Election 2024 Updates

[Timmy O. Goodwin]

AP - 14 min ago
Senior Harris campaign official says the VP has an advantage with late deciders

Harris senior campaign adviser Stephanie Cutter said in an MSNBC appearance that the vice president stayed focused in the final weeks of the campaign on how she aims to “make your life better” while Trump seemed consumed by grievances.

Indeed, Trump in the final stretch remarked that he wouldn’t mind if an assassin had to “shoot through the fake news” to get to him. He raised eyebrows by vowing to protect women “whether the women like it or not.” And his campaign had to clean up after a comedian warming up the crowd at Madison Square Garden rally referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”

“I’m not going to make any predictions,” Cutter said.” “But I do think that we finished very strong. And if you were making your decision in the last couple weeks of this campaign, I think, you know, by significant margins, people were deciding for Vice President Harris.”

 

[Timmy O. Goodwin]

AP - 16 min ago

In Pinellas County, Florida, some voters couldn’t go to their usual voting locations on because of the recent hurricanes.

Pinellas County, the home of St. Petersburg, was one of the areas of Florida hardest hit by hurricanes Helene and Milton in recent weeks. The storms flooded tens of thousands of homes and businesses and left debris and sand covering streets.

As a result, 25 polling places in the county were relocated, according to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections. Voters showing up at their usual polling places on Tuesday were greeted by volunteers who redirected them to their temporary polling places.

 

[Timmy O. Goodwin]

AP - 54 sec ago

Bomb threats to Georgia voting sites were made over the internet and included Cyrillic letters, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said. That gave election officials a clue about the origins of the threats, he said at an early evening briefing in Atlanta.

“We jumped on it quickly and then the FBI then followed our lead,” he said. He said that once the FBI released a statement about the matter earlier Tuesday, the threats “kind of tapered off.”

He said of the culprits: “I guess they realized that dog won’t hunt today in Georgia.”

 

[Timmy O. Goodwin]

AP - 29 sec ago

Fayette County in Pennsylvania has gone to court to block a local judge of elections from doing a unilateral hand count of ballots in violation of the Pennsylvania election code.

Marybeth Kuznik, director of the Fayette County Bureau of Elections, said in a court filing that Washington Township Judge of Election Vincent Manetta “reported that after polls close today, he intends to remove the ballots from the ballot box and audit or hand count the votes cast for each presidential candidate.”

Completed ballots are supposed to be run through tabulating equipment. Kuznik asked a judge to order Manetta to comply with state election law. The judge has yet to rule.

 

[Timmy O. Goodwin]

Election watchers, take note: throughout the evening, Donald Trump will be loud and persistent in his accusations, claiming fraud and casting doubt on the electoral process. This has become his pattern, especially when he senses a likely loss. It’s crucial to recognize that his outbursts are not based on evidence but are designed to undermine trust in our democratic institutions and set the stage for disputing the results.

Trump’s statements of widespread cheating are without basis, designed instead to provoke suspicion and resentment. These kinds of claims are part of a broader strategy that disregards the integrity of our electoral process. The reality is that elections in the United States are highly scrutinized, transparent, and managed by dedicated professionals from all political backgrounds who work tirelessly to ensure accuracy and fairness. By casting baseless aspersions, Trump is not only casting doubt on the process but is also stirring up resentment that could encourage disruptive behavior and further divisions.

As the results come in, stay focused on the facts and resist being drawn into unfounded conspiracies. There is every reason to believe this election is on track to be conducted smoothly, with careful oversight. Claims to the contrary are merely part of a broader, false narrative designed to cast suspicion where none is warranted. Let’s move forward with confidence in the process and allow the results, whatever they may be, to speak for themselves.

 

[Timmy O. Goodwin]

AP - 24 sec ago
A small set of polls in Indiana and Kentucky close at 6 p.m. EST
Polls in a few Indiana districts across the state and polls on the eastern side of Kentucky are the first to close in the nation.
The first large poll closing comes at 7 p.m. EST. That closure includes most of Florida, all of Georgia and Virginia, among others.

 

[Timmy O. Goodwin]

AP - 53 sec ago

Voters were mixed in their assessments of whether former President Trump or Vice President Harris would be better suited to handle a variety of issues, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide.

Trump held an advantage over Harris as the candidate better able to handle the economy, as well as immigration. Those issues were core to his campaign message, blaming the Biden-Harris administration for high prices and illegal crossing at the U.S.-Mexico border.

But Harris was seen as the stronger candidate on abortion, as well as health care. During the campaign, Harris talked about access to abortion and medical care for women as an issue of fundamental freedom, whereas Trump said it was a matter best left to the states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Trump said tariffs on rivals and allies alike — as well as greater oil production — would pump up the economy, while Harris said his tariffs would worsen inflation. On the question of who would better handle taxes, AP VoteCast found voters were about evenly divided between the two candidates.

 

[Timmy O. Goodwin]

AP - 2 min ago

Election officials in Milwaukee are recounting more than 30,000 absentee ballots because doors on the ballot tabulators were not properly sealed.

