canvassing event on November 1, 2020 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
Bush’s personal history struck a cord with voters. She was once homeless and became a Black Lives Matter activist following Brown’s death at the hands of former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in August of 2014.
As theGrioreported, Bush, 44, shocked the political establishment over the summer when she defeated longtime Rep. William Lacy Clay in Missouri’s Democratic primary in August after a previous loss to Lacey in 2018.
“They counted us out,” she said after the primary victory. “They called me — I’m just the protester, I’m just the activist with no name, no title, and no real money. That’s all they said that I was. But St. Louis showed up today.”
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The incumbent defeated Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison, an associate chairman of the Democratic National Committee
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has secured a fourth term in the U.S. Senate.
The incumbent defeated Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison, an associate chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Harrison’s massive fundraising broke records in the race, allowing the challenger to dominate airwaves and mount a significant ground effort. Some polling in the campaign’s closing weeks showed a head-to-head race.
But Graham mustered support across South Carolina, where all statewide offices are held by Republicans and support for President Donald Trump remains strong.
As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he occupied a national television platform for days during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — After a monthslong deluge of advertising, attacks and animosity, voters are choosing between Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and Democratic challenger Jaime Harrison in South Carolina’s most expensive Senate contest.
Seeking his fourth term, Graham on Tuesday faced his most stalwart general election opponent to date in Harrison, a fundraising powerhouse and associate Democratic National Committee chairman who also chaired the state Democratic Party and worked as a lobbyist.
The contest has been propelled by an onslaught of spending from both candidates and a slew of third-party groups.
Republican incumbent Sen. Lindsey Graham speaks to supporters at the Charleston County Victory Office during a campaign bus tour on October 31, 2020 in Charleston, South Carolina. Graham is in a closely watched race against democratic challenger Jaime Harrison. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)
Graham told The Associated Press on Saturday that he also has raised about $100 million, and his third-quarter haul of $28 million represented a quarterly record for any GOP Senate candidate.
Having defeated all previous opponents by double-digit margins, Graham acknowledges, “This is the biggest challenge that I have ever faced,” with some polls showing a neck-and-neck contest.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, Harrison’s self-described “political dad” and mentor, described the Democrat’s campaign as a textbook example of how to develop and implement a winning agenda. He predicted a “good night for Democrats” up and down the ticket.
“Holding the House would just be status quo,” Clyburn told reporters outside a polling place in Columbia. “Winning the Senate would make it good.”
Tim Orr, an asphalt contractor from Lexington, said he was voting to reelect President Donald Trump after a small business loan and his $1,200 stimulus check helped keep him afloat following the pandemic.
Orr, 63, was less enthusiastic about Graham, citing his uneven support of Trump, but didn’t want to throw the race to Harrison.
“He’s got to be left where he’s at,” he said of Graham.
Helen Sims, 49, who works at a Wal-Mart, cast her ballot for Harrison on Tuesday, saying Graham should have helped Americans struggling through the pandemic before prioritizing the Supreme Court hearings. She said Harrison’s upbringing and his youthful energy will lead to better outcomes for working people.
“We have walked in Jaime’s shoes,” said Sims, who is Black. “Jaime’s compassionate.”
Democratic Senate candidate Jaime Harrison adjusts his mask while speaking to the media after a drive-in rally on October 17, 2020 in North Charleston, South Carolina. Harrison is running against incumbent Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). (Photo by Cameron Pollack/Getty Images)
The astronomic money has amounted to constant digital and broadcast advertising, as well as mailers. Harrison has used some of his copious cash to try to steer conservative voters toward Bill Bledsoe — a Constitution Party candidate who dropped out to endorse Graham, but whose name remains on ballots — in an attempt to cleave votes from the Republican. Bledsoe has asked Harrison to “cease and desist” from what he calls dishonest “dirty tricks” advertising.
The undercurrent of the recent battle over Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s third U.S. Supreme Court nominee, has also been a factor. As Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, Graham oversaw that contentious process, where televised hearings kept him in the national spotlight for weeks.
Harrison, meanwhile, has portrayed the 65-year-old Graham as a career politician too far removed from his constituents’ lives.
“It seems like our senator doesn’t understand the dignity of hard work because instead of working hard for South Carolina, he goes golfing with the president,” Harrison said during a recent Columbia drive-in rally.
