theguardian--2020-11-02--Reporting the US election: 'No one quite knows when it will end. Or how'

I wonder how many people remember John Delaney ?
The former congressman became the first Democrat to announce that he would challenge Donald Trump for the presidency .
He did so on 28 July 2017 , just six months after Trump took office , demonstrating that these days US presidential races are marathons that last years .
Under normal circumstances , that marathon would end at around midnight on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November of the election year , ie tomorrow .
Typically , political reporters plan their holidays for the second or third weeks of November @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no one quite knows when this election will end .
Or how .
Last week I had a discussion with one of our editors .
They wanted to know if we had any bullet-proof vests , since the reporter covering events in the crucial swing state of Michigan – birthplace of the US militia movement – wanted to prepare for any possible outcome .
And that included rightwing paramilitaries protesting the electoral result .
A bullet-proof vest to cover elections in the US ?
Really ?
Yes , really .
Those same paramilitaries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state capitol in May to protest the governor ’ s lockdown restrictions .
A month earlier Donald Trump had railed against the Governor Gretchen Whitmer ’ s stay-at-home orders and tweeted “ LIBERATE MICHIGAN ” .
And last month the FBI arrested more than a dozen people who were accused of plotting to kidnap the Michigan governor and overthrow the state government .
That is a measure of the divisions that are roiling the country and an indication of the toxic atmosphere in which the election is taking place .
Bearing that in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ note to all our correspondents to advise caution while reporting the aftermath of a result or a protracted and disputed election outcome .
Reporters crisscrossing the country for the last few months have observed a significant increase in hostility toward the media since 2016 .
The president has done little to calm tensions with routine attacks on the media , so we asked all our reporters to be extra vigilant in the hours and days after polls close .
But it ’ s not just paramilitaries and threats of violence which are causing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ordinarily we would expect an election result – at the latest – in the early hours of Wednesday morning .
That could still happen , assuming a very decisive victory for either party .
But , as almost everyone now knows , this election result may not be known for days , or even weeks , such is the number of people voting by mail .
Many of those mail-in votes will not start to be counted until Wednesday morning and they could take days , possibly weeks , to be processed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a landslide we may still have a winner announced shortly after polls close , but in the event of a tight election decided by a small number of votes in a tiny number of swing states it could take days or weeks for all the votes to be tallied .
In the absence of a result misinformation and rumour are likely to abound .
It will be critical for news organisations to step into that void in the early hours of Wednesday to explain exactly what is happening .
As Lawrence Douglas , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amherst College in Massachusetts , told the Guardian ’ s Today in Focus podcast : “ News organisations need to remind the American people that if they can not make a prediction , and can not declare a winner , that that is not an example of a system malfunctioning , it simply is a system properly functioning in the time of a pandemic ” .
Part of being able to explain what is happening is ensuring that we are in as many places as possible to report from the ground .
Pennsylvania @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where a litigated election is most likely and we have decided we will need two reporters there .
Scranton , Pennsylvania , is Joe Biden ’ s birthplace , and so worthy of a visit .
We ’ ll also be in Michigan and Wisconsin – the latter another key state where election litigation has already reached the supreme court .
Our reporters are fanning out to Iowa , Florida , Ohio , Arizona ( a new crucial bellwether state ) , Georgia , North Carolina , Texas and major cities such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ York and DC .
Our teams in New York and Oakland will steer coverage throughout the day and night with a 24-hour editing and reporting rota ensuring continuous coverage around the clock .
We will be in near-constant contact with our colleagues in London , who will be working out how to cover the story in the newspaper and assisting with reporting support .
Our editors and reporters will be communicating with our daily podcast Today in Focus through the night in order to help prepare a special election night edition for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Florida will be recording the final episode of our election series Anywhere But Washington .
Typically this would all play out in a crowded newsroom with multiple screens showing latest TV coverage .
But not this time .
We have been working remotely since March and our offices in downtown New York , Oakland and DC will be eerily quiet as we use a mix of instant messaging apps to communicate with each other .
Election night – or week or , indeed , month – will be the culmination of months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ London started work on our election night results tracker in the spring and editors Enjoli Liston and Mark Oliver in New York have spent endless hours detailing how we might cover – and from where – the various scenarios that could play out : a Trump victory , a Biden win or a disputed election mired in endless litigation .
All eventualities demand a huge amount of preparation – not just from our reporting and editing team but also our opinion desk who will have lined up a host of writers ready and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ There will be some long days and short nights this week , depending on how this election plays out .
One scenario is that the president may announce – in the early hours of Wednesday – that he is the rightful “ winner ” based on a tally of in-person voting ( which will be counted first and likely to skew Republican ) and without waiting for votes-by-mail to be counted .
Another possibility is that teams of expensive lawyers litigate and counter-litigate the result in many swing states where the outcome could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cast .
That could take weeks .
When John Delaney announced his failed bid in a Washington Post op-ed in 2017 he said : “ It is time for us to rise above our broken politics.
” No one much listened .
( Indeed , Delaney dropped out in January this year . )
At some point on or after 3 November , we may find out if America is ready to heal , or if it is about to break apart a little more .

I wonder how many people remember John Delaney? The former congressman became the first Democrat to announce that he would challenge Donald Trump for the presidency. He did so on 28 July 2017, just six months after Trump took office, demonstrating that these days US presidential races are marathons that last years.
Under normal circumstances, that marathon would end at around midnight on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November of the election year, ie tomorrow. Typically, political reporters plan their holidays for the second or third weeks of November.
But not this year. Because no one quite knows when this election will end. Or how.
Last week I had a discussion with one of our editors. They wanted to know if we had any bullet-proof vests, since the reporter covering events in the crucial swing state of Michigan – birthplace of the US militia movement – wanted to prepare for any possible outcome. And that included rightwing paramilitaries protesting the electoral result.
A bullet-proof vest to cover elections in the US? Really? Yes, really. Those same paramilitaries appeared on the steps of the Michigan state capitol in May to protest the governor’s lockdown restrictions. A month earlier Donald Trump had railed against the Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders and tweeted “LIBERATE MICHIGAN”. And last month the FBI arrested more than a dozen people who were accused of plotting to kidnap the Michigan governor and overthrow the state government.
That is a measure of the divisions that are roiling the country and an indication of the toxic atmosphere in which the election is taking place. Bearing that in mind, last week I sent a note to all our correspondents to advise caution while reporting the aftermath of a result or a protracted and disputed election outcome. Reporters crisscrossing the country for the last few months have observed a significant increase in hostility toward the media since 2016. The president has done little to calm tensions with routine attacks on the media, so we asked all our reporters to be extra vigilant in the hours and days after polls close.
It’s that sort of election.
Early voters queue up at Temple Terrace Public Library in Tampa, Florida, on 31 October. Photograph: Peter Foley/EPA
But it’s not just paramilitaries and threats of violence which are causing us to prepare differently for this election. Ordinarily we would expect an election result – at the latest – in the early hours of Wednesday morning. That could still happen, assuming a very decisive victory for either party. But, as almost everyone now knows, this election result may not be known for days, or even weeks, such is the number of people voting by mail.
Many of those mail-in votes will not start to be counted until Wednesday morning and they could take days, possibly weeks, to be processed and counted. In the event of a landslide we may still have a winner announced shortly after polls close, but in the event of a tight election decided by a small number of votes in a tiny number of swing states it could take days or weeks for all the votes to be tallied.
In the absence of a result misinformation and rumour are likely to abound. It will be critical for news organisations to step into that void in the early hours of Wednesday to explain exactly what is happening. As Lawrence Douglas, Guardian columnist and professor of law at Amherst College in Massachusetts, told the Guardian’s Today in Focus podcast: “News organisations need to remind the American people that if they cannot make a prediction, and cannot declare a winner, that that is not an example of a system malfunctioning, it simply is a system properly functioning in the time of a pandemic”.
Part of being able to explain what is happening is ensuring that we are in as many places as possible to report from the ground. Pennsylvania is emerging as a key swing state where a litigated election is most likely and we have decided we will need two reporters there. Scranton, Pennsylvania, is Joe Biden’s birthplace, and so worthy of a visit. We’ll also be in Michigan and Wisconsin – the latter another key state where election litigation has already reached the supreme court. Our reporters are fanning out to Iowa, Florida, Ohio, Arizona (a new crucial bellwether state), Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and major cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and DC.
In the absence of a result misinformation is likely to abound. It will be critical for news organisations to step into that void in the early hours of Wednesday to explain exactly what is happening
Our teams in New York and Oakland will steer coverage throughout the day and night with a 24-hour editing and reporting rota ensuring continuous coverage around the clock. We will be in near-constant contact with our colleagues in London, who will be working out how to cover the story in the newspaper and assisting with reporting support. Our editors and reporters will be communicating with our daily podcast Today in Focus through the night in order to help prepare a special election night edition for the next morning. Meanwhile a small team in Florida will be recording the final episode of our election series Anywhere But Washington.
Typically this would all play out in a crowded newsroom with multiple screens showing latest TV coverage. But not this time. We have been working remotely since March and our offices in downtown New York, Oakland and DC will be eerily quiet as we use a mix of instant messaging apps to communicate with each other.
Election night – or week or, indeed, month – will be the culmination of months of planning. The visuals department in London started work on our election night results tracker in the spring and editors Enjoli Liston and Mark Oliver in New York have spent endless hours detailing how we might cover – and from where – the various scenarios that could play out: a Trump victory, a Biden win or a disputed election mired in endless litigation. All eventualities demand a huge amount of preparation – not just from our reporting and editing team but also our opinion desk who will have lined up a host of writers ready and willing to opine on the outcome.
There will be some long days and short nights this week, depending on how this election plays out. One scenario is that the president may announce – in the early hours of Wednesday – that he is the rightful “winner” based on a tally of in-person voting (which will be counted first and likely to skew Republican) and without waiting for votes-by-mail to be counted. Another possibility is that teams of expensive lawyers litigate and counter-litigate the result in many swing states where the outcome could hinge on a tiny percentage of votes cast. That could take weeks.
When John Delaney announced his failed bid in a Washington Post op-ed in 2017 he said: “It is time for us to rise above our broken politics.” No one much listened. (Indeed, Delaney dropped out in January this year.) At some point on or after 3 November, we may find out if America is ready to heal, or if it is about to break apart a little more.