The recounting was being done “out of an abundance of caution,” said Melissa Howard, spokesperson for the Milwaukee Election Commission. There was no reason to believe that any ballots already counted had been tampered with, she said.

Howard said they were taking the step of recounting all of the ballots in an effort to be “completely, fully transparent.” The problem was due to human error, she said.

 

[Timmy O. Goodwin]

Attention: In this election coverage, I’ve chosen to rely on AP (Associated Press) election updates rather than Reuters, a decision rooted in AP’s established reputation as a leader in accurate and carefully vetted reporting in the field. AP’s approach emphasizes precision over speed, prioritizing verified information to minimize any potential confusion about outcomes and voting dynamics. By contrast, Reuters often includes extensive coverage of preliminary data like exit polls, which, while interesting, can sometimes present a misleading picture of the election’s direction. This approach can lead to unnecessary confusion among readers, especially when exit polls are given significant weight in their reporting.

To be clear, exit polls, while offering early glimpses into certain voting trends, are little more than preliminary indicators that carry no real impact on the actual outcome. They are snapshots, limited by the nature of sampling and by the inherent challenge of predicting a final result from a partial data set. Historically, exit polls have been prone to inaccuracies, especially in tightly contested races or in elections with significant numbers of absentee and mail-in ballots that are counted after polls close. These ballots can change the direction of an election significantly, something exit polls are not equipped to capture fully. Relying on them as a measure of the final outcome is therefore misleading, and in many cases, counterproductive.

The AP, by contrast, focuses its coverage on verified vote counts and does not treat exit polls as definitive in any way. This method ensures a more accurate representation of election results as they unfold, respecting the importance of each vote in the official tally. While exit polls may generate excitement and create a buzz on election night, they are simply not reliable indicators of the final results, and they often distract from the patience that a thorough, official count requires. Especially in elections where margins may be narrow or where late-deciding voters play a critical role, exit polls are likely to tell only a part of the story, and often an incomplete one.

In choosing AP updates over Reuters, I am making an intentional choice to prioritize clarity and accuracy, focusing on the results as they are counted rather than the speculation that surrounds them. True understanding of an election's outcome rests not in the early, sometimes errant signals of exit polls, but in the final certified count that reflects the full will of the electorate. In this context, exit polls are best viewed as informational but ultimately non-decisive—a tool that offers insights but not conclusions. In focusing on reliable sources like AP, I aim to keep the focus on the integrity of the process itself, trusting that the democratic process deserves patience and the assurance of accuracy over immediacy.

 

[Timmy O. Goodwin]

5 min ago
A technical glitch meant long waits in Apache County

7 min ago
Hours at Georgia polling places extended following bomb threats.

 

[Timmy O. Goodwin]

AP - 4 min ago
A judge in Pennsylvania’s Fayette County has blocked a local judge of elections from doing a unilateral hand count of ballots in violation of the state election code.

Washington Township Judge of Election Vincent Manetta expressed his intention to “remove the ballots from the ballot box and audit or hand count the votes cast for each presidential candidate,” according to an emergency petition from Marybeth Kuznik, director of the Fayette County Bureau of Elections.

Judge Linda Cordaro ordered Manetta to comply with state election law.

If he fails to comply, the judge directed the sheriff’s department to escort a poll worker and voting materials to the Fayette County Election Bureau.

 

[Timmy O. Goodwin]

AP - 7 min ago

Ahead of poll closures in Pennsylvania, Trump said on his social media platform that there was “talk about massive cheating in Philadelphia” and said law enforcement was on the way.

He did not provide details, and there was no immediate indication of what he was referring to, and his spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment about what he meant.

Election Day voting had proceeded relatively smoothly across Pennsylvania, with a few counties reporting problems with ballot tabulators.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner issued a statement responding to Trump’s post, saying the only suggestion of cheating was coming from the Republican presidential nominee.

“There is no factual basis whatsoever within law enforcement to support this wild allegation,” Krasner said. “We have invited complaints and allegations of improprieties all day. If Donald J. Trump has any facts to support his wild allegations, we want them now. Right now. We are not holding our breath.”

 

[Timmy O. Goodwin]

AP - 15 sec ago

Officials associated with both political parties are denying Trump’s claim of “massive cheating” in Philadelphia.

On social media, one of three Philadelphia election board members, Seth Bluestein, a Republican, said there is “absolutely no truth to this allegation. It is yet another example of disinformation.” Voting in the city is “safe and secure,” he said.

Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Department of State said, “Pennsylvania counties, including Philadelphia, are running a safe and secure election.”

Trump provided no details about the alleged cheating. His spokespeople did not respond to requests for comment about what he meant.

 

[the annoying thing]

you better then the news a bit one sided but good

 

[Timmy O. Goodwin]

AP - 29 sec ago

About 4 in 10 voters said they were very confident that their ballots would be accurately counted nationwide, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of more than 115,000 voters in the United States.

About 3 in 4 voters said they were at least somewhat confident, while nearly 1 in 4 were not confident in the ballot counts.

Voters were more confident in the tallies in their individual states, with about half saying they were very confident.