Harrison, 44, has also highlighted Graham’s previous opposition to election-year high court nominations, including a 2018 video in which he said, “If an opening comes in the last year of President Trump’s term, and the primary process has started, we’ll wait to the next election.”
His reversal after Barrett’s nomination, Harrison has said, means Graham’s “word is worthless.”
Throughout his 25-year Capitol Hill career, Graham has handily defeated primary challengers who accused him of not being conservative enough for the state, where Republicans control both legislative chambers and hold all statewide offices and most congressional seats.
Graham was too conciliatory, critics argued, too ready to work out bipartisan deals. But his burgeoning relationship with Trump has helped elevate his own position with some of those detractors. A group composed of voters from myriad organizations with tea party roots held a press conference to endorse the senator against Harrison, citing anti-abortion issues and Graham’s work to confirm conservative justices as some of their reasons.
More than a million South Carolinians have already voted in this year’s general election, with absentee voting obliterating records from 2016. One of them, 72-year-old Harold Riggs of Lexington, said he was disappointed several years ago by Graham’s anti-Trump statements but said that now Graham has proven his loyalty to the president, noting his leadership during Barrett’s confirmation.
Of Harrison, Riggs said, “He’s telling all kinds of lies.”
“Even though he’s got a sweet smile,” his wife, Joyce, interjected.
___
Michelle Liu, a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, contributed to this report from Lexington, S.C. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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The actor opened up about his experience as a first-time voter this week, sharing his thoughts on the future and what role he believes his generation will play in shaping it.
”I feel like Gen Z, my generation, is a very capable generation, you know? We see a lot more than people realize and we are working to change a lot more than people realize,” he told PEOPLE. “It’s very important to us.”
The When They See Us star who is also featured on the new Netflix series Social Distance knows the importance of using his voice for change.
Asante Blackk in ‘Social Distance’ (Netflix)
“The country is the most divided [it has been in a really long time. We haven’t seen this at all, where people are so divided on these issues,” he said.
“A lot of times we feel like we don’t have the power to change anything in this country, but that feeling is what really stops us….They want us to feel that we are powerless so that we don’t use the power we have.”
The young star also shared his thoughts on celebrities involving themselves in politics.
”Politics isn’t this fancy thing, it’s really just your livelihood. It’s really how you live your life from day to day, what your experiences are, what you want to change in your own life and what you don’t like that the current government is doing. That’s really what it is,” he said.
“We see these things, we feel these things, we hear these things and that’s why we try to push back and fight as much as we can. I feel like it would almost be stupid of us to sit on the sidelines and act like we don’t see it when we do.”
There have been about 10 million calls and sometimes texts sent out to voters across the country according to The Washington Post. The origins of the calls are still unknown but the FBI is looking into the matter.
In swing state Michigan, calls seemed particularly targeted to intimidate prospective voters, prompting Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to announce Tuesday that the state will “work quickly to stamp out misinformation.”
“I Voted” stickers for voters on their way out at Ball Arena on November 3, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. After a record-breaking early voting turnout, Americans head to the polls on the last day to cast their vote for incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump or Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. (Photo by Marc Piscotty/Getty Images)
The New York Times cybersecurity reporter says that some calls told potential voters they’d be arrested if they tried to exercise their civic duty.
“Some disturbing developments: In addition to the robocalls, voters in Flint, Michigan are getting threatening live calls telling them to stay home or face arrests at the polls. The calls, which have also been reported in Iowa, are (obviously) not true, says Michigan AG office.”
Some disturbing developments: In addition to the robocalls, voters in Flint, Michigan are getting threatening live calls telling them to stay home or face arrests at the polls. The calls, which have also been reported in Iowa, are (obviously) not true, says Michigan AG office.
Technology experts are saying the timing of the calls is concerning and that these tactics have been seen in previous election years. On Tuesday, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel also posted a warning to Michigan residents that the information in the calls and texts are false.
“Dearborn voters, text messages are reportedly being sent to trick you into thinking there are ballot sensor issues. Do not fall for it, it’s a trick!”
