A survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reveals that Americans are increasingly doubtful that votes will be accurately counted in the upcoming election on November 5. The poll shows that Republican voters are significantly more skeptical than Democrats about the accuracy of ballot counts. Approximately half of Republicans report having “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of trust in their local election officials to count votes accurately, while 40 percent express similar confidence in the state-level count. Only about one-quarter of Republicans have this level of trust in the national vote count. Overall, Republicans’ trust in all three levels of vote counting—local, state, and national—is notably lower than that of Democrats. In contrast, roughly 75 percent of Democratic voters express “quite a bit” or more confidence in the accuracy of vote counting nationwide, at the state level, and by local officials.
Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against CBS, accusing the network of manipulating an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris on 60 Minutes to portray her in a favorable light. Trump is seeking $10 billion in damages and has filed the case in a Texas court, a move seen as strategic to increase the chances of it being assigned to a conservative judge.
The lawsuit focuses on two clips from the interview, alleging that one was edited to include an extended portion of Harris’s response regarding Israel’s conflict in Gaza. The suit claims that this editing was intended to benefit Harris and mislead viewers, giving her an advantage over Trump.
CBS responded by calling Trump’s allegations “completely without merit,” asserting that the interview was not altered to hide any part of Harris’s response. CBS added, “60 Minutes fairly presented the interview to provide information to viewers, not to mislead them,” and stated it would “vigorously defend” itself against the lawsuit.
Last day for early voting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Voters in the populous Philadelphia suburb, a bellwether whose residents Trump and Harris have courted in the presidential campaign’s final days, have until 5pm (21:00 GMT) today to apply for, receive and cast on the spot a mail-in ballot.
The court-ordered deadline is a three-day extension, stemming from a lawsuit brought by Trump’s campaign, the Republican National Committee and GOP Senate candidate David McCormick’s campaign this week.
They alleged that voters faced disenfranchisement when they were turned away when county government offices that process the applications closed.
According to the University of Florida’s Election Lab, more than 1.6 million people have voted early in Pennslyvania so far.
New poll shows Trump ahead in several key battleground states
A survey published today by major US pollster Rasmussen Reports shows the Republican leading in Pennsylvania, Nevada and North Carolina.
If the election were held today, the poll says, 49 percent of Pennsylvania voters would vote for Trump, while 47 percent would vote for Harris.
The same goes for Nevada, where Trump also holds a 2-point lead with the same percentages, Rasmussen says.
In North Carolina, the only one of this election’s swing states that Trump won in 2020, Trump now has a 3-point lead, with 50 percent to Harris’s 47.
Michigan at a Glance
Donald Trump is set to rally in Warren, Michigan, later today. Here’s a quick overview of this key battleground state:
• Population: Over 10 million
• Electoral College Votes: 15
• 2020 Winner: Democrat Joe Biden
• Margin of Victory in 2020: Biden received 50.6% of the vote, while Trump received 47.8%
• Fun Fact: Trump’s 2016 victory in Michigan marked the first time a Republican had won the state since 1992, defeating Democrat Hillary Clinton.
CAIR poll finds Muslim voters prefer Green Party candidate Jill Stein for president
The Council on America-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says the results of its latest and final poll of Muslim voter preferences in the 2024 presidential election show 42 percent now favour Green Party candidate Jill Stein while 41 percent favour Harris.
The poll also indicates that 10 percent support Trump and his Republican Party while a very small percentage currently do not plan to cast their ballots.
An estimated 2.5 million Muslim voters are expected to participate in the November 5 vote at a time when scrutiny over the US administration’s handling of Israel’s wars on Gaza and in Lebanon is mounting.
Many Arab American voters have voiced concern over the staggering death toll in Gaza and feel a renewed sense of urgency to press harder in their demands for the US to end its support for Israel’s assault on the enclave and implement a lasting ceasefire.
Georgia official says Russian trolls to blame for video claiming illegal voting
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said his state has been targeted with a video that’s “obviously fake” and likely the product of Russian trolls “attempting to sow discord and chaos on the eve of the election”.
The video, which began circulating on the social media platform X on Thursday afternoon, claims to show a Haitian immigrant with multiple Georgia IDs who says he is planning to vote multiple times in two counties.
“This is false and is an example of targeted disinformation we’ve seen this election,” Raffensperger said.
The original video was no longer on X by this morning, but copycat versions are still being shared widely.
Why is Harris losing Indian American voters?
The Democratic candidate is projected to lose a segment of her party’s traditional share of Indian American voters – who have historically sided with the Democrats – in the 2024 United States election, a new survey of the community’s political attitudes has found.
Even though Harris could become the first-ever Indian American president of the US, a survey by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has found that she is likely to secure fewer votes from the community than incumbent President Joe Biden did in 2020.
Trump and Liz Cheney’s war of words
Lawmaker Liz Cheney said Trump’s violent comment suggesting she should face a firing squad for her foreign policy stance showed he could not be entrusted with the White House and would target his enemies in office.
Her comments came a day after Trump launched yet another attack on Cheney, calling the former Wyoming congresswoman a “very dumb individual” and a “war hawk” during an event in Glendale, Arizona.
One of the most high-profile Republicans to turn against Trump, Cheney has endorsed Harris in the November 5 contest, saying she crossed party lines to put the country before politics and calling Trump a “danger”.
Trump called Cheney “a deranged person,” then added, “But the reason she couldn’t stand me is that she always wanted to go to war with people. If it were up to her we’d be in 50 different countries.”
What do the latest election polls say?
As the race comes down to the wire, polls are continuing to show a very tight race.
Nationally, according to FiveThirtyEight’s poll aggregator, Democrat Kamala Harris is leading Donald Trump by a meager 1.4 points.
In Wisconsin and Michigan, two key swing states where Trump and Harris will be campaigning today, the margin is even slimmer.
Harris is technically ahead in both, by 0.7 points in Wisconsin and 1.1 in Michigan.
However, election analysts have told Al Jazeera, when the polls are this close, the race can be considered a virtual tie.
The Economist is officially backing Harris
“While some newspapers refused to back a presidential candidate this year, today The Economist is endorsing Kamala Harris,” reads a statement from the editors of the UK magazine, published yesterday.
The Washington Post was the most high-profile publication to sit out the election, saying last week that it would not be endorsing any candidate in this race or any in the future.
“Americans would be gambling with the economy, the rule of law and international peace,” if they elect Trump, the editors’ statement continues.
“Harris’s shortcomings, by contrast, are ordinary. And none of them are disqualifying”.
What happened on the campaign trail yesterday?
Let’s get you up to speed on anything you may have missed from Thursday:
- Both Trump and Harris concluded their campaigns in the key swing states of Arizona and Nevada, focusing on gaining the support of Latino voters.
- In Phoenix, Arizona, Harris said Trump would enact a federal abortion ban as president a day after the Republican candidate promised to “protect women”.
- Trump, meanwhile, appeared with far-right media personality Tucker Carlson in Phoenix.
- More than 65 million people had cast their ballots in the race as of Thursday.