It’s 13 days to Nov. 5 − Election Day. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are focusing on two pivotal swing states on Wednesday: Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Harris will take questions from voters at a town hall event in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, moderated by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper. Trump is set to hold multiple events in Georgia, including a town hall focused on faith in Zebulon, and a rally in Duluth.
Georgia and Pennsylvania could easily decide the race for the White House on Nov. 5. President Joe Biden picked up the states in 2020, but Trump won both in the 2016 election.
Keep up with the USA TODAY Network’s live coverage.
When will the election results be announced?
It is not clear exactly when the election results will be announced, as the timing depends on a variety of factors. Each state handles its elections differently, ranging from weeks-long early voting to strict voter ID laws.
But you can anticipate delays.
Some key swing states that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are vying for, like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, aren’t permitted to start processing absentee and mail-in ballots until Election Day, which is expected to slow down the count.
— Sudiksha Kochi and Sam Woodward
JD Vance in Las Vegas urges supporters to vote with family, friends
Republican Vice-Presidential nominee JD Vance implored supporters during a Las Vegas rally on Tuesday to use methods of voting – including early in-person and by mail – that Republicans once criticized as ripe for fraud.
“If Kamala Harris’s team is using everything and we’re only using one of those methods of voting, then we’re going to get killed,” Vance told the crowd.
Donald Trump, Vance’s running mate, attempted to sow doubt about the validity of mail-in voting during the 2020 election, claiming without evidence that it was “a whole big scam.”
This year, the Trump campaign has sought to walk back some of that rhetoric.
“However you can – early, voting by mail, early in person, going on election day — whatever makes the most sense to you. Get out there and let’s try to bank as many votes by election day as possible,” Vance said on Tuesday.
He also joked that Trump supporters should “vote 10 times, the legal way” by bringing their friends and family with them to the polls.
– Karissa Waddick
Election certification, inauguration to have heightened security
Both Jan. 6 and Jan. 20 will be treated as National Special Security Events, the U.S. Secret Service confirmed to USA TODAY.
The results of the presidential election are certified in the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 and the next president-elect will be inaugurated as president on Jan. 20.
A National Special Security Event is an event that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has deemed nationally or internationally significant and could be a target for terrorism or criminal activity, and enhanced security is likely.
Inaugurations, State of the Union addresses, the United Nations General Assembly and both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions are typically considered National Special Security Events. The 2024 NATO Summit held in Washington D.C. was also considered such an event.
The Secret Service could not confirm media reports that fencing would be erected around the Capitol complex from Jan. 5 to Jan. 20, said USSS spokesperson Nate Herring.
After the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol building, an eight-foot-tall metal fence was erected around the complex and stayed up for months.
The National Park Service has already put up partial fencing near the White House that will stay up through February 2025. Preparation began a month earlier this year, according to NPS.
— Riley Beggin
Trump’s plan for Election Day? Campaign readies for a party in Florida.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is expected to have his election night party in Florida in the Palm Beach area, according to two sources familiar with the GOP campaign’s planning.
That likely means Trump will be at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, with a Republican operative close to the campaign saying they are “pretty sure that’s where everyone” will be on Nov. 5. The election night party could be at another venue, or spread across multiple venues, though, sources said.
Trump was in New York City on election night in 2016 and the White House in 2020.
Kamala Harris plans to spend election night in Washington D.C. and is considering a speech at her alma mater, Howard University, according to NBC News.
– Zac Anderson and David Jackson
Walz: Trump crossed ‘red line’ with Hitler comments
Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz addressed reporters Wednesday morning in St. Paul, Minnesota, where he reacted to former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff John Kelly highlighting past comments made by Trump admiring Adolf Hitler.
“Donald Trump’s descension into madness, and John Kelly, who I thank for showing the courage to come forward,” Walz said. “Truly telling the world, those closest to Donald Trump know how dangerous he is. The desire of Donald Trump to wish he had generals like Adolf Hitler had…”
He added: “If there was ever a red line, he has stepped across it.”