theguardian--2020-11-02--Which swing states could decide the US election? – video explainer

Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump in the national polls for the presidential election , but that doesn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ .
Hillary Clinton also had a clear lead over Trump in the polls for almost @ @ @ @ @ ended up losing in the electoral college .
Because the presidential voting system assigns each @ @ @ @ @ college votes , which go to the state ’ s victor regardless of the margin @ @ @ @ @ exception of Nebraska and Maine ) , a handful of swing states will probably decide @ @ @ @ @ heavily by campaigners .
The Guardian ’ s Lauren Gambino examines how the race is @ @ @ @ @ could decide the election • Watch Anywhere but Washington - our video series examining the @ @ @

Lauren Gambino, Alex Healey, Simon Roberts and Nikhita Chulani

Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump in the national polls for the presidential election, but that doesn’t guarantee the Democratic candidate victory. Hillary Clinton also had a clear lead over Trump in the polls for almost the entire 2016 campaign and ended up losing in the electoral college.
Because the presidential voting system assigns each state a number of electoral college votes, which go to the state’s victor regardless of the margin of victory (with the exception of Nebraska and Maine), a handful of swing states will probably decide the election and be targeted heavily by campaigners.
The Guardian’s Lauren Gambino examines how the race is developing in the areas that could decide the election


theguardian--2020-11-02--Convoys of Trump supporters take to roads after Biden campaign bus incident – video

Vehicles festooned with Donald Trump flags have been seen along highways across several US cities and have blocked the Mario @ @ @ @ @ Jersey .
A large number of pickup trucks And SUVs gathered along roads in San @ @ @ @ @ comes after the FBI confirmed it was investigating an incident in which a convoy of @ @ @ @ @ of the president ’ s re-election bid surrounded a tour bus carrying campaign staff for @ @ @ @ @ a Texas highway .
President Trump threw his support behind the so-called Trump train , @ @ @ @ @ TEXAS !
’ • FBI confirms it is investigating Biden bus incident – as it @

Vehicles festooned with Donald Trump flags have been seen along highways across several US cities and have blocked the Mario M Cuomo Bridge in New Jersey. A large number of pickup trucks And SUVs gathered along roads in San Antonio, Texas. It comes after the FBI confirmed it was investigating an incident in which a convoy of vehicles flying flags in support of the president’s re-election bid surrounded a tour bus carrying campaign staff for Democratic challenger Joe Biden on a Texas highway. President Trump threw his support behind the so-called Trump train, tweeting: ‘I LOVE TEXAS!’


theguardian--2020-11-02--Trump says he's 'going in with our lawyers' as soon as the election is over – video

US president Donald Trump said he ’ s preparing for legal challenges to the counting of mail and absentee votes @ @ @ @ @ reporters in Charlotte ahead of a rally in Hickory , North Carolina , Trump said @ @ @ @ @ the night of - as soon as the election is over - we ’ re @ @ @ @ @ . '
Trump has repeatedly attacked the Supreme Court in recent days for not blocking @ @ @ @ @ ballots for days after election day • Trump says he is preparing for legal challenges @ @ @ @ @ sprint begins

US president Donald Trump said he’s preparing for legal challenges to the counting of mail and absentee votes in Pennsylvania. Speaking to reporters in Charlotte ahead of a rally in Hickory, North Carolina, Trump said 'we’re going in the night of - as soon as the election is over - we’re going in with our lawyers.' Trump has repeatedly attacked the Supreme Court in recent days for not blocking the counting of late arriving ballots for days after election day


theguardian--2020-11-03--US election day 2020: Trump and Biden supporters vote in historic polls – live updates

Stacey Abrams , former candidate for Democratic governor in Georgia , and voting rights activist , who was also a contender to be Biden ’ s VP pick , has been on CNN this morning .
She said in a live interview that voters were enthusiastic about the possibility of flipping Georgia blue this week , citing demographic but also democratic changes in the state .
“ We had a record turn-out [ in the midterm elections ] in 2018 and found that being a battleground state was not only possible , it was inevitable , we have seen people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Joe Biden , she said .
She said that as early as 2018 she was talking to Biden about him campaigning in Georgia and was thrilled that he , Barack Obama and Kamala Harris had all campaigned there for this election .
She told voters not to panic about long waits to vote , or any intimidation by Donald Trump or his supporters , in person or online .
“ Long lines to vote are not a signal of enthusiasm , they are a signal of voter suppression , but do not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warned : “ We may not know the outcome straight away but I would rather it be slow and right than fast and wrong.
” Trump ’ s tweets about possible violence on the streets , she said was “ more proof that we need a new president .
[ Trump ’ s ] willingness to sow chaos is not only deeply wrong , it ’ s highly problematic .
Speaking to the voting public directly , she said : “ Do not pay attention to the president , ignore him .
Don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t panic and don ’ t leave the lines [ at the polls ] .
”

Martin Belam (now) and Tom McCarthy (earlier)

