chicagotribune--2020-11-07--COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital da

COVID-19 in Illinois by the numbers: Here’s a daily update on cases, positivity rate and hospital data in your area

Among the metrics ( see below ) tracked under guidelines set by Gov .
J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of @ @ @ @ @ , the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses , and the capacity of hospitals @ @ @ @ @ state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics @

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
To assess how different parts of Illinois are handling the COVID-19 pandemic, officials look at the state through the 11 regions of Emergency Medical Services. The city of Chicago is one region, for example, and the rest of Cook County is another.
Among the metrics (see below) tracked under guidelines set by Gov. J.B. Pritzker are the percentage of coronavirus tests that return positive, the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses, and the capacity of hospitals to take in new patients.The state will decide how much or how little to restrict activities based on these metrics. (Cases, deaths and tests data is as of Dec. 31).
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus.
• Other Chicago, suburbs and Illinois COVID-19 metrics.
• See how the governor’s plan to manage the regions works.
Source: Illinois Department of Public Health
Created by the Chicago Tribune dataviz team. On Twitter @chitribgraphics


chicagotribune--2020-11-07--COVID-19 cases in Illinois by ZIP code: Search for your neighborhood

Search below by street address , ZIP code or city , then click on the map to see the number @ @ @ @ @ state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or fewer .

Note: With Chicago and Illinois moving into phase 5, the Tribune is no longer updating this data. If the state moves back into bridge phase, the Tribune we reassess. Daily metrics on COVID-19, like cases, deaths and hospitalizations, can be found here. And Daily metrics on the vaccination effort can be found here. More on where the coronavirus stands nationally and around the world can be found here.
Illinois releases the number of positive COVID-19 cases by ZIP code daily. The map below shows the cumulative cases for each area as well as other analysis of the data.
• Check out the Tribune’s coronavirus coverage.
• Tracking daily Illinois coronavirus deaths, cases and tests.
Search below by street address, ZIP code or city, then click on the map to see the number of confirmed and probable cases. The state is not providing data for any ZIP code with five cases or fewer.
Data as of June 10.
The map search tool above works best in Chrome or Firefox and may not perform consistently in Internet Explorer.
Note: Because of a coding error this map was displaying the incorrect rates for new cases in the last 7 days per 100,000 people — the issue should now be resolved.. The Tribune adjusted the data shown on the map below to focus on new cases, those the state tracked in the last 7 seven days. The totals for the entire pandemic are still available, but in the pop-up after tapping or clicking on a ZIP.


chicagotribune--2020-11-07--Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 76 new deaths, 12,438 new confirmed and probable cases and 98,418

Daily Illinois coronavirus graphs: 76 new deaths, 12,438 new confirmed and probable cases and 98,418 new test results

Illinois announced 12,438 new confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 Saturday for a total of 477,978 .
The state also @ @ @ @ @ a total of 10,154 and 98,418 new test results for a total of 8.31 million @

Johns Hopkins University & Medicine tracked coronavirus cases, deaths and test totals from Jan. 22, 2020 through March 10, 2023, but is no longer providing this data. These charts will no longer be updated.
Check the Illinois Department of Public Health for the most up-to-date data for Illinois.
[ Remembering the lives of those in Illinois who died from coronavirus ]
Can’t see these charts? Go here.


chicagotribune--2020-11-07--Column: A Trump concession speech: ‘I hereby concede that I beat Sleepy Joe Biden’

As for the concession speech , I ’ m sure President Trump won ’ t have to use it , @ @ @ @ @ under which he could ever possibly lose anything or admit defeat .
But with the @ @ @ @ @ who believe in “ counting ” and “ addition ” and the turncoat state-level Republicans @ @ @ @ @ no voter fraud ” and “ the sanctity of our elections will be respected , @ @ @ @ @ than sorry .
( Not that President Trump would ever be sorry for anything .
@ @ @ @ @ . )

As a devoted supporter of President (for life) Donald Trump, I refuse to even begin to acknowledge he may have lost the presidential election to Sleepy Joe Biden.
Did every major news organization, including Fox News, call the election for Biden on Saturday? Yes. But moments before they did that, President Trump tweeted: “I WON THIS ELECTION, BY A LOT!” So clearly the outcome is up in the air. A president doesn’t just send an all-caps tweet willy nilly.
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Because I love our president so much, and because I have spent so much time adoringly observing his glorious and most-amazing-ever presidency, I want to help him prepare for any possible outcome.
So I have prepared a concession speech for my great dear friend President Trump, and formed a fundraising organization called the Trump Campaign Coalition to Stop the Vote or Possibly Start the Vote or Maybe Reverse the Vote Depending on Which State We’re Talking About. TCCSVPSVMRVDWSWTA, for short. (Please send money immediately. We guarantee every dollar will go toward something patriotic and not directly into the Trump family’s bank account.)
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As for the concession speech, I’m sure President Trump won’t have to use it, because there is no circumstance under which he could ever possibly lose anything or admit defeat. But with the FAKE NEWS media and liberals who believe in “counting” and “addition” and the turncoat state-level Republicans assuring Americans there is “no voter fraud” and “the sanctity of our elections will be respected,” better to be safe than sorry. (Not that President Trump would ever be sorry for anything. I would never suggest that.)
So here is a speech the president can use if necessary, though I’m sure it will never be necessary:
Hello losers, dopes, haters and vicious animals.
I am here to celebrate my massive, unprecedented — really it is quite unprecedented, many are saying that — reelection. It is really something. So beautiful. I have a map here to show you my many wins in the Electoral College, which is a thing you never heard much about until I became president. Electoral College they call it. Not actually a college, but a beautiful, beautiful thing.
As you can see from this map, it’s all red. I won everywhere, I think it’s 750 Electoral College votes to zero for Sleepy Joe. A big fat zero. I won the most of any president in history.
So with that, I hereby concede that Lyin' Joe Biden and Kamala (make sure to badly mispronounce her name here, Mr. President) Harris have lost, bigly, to me, your president for life.
Now, of course, the horrible people in the fake news and the Radical Left Dems and a number of Republicans who will soon be getting visits from some of my large Russian friends are trying to steal this amazing victory from you, the real Americans who love your favorite president.
Who doesn’t love me? I never understand that, I’m just … I mean, really.
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I’ve done the best job of any president ever, even better than Honest Abe. Many people have said that. I had this big general come up to me — big, tough general — and he had tears in his eyes and he said, “President Trump, sir, I want to thank you because you’ve made everything so perfect. And you’ve given us so many bombs. So perfect.”
It’s love, really. It’s just so much love. And that’s what MAGA is all about, right? Love.
And hate, I suppose. Because we have to hate the demonic socialist anarchist Marxist communists who have taken our vote, our precious, precious vote, and tried to tarnish it through counting. That’s what they’ve done, believe me. They have ruined our vote with counting. I’m calling it “the c-word.” Nobody has ever used that term, I just came up with it. I think you’ll be hearing it a lot.
Counting. These un-American monsters just want to count. It’s all you hear about from the fake media: Count, count, count, COUNT, COUNT. Count, count, count.
And you know what they do? They say that if you count all the votes and there are more votes for Biden than there are for Trump, then Biden wins the state. Can you believe that? It’s a fraud. It’s cheating. It’s math, and you know who else uses math? Globalists. Evil, evil people who want to destroy us and all of the 58 states that make up our great nation.
So I ask you today, the forgotten men and women of America, to stand by me as I begin my second term. We have so much to look forward to. So much.
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Our beautiful border wall is nearly complete. I’m told it will be done in two weeks. And you can bet Mexico is going to pay for every inch of it!
And in two weeks I will be unveiling the most amazing health care plan anyone has ever seen. People are already saying they can’t believe it. They call it “perfect.” It’s a perfect health care plan and you’ll soon be seeing it.
I will silence my critics by releasing all of my tax returns. As soon as they are no longer under audit, which I’m told will be very soon. Probably a couple of weeks. You’ll see.
I will soon be moving out of the White House because, frankly, it’s not that nice. I’ve never cared for it, so I’m choosing to leave, probably around Jan. 20. I will do my job as your president from one of my beautiful properties, possibly overseas.
And with your help, we will continue to Make America Great Again, as long as you keep sending me money and believing everything I say.
God bless those who love me, and no one else.
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— Donald J. Trump, president forever
rhuppke@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-07--2 dead, 13 wounded in overnight violence on South, West sides