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung in an emailed statement to USA TODAY took issue with the former top White House staffer’s comments. “John Kelly has totally beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated because he failed to serve his President well while working as Chief of Staff and currently suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Cheung said.
– Sam Woodward
Trump’s regard for Hitler referenced in 2022 book
This is not the first time voters have heard about Donald Trump’s regard for German generals during the Adolf Hitler regime – or the first example of Trump’s tenuous grasp of history.
In their 2022 book “The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021,” authors Peter Baker and Susan Glasser reported that Trump told then-Chief of Staff John Kelly: “You (bleeping) generals, why can’t you be like the German generals?”
Taken aback, Kelly told Trump: “You do know that they tried to kill Hitler three times and almost pulled it off?”
Trump did not know that, and insisted: “No, no, no, they were totally loyal to him.”
Baker and Glasser wrote about Trump: “In his mind, the generals had been completely subservient to the Nazi dictator – and this was the model he wanted for his own military. Kelly told Trump there were no such generals in America, but the president was determined to test the proposition.”
Trump’s campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung in an emailed statement to USA TODAY fired back at Kelly, saying the former White House chief of staff “has totally beclowned himself with these debunked stories he has fabricated because he failed to serve his President well while working as Chief of Staff and currently suffers from a debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
– David Jackson
John Kelly adviser says ‘he’s warning us’ about dangers of Trump
The Harris campaign Wednesday seized on remarks from John Kelly, Trump’s former White House chief of staff who warned that the Republican presidential nominee would rule like a dictator in a second term and made past admiring statements about Adolf Hitler.
Retired Army Reserve Col. Kevin Carroll, a former senior adviser to Gen. Kelly, said during a Harris campaign call with reporters that speaking out “was no small step” for Kelly, who he called “a dedicated, measured public servant.”
“But he’s seen Donald Trump up close in a way that very few other Americans have, and he’s warning us that a second Trump term would be dangerous,” Carroll said.
“What the public has learned about Donald Trump from John Kelly’s accounting is damning,” Carroll said, adding that top officials who worked with the former president have made clear Trump “has no empathy, that he’s increasingly unstable and unfit, and that he’s more extreme than ever.”
“Trump is seeking the power to do anything he wants, anytime he wants,” Carroll added.
In an interview with the New York Times, Kelly said the former president exhibits the tendencies of a fascist, including his threat to possibly use the military against domestic political opponents. Kelly also told the Times that Trump remarked on multiple occasions that “Hitler did some good things.”
“It’s no surprise that General Kelly came out like he did. I mean, I wish he had done it earlier, but it’s great that he has,” said retired U.S. Army Brigadier Gen. Steve Anderson, a Republican who is part of a group of national security leaders backing Harris.
Anderson said he and others worry Trump will use the military to “suppress his opposition in the country and man the U.S. border, which are things that the military is not supposed to do.”
“With Donald Trump as a president, we are going to lose our status as a world leader, and that is so important,” Anderson said.
– Joey Garrison
Walz casts vote early with son, first-time voter
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, cast his ballot early in person in St. Paul Wednesday morning with his wife, Gwen, and son Gus who recently turned 18.
There, he told reporters he was excited for Gus to cast his first ballot. The two voted across privacy booths from one another.
Gus, who has largely stayed off the campaign trail, went viral during the Democratic National Convention is August for his unscripted, emotional reaction to his father’s acceptance speech.
−Sam Woodward
Obama leans into Trump-Harris fast food fight
While campaigning for Kamala Harris at a rally in Detroit, Michigan, former President Barack Obama poked fun at Donald Trump’s recent McDonald’s campaign stunt.
Harris, as she often reminds voters, worked at the fast food giant for a summer while in college. Trump claimed without evidence on Sunday that this was a lie while working the fryer at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s, the Washington Post reported was closed to the public during his visit.
