The Latest: Trump and Harris cede stage to voters who’ll also decide control of House and Senate – WTOP News

Election Day is here. Voters are gearing up to head to the polls to cast their ballots for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in one of the nation’s most historic presidential races. They’ll also be determining which party will control the House and Senate.

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the latest:

Voter Voice: ‘I got my sticker. I’m showing that off today’

Geoff Grace has a tremor, and filling out the little circles on his Wisconsin ballot was a difficult task.

But he got it done — with some help from his mother — and got a round of applause from poll workers for getting through the process when his ballot was deposited.

“They were very nice and accommodating for that,” Grace said. “And I got my sticker. I’m showing that off today.”

Grace voted for Harris. “I strongly believe a woman should have a chance at being president,” he said.

Where are the voters who could decide the presidential election?

When you hear the term bellwether, you might think about states in the presidential election that always vote with the White House winner. The true meaning of a bellwether is an indicator of a trend. For that, you need to think about counties.

Across the seven main battleground states in 2024, there are 10 counties — out of more than 500 — that voted for Trump in 2016 and then flipped to Biden in 2020. Most are small and home to relatively few voters, with Arizona’s Maricopa a notable exception. So it’s not likely they’ll swing an entire state all by themselves.

What these counties probably will do is provide an early indication of which candidate is performing best among the swing voters likely to decide a closely contested race. It doesn’t take much for a flip. For example, the difference in Wisconsin, during both 2016 and 2020, was only about 20,000 votes.

▶ Read more about the states that might matter the most on Election Day

An Alabama county is printing emergency ballots after discovering a missing page

St. Clair County Probate Judge Andrew Weathington said the problem was discovered Tuesday morning when packs of sealed ballots were opened at polling places and many were found to be missing the back page, which contains proposed constitutional amendments.

He said it appeared to be a printing error.

The proposed ballots were proofed before printing and were correct, he added. The Alabama Secretary of State’s Office confirmed emergency ballots are being printed.

The ACLU of Alabama has asked the St. Clair probate office to extend voting hours by the number of hours it takes to get new ballots, a spokesman for the organization said. Weathington said he is seeking legal guidance from the Alabama secretary of state and the county attorney.

Alabama voters are deciding local constitutional amendments and one statewide amendment. The statewide amendment relates to allowing a local school board to sell land, located in another Alabama county, to a developer. Voters in the county were also voting on a local amendment related to local school board governance.

Florida’s voter information website is experiencing issues

Florida voters turning to a state-run website to check their voter registration status were getting an error message Tuesday morning.

A spokesperson for Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd confirmed the state’s online Voter Information Lookup tool was experiencing technical issues but did not answer questions about what was causing the problem.

“We’re working to resolve it,” spokesperson Mark Ard said. “We’re providing alternative websites and locations for voters to find their voter information, their precinct.”

Floridians can check their voter registration status and find their polling place by going to their county supervisor of elections website.

Foreign election interference issues quiet so far

Cait Conley, senior adviser to the director of the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency, said during a briefing that “we are not currently tracking any national level, significant incidents impacting the security of our election infrastructure. We are tracking instances of extreme weather and other temporary infrastructure disruption to certain areas of the country, but these are largely expected routine and planned for events.”

Conley said CISA, the FBI and intelligence communities did anticipate that foreign actors would try to influence the election later today and in the following weeks.

Nancy Mace tries to cement her hold on her US House seat in South Carolina

South Carolina Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace is trying to cement her hold on her seat in a state that doesn’t mind sending people back to Congress for decades.

There have been questions over whether Mace’s attention-seeking personality and brashness and willingness to buck her party’s establishment could be a liability. But so far, she’s been embraced by her coastal 1st District.

Mace flipped the seat back to Republicans in 2020 after a stunning upset of incumbent Democratic Rep. Joe Cunningham. She fought off a GOP challenger endorsed by former President Donald Trump in 2022 and breezed to a surprisingly easy win — this time with Trump’s backing — in the 2024 Republican primary without a runoff.

Her fellow Republicans in the South Carolina General Assembly also did her a favor by redrawing the district and sending traditional Democratic precincts in and around downtown Charleston to the state’s only majority-minority district. Under the old map in 2020, Mace won less than 51% of the vote. With the new maps in 2022 she received more than 56%.

Mace’s Democratic challenger as voting ends Tuesday is businessman and former International African American Museum CEO Michael Moore. His campaign has struggled to gain momentum and Mace has barely acknowledged he’s in the race.