3 Nov 2020 22.42 GMT Nick Fiorellini reports from Philadelphia: Earlier this evening, several viral tweets from Republican activists shared an Instagram story of an individual claiming to be a poll worker in Erie county, Pennsylvania, throwing out ballots from Donald Trump supporters. The post was a hoax, according to a spokesperson from Erie county, and the original poster is not a registered voter in the county and could not be a poll worker there either. "He is not one of our poll workers and there is no one with that name registered to vote in Erie PA," Amy Dalessandro, election coordinator at Erie County Courthouse, said by email of the original Instagram user. pic.twitter.com/7LlmeUa97P — Davey Alba (@daveyalba) November 3, 2020 As a result, Courtney Holland, a Trump supporter who helped share the image, had her Twitter account temporarily limited and was unable to post, for violating the site’s rules against posting misleading information about voting. One Republican activists claimed: “Twitter is now censoring reports about voting fraud/irregularities”. BREAKING: Twitter has locked out @hollandcourtney for 12 hours for sharing a post about possible elections fraud.
Twitter is now censoring reports about voting fraud/irregularities. pic.twitter.com/089oeFvWol — Mike Coudrey (@MichaelCoudrey) November 3, 2020 Erie is a bellwether county. Depending on which way it swings, could determine the election outcome in Pennsylvania. In 2016, the county voted for Trump by a two-point margin, although the city of Erie voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton. The county is one of many in Pennsylvania expected to take several days to process all its votes. As of today, the county has received 48,911 mail ballots. By 2am tomorrow, the board of elections hopes to have processed about 10,000 of those ballots.
3 Nov 2020 22.28 GMT Lois Beckett reports from Lansing, Michigan: Joseph Hicks, 26, said he’s never voted before. But his 81-year-old grandmother, Barbara, was driving him to the polls in South Lansing to see if he could cast a last-minute vote for Biden. Trump has been “the worst president”, Joseph said. And he is “not doing anything about this pandemic”. Barbara Hicks said that, as a Christian, she has appreciated some of Trump’s policies, but that “our leader should be an example”. She had already cast her vote for Biden. Joseph Hicks, 26, said he’s never voted before. But his 81-year-old grandmother, Barbara, is driving him to the polls in South Lansing to see if he can vote for Biden. Trump has been “the worst president,” Joseph said. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/YSkjxZHAQO — Lois Beckett (@loisbeckett) November 3, 2020 Near sunset, the polling place in South Lansing was placid. Two voters said they were voting for Trump, including Mercedes Ferra, a homemaker who explained in Spanish that she felt Trump was good for the economy. Just interviewed Mercedes Ferra, 64, from Lansing, who said in Spanish that she was voting for Trump because he was best for the economy. — Lois Beckett (@loisbeckett) November 3, 2020 Another family who came to the polls together, and another Biden vote. “I really don’t even know how to feel about today,” Kierha Irving said. “It’s so much.” Vetting candidates – knowing that you could not judge a book by its cover – was not easy, she said. Kierha Irving, 34, dropped off her ballot today at the polls in Lansing with the help of her kids. She’s not excited about the character of either presidential candidate, but she voted for Biden. Dieva, 14, said if the candidates were better personally, they’d be better leaders. pic.twitter.com/PgxVtAXaYI — Lois Beckett (@loisbeckett) November 3, 2020
Updated at 22.33 GMT
3 Nov 2020 22.20 GMT Amanda Holpuch reports from New York: The leader of a group of 42,000 legal volunteers deployed for the election said that so far, there have not been “major, systemic problems or attempts to obstruct voting”. Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said: “It appears at this stage that we are on a path to a relatively successful election day.” The committee operates the Election Protection hotline, which provides information and assistance to Americans who encounter problems while voting. “The problems we have seen have, for the most part, been isolated and sporadic,” Clarke said. A couple place their vote at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Photograph: Jordan Gale/The Guardian Issues reported to the hotline include some voters not receiving the language assistance they are entitled to in York county, Pennsylvania. And in Denver, Colorado, there have been complaints at multiple polling stations about the presence of police. As of 3.50pm ET on Tuesday, the hotline had received 22,000 calls, which does not account for assistance provided via text message or online. Clarke said most of the calls were from Pennsylvania, Texas, Florida, New York and Michigan. While we don’t know what will happen in the final hours of election day, Clarke said, or in the days after, things have been smooth so far. She said this assessment is characterized by record turnout in early voting and record levels of participation in vote by mail. Groups of musicians march between polling locations outside of Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Photograph: Jordan Gale/The Guardian Clarke said: “This speaks to the success of historic voter protection efforts which really aimed to empower voters so they were armed with as much information as possible.”
Updated at 00.00 GMT
3 Nov 2020 22.15 GMT Nina Lakhani reports from polling stations in Lackawanna county, Pennsylvania, which includes Joe Biden’s hometown, Scranton, where he stopped early this morning: Mike Allison, professor of political science at the Catholic conservative University of Scranton, decided to vote in person in South Abington township – a middle-class suburban neighborhood north of Scranton, where Trump/Pence signs far exceed those for Biden/Harris. “There’s been many problems with our democratic system in our history,” he said, “but these have been exacerbated over the past four years with a president who doesn’t respect rules, norms, or institutions. If we endorse that a second time, it really says something about what we value in America. The future of our democracy is on the line.” A few miles away in Green Ridge, on the leafy street where Job Biden grew up, one house stood out with numerous Trump/Pence signs in the yard. Homeowner Arlene Hopkins, 66, a retired pharmaceutical saleswoman, praised Trump for his handling of the economy. Hopkins is however fundamentally a single-issue voter: “The main reason I would never vote for Joe Biden is because I am a practicing Catholic and abortion is considered intrinsically evil. That’s why I will never even consider voting for the Democratic party which is pro-abortion.” Hillary Clinton clung on to Lackawanna county in 2016, but like many rural and semi-rural former Democratic strongholds in Pennsylvania, it has been veering right for years. Polls close at 8pm in Pennsylvania, which Trump won by a whisker (less than 1%) in 2016.
3 Nov 2020 22.08 GMT The US is on pace to see highest voter turnout in more than century Over 101m Americans have voted early in the 2020 US election, per the US elections project. IA, MI, and NJ #earlyvote updates posted. Nationally, at least 101 million people have voted prior to Election Day 🥳https://t.co/s8K2xFDeSA
At some point tomorrow I'll transition the site to tracking total turnout and archive the early vote tracking — Michael McDonald (@ElectProject) November 3, 2020 Nationally, voters have now cast 73% of the total votes counted in the 2016 general election.
The US is on track to see some of the highest voter engagement since the early 1900s, with Michael P. McDonald, the University of Florida professor who compiles data for the Elections project predicting an overall voter turnout rate of 67% this year.
3 Nov 2020 21.58 GMT Chris McGreal reports from Polk county, Iowa:
Scouting around polling stations in different parts of Polk county, which includes Des Moines but also Trumpist suburbs, I’ve been struck by the number of first time voters in their late 20s or early 30s who didn’t turn out in 2016 but who are voting this year because they really want rid of Trump. Most said they didn’t vote four years ago because they didn’t like Hillary Clinton or thought she would win, and generally they regretted it. But this time their vote was not about the Democratic candidate but to remove Trump. Cindy Spellberg casts her vote on election day in Granger, Iowa. Photograph: KC McGinnis/The Guardian On the other hand, I didn’t meet a single first-time voter for Trump. They must be there, but perhaps it isn’t a good sign for the president not to encounter any new support for him – whether first-time voters or people who voted Democratic in 2016 – even in the suburbs where he performs well. That said, there were plenty of Trump supporters turning out for him more enthusiastically than ever. It’s anecdotal but if it is any way representative of a wider picture then the combination of first-timers motivated to vote against Trump, and the lack of new voters coming to him, is a problem for the president. It may not be enough to swing Iowa back to the Democrats after Trump won the state by eight points last time. But that voting pattern could make all the difference in other midwestern states where the president’s margin of victory was so much slimmer, notably Michigan and Wisconsin.
Updated at 00.34 GMT
3 Nov 2020 21.51 GMT The Guardian’s Abené Clayton reports from San Francisco: Large voting hubs in downtown San Francisco were mostly quiet, some even turned away excess poll volunteers like 38-year-old Veronica F who said she had signed up to help so that senior citizens could take the day off.
Meet James Spingola: he runs the Ella Hill Hutch Community center in the Fillmore. This place has been a covid testing site since march and is now a polling place.
“I wanted to make sure the seniors had a place to vote, so they don’t get left behind.” pic.twitter.com/KUiSudULkp — Néné (@abene_writes) November 3, 2020 “Covid-19 was happening and a more vulnerable population usually signs up. But being sent home because there were too many volunteers felt great,” she said.
Senior citizens were also top of mind in the city’s historically Black Fillmore neighborhood. Though gentrification has pushed out a large segment of Black residents, the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center is still a hub for the surrounding aging population. Director James Spingola said he previously used trust in his clairvoyance to predict election outcomes, but this year he “just doesn’t know”.
What he did know, however, was that he wanted Ella Hill Hutch to be a polling place so that the city’s dwindling Black population was “a part of the process and didn’t have an excuse not to vote”.
Updated at 22.05 GMT
3 Nov 2020 21.42 GMT Adam Gabbatt reports from Cleveland, Ohio: “We’re tired of being silent,” said Kenneth Lowenstein, struggling to make himself heard over the sound of his friend’s loudspeaker. Polls show Trump in a virtual tie in Ohio, a worrying sign for the president given he cruised to victory by eight points here in 2016. Most of the Trump supporters I’ve met in the past couple of days have been convinced Trump will win. Lowenstein was one of the few to admit to some nerves. “I believe in miracles. There are still people that haven’t voted that’s why we’re here we’re getting the message out just to possibly encourage them to vote red, vote Republican,” he said. “Just maybe, just maybe there’ll be some luck and he’ll win.” Some last minute flag-waving in Brooklyn, Ohio. Polls close here in just over three hours... pic.twitter.com/ro2pFXd8pp — Adam Gabbatt (@adamgabbatt) November 3, 2020 The group of four are certainly attracting some honks from passing cars, but not all seemed to be positive. Anyone they have convinced won’t have long to go and vote – the polls close at 7.30pm here. The state is expected to release the results of votes cast before today by 8pm, and could be one of the first of the swing states to announce a winner.
3 Nov 2020 21.41 GMT Vivian Ho reports from Phoenix: Arizona state representative Athena Salman is running for reelection on the first progressive all-millennial ticket in her district. Salman, her husband state senator Juan Mendez, and first-term candidate for state representative Melody Hernandez are part of an effort to flip the state legislature to a Democrat majority for the first time since 1966. Salman is the daughter of a Palestinian immigrant and a first-generation Mexican American. She said she felt like she grew up in two different Arizonas. Her own family was made up of immigrants from around the world who grew up dreaming of the possibilities a life in America could offer. The world around her, however, was white and conservative, she said, and mired by veiled racism toward the Latinx community and post-9/11 bigotry toward Arab Americans. “If you would have told me, being that girl growing up in that community, that, hey, by the time you’re 31 years old, that Arizona could be determining the fate of the nation in the 2020 election? I just wouldn’t have believed you,” she said.
Kicking off Election Day with @unitehere and @AthenaSalman to get out the vote!
Let’s win this thing! pic.twitter.com/EEGGdghdFs — Julie Gunnigle (@JulieGunnigle) November 3, 2020 Salman credits local organizing efforts for bringing about that transformation. She’s cautiously optimistic that Democrats will be able to flip the legislature and win the Senate seat, and that Arizona voters will play a crucial role in sending Joe Biden to the White House. “It is truly remarkable and so exciting to be living in this state right now,” she said. She also knows that a lot of work lies ahead. “Unfortunately, over the past 60 years under conservative control, our government and our leaders have defined us through their policies based on who we exclude,” she said. “We’re going to govern and we’re going to lead and we’re going to rebuild this state in a way that all Arizonans are taken care of.” Read more: The Arizona county that could decide the future of Trump – and America Read more
Updated at 21.55 GMT
3 Nov 2020 21.37 GMT Joe Biden said he doesn’t want to make any predictions about tonight. “We’ll see. If there’s something to talk about tonight, I’ll talk about it – if not, I’ll wait till the votes are counted. “There’s so much in play right now,” he said, speaking to reporters in Philadelphia. “The idea that I’m in play in Texas, Georgia, Florida – I mean, come on.” Before he headed back to Deleware for election night, Biden drove home his closing argument – telling reporters: “We need to restore decency and honor in our system or it will all fall apart” 00:42 'Hope over fear': Joe Biden pledges to bring unity to US in campaign speech – video Speaking with supporters in the city earlier today, Biden delivered a similar message, vowing that he would work to bring Americans together after the election. “We choose hope over fear, we choose truth over lies, we choose science over fiction,” he said. “If you elect me, I’m gonna be an American president. There’s gonna be no red states or blue states. Just the United States.”
Updated at 22.38 GMT
3 Nov 2020 21.26 GMT Dominic Rushe US stock markets have closed and it looks like investors are betting on a clear Biden win and more stimulus cash. The Dow rose over 2% and the S&P and Nasdaq rose by similar amounts. Industrial companies led the rally – maybe Biden will actually have an Infrastructure Week? Wall Street has been expecting a Biden win for some time but today’s gains may not last if the election gets messy later on tonight. Here’s Connor Campbell of SpreadEx: You would think the result of Tuesday’s presidential election – one that carries so much more weight than usual given the nature of the incumbent and the state of the global economy – is a forgone conclusion based on the actions of investors … the danger for the markets – and it is a very real danger – is that they are going to wake-up with a HELL of a hangover on Wednesday if the result is anything but a decisive, and stimulus-signalling, victory for the Democrats.”
3 Nov 2020 21.17 GMT Kari Paul reports from Oakland, California: Some Instagram users were reportedly seeing labels on the social media platform erroneously alerting them that election day is tomorrow (it is today). Why is my @instagram saying tomorrow is Election Day when it’s today?! pic.twitter.com/CqO9epE84j — Kayla Dixon (@KaylaOKeefe) November 3, 2020 The mishap comes as Instagram and its parent company Facebook work to tackle misinformation surrounding the elections.
Instagram’s communications team explained on Twitter that the “tomorrow is election day” notice seen by some users was turned off on Monday night, but remained cached in the app for some users who did not restart their app before Tuesday.
As of today, users should be getting an alert at the top of the feed that says “it’s the last day to vote”. Instagram did not say how many users were affected by the issue.
Instagram has implemented a number of changes to rein in “harmful content” that could pop up around the election, including removing the “recent” tab from hashtag pages to slow the spread of false trends. It will also label posts from candidates who declare victory prematurely and has launched a “voter information center” with information from verified election authorities.
3 Nov 2020 21.16 GMT In swing-state North Carolina, the board of elections voted to keep four voting locations open slightly longer – a move that is expected to delay initial statewide results by about 45 minutes. The four polling places opened a bit late due to technical glitches this morning. Results from early voting are expected at 7:30 pm, and initial results from election day polls are expected at 8:15 local time. Officials in North Carolina expect to have about 80 percent of the votes counted by this evening. In 2016, Trump won the state by about 3.5 percentage points, but this year polls have found the president trailing Joe Biden by about 2 points. It’s not just the presidential race that’s being closely watched here. Down the ballot, incumbent Republican senator Thom Tillis is fighting in an incredibly close race against Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham – who has been leading slightly in the polls. Read more: US election polls tracker: who is leading in swing states, Trump or Biden? Read more
Updated at 21.17 GMT
3 Nov 2020 21.01 GMT The Guardian’s Kenya Evelyn reports from Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Polls opened at 7am, with few lines in most polling places. Wisconsinites learned a tough lesson from the primary last April, when Republican election officials limited the number of polling stations in Milwaukee to five, in the middle of a pandemic. That contributed to a brief spike in cases, and with the state now dealing with a second surge, Democrats have been keen to urge alternatives to same-day voting. That appears to have worked. Poll workers I spoke with said lines had been minimal, although they did anticipate an evening rush. Those arriving are most often first-time voters signing up to register the same day. Each time, these new voters get a round of applause.
Brianna (l) dragged her aunt Beatrice (r) to the polls here in #Milwaukee this #ElectionDay.
“I’m going around the neighborhood to bring more too,” she said, adding that Black women will lead this country toward real change. pic.twitter.com/DMFVcwWs9f — Kenya Evelyn (@LiveFromKenya) November 3, 2020 Instead of endless lines and stressed poll workers, election day here has become an all-out effort to reach same-day registrants and last-minute stragglers. Many Milwaukee residents who voted weeks ago, or by absentee ballot, still showed up to the polls to volunteer, dragging a friend or even bringing the DJ vibes. Funeral home owners Marcel Clarke & Ben Robinson converted their service vehicles to serve their community, giving free limousine rides to residents in need of transportation to the polls. Clarke told me volunteering was a no brainer. “Voting isn’t just important, it’s an emergency, he said. “So we decided to help eliminate excuses and get folks mobile”. he said. More than 93,000 Black Milwaukeeans stayed home in 2016 – contributing to Donald Trump winning the state by just 23,000 votes. This time communities are coming together, reinforcing that its people, not politics and will continue long after today.