Obama contrasted Harris and Trump’s upbringings at the rally Tuesday night.
“She worked at McDonald’s when she was in college to pay her expenses,” Obama said. “She did not pretend to work at McDonald’s when it was closed.”
−Rachel Barber
More: Trump’s McDonald’s visit sets off social media: See photos, video, reactions
JD Vance and comedian Theo Von talk addiction
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance appeared on comedian Theo Von’s podcast “This Past Weekend with Theo Von,” where the two talked about the effects of addiction on families and the fentanyl crisis.
Von, detailed his own struggle with addiction. and joked about the dangerous prevalance of fentanyl in other street drugs during the inverview released on Tuesday.
“But it’s also sad that somebody… you can’t even do cocaine in this country anymore, you know?” Von said.
More: ‘That’s down and dirty’: Donald Trump asks comedian Theo Von about cocaine, alcohol use
Vance, Ohio’s junior senator, broke into laughter. “I’m gonna steal that line,” he joked. “After the election…no man, we gotta win first!”
He added: “To be clear to those watching, I have never done cocaine before, I’ve made many mistakes, but not that one.”
Vance was open about his mother’s struggle with addiction in the 2016 best-selling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.”
−Sam Woodward
More: JD Vance looked to the border after his addiction nonprofit fizzled
Michelle Obama to join Harris for weekend campaign event
Michelle Obama is hitting the campaign trail.
The former first lady will appear with Kamala Harris at a rally in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Saturday. Saturday’s event will mark Michelle Obama’s first time on the campaign trail for Harris, though she did speak at the Democratic National Convention in August.
−Karissa Waddick
More: Kamala Harris, Michelle Obama to be in Kalamazoo on Saturday
Do you trust the vote count?
Election angst won’t end on Election Day, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll finds. Americans, fiercely divided between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump, are concerned about the accuracy of the vote count, anxious about the peaceful transition of power and even braced for political violence.
Nearly 8 in 10 voters trust the vote. Most said they were “very” confident (43%) or “somewhat” confident (36%) that the results of the election will be accurately counted and reported.
Sign-up for Your Vote: Text with the USA TODAY elections team.
But trust was higher among Harris supporters than those who back Trump. Among Harris voters, 70% were very confident and another 25% were somewhat confident; just 4% were not.
In contrast, a third of Trump voters, 34%, said they were not confident. The former president has fueled those concerns by continuing to argue without evidence that the 2020 election was “rigged” against him.
−Susan Page, Sudiksha Kochi and Maya Marchel Hoff
More: Harris v. Trump poll: Americans trust the count but worry about violence
Biden tells voters to ‘lock him up,’ casting Trump as a menace
President Joe Biden turned the tables on Donald Trump on Tuesday, suggesting the time has come to “lock him up” – at least politically.
Speaking to campaign workers in New Hampshire, Biden said Trump thinks he has the right under a recent Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity “to actually eliminate, physically eliminate – shoot, kill – someone who is, he believes, to be a threat to him.”
“If I said this five years ago, you’d lock me up,” Biden said during a stop at the New Hampshire Democratic Headquarters in Concord. “We’ve got to lock him up.”
He paused briefly, then added: “Politically lock him up. Lock him out. That’s what we have to do.”
Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt blasted Biden’s remarks. “Joe Biden just admitted the truth: He and Kamala’s plan all along has been to politically persecute their opponent President Trump because they can’t beat him fair and square,” she said.
−Michael Collins
More: Joe Biden takes aim at Donald Trump: ‘We’ve got to lock him up’ – politically
Obama raps Eminem’s iconic ‘Lose Yourself’ at Kamala Harris rally
Former President Barack Obama rapped Eminem’s award-winning 2002 song “Lose Yourself” at a Michigan Kamala Harris campaign rally on Tuesday, after the Grammy award-winning artist introduced Obama to the crowd.