[AG ELECTION ALERT]: Dearborn voters, text messages are reportedly being sent to trick you into thinking there are ballot sensor issues. Do not fall for it, it's a trick! Visit https://t.co/7MBWZSJ4Zd and follow @MichSoS for any updates. pic.twitter.com/NEot16yIqD
— Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (@MIAttyGen) November 2, 2020
The Washington Post identified voters in Georgia, Philadelphia and Nebraska and Indiana who’d received similar robocalls.
The outlet reports that people have been receiving “ stay safe and stay home” calls around the country since the summer and as many as a half-million calls have been going out each day. The calls typically feature a computerized female voice urging folks to stay home and identifies itself as a ‘test call.’ The calls come from unknown numbers and have been received by people in countries outside the US.
“If you wanted to cause havoc in America for the elections, one way to do it is clearly robocalling,” Alex Quilici, chief executive at YouMail, creator of a robocall-blocking app, told The Washington Post. YouMail’s data shows that 280 of the country’s 317 area codes have received the calls. They do not appear to originate from the US, the company says. “This whole thing is exposing [that] it can be very difficult to react quickly to a large calling volume campaign.”
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McConnell touted his leadership post and close ties to Trump as a political asset for Kentucky as he sought a seventh term
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — President Donald Trump won Kentucky in his bid for reelection Tuesday, and his chief ally on Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, was reelected to a seventh term in Kentucky on Election Day. Other races include all six Kentucky House seats, a seat on the Kentucky Supreme Court and two constitutional amendments. In the House, Republican incumbents Hal Rogers of the 5th District, James Comer of the 1st District, Brett Guthrie in the 2nd District and Thomas Massie of the 4th District all won reelection.
PRESIDENT
Republican President Donald Trump defeated Democratic former Vice President Joe Biden to carry Kentucky, a state where the GOP has dominated federal elections for more than 20 years. That includes the last presidential election, when Trump carried Kentucky by 30 percentage points. The last Democrat to carry Kentucky was Bill Clinton in 1996. Neither candidate campaigned in Kentucky, instead focusing on swing states elsewhere.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell defeated Democrat Amy McGrath, a retired Marine combat pilot, to cap a bruising, mega-spending campaign in Kentucky. McConnell touted his leadership post and close ties to Trump as a political asset for Kentucky as he sought a seventh term. McGrath ran as a political outsider and supports term limits for senators. She described McConnell’s decades-long Senate career as a symptom of what ails American politics.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., speaks with reporters after the Senate approved a nearly $500 billion coronavirus aid bill on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
HOUSE RACES
Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Barr and Democratic challenger Josh Hicks are vying for the 6th District seat in central Kentucky. For decades, the district stretching from the bluegrass region to the Appalachian foothills had swung between Republicans and Democrats, but lately it has stayed in GOP hands. Barr, who has been a target of national Democrats, has been a loyal supporter of President Donald Trump. Hicks is an attorney who previously served as a Marine and police officer. He’s a former Republican who says he switched parties because of GOP policies favoring the wealthy. In the 5th District, incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers defeated Democratic challenger Matthew Ryan Best. The 4th District incumbent, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, who drew Trump’s ire on coronavirus relief, defeated Democratic challenger Alexandra Owensby. The 3rd District candidates include incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth and Republican challenger Rhonda Palazzo. The 2nd District incumbent, Republican U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie, won another term over Democratic challenger Hank Linderman. In the 1st District Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. James Comer defeated Democratic challenger James Rhodes.
LEGISLATURE
Republicans appear poised to maintain overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Kentucky General Assembly. Democrats are targeting suburban districts in hopes of whittling away at the GOP’s strength in rural districts. Republican Rep. Jason Nemes of Louisville is in a tough reelection fight and Democrats are hoping to pick up the Lexington seat of retiring GOP Rep. Stan Lee. A state Senate race in eastern Kentucky features candidates with the same last name. Democratic Sen. Johnny Ray Turner is being challenged by Republican Johnnie Turner.
President Donald Trump speaks at a rally on November 02, 2020 in Avoca, Pennsylvania. Donald Trump is crossing the crucial state of Pennsylvania in the last days of campaigning before Americans go to the polls on November 3rd to vote. Trump is currently trailing his opponent Joe Biden in most national polls. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
SUPREME COURT
Kentucky lawmaker Chris Harris and Circuit Judge Robert Conley are vying to represent a Supreme Court district in eastern Kentucky. Harris, a Democrat, has represented Martin County and part of Pike County in the House since 2015. As an attorney he has argued cases in state and federal courtrooms across the state. Conley hears cases as a circuit judge in Greenup and Lewis counties. He was recently reprimanded by the state’s Judicial Conduct Commission, in part for throwing a man in jail for three days for contempt of court without conducting a hearing.