Shortly after 1:30 a.m. , two men , 21 and 28 , were standing outside with a group of people @ @ @ @ @ opened fire , striking them both .
The older victim was shot in the head @ @ @ @ @ driven by a friend to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park , where he @ @ @ @ @ said .
The other man was shot in the chest and was taken to the @ @ @ @ @ was listed in fair condition , said police .

Two people are dead and at least 13 others were wounded in overnight shootings on the South and West sides, Chicago police said.
The latest fatal attack was a double shooting that happened about 3:15 a.m. Saturday in the South Shore neighborhood in the 2100 block of East 72nd Place.
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Police said two men suffered gunshot wounds, one fatally. An unidentified man was shot in the abdomen area and was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The other victim, 32, suffered wounds to the legs and was taken to the same hospital, where he was listed in good condition, police said.
A 28-year-old man was fatally wounded during another double shooting on the West Side in the South Austin neighborhood in he 5900 block of West Huron Street, police said.
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Shortly after 1:30 a.m., two men, 21 and 28, were standing outside with a group of people when a gunman on foot opened fire, striking them both. The older victim was shot in the head and torso, and was driven by a friend to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The other man was shot in the chest and was taken to the same hospital, where he was listed in fair condition, said police.
In other shootings between Friday evening through Saturday morning:
Shortly after 3 a.m., a 19-year-old man was shot in the 2700 block of South Trumbull Avenue in the Little Village neighborhood. The man was standing outside when he heard shots and felt pain in the left shoulder and leg. The victim told police he saw two males run down the street immediately after the shooting. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and listed in serious condition, police said.
Shortly before 3 a.m., a 22-year-old man was left in critical condition after being shot in the head in the 5400 block of West Cortez Street in the South Austin neighborhood. Details were scarce, but someone was arrested in the 1100 block of North Lockwood Avenue after being seen running away from the scene. The victim was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital. Preliminary reports said a weapon was recovered from the scene, police said.
Shortly after 2 a.m., a 30-year-old man was shot in the 6900 block of South Ashland Avenue in the West Englewood neighborhood. The man was driving when he heard shots and felt pain in the arm. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was listed in fair condition, police said.
Shortly before 1:45 a.m., a 33-year-old man was shot at a Loop hotel in the 300 block of East Wacker Drive. According to police, two men got into an argument that turned physical, and the men shot at each other after getting off an elevator. The victim was taken with a gunshot wound to the arm to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in good condition. A weapon was recovered from the victim, and charges may be pending against him, police said.
Shortly before 12:15 a.m., a 24-year-old man was shot while he was driving in the 800 block of South Independence Boulevard in the Lawndale neighborhood. Someone in a passing car opened fired, striking the victim in the neck. The victim exited his vehicle after being shot and ran into in a building where paramedics responded. He was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.
Shortly after 11:35 p.m. Friday, a 21-year-old man was shot in the 100 block of North Parkside Avenue in the South Austin neighborhood. Police said the victim suffered a graze wound to the foot inside a residence where he was arguing with a 19-year-old man. He was taken in good condition to West Suburban Medical Center. Police said the shooting appears to be domestic-related.
Shortly after 10:45 p.m., a 29-year-old man was shot while he was sitting in a parked vehicle in the 4800 block of West Congress Parkway in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. The victim suffered gunshot wounds to the face and chest, and was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.
About 10 p.m., a 25-year-old man was shot in the 4800 block of West Van Buren Street in the South Austin neighborhood. Police said the victim was outside when someone emerged from a gangway and opened fire, striking him in the leg. He was taken in fair condition to Stroger Hospital, police said.
About 7:35 p.m., a 23-year-old man was shot in the 7600 block of South Bishop Street in the Gresham neighborhood by someone inside a passing silver BMW who fired shots, grazing his leg. The victim refused medical treatment at the scene, but reportedly was in good condition, police said.
Shortly after 7:30 p.m., a 16-year-old boy was shot in the Lawndale neighborhood in the 900 block of North Harding Avenue. The boy suffered a wound to the foot, and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was listed in good condition, police said.
Shortly before 5 p.m., a 27-year-old woman was shot in the 9100 block of South Dante Avenue in the Calumet Heights neighborhood. Police said the woman was inside a vehicle when she heard shots and felt pain in the back. She was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was listed in good condition, police said.
dawilliams@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-07--Illinois reports more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases as state releases data pointing to restauran