theguardian--2020-11-03--Stock markets soar as City traders anticipate Joe Biden win

Share prices in the City were on course for their biggest daily gain in two months amid investor hopes that a Joe Biden victory in the US presidential election would result in a major new stimulus package .
London ’ s leading stock market index – the FTSE 100 – was up more than 100 points in early trading as the gloomy mood of last week faded .
The rally in share prices began overnight in the Asia-Pacific region and moved on to Europe where all the major bourses posted gains .
The FTSE was up by more than 100 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at its highest level in a week .
Despite the imminent start of a new nationwide lockdown in England on Thursday , financial markets believe Biden will defeat Donald Trump as part of a Democrat clean sweep of the presidency and both houses of Congress .
The City is also expecting the Bank of England to support activity with an announcement on Thursday of at least £100bn of fresh money creation through its quantitative easing programme .
Tougher lockdown measures announced by a number of European economies together with record daily infections in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ monthly sell-off in equities since March .
But despite polls suggesting a tight presidential race in some of the key swing states , markets were anticipating a clear win for Biden .
“ It ’ s quite surprising when you ’ ve got such a massive event-driven week , you can see a little bit of apprehension at the start of the week , but [ this rally ] has been quite the opposite , ” said Craig Erlam , a senior market analyst at Oanda in London .
Erlam added that a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Covid-19 and a Brexit deal could all be positive for financial markets over the coming weeks .
Fiona Cincotta , an analyst at Gain Capital , said : “ Should Joe Biden manage to win the race , a blue wave , which includes control of the Senate , is needed for the markets to really get excited about stimulus .
A Republican-controlled Senate indicates more gridlock to come and the markets will need to drastically scale back stimulus expectations .
”

Share prices in the City registered their biggest daily gain in two months amid investor hopes that a Joe Biden victory in the US presidential election would result in a major new stimulus package.
London’s leading stock market index, the FTSE 100, closed up by 131 points, or 2.33%, at 5786 as the gloomy mood of last week faded.
A rally in share prices began overnight in the Asia-Pacific region and moved on to Europe where all the big bourses posted gains. All three of the leading barometers of US share prices – the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq – were showing solid gains on the morning of election day in the US.
Despite the imminent start of a new nationwide lockdown in England on Thursday, the rise in share prices reflected confidence that Biden would defeat Donald Trump as part of a Democrat clean sweep of the presidency and both houses of Congress.
The City also expects the Bank of England to support activity with an announcement on Thursday of at least £100bn of fresh money creation through its quantitative easing programme.
Tougher lockdown measures announced by a number of European economies together with record daily infections in the US led to the sharpest monthly sell-off in equities in October since March.
But despite polls suggesting a tight presidential race in some of the key swing states, markets were anticipating a clear win for Biden.
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“It’s quite surprising when you’ve got such a massive event-driven week, you can see a little bit of apprehension at the start of the week, but [this rally] has been quite the opposite,” said Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at Oanda in London.
Erlam added that a smooth US presidential election, a vaccine for Covid-19 and a Brexit deal could all be positive for financial markets over the coming weeks.
Fiona Cincotta, an analyst at Gain Capital, said: “Should Joe Biden manage to win the race, a blue wave, which includes control of the Senate, is needed for the markets to really get excited about stimulus. A Republican-controlled Senate indicates more gridlock to come and the markets will need to drastically scale back stimulus expectations.”


theguardian--2020-11-03--Biden sweeps board in tiny New Hampshire village Dixville Notch

Joe Biden won a symbolic early victory this morning in the tiny New Hampshire village of Dixville Notch , where voters backed him by five to zero over Donald Trump .
The community near the Canadian border has been casting its ballots at midnight on election day for decades .
Biden ’ s clean sweep might be seen as an augur of things to come – were it not for the fact that in 2016 Dixville Notch backed Hillary Clinton .
There was less good news for the former vice-president from the neighbouring town of Millsfield , 12 miles away @ @ @ @ @ @ @ compared with Biden ’ s five .
A third hamlet with midnight voting , Hart ’ s Location , suspended the tradition due to Covid concerns .
“ It ’ s sort of proof positive that every vote counts and that every vote is part of the system .
It ’ s a privilege to be able to do it , ” resident Les Otten told CNN .
“ It ’ s just a demonstration to the rest of the country that democracy works , ” Joe Casey , another local , added @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I ’ m going to break ranks tonight and vote for Joe Biden , ” one of the five voters explained , his mask hanging from one ear .
With so few people on the electoral roll social distancing measures were easy to enforce .
The vote took place in a former cookery school decorated with political memorabilia taken from a previous wood-panelled location .
Dixville Notch , in the White Mountains , started early voting in 1948 to accommodate railroad workers who had to be at work before normal voting hours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came back in 1996 .
The communities also vote just after midnight in New Hampshire ’ s first presidential primary .
The 11 February primary almost didn ’ t happen this year in Dixville Notch , when one person moved away , leaving the remaining four residents one short of the minimum needed to handle various election responsibilities .
That was fixed when a developer working on renovations of the now-closed Balsams resort , where the voting tradition began , moved in .