One amendment known as Marsy’s law would add a series of crime victims’ rights to Kentucky’s Constitution. The measure was a reprise of a 2018 constitutional amendment that cleared the legislature and was approved by Kentucky voters, but was voided when the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the wording was too vague. It’s worded differently this time, but would have similar effects. It would guarantee, among other things, that crime victims have the right to timely notification of court proceedings. Another amendment would lengthen the terms of district judges and state prosecutors. It calls for district judges, who currently serve four-year terms, to start serving eight-year terms in 2022. It also would increase the time they have to be a licensed attorney before becoming a judge. In addition, the amendment would add two years to the term of a commonwealth’s attorney.
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Supporters of Kamala Harris in Thulasendrapuram, India, a village about an eight-hour drive from Chennai can’t vote for her in the presidential election but they’ve found another way to show their support.
Thulasendrapuram is the village where Harris’ maternal grandfather was born. So on Tuesday, as many Americans are heading to the polls to support Harris, some people in Thulasendrapuram are doing so through prayer. Dozens of folks gathered at a Hindu temple to say prayers and deliver flowers and jasmine in support of Harris on election day.
“She is the daughter of the village’s soil,’ a housewife named Lalitha, told the New York Times. “The position she has attained is unbelievable.”
After the good luck ceremony ended, people gathered to enjoy idli and sambar, South Indian dishes elders say are a favorite of Senator Harris.
Presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris listens as presumptive Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden speaks following a coronavirus briefing with health experts at the Hotel DuPont on August 13, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. Harris is the first Black woman and first person of Indian descent to be a presumptive nominee on a presidential ticket by a major party in U.S. history. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Harris’ father’s side of the family is Jamaican and Floridian Jamaicans have also been very vocal in their support.
According to NBC News, Jamaicans in the battleground state are showing her love.
“She is a wife, a stepmom, an auntie, she can cook, she can dance,” said Rep. Anika Omphroy, who is a first-generation Jamaican like Harris. “She has a good sense of humor and appeals to working-class people, to the middle class, as well as corporate men and women. She is able to relate to everyone.”
In 2020, Florida has about 14 million registered voters and 29 electoral votes. So as Joe Biden and Harris target the state’s Latin voters they are also honing in on the Caribbean community such as the one in Broward County. The mostly Democratic community not only wants to support a fellow Jamaican but also defeat Trump.
According to Antoinette Henry, director of corporate relations at the Dutch Pot Jamaican Restaurant that has locations throughout South Florida, folks are coming out to support Harris even if they don’t usually vote.
“The fact she has a lineage means you are going to see a lot of Jamaicans voting even if they were not doing so before. Part of Jamaica will be in the White House,” Henry told NBC.
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Justin Dunn was legally carrying a firearm but loitered at the Charlotte site after voting Tuesday morning, which prompted a precinct official to call police
In North Carolina, an armed man loitering at a polling site on Election Day has been arrested and charged with trespassing.
Thirty-six-year-old Justin Dunn was legally carrying a firearm but loitered at the Charlotte site after voting Tuesday morning, which prompted a precinct official to call police over fears of voter intimidation. A precinct official accompanied by a police officer asked him to leave the site and banned him from the location.
Justin Dunn (Source: Mecklenburg County Jail)
Police say Dunn left the precinct but returned about two hours later. He was taken into custody and charged with second-degree trespassing.
Early victories draw to an end a campaign that was reshaped by the coronavirus and marked by contentiousness.
Polls closed across the country Tuesday night as President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden concluded an epic campaign that will shape America’s response to the surging pandemic and foundational questions of economic fairness and racial justice.
The night opened with predictable victories for each candidate, with Trump taking states including Louisiana and North Dakota and Biden’s haul including New York and Virginia a former battleground that has become a Democratic stronghold. It was too early to call, in a tight race, the 2020 battleground of Florida as well as Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Americans made their choices as the nation faced a confluence of historic crises with each candidate declaring the other fundamentally unfit to navigate the challenges. Daily life has been upended by the coronavirus, which has killed more than 232,000 Americans and cost millions of jobs.