Illinois reports more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases as state releases data pointing to restaurants and bars as potential exposure sites

The data has limitations , however .
Contact tracers aren ’ t able to reach everyone who tests positive , @ @ @ @ @ and the health departments in Chicago and Cook County , which have the highest number @ @ @ @ @ t anywhere near meeting the state-set goal of reaching 90 % of infected individuals .
@ @ @ @ @ departments are still working on hiring more contact tracers and integrating their data into the @ @ @

CTU workers direct vehicles lined up for COVID-19 testing outside of the Chicago Teachers Union on Dec. 30, 2021, in Chicago. CPS starts back to school on Monday following their holiday break. (Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)
As Illinois continues setting records for coronavirus cases and experiencing surges in hospitalizations and deaths, state health officials for the first time are giving the public a glimpse of the data collected around the state by contact tracers in an effort to understand how the virus spreads through communities.
The contact tracing data was released during Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s daily coronavirus briefing Friday as state health officials reported more than 10,000 new COVID-19 cases in a single day, breaking a record set the previous day.
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A short time later, the governor’s office announced it was undergoing its own contact tracing effort after Pritzker was potentially exposed to the virus during an “external meeting” on Monday in conference room at the Thompson Center. Pritzker is going into isolation for the third time pending the results of a test taken after his afternoon briefing, his office said.
Pritzker has faced a strong pushback from the hospitality industry and from some local elected officials for shutting down indoor service at restaurants and bars as the share of coronavirus tests returning positive results has spiked across the state in recent months.
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But during Friday’s briefing, Pritzker pointed to the newly released contract tracing data as further evidence that indoor dining and bar service are hot spots for potential exposure.
Aside from a catchall “other” category, which includes places such as warehouses, funeral homes and hair salons, restaurants and bars were the top spots people with the virus reported having been during the 14-day exposure period. Restaurants and bars accounted for nearly 11% of potential exposure locations, according to data covering the past 30 days collected from the state’s 97 local health departments. That put those locations ahead of schools, workplaces and private homes.
Restaurants and bars come in much lower on the list of confirmed outbreaks, a category that requires at least five linked cases within a 14-day period tied to the same location. Public health officials say it’s harder to tie outbreaks to public locations such as restaurants and bars where people come and go more frequently.
The data has limitations, however. Contact tracers aren’t able to reach everyone who tests positive, especially as cases spike, and the health departments in Chicago and Cook County, which have the highest number of cases, aren’t anywhere near meeting the state-set goal of reaching 90% of infected individuals. The city and county health departments are still working on hiring more contact tracers and integrating their data into the state system.
But Pritzker also made an appeal to the public to help ensure that tracers are able to get more accurate information.
“Just like wearing a mask, answering a contact tracer’s call is a way to help keep your family safe and protect your community,” Pritzker said. “And that’s going to be even more important with community transmission as high as it is right now.”
Local health departments together have been nearing a goal of bringing on 3,800 contact tracers statewide, though officials concede that number likely won’t be enough to keep up with the current surge.
Friday’s daily case count of 10,376 was up from 9,935 on Thursday. The state is averaging more than 7,900 new cases per day over the past week. A week ago, the seven-day average was just under 5,500 cases per day.
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The new number, however, comes as the state on Friday began reporting both test confirmed and probable cases of the coronavirus in its daily count, based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Probable cases are those that meet clinical criteria and have an epidemiological link to the virus or those who have a positive antigen test. When those cases are confirmed by testing, they will not be counted a second time.
Pritzker on Thursday said he’s considering new statewide restrictions if the current COVID-19 surge continues.
There also were 49 more COVID-19 related deaths reported Friday, bringing the statewide death toll to 10,079 since the pandemic began. The seven-day average for daily deaths is now 53, up from 42 a week earlier.
Hospitalizations for COVID-19 also continue to rise, with 4,090 patients in the hospital as of Thursday night, according to the state. It’s the first time more than 4,000 people have been hospitalized because of the coronavirus since May 20. Daily hospitalizations have doubled over the past three weeks.
In all, there have been 465,540 known COVID-19 cases — confirmed and probable — in Illinois since the start of the outbreak.
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Friday’s new cases came from a batch of 98,401 tests reported in the previous 24 hours, also a record.
The statewide case positivity rate — the percentage of positive cases per test — hit a seven-day average of 9.6% on Thursday, up from 7.3% week earlier and 3.4% a month ago.
The test positivity rate — the percentage of positive tests out of all tests conducted — was at a seven-day average of 11.1%, up from 8.2% since the state began reporting the figure statewide on Oct. 29.
dpetrella@chicagotribune.com


chicagotribune--2020-11-07--Election 2020 updates: Here’s what happened on Nov. 6

White evangelical voters made up 23 % of the vote nationwide and overwhelmingly favored Trump this fall , with about @ @ @ @ @ , according to AP VoteCast .
Their support may not have been enough to re-elect @ @ @ @ @ nominee Joe Biden in the lead as states continued to count votes Friday — yet @ @ @ @ @ their strong presence at the polls and the GOP ’ s success in down-ballot races @