Joe Biden won a symbolic early victory this morning in the tiny New Hampshire village of Dixville Notch, where voters backed him by five to zero over Donald Trump.
The community near the Canadian border has been casting its ballots at midnight on election day for decades. Biden’s clean sweep might be seen as an augur of things to come – were it not for the fact that in 2016 Dixville Notch backed Hillary Clinton.
There was less good news for the former vice-president from the neighbouring town of Millsfield, 12 miles away. There Trump got 16 votes, compared with Biden’s five. A third hamlet with midnight voting, Hart’s Location, suspended the tradition due to Covid concerns.
“It’s sort of proof positive that every vote counts and that every vote is part of the system. It’s a privilege to be able to do it,” resident Les Otten told CNN. “It’s just a demonstration to the rest of the country that democracy works,” Joe Casey, another local, added.
“I’m a Republican and I’m going to break ranks tonight and vote for Joe Biden,” one of the five voters explained, his mask hanging from one ear.
With so few people on the electoral roll social distancing measures were easy to enforce. The vote took place in a former cookery school decorated with political memorabilia taken from a previous wood-panelled location.
Dixville Notch, in the White Mountains, started early voting in 1948 to accommodate railroad workers who had to be at work before normal voting hours. The tradition stopped in 1964 but came back in 1996.
The communities also vote just after midnight in New Hampshire’s first presidential primary. The 11 February primary almost didn’t happen this year in Dixville Notch, when one person moved away, leaving the remaining four residents one short of the minimum needed to handle various election responsibilities. That was fixed when a developer working on renovations of the now-closed Balsams resort, where the voting tradition began, moved in.


theguardian--2020-11-03--Supreme court to hear Obamacare case that may lead to 20m losing insurance

For more than a decade , Republicans have sought to destroy the signature achievement of the Obama administration – the Affordable Care Act , better known as Obamacare .
Exactly one week after election day , they might succeed .
After an election season like no other , in the middle of a pandemic , the supreme court will hear a case that could result in 20 million Americans losing their insurance , along with a raft of other insurance benefits disappearing from American life .
Or not .
“ This is the one issue now that is causing me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , author of 150 Years of Obamacare , an attorney and director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine .
“ I have been a cup-runneth-over type of guy , very optimistic in this country , I ’ m not sure I can even see the cup as half full right now when it comes to the life of the ACA , ” Dawes said .
Better known as Obamacare , the ACA expanded government-sponsored health insurance for the poor , required insurance companies to cover a list of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and even required chain restaurants to display calorie counts on their menus .
It is intimately intertwined with what Americans think of as health insurance .
“ All of us have benefited from the act , even if we can not see it , ” said Abbe Gluck , Yale Law School professor and faculty director of the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy .
Overturning the law would cause “ chaos ” and “ on-the-ground impacts on Americans ” that Gluck said “ can not be overstated ” .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2010 , and has been loathed by Republicans ever since , viewed by many conservatives as a government intrusion into healthcare .
For eight years , Republicans have sought to “ repeal and replace ” the law .
They failed to repeal the law legislatively after Trump ’ s election , despite controlling all legislative levers of government .
They did , however , take the teeth out of one hated provision , called the “ individual mandate ” .
The individual mandate clause required all Americans to obtain health insurance or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rendered unenforceable by Trump ’ s 2017 tax law that primarily benefited the rich .
Soon after , officials in Texas sued , arguing the entire law was unconstitutional because the individual mandate was such a central tenet .
Texas ’ s argument has been supported by the Trump administration , which argued because the tax penalty was eliminated , the , “ rest of the ACA must also fall ” .
Whether the court will overturn the law or eliminate only one provision stands on a question of “ severability ” , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in the words of Chief Justice John Roberts , take “ a scalpel rather than a bulldozer ” to statutes .
“ What is highly unorthodox about their position is they are arguing Congress would have intended for the entire ACA to be swept off the books if the insurance mandate is struck down , ” said Gluck .
But to legal scholars Congress ’ s intent is apparent : legislators demonstrated it over and over again when they failed to repeal the law , removed only the individual mandate and left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We have incredibly clear display of Congress ’ s intention with respect to the rest of the law , ” said Gluck .
“ That is why in this state you see an unusual coupling of conservative and liberal legal experts opposing this lawsuit , because it violates core principles of separation of powers.
” In 2010 , when the ACA passed , 47 million Americans lacked health insurance and were fully exposed to catastrophic medical debt ; plans with skimpy benefits left beneficiaries twisting in the wind at their greatest moment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people with expensive needs including sick infants uninsurable ; and people with “ pre-existing ” conditions as minor as asthma could disqualify people from insurance .
Since , the law has provided 20 million Americans health insurance ( 27 million people still lack insurance ) ; ended lifetime benefit caps ; forced insurance companies to give coverage to people with “ pre-existing conditions ” ; allowed children to stay on their parents ’ insurance until they are 26 ; and made a list of “ essential ” benefits required for any plan to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ended many of the most common insurance practices Americans were once subject to .
Dawes ’ s recent book , the Political Determinants of Health , traces the United States ’ efforts to widen the safety net .
The ACA , he said , was the first truly inclusionary health reform law since the Congress created an agency to improve the health of freed slaves post-civil war , called the Freedmen ’ s Bureau .
The agency was dismantled after seven years by white southern politicians .
“ We ’ ve never been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to pandemics in this country , ” said Dawes .
“ We ’ ve only been able to realize those results during wars , natural disasters , depressions or recessions .
“ We are at a critical juncture right now , ” said Dawes .
Marginalized Americans are disproportionately dying from Covid-19 , the health insurance of millions hangs in the balance , and so does , in his view , the fate of the most inclusive social safety net program since the civil war .
“ I just pray these supreme court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and see what is at stake , ” said Dawes .
“ We can not afford to play politics with people ’ s health .
”

For more than a decade, Republicans have sought to destroy the signature achievement of the Obama administration – the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
Exactly one week after election day, they might succeed.
After an election season like no other, in the middle of a pandemic, the supreme court will hear a case that could result in 20 million Americans losing their insurance, along with a raft of other insurance benefits disappearing from American life. Or not.
All of us have benefited from the act, even if we cannot see it Abbe Gluck, Yale Law School professor
“This is the one issue now that is causing me tremendous panic,” said Daniel Dawes, author of 150 Years of Obamacare, an attorney and director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine.
“I have been a cup-runneth-over type of guy, very optimistic in this country, I’m not sure I can even see the cup as half full right now when it comes to the life of the ACA,” Dawes said.
Better known as Obamacare, the ACA expanded government-sponsored health insurance for the poor, required insurance companies to cover a list of benefits such as pregnancy and preventive care, and even required chain restaurants to display calorie counts on their menus. It is intimately intertwined with what Americans think of as health insurance.
“All of us have benefited from the act, even if we cannot see it,” said Abbe Gluck, Yale Law School professor and faculty director of the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy. Overturning the law would cause “chaos” and “on-the-ground impacts on Americans” that Gluck said “cannot be overstated”.
The ACA was passed on a party-line vote in 2010, and has been loathed by Republicans ever since, viewed by many conservatives as a government intrusion into healthcare. For eight years, Republicans have sought to “repeal and replace” the law.
They failed to repeal the law legislatively after Trump’s election, despite controlling all legislative levers of government. They did, however, take the teeth out of one hated provision, called the “individual mandate”.
The individual mandate clause required all Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a tax penalty. The penalty was rendered unenforceable by Trump’s 2017 tax law that primarily benefited the rich. Soon after, officials in Texas sued, arguing the entire law was unconstitutional because the individual mandate was such a central tenet.
Texas’s argument has been supported by the Trump administration, which argued because the tax penalty was eliminated, the, “rest of the ACA must also fall”.
Whether the court will overturn the law or eliminate only one provision stands on a question of “severability”, a legal doctrine that allows judges to, in the words of Chief Justice John Roberts, take “a scalpel rather than a bulldozer” to statutes.
“What is highly unorthodox about their position is they are arguing Congress would have intended for the entire ACA to be swept off the books if the insurance mandate is struck down,” said Gluck.
But to legal scholars Congress’s intent is apparent: legislators demonstrated it over and over again when they failed to repeal the law, removed only the individual mandate and left the rest of the law intact.
“We have incredibly clear display of Congress’s intention with respect to the rest of the law,” said Gluck. “That is why in this state you see an unusual coupling of conservative and liberal legal experts opposing this lawsuit, because it violates core principles of separation of powers.”
In 2010, when the ACA passed, 47 million Americans lacked health insurance and were fully exposed to catastrophic medical debt; plans with skimpy benefits left beneficiaries twisting in the wind at their greatest moment of need; lifetime benefit caps rendered people with expensive needs including sick infants uninsurable; and people with “pre-existing” conditions as minor as asthma could disqualify people from insurance.
Since, the law has provided 20 million Americans health insurance (27 million people still lack insurance); ended lifetime benefit caps; forced insurance companies to give coverage to people with “pre-existing conditions”; allowed children to stay on their parents’ insurance until they are 26; and made a list of “essential” benefits required for any plan to call itself true health insurance. It ended many of the most common insurance practices Americans were once subject to.
Dawes’s recent book, the Political Determinants of Health, traces the United States’ efforts to widen the safety net. The ACA, he said, was the first truly inclusionary health reform law since the Congress created an agency to improve the health of freed slaves post-civil war, called the Freedmen’s Bureau. The agency was dismantled after seven years by white southern politicians.
“We’ve never been able to widen the net in reaction to pandemics in this country,” said Dawes. “We’ve only been able to realize those results during wars, natural disasters, depressions or recessions.
“We are at a critical juncture right now,” said Dawes. Marginalized Americans are disproportionately dying from Covid-19, the health insurance of millions hangs in the balance, and so does, in his view, the fate of the most inclusive social safety net program since the civil war.
“I just pray these supreme court justices and our legislators will wake up and see what is at stake,” said Dawes. “We cannot afford to play politics with people’s health.”