Millions of voters put aside worries about the virus — and some long lines — to turn out in person, joining 102 million fellow Americans who voted days or weeks earlier, a record number that represented 73% of the total vote in the 2016 presidential election.
Biden entered Election Day with multiple paths to victory, while Trump, playing catch-up in a number of battleground states, had a narrower but still feasible road to clinch 270 Electoral College votes.
Control of the Senate was at stake, too: Democrats needed to net three seats if Biden captured the White House to gain control of all of Washington for the first time in a decade. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky won reelection in an early victory for the Republicans. The House was expected to remain under Democratic control.
As the results began to come in, the nation braced for what was to come — and an outcome that might not be known for days.
A new anti-scaling fence was erected around the White House, and in downtowns from New York to Denver to Minneapolis, workers boarded up businesses lest the vote lead to unrest.
With the worst public health crisis in a century still fiercely present, the pandemic — and Trump’s handling of it — was the inescapable focus for 2020.
For Trump, the election stood as a judgment on his four years in office, a term in which he bent Washington to his will, challenged faith in its institutions and changed how America was viewed across the globe. Rarely trying to unite a country divided along lines of race and class, he has often acted as an insurgent against the government he led while undermining the nation’s scientists, bureaucracy and media.
At the White House Tuesday night, more than 100 family members, friends, donors and staff were set to watch returns from the East Room. Trump was watching votes come in upstairs in the residence with a few close aides. Most top campaign officials were monitoring returns from a “war room” set up in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Biden spent the day last-minute campaigning in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he was born, and in Philadelphia with a couple of local stops in Wilmington, Delaware, where he was spending Election Night.
The president began his day on an upbeat note, predicting that he’d do even better than in 2016. But during a midday visit to his campaign headquarters, he spoke in a gravelly, subdued tone.
“Winning is easy,” Trump told reporters. “Losing is never easy, not for me it’s not.”
President Donald Trump speaks at a rally on November 02, 2020 in Avoca, Pennsylvania. Donald Trump is crossing the crucial state of Pennsylvania in the last days of campaigning before Americans go to the polls on November 3rd to vote. Trump is currently trailing his opponent Joe Biden in most national polls. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Trump left open the possibility of addressing the nation Tuesday night, even if a winner hadn’t been determined. Biden was also scheduled to give a nighttime speech from Wilmington.
“I’m superstitious about predicting what an outcome’s gonna be until it happens … but I’m hopeful,” said Biden. “It’s just so uncertain … you can’t think of an election in the recent past where so many states were up for grabs.”
With the coronavirus now surging anew, voters ranked the pandemic and the economy as top concerns in the race between Trump and Biden, according to AP VoteCast, a national survey of the electorate.
Voters were especially likely to call the public health crisis the nation’s most important issue, with the economy following close behind. Fewer named health care, racism, law enforcement, immigration or climate change
The survey found that Trump’s leadership loomed large in voters’ decision-making. Nearly two-thirds of voters said their vote was about Trump — either for him or against him.
The momentum from early voting carried into Election Day, as an energized electorate produced long lines at polling sites throughout the country. Voters braved worries of the coronavirus, threats of polling place intimidation and expectations of long lines caused by changes to voting systems, but appeared undeterred as turnout appeared it would easily surpass the 139 million ballots cast four years ago.
No major problems arose on Tuesday, outside the typical glitches of a presidential election: Some polling places opened late, robocalls provided false information to voters in Iowa and Michigan, and machines or software malfunctioned in some counties in the battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Texas.
The cybersecurity agency at the Department of Homeland Security said there were no outward signs by midday of any malicious activity.
The record-setting early vote — and legal skirmishing over how it would be counted — drew unsupported allegations of fraud from Trump, who had repeatedly refused to guarantee he would honor the election’s result.
President Donald Trump does not have a victory speech ready.
President Donald Trump is not a hundred percent sure he is winning the election.
On Tuesday, he visited his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia and told reporters per The Hill, “I’m not thinking about concession speech or acceptance speech yet.”
He added, “Hopefully we’ll be only doing one of those two. Winning is easy. Losing is never easy. Not for me it’s not.”
He stopped by the campaign headquarters to thank his staff and admitted that a defeat would be a challenge for him.