Election signage in Times Square as ballots are still being counted in multiple states, on Nov. 6, 2020. (Todd Heisler/The New York Times)
For the latest updates, click here for the weekend’s live blog.
Democrat Joe Biden stood on the cusp of winning the presidency Friday night, three days after Election Day, as the long, exacting work of counting votes widened his lead over President Donald Trump in critical battleground states.
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High turnout, a massive number of mail-in ballots and slim margins between the two candidates all contributed to the delay in naming a winner. But Biden held leads in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Georgia, putting him in an ever-stronger position to capture the 270 Electoral College votes needed to take the White House.
There was intense focus on Pennsylvania, where Biden led Trump by more than 27,000 votes, and Nevada, where the Democrat led by about 22,000. The prolonged wait added to the anxiety of a nation facing historic challenges, including the surging pandemic and deep political polarization.
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Trump stayed in the White House and out of sight, as more results trickled in and expanded Biden’s lead in must-win Pennsylvania. In the West Wing during the day, televisions remained tuned to the news amid trappings of normalcy, as reporters lined up for coronavirus tests and outdoor crews worked on the North Lawn on a mild, muggy fall day.
Biden, for his part, addressed the nation Friday night near his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and acknowledged the sluggish pace of the count “can be numbing.” But he added, “Never forget the tallies aren’t just numbers: They represent votes and voters.”
He expressed confidence that victory ultimately would be his, saying, “The numbers tell us a clear and convincing story: We’re going to win this race.”
Standing alongside his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, and against a backdrop of flags, Biden wasn’t able to give the acceptance speech his aides had hoped. But he hit notes of unity, seemingly aimed at cooling the temperature of a heated, divided nation.
“We have to remember the purpose of our politics isn’t total unrelenting, unending warfare,” he said. “No, the purpose of our politics, the work of our nation, isn’t to fan the flames of conflict, but to solve problems, to guarantee justice, to give everybody a fair shot.”
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)
Trump’s campaign on Friday was mostly quiet -- a dramatic difference from the day before, when officials held a morning call projecting confidence and then a flurry of press conferences announcing litigation in key states. But it was touched once again by the coronavirus pandemic.
Chief of staff Mark Meadows contracted the virus, according to two senior White House officials not authorized to publicly discuss private matters. A campaign aide, Nick Trainer, also tested positive.
Trump’s handling of the pandemic has been the defining issue of the campaign. The president, first lady Melania Trump and several other members of the White House staff and Trump’s campaign team have fallen ill.
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A handful of states remained in play Friday evening — Georgia, North Carolina too early to call along with Pennsylvania and Nevada. In all four states the margins between Trump and Biden were too narrow and the number of ballots left to be counted too great for the AP to declare a victor.
The latest 2020 election updates (all times EST):
11:30 p.m.: Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows diagnosed with COVID-19
President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows has been diagnosed with the coronavirus as the nation sets daily records for confirmed cases for the pandemic.
Two senior administration officials confirmed Friday that Meadows had tested positive for the virus, which has killed more than 236,000 Americans so far this year.
Meadows traveled with Trump in the run-up to Election Day and last appeared in public early Wednesday morning without a mask as Trump falsely declared victory in the vote count. He had been one of the close aides around Trump when the president came down with the virus more than a month ago, but was tested daily and maintained his regular work schedule.
More on this story here. — Associated Press
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11:26 p.m.: Why ballot-counting in Nevada is dragging on
The pace of vote-counting in Nevada is being criticized for taking too long and it’s even become fodder for online jokes. But government officials say they are emphasizing accuracy over speed in a year when processing an unprecedented flood of mail-in ballots under extended deadlines is taking more time.
“We told everyone early on that results would take at least 10 days,” Secretary of State spokeswoman Jennifer A. Russell said in an email.
More on this story here. — Associated Press
11:14 p.m.: Biden says he’s preparing for White House
Joe Biden says he is already preparing to assume the presidency even though he has not been declared the winner in his race against President Donald Trump.
“I want people to know we’re not waiting to get the work done,” he said late Friday in remarks to the nation.
Biden said he and his running mate, Kamala Harris, have held briefings on the coronavirus and the economy this week as the U.S. records record daily cases.
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He noted nearly 240,000 people have died from the pandemic and said he wants those families to know they aren’t alone.
He also addressed the millions of Americans who remain out of work and are struggling to pay rent or buy food.
“We don’t have any more time to waste on partisan warfare,” he said.
The Associated Press has not yet declared a winner in the race between Biden and Trump because neither candidate has reached the 270 Electoral College votes needed to carry the White House.
—Associated Press
11:05 p.m.: Biden projects confidence he’ll win White House
Joe Biden projected confidence Friday that he would win the presidential election, citing his lead in votes in key states like Pennsylvania.
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The Associated Press has not yet declared a winner in the race between Biden and President Donald Trump because neither candidate has reached the 270 Electoral College votes needed to carry the White House.
Biden noted he has already won the most votes in history for any presidential candidate.
He said a record number of Americans “chose change over more of the same.”
He told the nation that the political parties may be opponents, but they are not enemies.
“Let’s put the anger and the demonization behind us,” he said.
— Associated Press
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10:13 p.m.: Perdue, Ossoff head to Georgia US Senate runoff
Republican U.S. Sen. David Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff will face off in a Jan. 5 runoff in Georgia for Perdue’s Senate seat.
Libertarian candidate Shane Hazel was able to get enough votes so that neither Perdue or Ossoff was able to clear the 50% threshold needed for an outright win.
Thousands of absentee ballots and in-person votes cast early needed to be counted after Election Night passed, forcing a long and tense wait before the race could be called.
The contest has already seen huge spending from outside groups on both sides and millions of dollars more are expected to pour into the state ahead of the runoff.
The race between Ossoff and Perdue, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has been characterized by sharp attack ads but relatively moderate political positions.
Both candidates pivoted to the middle vying for a state Trump won handily four years ago, but where swaths of suburbia have shown signs of disillusionment with the president.
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Perdue sought to cast Ossoff as backing a “radical socialist agenda,” while Ossoff portrayed Perdue as a “corrupt” Washington insider who has been part of a botched pandemic response.
More on this story here. — Associated Press
9:46 p.m.: Incendiary election texts traced to outfit run by top Trump aide
A texting company run by one of President Donald Trump’s top campaign officials sent out thousands of targeted, anonymous text messages urging supporters to rally where votes were being counted in Philadelphia on Thursday, falsely claiming Democrats were trying to steal the presidential election.