theguardian--2020-11-03--US election polls tracker: who is leading in swing states, Trump or Biden?

Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump in the national polls for the presidential election .
But that doesn ’ t guarantee the Democratic candidate victory .
Hillary Clinton also had a clear lead over Trump in the polls for almost the entire 2016 campaign .
She ended up losing in the electoral college .
Because the presidential voting system assigns each state a number of electoral college votes , which go to the state ’ s victor regardless of the margin of victory ( with the exception of Nebraska and Maine ) , a handful of swing states will probably @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by campaigners .
Each day , the Guardian ’ s poll tracker takes a rolling 14-day average of the polls in eight swing states .
In order to track how the race is developing in the areas that could decide the election , six of the eight states we focused on were those that flipped to Trump in 2016 after backing Barack Obama in 2012 .
Arizona and North Carolina were also added due to what they might tell us about a shifting electoral landscape – they could emerge as vital new swing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the polls – particularly some swing state polls – severely undercounted Trump supporters in 2016 .
We are not certain , despite assurances , that they they have corrected this .
Additionally , they may be over-counting Democratic support ( more people may say they will vote for Biden than actually turn out ) .
We present the latest polls with those caveats in mind .
While the national poll tracker is a poor indicator of how the crucial swing states will sway the election , a strong polling lead across the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will develop .
Each day , the Guardian ’ s national poll tracker takes a 14-day average of national voting intention polls .
On Tuesday 3 November 2020 , Americans will vote for their next president , with a choice between Donald Trump , the Republican incumbent , or his Democratic challenger , Joe Biden .
The Guardian poll tracker tracks the latest polls in eight crucial swing states .
For Biden to win , he needs to reclaim some of these swing states .
The Guardian is collating polls in each of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ set of national polls .
Any polls deemed unreliable – for example , because they have small sample sizes – are excluded .
Our polling average is a 14-day rolling average : on any day , we collate any polls published in the last 14 days and take a mean average of their results .
If any company has conducted multiple polls in the last 14 days , we average out their polling results in order to give them just one entry .
After this standardization process , we take a mean average @ @ @ @ @ @ @ polling average .
• None This article was amended on 28 October 2020 to clarify that Maine and Nebraska are alone in assigning their electoral college votes in proportion to the popular vote .

Ashley Kirk, Pablo Gutiérrez, Frank Hulley-Jones and Juweek Adolphe

Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump in the national polls for the presidential election.
But that doesn’t guarantee the Democratic candidate victory. Hillary Clinton also had a clear lead over Trump in the polls for almost the entire 2016 campaign. She ended up losing in the electoral college.
Because the presidential voting system assigns each state a number of electoral college votes, which go to the state’s victor regardless of the margin of victory (with the exception of Nebraska and Maine), a handful of swing states will probably decide the election and be targeted heavily by campaigners.
Each day, the Guardian’s poll tracker takes a rolling 14-day average of the polls in eight swing states.
In order to track how the race is developing in the areas that could decide the election, six of the eight states we focused on were those that flipped to Trump in 2016 after backing Barack Obama in 2012. Arizona and North Carolina were also added due to what they might tell us about a shifting electoral landscape – they could emerge as vital new swing states this year.
We must caution that the polls – particularly some swing state polls – severely undercounted Trump supporters in 2016. We are not certain, despite assurances, that they they have corrected this. Additionally, they may be over-counting Democratic support (more people may say they will vote for Biden than actually turn out).
We present the latest polls with those caveats in mind.
The national polls
The latest polling average puts Biden ahead of Trump nationally.
While the national poll tracker is a poor indicator of how the crucial swing states will sway the election, a strong polling lead across the country can point to how the race will develop.
Each day, the Guardian’s national poll tracker takes a 14-day average of national voting intention polls.
On Tuesday 3 November 2020, Americans will vote for their next president, with a choice between Donald Trump, the Republican incumbent, or his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden.
Methodology
The Guardian poll tracker tracks the latest polls in eight crucial swing states. For Biden to win, he needs to reclaim some of these swing states.
The Guardian is collating polls in each of these states, as well as another set of national polls. Any polls deemed unreliable – for example, because they have small sample sizes – are excluded.
Our polling average is a 14-day rolling average: on any day, we collate any polls published in the last 14 days and take a mean average of their results.
If any company has conducted multiple polls in the last 14 days, we average out their polling results in order to give them just one entry. After this standardization process, we take a mean average of these daily entries to present the polling average.


theguardian--2020-11-03--I’m a working-class teenage Latino, and I can’t vote this year. But I hope you do | Isaac Lozano

Chills ran down my neck when I watched Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ’ s recent Instagram story .
“ Turn your fear into fuel , ” her words reverberated off my phone ’ s screen .
“ Let this moment radicalize you.
” I knew then that she was right : “ November is about survival.
” And if young Latinos like me – a key voter base in swing states – make the right choice on Tuesday , I can go to sleep knowing my president isn ’ t a fascist .
But hearing Ocasio-Cortez ’ s words of wisdom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sadness .
As a working class 17-year-old Mexican-American , I can ’ t vote – not until next year .
And throughout this election cycle , I ’ ve felt a deep sense of powerlessness , a reminder of my position in society .
Since the onset of the pandemic , I ’ ve been cramped in a two-bedroom apartment with two brothers and my parents , who are essential workers in one of San Diego ’ s coronavirus hotspots – where Hispanics comprise 45 % of Covid-19 deaths .
And earlier this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my uncle died from the virus .
Passing the cracked sidewalks of my apartment complex , I ’ m disheartened by the disparate impact of the pandemic , which disproportionately victimizes Latinos .
Parents clad in yellow vests or fast food aprons leave their doors every morning to work as essential employees , risking their lives , their families , and our community to coronavirus .
In each glance we exchange , I sense silent despair .
It ’ s hard not to surrender to the material challenges we face .
And starting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ve felt the consequences .
I attend a Title 1 school in a district where 60 % of students – including myself – are socioeconomically disadvantaged .
My unreliable internet connectivity has made remote learning challenging , and I ’ ve found myself struggling to balance my schoolwork , extracurriculars , and college applications .
I think I ’ ve formed permanent eye bags and my mental health has suffered like never before in the last few months .
With support from teachers , however , I ’ ve kept up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can ’ t say it ’ s been easy .
My struggles mirror those of millions of Latinos like me , which makes our solidarity ever so important .
No matter our differences , our communities share a devotion to our families and to each other .
I still remember the month in elementary school I spent living in a motel .
My father had just lost his job and we were buying groceries at the 99-cent store .
But it was my grandfather who helped us secure stable housing .
It was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ siblings to school when my parents were working .
It was the Uruguayan lunch lady who smiled at us at school , making our days a tad sweeter .
Only in recognizing our solidarity can we overcome the obstacles of the pandemic – a path made more viable with Biden ’ s plans to address disparities in vulnerable communities .
Fortunately , many of us have rightfully changed our minds since 2016 .
An aunt of mine , finally fed up with Trump ’ s racism , has decided to vote for Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I ’ ve noticed many have compromised on key issues like abortion to vote Democrat in the upcoming election .
Trump ’ s separation of families and protofascist rhetoric have simply harmed Latino communities for far too long .
We may not agree on every issue , but electing Biden now is a matter of survival .
And let me be clear : a successful Biden presidency is no reason to quell our current political spirit .
It is a call to action .
Though Biden hasn ’ t committed to Medicare for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , his presidency , if victorious , should galvanize us to demand for needed reform .
Our current administration is chipping away at our democracy , and another four years of it would prove devastating for people like me .
Voting for Biden this Tuesday is a decision of moral clarity – and we need young Latinos ’ support now more than ever .
With Biden , I could return to school faster with his campaign ’ s legitimate plans to curtail the pandemic .
With Biden , I could step out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t fanning the flames of white supremacy .
With Biden , I have hope for my future and the fate of millions of Latinos like me .
Por favor , fulfill your civic duties this Tuesday .
I won ’ t be able to vote , but you can – and together , we can restore the soul of our nation .
• None Isaac Lozano is a high school senior from Chula Vista , California .
He is working on a children ’ s book