Trump says, “depending on the extent of victory,” it should be clear by the end of the night who won. He complained by saying “We should be entitled to know who won on Nov. 3.”
He also isn’t thrilled that Pennsylvania accepts mail in ballots received by Nov. 6.
When asked if he had a message for those who did not vote for him in case he wins, his response was, “Everybody should come together, and I think success brings us together.”
Dozens of his staffers attended the headquarters gathering and while many wore masks, others did not including senior adviser Jared Kushner, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, and chief of staff Mark Meadows were seen without them.
The president is expected to return to the White House to attend a party in the East Room with hundreds of others despite the fact that coronavirus is still a real threat, especially in crowded spaces.
While Trump is staying kept in the White House, Michelle Obama has continued to support the former vice president. As reported by theGrio, Obama took to Twitter to speak about his character.
“I know Joe. He has lived his life guided by values and principles that mirror ones that most Americans can recognize. He understands the struggles of everyday folks. Vote today for the future you want to see for our country. Vote for @JoeBiden,” she tweeted.
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Ahmaud Arbery’s mother met with Trump after her son was killed but will vote for Biden instead
Wanda Cooper, the mother of Ahmaud Arbery, isn’t letting a three-hour drive stop her from voting. The mother who laid her son to rest earlier this year after he was shot and killed in Glynn County, Georgia allegedly by resident Travis McMichael while on a jog.
According to TMZ, Arbery’s mother returned to Brunswick, GA, to vote. She moved away after her son passed but she says the three-hour drive from where she currently lives is worth it because she is honoring her son.
Wanda Jones-Cooper with her son, Ahmaud Arbery (Personal Family Picture)
She voted for Joe Biden despite meeting with President Donald Trump after her son was killed.
“A GREAT woman. Her son is looking down from heaven & is very proud of his wonderful & loving mom!!!,” Trump tweeted in June.
A GREAT woman. Her son is looking down from heaven & is very proud of his wonderful & loving mom!!! https://t.co/ZzKUbjlOOT
Cooper says she isn’t impressed with Trump. She told the publication she does not believe he will live up to his promises such as fixing the racial tensions in this country and she isn’t a fan of how he has handled the coronavirus pandemic and the little remorse for the over 200,000 Americans who have lost their lives. She explained Biden won her over with his message of unity. She believed Biden could bring about real change and says her son would have felt the same way.
Cooper previously authored an article for ABC News in July and shared that her son’s final words to her were sweet and that they shared a special bond.
“The last time I saw Ahmaud alive his last three words were, “I love you.” And whenever I get discouraged or really sad, I hear his voice saying those words,” she wrote.
“My other two children, sometimes they thought Ahmaud was my favorite. But I’d tell them, “I love you all.” It’s because Ahmaud and I shared a very special bond. We were really close. Ahmaud was the baby that would come and give me a kiss on the cheek. And when he grew into a young adult, he would still give me those same little kisses.”
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Many small business owners use their personal phone number as their business’s primary point of contact, but this can be quite confusing if you want to keep your business and personal life separate. That’s why it’s recommended that every business, whether it’s brick-and-mortar or 100% digital, gets a separate phone number to handle business inquiries.
That doesn’t mean you need to buy a second phone plan, let alone a new phone. With Hushed, you get a second, private phone line with a unique number that you can use for public use while keeping your personal phone number hidden. Plans start at 6,000 SMS messages and 1,000 talk minutes per year, which you can get for just $19.99 with this deal.
Hushed is a secure, app-based private phone line service that works on iOS and Android devices. You’ll get a new phone number to make calls, send texts, and customize voicemail with the option to choose from over 100 different area codes across the US and Canada. You can even conduct all of your communications through Wi-Fi so you don’t incur service charges. Best of all, you can enjoy all of these features without signing up for a new, expensive phone plan from your mobile provider.
If you want to run your business professionally, it’s best to separate work and play. That includes having a separate phone number for your business. With Hushed, you get a private phone line that works on your current mobile device without committing to an expensive new phone plan. Plans start at $19.99 per year and go as high as $59.99 for 12,000 SMS messages and 2,500 minutes per year.