The messages directed Trump fans to converge at a downtown intersection where hundreds of protesters from the opposing candidates' camps faced off Thursday afternoon. Pennsylvania is a crucial battleground state where former Vice President Joe Biden’s supporters believe the outstanding ballots will put him over the top in the presidential election.
More of the story here. — Associated Press
9:10 p.m.: Pro-Trump protesters decry the vote-counting
Pro-Trump protesters — some of them openly carrying rifles and handguns — rallied outside vote-tabulation centers in a few cities around the country Friday, responding to groundless accusations from President Donald Trump that the Democrats were trying to steal the White House.
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Elections officials in several states where Democrat Joe Biden was ahead said the anger outside their doors made them fear for the safety of their employees.
Roughly 100 Trump supporters gathered for a third straight day in front of the elections center in Phoenix, where hundreds of workers were processing and counting ballots.
“Arrest the poll workers!” the crowd chanted, demanding four more years in office for Trump. Sheriff’s deputies kept protesters in a “free speech” zone away from the entrance to the building.
“When we start auditing some of these voter rolls, their fraud may actually be exposed,” conservative activist Charlie Kirk told the crowd, eliciting cheers.
In Detroit, dozens of Trump supporters returned to the streets outside the city’s convention center, where election workers counted ballots.
“Stop the steal!” the protesters chanted. Some carried signs that read, “Make Elections Fair Again” and “We Love Trump.” Police cordoned off streets leading to the building and maintained a close watch on the protest.
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The county treasurer in Detroit, Eric Sabree, said he had closed his office because of threats. In a statement, Sabree said the decision was made “in the interest of the safety of taxpayers and our staff” and because of “credible information” from the sheriff’s office.
In Philadelphia, two men with handguns were arrested Thursday night near the convention center where the vote-counting that could decide the White House race was going on.
The men, ages 42 and 61, had driven up in a Hummer from Virginia and did not have permits to carry the weapons in Pennsylvania, police said. A military-style rifle and ammunition were found inside their vehicle, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said. The car had a window sticker for the right-wing conspiracy theory QAnon.
District Attorney Larry Krasner did not say why the men had come to Philadelphia but said there were no indications they were part of an extremist group.
In Rhode Island, about 100 protesters rallied outside the state board of elections headquarters, demanding a recount in an overwhelmingly Democratic state where Biden won with more than 59% of the vote.
Protesters said ballots were illegally dumped in Rhode Island, but offered no evidence. State elections officials have said they have no evidence of fraud.
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“We demand a recount in Jesus' name!” protest leader Kathleen Forant shouted, as state police stood nearby.
— Associated Press
8:47 p.m.: Stacey Abrams draws credit and praise as Joe Biden inches ahead in Georgia
Stacey Abrams, who earlier this year was on a shortlist of potential vice presidential candidates, was ultimately not chosen by Joe Biden. But Friday, as Biden took a narrow lead in Georgia, it was Abrams who was celebrated, a sign of her remarkable ascent as a power broker since her failed bid for governor of that state two years ago.
Celebrities, activists and voters across Georgia credited Abrams with moving past her loss — she came within 55,000 votes of the governor’s mansion — and building a well-funded network of organizations that highlighted voter suppression in the state and inspired an estimated 800,000 residents to register to vote.
More on this story here. — The New York Times
8:13 p.m.: Biden’s lead grows in battleground Pennsylvania
Democrat Joe Biden’s lead over President Donald Trump is growing in battleground Pennsylvania.
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By Friday evening, the Democrat held a lead of over 19,500 votes out of more than 6.5 million ballots cast. That’s an edge of about 0.29%. State law dictates that a recount must be held if the margin between the two candidates is less than 0.5%.
The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the state.
The Pennsylvania secretary of state’s website said Friday that there were 102,541 more mail ballots that needed to be counted, including many from Allegheny County, a Democratic area that is home to Pittsburgh, and the Democratic stronghold of Philadelphia County.
Additionally, there are potentially tens of thousands of provisional ballots that remain to be tabulated, though an exact number remained unclear. Those ballots will be counted after officials verify their eligibility to be included.
Pennsylvania is among a handful of battleground states that Trump and Biden are narrowly contesting as they seek the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.
— Associated Press
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7:35 p.m.: Pennsylvanians feel the gravity of their vote as the world watches
Recognizing the magnitude of the moment, Pennsylvanians didn’t need relatives calling to say CNN was talking about Allentown or Facebook friends reminding them that the fate of the nation was in their hands. They felt the weight of their votes Wednesday, when day broke without a winner in the presidential election.
In Allentown, Millie Canales bounced from TV news to social media feeds, wondering if she would once again have to tell her children that Donald Trump emerged victorious.
“At first I was nervous again,” she said, “and then when Gov. Wolf said just wait until all the votes are counted, I felt better.”
More of the story here. — Kayla Dwyer and Jacqueline Palochko, The Morning Call
7:01 p.m.: Biden’s lead grows in Nevada as more results are released
Joe Biden’s lead over President Donald Trump in Nevada grew Friday, putting the former vice president ahead by 22,657 votes in the battleground state.
The results were mail-in ballots from Democrat-heavy Clark County, which includes Las Vegas and three-quarters of Nevada’s population. Biden had 632,558 votes, and Trump had 609,901.
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Biden’s lead has doubled from Thursday, when he was ahead of Trump by about 11,000 votes.
Nevada has six Electoral College votes and could be decisive as Biden closes in on the 270 needed to win the White House. It’s too early to call the contest, with votes still being counted.
— Associated Press
6:22 p.m.: Evangelicals stick with Trump, see upside even if he loses
The conservative evangelical Christians who helped send Donald Trump to the White House four years ago stuck by him in 2020. But even if Trump doesn’t get a second term, some conservative Christians see reasons to celebrate in this year’s election results.
White evangelical voters made up 23% of the vote nationwide and overwhelmingly favored Trump this fall, with about 8 in 10 backing him, according to AP VoteCast. Their support may not have been enough to re-elect the president — with Democratic nominee Joe Biden in the lead as states continued to count votes Friday — yet evangelicals still took heart in their strong presence at the polls and the GOP’s success in down-ballot races.
More of the story here. — Associated Press
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6:11 p.m.: Biden adds to lead over Trump in Georgia
As of early Friday evening, Biden had overtaken Trump by 4,235 votes in the battleground state, which Trump must win to have a shot at reelection.
The Democrat first surpassed Trump in the state vote count on Friday morning as votes continue to be counted.
The contest is still too early for The Associated Press to call.
Trump’s lead dwindled after Election Day when state officials began processing mail-in ballots, a form of voting that has skewed heavily in Biden’s favor after Trump spent months claiming — without proof — that voting by mail would lead to widespread voter fraud.
If there is less than a 0.5 percentage point difference between Biden’s and Trump’s vote totals, state law dictates that a recount must be held. Biden currently holds a lead of about 0.08 percentage points.
A Democratic presidential candidate hasn’t won Georgia since Bill Clinton in 1992.
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— Associated Press
6:02 p.m.: Trump’s attacks on mail-in ballots rankle some military vets