▶ Read more about the South Carolina House race

Why you hear about Dixville Notch every presidential election

It’s practically an Election Day tradition now. The news media gathers in tiny Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, a picturesque town near the Canadian border, to watch the first voters cast their ballots at midnight.

Dixville Notch started its tradition in 1960. Neil Tillotson, who owned the town’s Balsams Grand Resort Hotel, heard about midnight voting from an Associated Press reporter, his son Tom told CBS News. The elder petitioned the legislature to let the community create its own voting precinct.

Even though two other towns had midnight voting — including one that opened early for railroad workers — Dixville Notch was the only one with a hotel that made it convenient for reporters and photographers to file, with phone lines and a dark room. The first polling place was inside Tillotson’s resort.

Per the tradition, AP reporter Nick Perry was on hand when a half-dozen voters cast their ballots at the polling place, which has moved to the living room of the Tillotson home. He documented the scene, and made sure not to miss that the polling place featured “ a couple of very friendly dogs.”

NFL, NBA facilities in use on Election Day

There are no NFL or NBA games today. Plenty of fans will be going to stadiums anyway.

At least 17 NFL and NBA facilities are either polling locations or ballot drop-off stations. Some teams even offered voters personalized “I Voted” stickers with team logos.

Tuesdays aren’t game days in the NFL.

The NBA, for the third consecutive year, isn’t playing any games on Election Day to support “civic engagement,” the league said. And players from all 30 NBA teams wore warm-up shirts with a simple message Monday night: “Vote,” they said.

Giuliani ordered to appear in court after missing deadline to turn over possessions

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman issued the order late Monday after lawyers for Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss — two former Georgia election workers who were awarded a $148 million defamation judgment — reported to the court that Rudy Giuliani cleared out his Manhattan apartment weeks before the Oct. 29 deadline to surrender his possessions.

Lawyers for Freeman and Moss say Giuliani has not yet surrendered any of the items that he was ordered to turn over — including his $5 million New York apartment, a 1980 Mercedes once owned by movie star Lauren Bacall and a variety of other belongings including sports memorabilia.

Giuliani spokesperson Ted Goodman said Tuesday that Giuliani has made his property available and accused Freeman and Moss’ lawyers of deception and attempting to “further bully and intimidate Mayor Giuliani until he is rendered penniless and homeless.”

Giuliani was ordered to pay the former election workers for falsely accusing them of ballot fraud during the 2020 presidential election, as part of Donald Trump’s unfounded claims that the election was stolen from him.

Harris campaign stresses patience as votes are tallied

The seven battleground states have varying rules on when votes are counted, so it is expected to take some time before all votes are tallied in the key states that are expected to decide the razor-tight race.

“We’re going to be patient,” Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said during a Tuesday appearance on MSNBC. “We’re going to be very focused on what’s happening in the early part of the night. But we know some of our bigger battleground states are not going to be fully tallied until later in the night or early in the morning.”

O’Malley Dillon was hopeful that early turnout in Georgia and North Carolina was a positive sign for the Harris campaign.

By the time early voting in North Carolina had ended on Saturday, over 4.4 million voters — or nearly 57% of all registered voters in the state — had cast their ballots. It was particularly robust in the 25 western counties affected by Hurricane Helene and was even stronger at 59% of registered voters.

Georgia meanwhile saw more than 4 million voters cast early ballots, a record-breaking number for the state.

Voter Voice: Harris is ‘going to go out and get the ball’ on Social Security

Atlanta audio-visual technician Mark Butler wasn’t working on Tuesday and planned to watch election coverage after he cast his ballot in the morning.

He said he voted for Harris.

“What matters to me is Social Security,” Butler said. “I think she’s going to go out and get the ball on that one.”

Butler, a lifelong Atlanta resident, said he’s fully aware of the weight Georgia will likely carry in deciding who wins the White House.

“It’s very important. We’re a swing state, probably one of the most important swing states,” he said.

Democrats hope to flip a reliably Republican Louisiana congressional seat with new boundaries

In a critical election year, Democrats are looking to flip a once reliably Republican Louisiana congressional seat, where political boundaries were recently redrawn to form the state’s second mostly Black congressional district.

With five people on the ballot for Louisiana’s Sixth Congressional District, Democrats have thrown their support behind longtime politician Cleo Fields, 61. The state senator has been involved in state politics for three decades and served two terms in Congress after being elected in 1992.

Across the aisle, Republicans are looking to preserve the seat, especially in an election year where the GOP is trying to hold on to their majority in the U.S. House. The only Republican on the ballot is former state lawmaker Elbert Guillory, 80.

For nearly 50 years, only one Democrat has won the seat in Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District. But the district’s boundaries have recently been recrafted.