Chills ran down my neck when I watched Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s recent Instagram story. “Turn your fear into fuel,” her words reverberated off my phone’s screen. “Let this moment radicalize you.”
I knew then that she was right: “November is about survival.” And if young Latinos like me – a key voter base in swing states – make the right choice on Tuesday, I can go to sleep knowing my president isn’t a fascist.
But hearing Ocasio-Cortez’s words of wisdom and courage, I felt a sinking sadness. As a working-class 17-year-old Mexican-American, I can’t vote – not until next year. And throughout this election cycle, I’ve felt a deep sense of powerlessness, a reminder of my position in society.
Since the onset of the pandemic, I’ve been cramped in a two-bedroom apartment with two brothers and my parents, who are essential workers in one of San Diego’s coronavirus hotspots – where Hispanics comprise 45% of Covid-19 deaths. And earlier this summer, I was horrified to find my uncle died from the virus.
Passing the cracked sidewalks of my apartment complex, I’m disheartened by the disparate impact of the pandemic, which disproportionately victimizes Latinos. Parents clad in yellow vests or fast-food aprons leave their doors every morning to work as essential employees, risking their lives, their families, and our community to coronavirus. In each glance we exchange, I sense silent despair. It’s hard not to surrender to the material challenges we face.
Our current administration is chipping away at our democracy, and another four years of it would prove devastating for people like me
And starting my seventh month in remote learning, I’ve felt the consequences. I attend a Title 1 school in a district where 60% of students – including myself – are socioeconomically disadvantaged. My unreliable internet connectivity has made remote learning challenging, and I’ve found myself struggling to balance my schoolwork, extracurriculars and college applications. I think I’ve formed permanent eye bags and my mental health has suffered like never before in the last few months. With support from teachers, however, I’ve kept up my grades and sanity – but I can’t say it’s been easy.
My struggles mirror those of millions of Latinos like me, which makes our solidarity so important. No matter our differences, our communities share a devotion to our families and to each other.
I still remember the month in elementary school I spent living in a motel. My father had just lost his job and we were buying groceries at the 99-cent store. But it was my grandfather who helped us secure stable housing. It was my grandmother who drove me and my siblings to school when my parents were working. It was the Uruguayan lunch lady who smiled at us at school, making our days a tad sweeter. Only in recognizing our solidarity can we overcome the obstacles of the pandemic – a path made more viable with Biden’s plans to address disparities in vulnerable communities.
Fortunately, many of us have rightfully changed our minds since 2016. An aunt of mine, finally fed up with Trump’s racism, has decided to vote for Biden. And speaking with Latino voters, I’ve noticed many have compromised on key issues like abortion to vote Democrat in the upcoming election. Trump’s separation of families and proto-fascist rhetoric have simply harmed Latino communities for far too long. We may not agree on every issue, but electing Biden now is a matter of survival.
And let me be clear: a successful Biden presidency is no reason to quell our current political spirit. It is a call to action. Though Biden hasn’t committed to Medicare for All and continues to swallow corporate cash, his presidency, if victorious, should galvanize us to demand for needed reform.
Our current administration is chipping away at our democracy, and another four years of it would prove devastating for people like me. Voting for Biden this Tuesday is a decision of moral clarity – and we need young Latinos’ support now more than ever.
With Biden, I could return to school faster with his campaign’s legitimate plans to curtail the pandemic. With Biden, I could step out of my apartment knowing my government isn’t fanning the flames of white supremacy. With Biden, I have hope for my future and the fate of millions of Latinos like me.
Por favor, fulfill your civic duties this Tuesday. I won’t be able to vote, but you can – and together, we can restore the soul of our nation.


theguardian--2020-11-03--The rest of the world has had it with US presidents, Trump or otherwise | Mohammed Hanif

Our American friends are worried about their president .
They are telling us – even in what may be his final months in office – that Donald Trump is sick , that he is a fascist , that he is a grotesque parody of a proper US president .
As a long-suffering citizen of a world run by US presidents , may I remind them that he is not very different from the other presidents that I and the rest of the non-American world have suffered for the past half century .
Americans say they are better people than Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tempted to say that , yes , sure , we are also better people than Trump .
But one is compelled to add that although those former presidents might have had better syntax than Trump , worn better-fitted suits , had finer dance moves , weren ’ t proud “ pussy grabbers ” , or cunning tax dodgers , being a world-class bully has always been a part of the job .
The US has always elected a bully , nurtured him and asked him to go out in the world and do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that is the rest of us .
At the same time they have expected their president to be nice at home , have mercy on their Thanksgiving turkey and keep talking about the American dream and affordable healthcare .
Abroad , US presidents have wrought havoc , invaded and destroyed places whose names they could never pronounce , hosted murderous dictators from around the world at Camp David and found even more bloodthirsty ones to replace them .
Trump has just brought all that bullying home .
The first US president that I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who was kicked out after Watergate .
But during his presidency , he watched over the massacre of Bangladeshi people , kept promising to intervene but in the end couldn ’ t be bothered .
Jimmy Carter seemed like a nice man , a reluctant bully , perhaps .
One might have first heard that blasted term “ human rights ” during his time , but in Pakistan , where I live , a military dictator hanged an elected prime minister , Zulfikar Ali Bhutto , during his presidency .
In return @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of dollars in aid to win him over , which the dictator rejected , calling it peanuts – the joke being that Carter was a peanut farmer .
Then came that sage Ronald Reagan , who started dishing out serious money to play out his cowboy fantasies across the globe .
“ Leader of the free world ” he called himself .
And to make the world freer , he bankrolled dictators like Augusto Pinochet in Chile and Zia in Pakistan .
When Reagan started funding the mujahideen in Afghanistan , I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from university , and a third generation of poor US kids is still fighting and negotiating in the same country .
And a fourth generation of Afghans is growing up in refugee camps and women are wondering if , when the US finally succeed in their peace talks , they will have a country to live in .
George Bush Sr lit up the Baghdad skyline with his fireworks .
He took money from one despot to liberate another and in between tried to fund Iraqi rebels before leaving them at the mercy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Didn ’ t we love Bill Clinton ?
Wasn ’ t he the antithesis of Trump , suave , a charmer , the kind of person you could have a beer with ?
When Clinton faced impeachment for his relations with Monica Lewinsky , he launched some cruise missiles over Afghanistan and Sudan as a distraction .
Americans must have loved George W Bush because they elected him twice .
He believed that instigating a war with Afghanistan was something a US president was required to do .
But then he realised @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much to destroy .
In search of target-rich areas he lighted on Iraq , manufactured a pretext for war , set up prisons in Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib , then declared victory and went home leaving behind millions to die .
Even mild-mannered US presidents have been mass murderers on the world stage .
Because that ’ s what the job entails .
Barack Obama was one of the most loved president of recent times , the kind of man who you could actually imagine have a beer with .
He left the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his foreign policy left Libya annihilated .
By the end of his tenure , the US was dropping the equivalent of nearly three bombs an hour every single day .
( In 2009 , he won the Nobel peace prize for his good intentions . )
Americans are the world ’ s biggest entertainers , but seem to get bored easily and in their fabled innocence go around the world destroying places in order to save them .
At home they keep telling themselves that it ’ s time to make a choice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do they have ?
Trump makes the US look bad , makes the US look too white , makes the US speak bad English , makes the US look ill-mannered , greedy , overweight .
But as far as many of us around the world are concerned , even if he loses , it ’ s not a sign that the US is about to change ; it really just heralds a bit of a makeover .
The US needs a lean mascot , someone who wears better suits , who is not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like the boss who goes to work terrorising his employees but comes home to spread sunshine and love .
Deal with Trump by all means , lock the door and throw away the key .
Elect the person you believe will save the US soul – but don ’ t send him out into the world to save us .