President Donald Trump has held himself up as a champion of U.S. troops without rival. Now, with his presidency on the line, he’s casting suspicion on a tool of participatory democracy — the mail-in ballot — that has allowed U.S. military personnel to vote while serving far from home since the War of 1812.
The president has shouted from Twitter to “STOP THE COUNT” and leveled unsubstantiated charges that “surprise ballot dumps” after election night are helping rival Democrat Joe Biden “steal” the election.
All the while, Trump insists that military voters' mail-in ballots must be counted. He even suggested on Friday — without presenting evidence — that some troops' mail-in ballots have gone “missing.”
In his dizzying effort to sow doubt about the integrity of the vote, Trump has been all over the map on mail-in voting. The broadsides have unsettled many veterans and former military brass who saw voting by mail as a tether to their civic duty when serving abroad.
“Officials at all levels including in the Congress need to say to the president ‘Sir, you need to exercise the same patience that the rest of the nation does,’” said retired Navy Adm. Steve Abbot, who later served as deputy homeland security adviser in the George W. Bush administration.
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More of the story here. — Associated Press
5:41 p.m.: Harris set to speak before Biden in TV address
Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris is expected to deliver remarks Friday alongside Joe Biden.
Biden has scheduled a prime-time address on the presidential contest as votes continue to be counted in several battleground states. Biden is on the cusp of victory as he opened narrow leads over President Donald Trump in Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Harris has appeared alongside Biden during his remarks in recent days but has not made any public comments herself on the state of the race. A campaign official confirmed she will speak Friday night before Biden does.
The California senator has been at a hotel in Wilmington, Delaware, with her family since Tuesday night.
The Associated Press has not yet declared a winner in Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Alaska.
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— Associated Press
5:37 p.m.: Sen. Johnson says half of country won’t accept a Biden win
Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, of Wisconsin, said Friday that half the country will not accept the outcome of the presidential election if Democrat Joe Biden wins.
Johnson, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, also refused to say if he thought the election was legitimate, while admitting he had no proof of any illegal activity.
“It’s very unfortunate that no matter who wins, the other half of America is not going to view this as a particularly legitimate election,” Johnson said on WTMJ-AM. “That’s a real problem. I’m not saying it’s legitimate or not. I’m saying this process has been set up where people are not going to view it as legitimate. And that’s a real problem.”
Johnson said there has “always been some voter fraud that the mainstream media and unfortunately, many officials just simply ignore.” He offered no examples and his spokesman did not immediately respond when asked to provide some.
“I’m not alleging anything because I have no proof,” Johnson said. “All I’m saying is there are enough irregularities” to raise concerns.
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— Associated Press
5:22 p.m.: Armed men arrested near Philadelphia vote counting location
Two men armed with loaded handguns were arrested Thursday near the Philadelphia convention center where an ongoing vote count could decide the presidential election, police said.
Joshua Macias, 42, and Antonio LaMotta, 61, traveled from the Virginia Beach, Virginia, area in a Hummer and did not have permits to carry the weapons in Pennsylvania, police said.
They were arrested after the FBI in Virginia relayed a tip about their plans to Philadelphia police. Officers stopped the men on the street about a block away from the vehicle, Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said.
Macias had a .40-caliber Beretta handgun inside his jacket, LaMotta had a 9mm Beretta in a holster and an AR-style rifle and ammunition were found inside the vehicle, Outlaw said. Authorities initially said that the rifle did not have a serial number but later said that it did.
A silver Hummer with Virginia license plates was parked Friday at the location where police say they found the men. It was adorned with an American flag and a window sticker for the right-wing conspiracy theory QAnon.
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— Associated Press
4:25 p.m.: How claims of dead Michigan voters spread faster than the facts
The tweets began to arrive Wednesday night, carrying explosive claims that people in Michigan were voting under the names of dead people.
Austen Fletcher, a former Ivy League football player turned right-wing internet journalist, said in videos posted to Twitter that he had discovered registration documents on a state of Michigan website that showed that four people with reported birth dates from 1900 to 1902 had submitted absentee ballots before Tuesday’s election. “How long has this been going on?” he asked.
By Thursday morning, Fletcher’s videos were the talk of the Republican internet. “Why is it taking regular Americans to expose this level of obvious corruption?” said Candace Owens, a conservative commentator, sharing one of the videos to her 2.7 million Twitter followers.
Yet a few phone calls by Fletcher would have revealed evidence that indicates that what appeared to be fraud were run-of-the-mill clerical errors.
More on this story here. — The New York Times
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3:33 p.m.: Pennsylvania vote counters' toil to extend into next week
Tens of thousands of remaining mail-in ballots — as well as the provisional ballots and those cast by military and overseas voters — will decide whether Biden’s slim lead holds up or if Republican President Donald Trump can find the votes he needs to repeat his 2016 victory in the state.
Starting to count provisional ballots on Monday, some counties decided, will help ensure that they can include all valid mail-in votes arriving by Friday that were sent on or before Election Day. Philadelphia officials said Friday that process may take several days.
In Allegheny County, which includes Pittsburgh, the crew worked through lunch on Friday, counting and sorting ballots. Officials were unsure when their count would be complete.
More on this story here. — Associated Press
3:26 p.m.: US agency pushes back on voter fraud claims
The federal agency that oversees U.S. election security is pushing back at unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud without mentioning that President Donald Trump is making unfounded allegations about the vote count.
A new statement from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency notes that local election offices have detection measures that “make it highly difficult to commit fraud through counterfeit ballots.”
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CISA, a component of the Department of Homeland Security, published the statement Friday on a section of its website devoted to dispelling rumors. It said it was countering a rumor about the role of DHS and CISA in the printing of ballots and auditing of results. Neither agency has a role in printing or auditing ballots. CISA principally helps local and state election departments protect themselves against cyberattacks.
CISA also put out a statement noting that the systems and processes used to tabulate votes and certify results “are protected by various safeguards that help ensure the accuracy of election results.”
The agency has been urging the public for weeks to be patient during the counting of results, which was slower this year in large part because of COVID-19 and the large number of mail-in ballots. It has made no comment on Trump saying without evidence that the ballot-counting process is unfair and corrupt.
— Associated Press
3:24 p.m.: Romney: Trump’s election fraud claim wrong, ‘reckless’
Key Republican lawmakers, including 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, on Friday slammed President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claim that Democrats are trying to “steal” the election. But some GOP leaders struck a more neutral tone — and others urged the White House to fight.
Romney, now a senator from Utah, said Trump was within his rights to request recounts and call for investigations where evidence of irregularities exists.