▶ Read more about Louisiana’s House race

Migrant caravan starts walking in southern Mexico

Some 2,500 migrants from at least a dozen countries have started walking in southern Mexico, hoping Mexican authorities will allow them to eventually reach the U.S. border.

The caravan departed on U.S. Election Day after a tight race that frequently put immigration at its center.

Those walking voiced more immediate concerns than U.S. politics like safety for their families and job opportunities.

Groups of several hundred to several thousand migrants moving together en masse has become more common in recent years.

In October 2020, a caravan that formed in Honduras ahead of the U.S. election was stopped by authorities in Guatemala. In October 2018, ahead of U.S. midterms, another caravan that started in Honduras grew to about 7,000 and eventually reached the U.S. border.

In recent years, caravans haven’t made it out of southern Mexico.

FBI warns of fabricated videos misusing its name and insignia

A news clip that purports to come from the FBI tells voters that they should vote remotely because of a high terror threat at polling stations.

But the FBI said that the clip is bogus, did not come from the bureau and does not accurately represent concerns about safety at polling locations.

Also false is a video depicting a fabricated FBI press release claiming that the management of prisons in several key battleground states rigged inmate voting and colluded with one of the political parties.

The FBI did not identify anyone who it thought might be responsible for the manufactured videos. Over the past two weeks, the agency has blamed Russian influence actors for a variety of manufactured internet postings and videos officials say were released as part of a broader disinformation campaign.

Puerto Rico will also vote on new House delegate and statehood

Voters in Puerto Rico will elect a new resident commissioner, the island’s representative with limited voting powers in the U.S. House. The outgoing resident commissioner, Jenniffer González of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, is running for governor.

There’s another item on the ballot that involves Congress: statehood. Voters will be asked for a seventh time about Puerto Rico’s political status. The nonbinding referendum offers three options: statehood, independence and independence with free association, under which issues like foreign affairs, U.S. citizenship and use of the U.S. dollar would be negotiated. Regardless of the outcome, a change in status requires approval from Congress.

Nearly 2 million voters are eligible to participate in Tuesday’s election, although it remains to be seen how many people will do so. Voter apathy has dominated recent elections.

The post office is open today, but it may be too late to send your mail-in ballot

The U.S. Postal Service is open as usual on Election Day, but before voters drop their ballots in they should check their state’s deadlines.

Some states require mail-in ballots to arrive byElection Day. Others only require ballots to be postmarked by Election Day. And some states, too, allow mail-in ballots to be dropped off in ballot boxes or at polling places through Election Day.

Voters should check their state election websites to determine the deadlines.

Vance casts his ballot in Ohio

Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance voted in Cincinnati this morning.

“Look, I feel good. You never know until you know, but I feel good about this race,” Vance said after he and his wife cast their ballots.

Vance said he would depart for Palm Beach, Florida, later today to be with Donald Trump as results come in.

Trump and Harris are on the ballot in Puerto Rico. But it’s symbolic

As a presidential campaign that engendered fury on the island over a comedian’s incendiary remarks at a Trump rally culminates, Puerto Ricans can support Harris or Trump in a symbolic vote if they wish. While Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, those on the island are not allowed to vote in U.S. presidential elections.

The election is still consequential, as voters will elect a new governor. If Jenniffer González of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party wins, it will mark the first time in the island’s history that the party secures three consecutive terms.

If Juan Dalmau, who is running for Puerto Rico’s Independence Party and Citizen Victory Movement, wins, it will be the first win for a candidate not representing either of the two main parties that have dominated the island’s politics for decades. Voters also will be asked for a seventh time about Puerto Rico’s political status.

Nearly 2 million voters in Puerto Rico are eligible to participate in Tuesday’s election, though it remains to be seen how many will do so. Voter apathy has dominated recent elections.

Voters fend off stormy weather as they head to the polls

It’s raining across much of the nation’s midsection this morning and forecasters say storms are possible in large swaths of the country later today.

In Houston, local television cameras showed voters huddled together under umbrellas as they waited to enter polling locations. In Miami Lakes, Florida, at least one voter held a sample ballot over his head in a largely futile effort to fend off a quick downpour.

And it’s not just rain in the forecast. Voters in Colorado and Montana might see snow later today, forecasters say.

Andy Kim and Curtis Bashaw face off in a New Jersey Senate race opened up by a bribery scandal

New Jersey voters are deciding between Democratic U.S. Rep. Andy Kim and hotel developer Curtis Bashaw, a Republican, in the race to fill the Senate seat occupied until recently by Democrat Bob Menendez, who resigned following a federal bribery conviction.