Prices subject to change.
from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2TSQwsW
via Gabe's Musing's
Terrence Floyd feels under constant pressure to relay his brother’s voice — especially on this Election Day, when, as he sees it, race and racial justice are on the ballot
NEW YORK (AP) — The murmurs spread quickly among the poll workers late Tuesday morning at a Brooklyn neighborhood station: George Floyd’s brother was present.
A few came up to Terrence Floyd, whose brother George died in the custody of Minneapolis police, sparking protests for racial justice across the nation. “Keep the fight going,” one Black woman urged. Others asked to take their photos with Terrence.
Since the death of his older brother on May 25th, Terrence has been thrust into a spotlight he did not seek. A 42-year-old school bus driver in New York, Terrence is normally a quiet man, deeply attached to his three children. But now, he feels under constant pressure to relay his brother’s voice — especially on this Election Day, when, as he sees it, race and racial justice are on the ballot.
“Ever since then, I’ve felt like he was talking to me,” he says of George’s death. “He was saying, Little bro, just speak for me. Walk for me. Love for me. Get these people to understand what happened to me can happen to anybody.”
On this Tuesday, Terrence’s black hoodie and face mask included the words “I can’t breathe,” “Justice for George,” and “8:46,” representing the approximate time that a white officer held a knee to his brother’s neck until he became unresponsive.
Terrence Floyd, brother of George Floyd, waits to speak at a Get Out the Vote Rally outside the Brooklyn Museum, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
After famously urging calm as anger spilled onto the streets over his brother’s death, Terrence planned to spend Election Day following up on a less-noticed part of his emotional plea to protesters: please vote.
The names George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Rayshard Brooks, all killed by police or vigilantes, re-energized the Black Lives Matter movement this year and put race and justice at the center of the election. As voting wraps up coast to coast, their loved ones awaited signs that their public grief and loss of anonymity weren’t in vain.
Former Vice President Joe Biden has promised racial justice and reforms, while President Donald Trump has stuck to a stern “law and order” rhetoric. After a summer of protests, about half of voters call racism a “very serious” problem in U.S. society, AP polling found. But compared with the pandemic and the economy, relatively few voters – about one in 10 – deemed racism or law enforcement the country’s top issue, the poll found.
The Floyd family has reached out on behalf of Biden’s campaign. On Sunday, Terrence joined his sister, Bridgett Floyd, and other family members for a rally with Jill Biden in Tallahassee, Florida. Last month, Bridgett appeared in a campaign ad for Joe Biden.
Like all of America, Terrence was anxious on Tuesday.
“Tuesday is so important,” said the Rev. Nicolas O’Rourke, the Pennsylvania organizing director for the Working Families Party, which focuses on systemic racism. Philadelphia became a hot spot in the wake of the fatal police shooting of Walter Wallace, Jr., a Black man whose family members had requested mental crisis intervention on Oct. 26.
Terrence Floyd, brother of George Floyd, second from left, waits to vote with Sandy Rubenstein, left, and Rev. Kevin McCall, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
“While communities are at varying points on the reform spectrum….it’s pretty clear there is a unilateral agreement that something needs to shift,” he said.
By early afternoon, Terrence, along with his attorney Sanford Rubenstein and civil rights activist Kevin McCall, were driving around Brooklyn looking for potential voters, with a loudspeaker and a microphone in their SUV. But there were no lines at a handful of schools and community centers.
Perhaps most people had already voted early, Terrence thought. And hoped. Maybe they had already heeded the message about the importance of voting.
“I never really wanted to be political and tell people who to vote for, because everybody has their own decision, their own opinions,” Terrence said. “But I do say, ‘wake up, use your eyes, pay attention to what’s going on.’”
Just after 1 p.m., they parked across the street from the Brooklyn Museum, which has been serving as a polling location. Outside of the building, a small marching band sang, drummed and blew wind instruments. They paused to allow Terrence a moment to speak.
“If you don’t vote, you cannot complain when something goes wrong,” he said, using a loudspeaker and microphone. “I’m out here to let y’all know that I voted, because I can’t talk the talk, if I don’t walk the walk.”
More than a dozen people had stopped to hear what Terrence had said and, when he concluded, the band resumed playing.
“Don’t forget to vote!” he chanted in rhythm with the band.