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But Trump "is wrong to say the election was rigged, corrupt and stolen,″ Romney said on Twitter. Trump’s claim "damages the cause of freedom here and around the world ... and recklessly inflames destructive and dangerous passions,″ he said.
Romney is Trump’s most vocal critic within the Republican Party and voted to convict Trump in the president’s impeachment trial earlier this year.
His comments came as GOP Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania — whose state is a key battleground in the presidential election, where votes are still being tallied — called Trump’s claim of fraud “very disturbing.”
“There’s simply no evidence anyone has shown me of any widespread corruption or fraud,” Toomey told “CBS This Morning.”
— Associated Press
3:13 p.m.: Pennsylvania GOP turns to US Supreme Court
Pennsylvania Republicans are turning to the U.S. Supreme Court to ask for an order that mail ballots arriving after Election Day in the battleground state be segregated. The state’s top elections official already had ordered those ballots be kept apart.
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The emergency request Friday came as Democrat Joe Biden inched ahead of President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania.
The plea is part of an ongoing Republican appeal to the Supreme Court to try to keep ballots received in the mail after Election Day from being counted. The state’s top court granted a three-day extension, and the Supreme Court refused to block it.
But Democratic Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar told local officials to keep the ballots separate because the high court hasn’t ultimately decided whether to step in.
Republicans presented no evidence that counties are not adhering to Boockvar’s orders, but said, “It is unclear whether all county boards are following them in the post-election chaos.”
— Associated Press
2:46 p.m.: Trump faces tough road in getting Supreme Court to intervene
Facing the potential for narrow losses in multiple battlegrounds, President Donald Trump might have a tough time persuading the Supreme Court to take up his call to intervene and prevent Joe Biden from becoming president.
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Trump could need the court’s help in two or more states, an unlikely scenario that is far different from what took place in 2000, the only time the court has effectively settled a presidential election. Twenty years ago, the entire fight was over Florida’s electoral votes and involved a recount as opposed to trying to halt the initial counting of ballots.
More on this story here. — Associated Press
2:23 p.m.: Biden nearly doubles lead in Nevada as more results released
Joe Biden has increased his lead over President Donald Trump in Nevada, leading by 20,137 votes in the battleground state.
Results released Friday from Democrat-heavy Clark County, which includes Las Vegas and three-quarters of Nevada’s population, along with two rural counties, put Biden at 627,104 votes. Trump had 606,967.
Biden’s lead nearly doubled from Thursday, when he was leading Trump by about 11,000 votes.
Clark County has an additional 63,000 mail ballots to be processed over the next few days and 60,000 provisional ballots to be processed later, Registrar Joe Gloria said. He said the county would release more results Friday afternoon but did not know how many ballots could be included.
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The state has said it will provide an update later in the day on how many ballots are yet to be counted statewide. On Thursday, it reported that number at 190,150.
— Associated Press
1:54 p.m.: Biden plans prime-time televised address
Joe Biden’s campaign says he will give a speech during prime time Friday.
The Democratic presidential candidate’s campaign announced that he would be making an address but did not say where or what he plans to say.
Biden is on the cusp of winning the presidency as he opens up narrow leads over President Donald Trump in several critical backgrounds.
The Associated Press has not called the presidential race. Votes are still being counted in states including Pennsylvania and Georgia.
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He has urged the public to be patient as vote counting continues. He was spending Friday at home in Wilmington, Delaware.
A stage set up since election night for a victory party outside the city’s convention center remained intact and has been secured for days by security personnel using high fencing and car barriers.
Biden campaign staffers who arrived in Wilmington for a victory party earlier in the week have been told to hold onto their hotel rooms until early next week.
— Associated Press
12:31 p.m.: Georgia will recount votes, secretary of state says
Early Friday morning, while it was still dark in Atlanta, Joe Biden overtook President Donald Trump in the number of ballots counted in Georgia — a must-win state for Trump that has long been a Republican stronghold. Biden now has a roughly 1,500 vote advantage in a state with about 5 million ballots cast.
“With a margin that small, there will be a recount,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Friday.
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The Secretary of State’s office said several thousand absentee ballots were still being counted Friday. Also, 8,900 unreturned ballots sent to military and overseas voters could be counted if received by 5 p.m. Friday. Counties also have provisional ballots to review and possibly add to their totals, along with absentee ballots that need to be “cured” by voters by day’s end.
There are still “an unknowable amount of ballots” that could be counted, said Gabriel Sterling, who has overseen the implementation of Georgia’s new electronic voting system. He said counties have been working diligently to finish tabulating their results, and he emphasized his confidence in the legitimacy of the process. Any evidence-backed complaint will be investigated, he added.
“When you have a narrow margin, little, small things can make a difference. So everything’s going to have to be investigated to protect the integrity of the vote,” he said.
—Associated Press
11:55 a.m.: House minority leader, Sen. Lindsey Graham throw support behind Trump’s unfounded corruption claims
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is insisting, inaccurately, that President Donald Trump “won” the election — even though officials in several states are still counting Americans' ballots.
“So everyone who’s listening, do not be quiet, do not be silent about this. We cannot allow this to happen before our very eyes,” McCarthy said Thursday on Fox News. “Join together and let’s stop this.”
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One top Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham said on a call with reporters Friday that he supports Trump’s efforts to challenge ballot counts in several states yet to be called in the presidential race.
Graham said he’s “not conceding” that Biden is going to win the presidency but will try to work with a Democratic administration if one is installed. He said on Fox News Thursday night he would donate $500,000 to the president’s “legal defense fund” and urged people to pitch in.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell struck a more neutral tone, and other top Republicans more defiantly urged Trump to fight to defeat Democrat Joe Biden.
“Every legal vote should be counted,” McConnell tweeted early Friday. “All sides must get to observe the process.”
McConnell grew testy during a press conference later in Kentucky when was repeatedly asked to say more. “Beyond that, I don’t have anything to say,” McConnell said. “It won’t make any difference how many times you ask I’ve already given my answer.”
More on this story here. —Associated Press
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Sen. Pat Toomey, standing with his family, during a news conference on Oct. 5, 2020. (Rick Kintzel/The Morning Call)
9:42 a.m.: Pennsylvania Republican senator calls Trump’s comments ‘very disturbing’
A key Republican senator said Friday he saw no evidence to support President Donald Trump’s baseless claim that Democrats are trying to “steal” the election and called the president’s words “very disturbing.”
Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, whose state is a key battleground in the presidential election, said “There’s simply no evidence anyone has shown me of any widespread corruption or fraud” to supported Trump’s claim Thursday of fraud in balloting.