The Senate race has attracted attention because of Democrats’ razor-thin majority. There’s little margin of error for the party in a state like New Jersey, which hasn’t elected a Republican to the Senate in more than 50 years.

“I very much feel the pressure to make sure that we’re delivering not just for New Jersey, but delivering a majority for this country so I can get the important things done,” Kim said recently.

The contest pits Kim, a three-term House member from New Jersey’s 3rd District, against Bashaw, a first-time candidate and businessman from Cape May. Four others including Green, Libertarian and Socialist party candidates are on the ballot.

▶ Read more about New Jersey’s Senate race

Voter Voice: ‘I was just waiting for this day to come’

In Scranton, Pennsylvania, Liza Fortt, a 74-year-old Black woman, arrived at her polling location in a wheelchair and not feeling well.

But she ventured out anyway to vote for Harris.

“It means a lot to me and my grandkids, my granddaughters, my nieces. … I was just waiting for this day to come,” Fortt said.

She said she never thought she’d have such an opportunity, to cast a ballot for a Black woman in a presidential race.

“I’m proud, to see a woman, not only a woman, but a Black woman,” Fortt said.

A Palm Beach precinct is preparing for Trump’s arrival at the polls

In Palm Beach, Florida, precinct 5604 had a large police presence Tuesday morning, about an hour after polls opened.

At least 15 officers — from local sheriff’s deputies to Secret Service agents — were seen using the same walkway that voters were utilizing on their walk into the polling location, preparing for Trump’s arrival. The former president is expected to vote there later in the day.

The voting line flowed without interruption, with a steady stream throughout the early hours.

Democratic Rep. Angie Craig seeks a 4th term in Minnesota’s tightest congressional race

Democratic U.S. Rep. Angie Craig is seeking a fourth term in Minnesota’s tightest congressional race, a faceoff against Republican former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab.

And in the race for the open seat being vacated by Democratic U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, Kelly Morrison, a Democratic former state senator, was favored over retired Washington County District Judge Tad Jude. He’s a Republican who also served on the Hennepin County Board and in both chambers of the state Legislature, where in 1972 at age 20 he became the youngest member ever elected to the House.

Craig and Teirab ran in the 2nd District, which includes a political mix of outer suburbs of Minneapolis and St. Paul south of the Minnesota River, and rural areas farther south that trend Republican. It’s Minnesota’s sole swing district. Morrison and Jude competed in the 3rd District, which includes suburbs surrounding Minneapolis and has gone Democratic in recent elections.

▶ Read more about Minnesota’s congressional races

Federal judge says Missouri can’t block federal election monitors in St. Louis

A federal judge says Missouri can’t block federal officials from observing elections in St. Louis.

At issue is a settlement agreement with the St. Louis Board aimed at ensuring people with mobility and vision impairments can access polling places. The settlement was reached in 2021 under Trump’s Justice Department after federal officials found problems, such as ramps that were too steep and inaccessible parking, according to the court papers.

But Missouri is among several states pushing back against federal election monitors. And on Monday, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft argued in a lawsuit that state law “clearly and specifically limits who may be in polling places.” He also accused the federal government of “attempting to illegally interfere in Missouri’s elections.”

U.S. District Judge Sarah Pitlyk wrote Monday night that the case boils down to two individuals at one polling place to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as has happened at least twice before without any problems.

“Being prevented from enforcing its election laws may also be a harm to the State of Missouri, but that harm also has a counterweight in the United States’ interest in enforcing the ADA,” Pitlyk wrote.

Bernie Sanders seeks a fourth Senate term representing Vermont

Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent beloved by progressives, is seeking to win a fourth six-year term in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday.

The 83-year-old senator is a self-described democratic socialist who caucuses with the Democrats and twice came close to winning the presidential nomination. More recently, he’s worked closely with the Biden administration to craft its domestic policy goals on health care, education, child care and workers’ rights.

The longest-serving independent in Congress is being challenged by Republican Gerald Malloy, a U.S. Army veteran and businessman. Also on the ballot are independent Steve Berry, as well as minor party candidates Mark Stewart Greenstein, Matt Hill and Justin Schoville.

Sanders says he’s running again because the country faces some of its toughest and most serious challenges of the modern era. He described those as threats to its democratic foundations, massive levels of income and wealth inequality, climate change, and challenges to women’s ability to control their own bodies.

“I just did not feel with my seniority and with my experience that I could walk away from Vermont, representing Vermont, at this difficult moment in American history,” he said at a recent WCAX-TV debate.