Terrence Floyd, brother of George Floyd, speaks at a Get Out the Vote rally, outside the Brooklyn Museum, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Tuesday marked exactly 155 days since Terrence visited Minneapolis, where his brother died. On June 1, in the wake of arson, looting and other violence that spread to cities nationwide, Terrence begged for calm.
“Let’s switch it up, y’all. Let’s switch it up. Do this peacefully, please,” Terrence said at a June 1 press conference in Minneapolis.
That same day, the president threatened the nation’s governors with deployment of the military to states, if leaders did not quell violent unrest.
“My administration is fully committed that, for George and his family, justice will be served,” Trump said in remarks from the White House Rose Garden. “He will not have died in vain. But we cannot allow the righteous cries and peaceful protesters to be drowned out by an angry mob.”
That day in June, Terrence cancelled previously scheduled interviews with TV news networks. He was overwhelmed.
His surviving brothers and sisters have become much closer over the last several months, Terrence said. His 17-year-old son, Amaree Floyd, learned of his uncle’s passing by seeing the viral video of the officer kneeling on his neck.
“I had to really talk to him about channeling his anger,” Terrence said. “I said, put that anger into your schoolwork. Put that anger into making a difference, talking to your friends about what’s going on. I can’t reach your friends, but you can.”
By late afternoon on Tuesday in Brooklyn, Terrence planned to continue rallying voters until polls were closed. He said felt watching the election returns would give him the same feeling as watching the New York Knicks play – you had no idea if you were going to win.
“I have a whole lot of emotions,” Terrence said. “I’m more anxious than excited. I remember when Obama was running and everybody went out. I see that same energy now. So I’m really excited to see what happens.”
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Offset lent his talents to The Lincoln Project to help get out the vote in Atlanta
Rapper Offset joined up with The Lincoln Project to provide further incentives to Georgia voters to vote. The rapper was scheduled to use his celebrity to support voters on long lines to vote in Georgia providing moral support and vegan food from Atlanta’s famed Slutty Vegan restaurant as well as Big Dave’s Cheesteak for those with more carnivorous leanings.
The Lincoln Project is a group of conservatives and Republicans who have united over their desire to propel Trump out of office. They’ve released some of the ads most critical to the 45th president during the election run-up, including powerful words from a press conference this year from former L.A. Clippers coach Doc Rivers.
But somewhere things went awry with Offset as The Lincoln Project tweeted that the Migos rapper was threatened by officials from Gwinnett county. Offset was scheduled to make appearances at Fickett Elementary and William Walker Rec Center, both in Atlanta.
We’ve been working in Georgia with @OffsetYRN, to feed Gwinnett’s voters in those unnecessarily long lines, but instead of a welcome, he was threatened by @gwinnettgov.
This is what voter intimidation and discrimination looks like.
For anyone outside of Atlanta, Gwinnett county covers a suburban swatch of the city, including areas like Dunwoody, Norcross and Peachtree Corners. Further details of any incident were not provided but it appears that something happened that Gwinnett county officials had issues with.
Offset in Atlanta on Election Day working with The Lincoln Project to get out the vote. (The Lincoln Project)
As Offset said that he did vote today, perhaps he was threatened for some reason while voting in his own swanky neighborhood. It is not, as several commenters on social media said today, illegal to provide food and refreshments to voters waiting on line. It is only a problem if you try to sway voters vote for one candidate or another.
The good news is, he voted.
I’m a voter in Gwinnett county, Georgia. I voted early, hoping for a big blue wave, and I’m sorry your gift was not received well. We’re the same county that sent kids and teachers back to school too early. Not running on a full government tank here. But @ossoff will be a win 🤞🏼.
There was no sign of Offset’s on-and-off-wife, Cardi B. at the voting booth with her husband, though that certainly just means that they didn’t vote together, at least as far as we know. The couple recently reconciled after Cardi filed for divorce, but she has now officially withdrawn the petition. As theGrio reported, Cardi said that she wanted the public to know her relationship was just as dysfunctional as anyone else’s while adding in her no-BS way that she missed ‘intimacy’ with her husband. But of course, she didn’t say intimacy.
Offset, born Kiari Kentrell Cephus, is an Atlanta native. He and Cardi, born Belcalis Almanzár in New York City are parents to daughter Kulture, 2. Cardi has used her platform to support Democratic and progressive causes, doing an interview with Joe Biden for Elle magazine in August.
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