Here are the latest updates on election day. Joe Biden started his day visiting the graves of his late son Beau, late wife, and baby daughter. Biden returned to his childhood home in Scranton, Pennsylvania, writing on the wall, “From this house to the White House with the Grace of God, Joe Biden November 3rd, 2020.”
Biden will spend election night at his home in Wilmington and a nearby election center. Trump took the motorcade out earlier to visit his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. The President, Vice President, and over 400 guests will spend election night at the White House.
Despite anguish over the hectic presidential campaigns, states opened their polls successfully and report little to no hiccups so far in vote counting. In Milwaukee, WI, officials say that all of the city’s 173 polling placed opened with no signs of problems either at the polling centers or at the city’s absentee ballot counting center.
In Madison, WI, over 33% of absentee ballots have already been processed.
33.48% of absentee ballots have been processed!
— Madison WI Clerk (@MadisonWIClerk) November 3, 2020
31.86% turnout of registered voters so far.
Happy dance:)
Remember: in line by 8, YOU CAN VOTE.#MadisonVotes2020 #vote #elections2020 pic.twitter.com/5Ee1hrEKDa
Florida, a hotly contested battleground state, also reports a smooth election opening. Florida’s Secretary of State Laurel Lee stated that no voting issues, save minor technological issues in Lake and Lee Counties, have occurred. Lee confirmed that threatening emails some Floridians received appearing to be from the Proud Boys were Iranian disinformation.
Moreover, Iowa’s swing state finished counting absentee ballots in its biggest county – Polk County – with no troubles. Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald tweeted the success.
Early votes received as of yesterday have been counted, but not tallied. This process was oversaw by a bi-partisan absentee team that included a few past county chairs.
— Jamie Fitzgerald (@Polkauditorfitz) November 3, 2020
We still have mail and over the counter ballots that need to be counted today. Results not known until 9 pm
Nearly half of all Iowans have already voted early.
Voting in Pennsylvania is also underway without much trouble. Officials already expect delays in counting votes, and the Supreme Court ruled to give Pennsylvanians an extra three days to receive mail-in ballots. Republican actors appealed the court’s decision. Poll workers are still counting the votes and setting them in a separate pile if the court repeals those ballots from the count.
In Luzerne County, PA residents voted for Obama in 2012 and Trump in 2016. County Manager David Pedri reported that the county expects counting over 60,000 mail-in ballots today. Volunteers there process nearly 2,000 votes per hour, and at that pace, anticipate processing just over one-third of total mail-in ballots by 8 PM tonight.
Another state with a legal battle, North Carolina, voted to extend the voting deadline in certain precincts by 45 minutes due to expected delays.
Voting in Arizona also is going smoothly; Arizona’s Maricopa county reports no polling troubles. In Connecticut, Secretary of State Denise Merrill told reporters that voter turnout is already near 75% of 2016’s total turnout. Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, stated that Georgia is having a successful election day so far.
And still in more states, like Colorado, are shattering their 2016 turnout numbers. Over 76% of registered Colorado voters have cast ballots this election, a huge turnout compared to previous elections.
Even in places with large amounts of Republican and Democratic demonstrators, the scene remains peaceful. In Houston, TX, demonstrators are engaging each other passionately, but not violently.
As officials predict 2020 election turnout to be incredibly high, the highest action we see is on the sportsbooks. The political betting lines for the presidency, senate, and electoral college races are closing fast.
The books across the board favor Biden, but everyone knows that could change within hours. Trump moved the line steadily over the past week away from Biden’s favor, but now it appears that Biden has halted that trend.
US Presidential Election 2020
Joe Biden -205
Donald Trump +175
Compare this to the same line just yesterday—lots of high action on this line over the past 24 hours.
US Presidential Election Winner
Joe Biden -180
Donald Trump +150
The sportsbooks are closing their political betting lines within hours, so make sure to get your last-minute bets in now. If you’re wondering when the election will even be decided – there’s a line for that, too.
Sources:
CNN
CNN Politics