Malloy, 62, who served 22 years in the Army and was a defense contractor for 16 years, said he thought Sanders was going to retire — and thinks he should — after 34 years in Congress. Malloy said Sanders isn’t delivering results.

▶ Read more about the Vermont Senate race

Most Florida voters cast their ballot before Election Day

When polls opened at 7 a.m. local time in Florida on Tuesday, a majority of the state’s registered voters had already cast a ballot early — including voting by mail and early in-person voting, according to an analysis of state data by the University of Florida Election Lab.

Of those who waited to vote on Election Day, many were getting their civic duty out of the way early, according to elections officials.

In Orange County, home to the city of Orlando, more than 4,700 people voted in the first 20 minutes of polls being open, according to a social media post by the county elections supervisor’s office.

Attorneys general urge a ‘peaceful transfer of power’

The attorneys general from 47 states and three U.S. territories are urging people to remain peaceful and to preemptively “condemn any acts of violence related to the results.”

The statement, released Tuesday, was signed by chief prosecutors from every U.S. state except Indiana, Montana and Texas. Attorneys general from the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands also signed.

“We call upon every American to vote, participate in civil discourse and, above all, respect the integrity of the democratic process,” they wrote. “Violence has no place in the democratic process; we will exercise our authority to enforce the law against any illegal acts that threaten it.”

Fears of election violence persist nearly four years after Trump supporters rioted at the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to stop the election certification. Rather than condemning the violence during his campaign, Trump has celebrated the rioters, pledging to pardon them and featuring a recorded chorus of prisoners in jail for their roles in the Jan. 6 attack singing the national anthem.

Where are Trump and Harris?

Trump spent the very early hours of Election Day in Michigan, where he wrapped up a late-night rally in Grand Rapids. The Republican candidate plans to spend the day in Florida, where he is expected to vote in person — despite previously saying he would vote early. He’s scheduled to hold a campaign watch party in Palm Beach on Tuesday night.

Harris plans to attend an election night party at Howard University in Washington, a historically Black university where she graduated with a degree in economics and political science in 1986 and was an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Aside from Howard, she has no public schedule announced for Election Day.

Harris said Sunday that she had “just filled out” her mail-in ballot and it was “on its way to California.”

▶ Read more on what to watch on Election Day

DC braces for potential election-related violence

Businesses around the White House on Tuesday morning continued to board up windows and erect temporary fencing, precautions being taken amid worries that Election Day — and the days ahead — could lead to unrest.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser says the police department is also stepping up its presence in commercial districts in all eight wards of the city. Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith at a Monday new conference also sought to assure the city’s residents that her department is prepared for whatever Election Day might bring.

“Our team has been fully engaged and vigilant,” she said. “We are the best in the country at what we do, and we will keep working around the clock to keep Washington, D.C., safe and keep our residents safe.”

How Harris and Trump wrapped up the final day before the election

Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump both spent the waning hours of their campaigns in the well-trodden swing states of Pennsylvania and Michigan, widely seen as critical to winning the White House.

Harris wrapped her day in Philadelphia, where Lady Gaga sang “God Bless America” and Oprah Winfrey appeared on stage with first-time voters. Ricky Martin, who is from Puerto Rico, was also there to draw out Puerto Rican voters turned off by a comedian who called their homeland a “floating island of garbage” at a recent Trump rally.

“Our people-powered movement reflects a simple and undeniable truth: that we are all in this together,” Harris said.

Harris didn’t arrive at the vice president’s residence, the Naval Observatory, until 1:41 a.m.

Trump, meanwhile, spent the final hours of the day in Grand Rapids, Michigan, wrapping up around 2 a.m.

He took shots at Harris for campaigning alongside celebrities.

“We don’t need a star because we have policy. We have great policy,” he said. Later, he boasted of his own stars: “So many celebrities here, it’s incredible: Mike Pompeo, please stand up,” introducing his former secretary of state.

Trump landed in Florida around 6 a.m.

North Carolina voter reveals how he voted: ‘Carefully’

In Black Mountain, North Carolina, soil conservationist JD Jorgensen, 35, did not reveal what his presidential choice was after he voted around 7 a.m.

But when asked how he voted, he said, “Carefully.”

“I tried to do it as informed as I could be,” he added. “I tried to stick to my values and just tried to pick candidates that align to those values and who I thought were going to be best for the offices they were running for.”

Jorgensen said the choice he made was “not really that tough.”

“I think that the candidates, both being in the public eye for as long as they have been, if you were on the fence you’re not really paying attention,” Jorgensen said.

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