Our American friends are worried about their president. They are telling us – even in what may be his final months in office – that Donald Trump is sick, that he is a fascist, that he is a grotesque parody of a proper US president.
As a long-suffering citizen of a world run by US presidents, may I remind them that he is not very different from the other presidents that I and the rest of the non-American world have suffered for the past half century. Americans say they are better people than Trump. In solidarity, one might be tempted to say that, yes, sure, we are also better people than Trump. But one is compelled to add that although those former presidents might have had better syntax than Trump, worn better-fitted suits, had finer dance moves, weren’t proud “pussy grabbers”, or cunning tax dodgers, being a world-class bully has always been a part of the job.
The US has always elected a bully, nurtured him and asked him to go out in the world and do the presidential thing: fight the evil that is the rest of us. At the same time they have expected their president to be nice at home, have mercy on their Thanksgiving turkey and keep talking about the American dream and affordable healthcare.
Abroad, US presidents have wrought havoc, invaded and destroyed places whose names they could never pronounce, hosted murderous dictators from around the world at Camp David and found even more bloodthirsty ones to replace them.
Trump has just brought all that bullying home.
‘Jimmy Carter seemed like a nice man, a reluctant bully, perhaps.’ Photograph: Ric Feld/AP
The first US president that I heard of as a child was Nixon, who was kicked out after Watergate. But during his presidency, he watched over the massacre of Bangladeshi people, kept promising to intervene but in the end couldn’t be bothered. Jimmy Carter seemed like a nice man, a reluctant bully, perhaps. One might have first heard that blasted term “human rights” during his time, but in Pakistan, where I live, a military dictator hanged an elected prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, during his presidency. In return, Carter offered General Zia ul-Haq millions of dollars in aid to win him over, which the dictator rejected, calling it peanuts – the joke being that Carter was a peanut farmer.
Then came that sage Ronald Reagan, who started dishing out serious money to play out his cowboy fantasies across the globe. “Leader of the free world” he called himself. And to make the world freer, he bankrolled dictators like Augusto Pinochet in Chile and Zia in Pakistan.
When Reagan started funding the mujahideen in Afghanistan, I was 11; now my son has graduated from university, and a third generation of poor US kids is still fighting and negotiating in the same country. And a fourth generation of Afghans is growing up in refugee camps and women are wondering if, when the US finally succeed in their peace talks, they will have a country to live in.
‘When Bill Clinton faced impeachment for his relations with Monica Lewinsky, he launched some cruise missiles over Afghanistan and Sudan as a distraction.’ Photograph: Larry Downing/Reuters
George Bush Sr lit up the Baghdad skyline with his fireworks. He took money from one despot to liberate another and in between tried to fund Iraqi rebels before leaving them at the mercy of a third despot, Saddam Hussein. Didn’t we love Bill Clinton? Wasn’t he the antithesis of Trump, suave, a charmer, the kind of person you could have a beer with? When Clinton faced impeachment for his relations with Monica Lewinsky, he launched some cruise missiles over Afghanistan and Sudan as a distraction.
Americans must have loved George W Bush because they elected him twice. He believed that instigating a war with Afghanistan was something a US president was required to do. But then he realised that his predecessors hadn’t left much to destroy. In search of target-rich areas he lighted on Iraq, manufactured a pretext for war, set up prisons in Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib, then declared victory and went home leaving behind millions to die. Even mild-mannered US presidents have been mass murderers on the world stage. Because that’s what the job entails.
Barack Obama was one of the most loved president of recent times, the kind of man who you could actually imagine have a beer with. He left the killings to algorithms and drones, while his foreign policy left Libya annihilated. By the end of his tenure, the US was dropping the equivalent of nearly three bombs an hour every single day. (In 2009, he won the Nobel peace prize for his good intentions.)
Americans are the world’s biggest entertainers, but seem to get bored easily and in their fabled innocence go around the world destroying places in order to save them. At home they keep telling themselves that it’s time to make a choice but, in reality, what choices do they have?
Trump makes the US look bad, makes the US look too white, makes the US speak bad English, makes the US look ill-mannered, greedy, overweight. But as far as many of us around the world are concerned, even if he loses, it’s not a sign that the US is about to change; it really just heralds a bit of a makeover.
The US needs a lean mascot, someone who wears better suits, who is not as overtly racist. US presidents are like the boss who goes to work terrorising his employees but comes home to spread sunshine and love. Deal with Trump by all means, lock the door and throw away the key. Elect the person you believe will save the US soul – but don’t send him out into the world to save us.


theguardian--2020-11-03--Trump v Biden: how to watch the US election coverage in the UK

So , you are in the UK and want to watch the US election results ?
Even after what happened in 2016 – and even though the election wasn ’ t called for Donald Trump until 7.30am GMT – you really want to put yourself through all that again ?
Well , fine .
I can not condone this sort of behaviour , but I can , begrudgingly , guide you through your viewing options .
Katty Kay and Andrew Neil – in his last gig for the broadcaster – will present rolling coverage , from Washington and London respectively @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first presidential polls close .
Jon Sopel and Clive Myrie will be with the Trump and Biden campaigns , while Nick Bryant , Emily Maitlis and others will report from various battleground states .
Experts will be shepherded in for analysis and Christian Fraser will have a big screen to play with .
Kay and Neil ’ s heroic – and potentially traumatising – shift will conclude at 9am .
At this point , Matthew Amroliwala and Reeta Chakrabarti will begin four further hours of reaction and analysis .
Hopefully , by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ know who won .
Even if we don ’ t , BBC One is scheduled to return to normal .
Sure , the election is important , but not important enough to derail Doctors .
As with all elections , ITV ’ s coverage will be less watched than the BBC ’ s , but fitfully more interesting .
The good news is that Tom Bradby is holding the fort , so we might witness another of his planet-sized , shoulder-slumping sighs when he finally knocks off .
However , official coverage ends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ almighty chance that the result will be revealed on Good Morning Britain , provided that Piers Morgan can be quiet for long enough .
Sky ’ s election output kicks off at 9pm with an hour-long programme entitled Trump : America Interrupted , which will look at the impact of the Trump presidency .
After that , results coverage begins at 10pm – four hours before many polls close – with America Decides , which Dermot Murnaghan will present live from Washington .
Apparently , Sky will use its most comprehensive election data @ @ @ @ @ @ @ News .
It will also include an augmented reality “ Race to the White House ” , whatever that means .
Either way , Kay Burley will take over at 7am .
For those of you who hate sleep , CNN ’ s rolling coverage has already begun and will continue unbroken until The Lead with Jake Tapper begins 64 hours later .
Why has such a vast amount of time been devoted to election coverage ?
It is almost as if CNN knows that the result will be contested and that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As you would expect , your best bet of thorough election coverage would be to follow the Guardian ’ s election liveblog .
But there are other options for the more news-averse .
At 10pm , Comedy Central is showing the vastly underrated Die Hard knock-off White House Down .
And , given his bracing , shellshocked reaction four years ago , you would be foolish to miss Stephen Colbert ’ s Showtime election show ; it won ’ t be shown live on UK TV , but it will be all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ again , you could just go to bed as normal and avoid the whole sorry mess .

So, you are in the UK and want to watch the US election results? Even after what happened in 2016 – and even though the election wasn’t called for Donald Trump until 7.30am GMT – you really want to put yourself through all that again? Well, fine. I cannot condone this sort of behaviour, but I can, begrudgingly, guide you through your viewing options.
BBC One: US Election 2020
11.30pm-1pm
Katty Kay and Andrew Neil – in his last gig for the broadcaster – will present rolling coverage, from Washington and London respectively, starting half an hour before the first presidential polls close. Jon Sopel and Clive Myrie will be with the Trump and Biden campaigns, while Nick Bryant, Emily Maitlis and others will report from various battleground states. Experts will be shepherded in for analysis and Christian Fraser will have a big screen to play with.
Kay and Neil’s heroic – and potentially traumatising – shift will conclude at 9am. At this point, Matthew Amroliwala and Reeta Chakrabarti will begin four further hours of reaction and analysis. Hopefully, by the time this is over, we will know who won. Even if we don’t, BBC One is scheduled to return to normal. Sure, the election is important, but not important enough to derail Doctors.
ITV: Trump Vs Biden: The Results
11pm-6am
As with all elections, ITV’s coverage will be less watched than the BBC’s, but fitfully more interesting. The good news is that Tom Bradby is holding the fort, so we might witness another of his planet-sized, shoulder-slumping sighs when he finally knocks off. However, official coverage ends at 6am, so there is an almighty chance that the result will be revealed on Good Morning Britain, provided that Piers Morgan can be quiet for long enough.
Sky News: America Decides
9pm-7am
Sky’s election output kicks off at 9pm with an hour-long programme entitled Trump: America Interrupted, which will look at the impact of the Trump presidency. After that, results coverage begins at 10pm – four hours before many polls close – with America Decides, which Dermot Murnaghan will present live from Washington. Apparently, Sky will use its most comprehensive election data yet and will work closely with NBC News. It will also include an augmented reality “Race to the White House”, whatever that means. Either way, Kay Burley will take over at 7am.
CNN: Election Night in America
5am-9pm Thursday
For those of you who hate sleep, CNN’s rolling coverage has already begun and will continue unbroken until The Lead with Jake Tapper begins 64 hours later. Why has such a vast amount of time been devoted to election coverage? It is almost as if CNN knows that the result will be contested and that the contest will rattle on unsatisfactorily for days.
Other options
As you would expect, your best bet of thorough election coverage would be to follow the Guardian’s election liveblog. But there are other options for the more news-averse. At 10pm, Comedy Central is showing the vastly underrated Die Hard knock-off White House Down. And, given his bracing, shellshocked reaction four years ago, you would be foolish to miss Stephen Colbert’s Showtime election show; it won’t be shown live on UK TV, but it will be all over YouTube after it airs. Then again, you could just go to bed as normal and avoid the whole sorry mess.