“The president’s speech last night was very disturbing to me because he made very, very serious allegations without any evidence to support it,” Toomey told “CBS This Morning.”
He added: “I voted for President Trump. I endorsed President Trump. I want the next president to be the person who legitimately wins the Electoral College and I will accept whoever that is.”
Trump, who has complained for weeks about mail-in ballots, escalated his allegations late Thursday, saying at the White House that the ballot-counting process is unfair and corrupt. Trump did not back up his claims with any details or evidence, and state and federal officials have not reported any instances of widespread voter fraud.
Toomey has announced he is not seeking reelection in 2022, but several other Republican lawmakers have also criticized Trump’s comments.
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Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois, tweeted Thursday that the president’s claims of fraud are “getting insane.” If Trump has “legit” concerns about fraud, they need to be based on evidence and taken to court, Kinzinger said, adding, “STOP Spreading debunked misinformation.”
We want every vote counted, yes every legal vote (of course). But, if you have legit concerns about fraud present EVIDENCE and take it to court. STOP Spreading debunked misinformation... This is getting insane. — Adam Kinzinger (@RepKinzinger) November 6, 2020
More on this story here. —Associated Press
9:05 a.m.: Biden now leads in Pennsylvania as mail ballots keep being counted
Democrat Joe Biden is now leading President Donald Trump in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
By Friday morning, Biden overtook Trump in the number of ballots counted in the state, which Trump must win to have a shot at reelection. Biden now holds a nearly 6,000-vote advantage.
The contest is still too early for The Associated Press to call. Votes in the state are still being counted.
Trump’s lead dwindled after Election Day when state officials began processing mail-in ballots, a form of voting that has skewed heavily in Biden’s favor after Trump spent months claiming — without proof — that voting by mail would lead to widespread voter fraud.
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If there is less than a half percentage point difference between Biden’s and Trump’s vote totals, state law dictates that a recount must be held.
—Associated Press
A voter drops a mail ballot at a drop box in Lauderhill, Fla., on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
6:21 a.m.: No longer a ‘Flori-duh’ laughingstock: How Florida’s vote came in so fast
Floridians are watching this year’s election drama from the sidelines, repeatedly hitting the refresh button and waiting for votes to trickle in from battleground states.
The Sunshine State bucked its reputation for voting mishaps and slow results.
Florida reported its vote tally quickly after the polls closed at 7 p.m. on Election Day. Fox News was the first major news outlet to call the race for Trump at 11:05 p.m. Tuesday, and some political observers wondered why the state wasn’t called even earlier.
The Associated Press called the race at 12:34 a.m. Wednesday.
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Here are some reasons why Florida was able to deliver speedier results and avoid chaos.
Pre-Election Day processing: Florida election officials could start processing mail ballots 22 days before the election. That meant much of the work had already been done when polls closed. Other states have different laws on this. Pennsylvania couldn’t start processing mail ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day. The Trump campaign and its allies blocked efforts to allow mail ballots to be processed earlier in Pennsylvania.
Florida election officials could start processing mail ballots 22 days before the election. That meant much of the work had already been done when polls closed. Other states have different laws on this. Pennsylvania couldn’t start processing mail ballots until 7 a.m. on Election Day. The Trump campaign and its allies blocked efforts to allow mail ballots to be processed earlier in Pennsylvania. Experience : Florida has more experience handling mail ballots, which surged in popularity this year because of the pandemic. In the 2016 election, nearly 2.7 million Floridians cast mail ballots, compared with about 262,800 in Pennsylvania. Florida is often the butt of jokes, but its election officials are used to high-stakes, close elections that require the processing of large numbers of votes.
: Florida has more experience handling mail ballots, which surged in popularity this year because of the pandemic. In the 2016 election, nearly 2.7 million Floridians cast mail ballots, compared with about 262,800 in Pennsylvania. Florida is often the butt of jokes, but its election officials are used to high-stakes, close elections that require the processing of large numbers of votes. Deadlines : Domestic mail ballots in Florida must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. That means ballots that arrive after that deadline won’t be counted. That’s not the case in other states, which means it will take longer to tally the results. Nevada mail ballots are counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and received no later than seven days after the election. Mail ballots in Pennsylvania are accepted if they are postmarked on Election Day and received no later than three days after the election.
: Domestic mail ballots in Florida must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. That means ballots that arrive after that deadline won’t be counted. That’s not the case in other states, which means it will take longer to tally the results. Nevada mail ballots are counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and received no later than seven days after the election. Mail ballots in Pennsylvania are accepted if they are postmarked on Election Day and received no later than three days after the election. Trump’s win: Trump won in a blowout by Florida standards, beating Biden by more than 370,000 votes. That was well outside the margin that would trigger a recount.
For more on this story, click here. —Skyler Swisher, Sun Sentinel
Republican supporters watch returns for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Raphael Warnock and Republican incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler on Nov. 3, 2020, in Atlanta. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
6:00 a.m.: Georgia Senate runoffs could decide balance of power if Biden wins
The outcome in several contested states will determine whether Joe Biden defeats President Donald Trump. But if the Democratic challenger wins, the ambitions of a Biden presidency could well come down to Georgia.
Georgia, long a Republican stronghold — but one with rapidly changing demographics — could be the site of two runoffs on Jan. 5 to settle which party would control the Senate.
Should Democrats win them, Biden would be dealing with a majority in the Senate, increasing his chances for passing legislation and securing major appointment confirmations. Otherwise, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, could wield the power to block Biden.
Other races in North Carolina and Alaska also hold the potential to reshape the balance of power, but Georgia offers the more likely prospect.
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In Georgia, two runoff elections would mean a campaign on an almost national scale, with tens of millions of dollars spent by both sides.
Biden has been mum on the Senate balance as he awaits the results in his own election, but he offered a preview days before Tuesday’s election.
“I can’t tell you how important it is that we flip the United States Senate. There’s no state more consequential than Georgia in that fight,” Biden declared at an Atlanta rally on Oct. 27, when he campaigned alongside Democratic Senate hopefuls Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
Votes were still being counted to determine whether Ossoff will meet Georgia Sen. David Perdue in a second round. Georgia law requires an outright majority to win a statewide office.
Separately, a Georgia special election to fill the unexpired term of former Sen. Johnny Isakson will require a runoff between Warnock and Sen. Kelly Loeffler, the Republican appointed to the post last year after Isakson retired.
Nationally, the Senate stands at 48-48. But Republicans lead uncalled races in Alaska and North Carolina.
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For more on this story, click here. —Associated Press
[ Here's what happened on Thursday ]
[ Here’s what happened on Nov. 3 and 4 ]