“I have done a lot of rallies, so I don’t usually get nervous. But I was feeling some kind of way following Eminem,” Obama said when he took the stage in Detroit.
“Now, I notice my palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, vomit on my sweater already, mom’s spaghetti, I’m nervous but on the surface I look calm and ready to drop bombs but I keep on forgetting,” Obama rapped as the crowd burst into cheers.
−Sudiksha Kochi
More: ‘Palms are sweaty, knees weak’: Obama raps Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’ at rally in Detroit
What time do polls open on Election Day?
It depends on where you live.
In some states, like Arizona and Connecticut, polling locations can open as early as 6 a.m. on Election Day, which is Nov. 5. In other places, locations will open later in the morning like at 7 a.m. or 8 a.m.
You can find your polling location and its hours by contacting your state and local election office or visiting usa.gov for more information.
−Sudiksha Kochi
More: Election 2024 recap: Harris hits Trump, addresses abortion rights in NBC interview
Court orders Army to release records from Trump campaign’s clash at Arlington National Cemetery
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered Army officials to release internal records of former President Donald Trump’s controversial August visit to Arlington National Cemetery by the end of the week.
Judge Paul Friedman signed the order following a lawsuit by American Oversight, a non-partisan group dedicated to getting the government to release records.
“With the election just two weeks away, the American people have a clear and compelling interest in knowing how the government responded to an alleged incident involving a major presidential candidate who has a history of politicizing the military,” Chioma Chukwu, the group’s interim executive director, said in a statement.
The judge’s ruling stems from Trump’s Aug. 26 visit to the military cemetery for a wreath-laying ceremony honoring 13 soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal.
Sign-up for Your Vote: Text with the USA TODAY elections team.
A cemetery official trying to enforce rules against political campaign activity at the site and was “abruptly pushed aside” by Trump staffers, according to an Army statement. The cemetery official contacted police but ultimately decided not to press charges.
−Josh Meyer
More: Judge orders Pentagon to release records of Trump controversial Arlington Cemetery visit
Are podcasts doing the job for Harris and Trump?
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump’s podcast appearances may not be having the impact their camps are hoping for.
An exclusive USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll found that a majority of respondents had not listened to the podcasts, which have played a significant role in both campaigns. The poll asked 1,000 likely voters if they had seen Harris on podcasts such as “Call Her Daddy” or “All the Smoke,” as well as if they had seen Trump on “This Past Weekend with Theo Von” or “Flagrant 2.”
Nearly 72% of respondents said that they had not seen Harris on a podcast and 77.5% said that they had not seen a Trump podcast appearance.
−James Powel
More: Exclusive poll: How many voters are Donald Trump and Kamala Harris reaching on podcasts?
Trump campaign accuses UK’s ruling Labour Party of ‘blatant foreign interference’
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign filed a legal complaint late Tuesday against Britain’s ruling Labour Party, accusing it of “blatant foreign interference” ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.
The complaint was made in a formal letter sent by Trump campaign lawyer Gary Lawkowski to the Federal Election Commission. The allegation follows a public acknowledgment by a senior Labour Party figure that almost 100 current and former Labour Party staff were heading across the Atlantic to campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democrats in key swing states.
−Kim Hjelmgaard
More: Donald Trump’s campaign accuses UK’s ruling Labour Party of ‘blatant foreign interference’
Judge tells Giuliani to hand Manhattan apartment to election workers he defamed. (But the World Series rings are safe.)
Rudy Giuliani – or at least his son Andrew – gets to keep his three World Series rings. For now.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ordered Giuliani on Tuesday to surrender his property to settle a $145 million civil judgment for defaming two Georgia election workers after the 2020 election by falsely saying they stuffed ballot boxes.
The belongings at stake include a luxury New York apartment on Madison Avenue and a $2 million claim for legal fees against former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee.
Giuliani owes an $146 million judgement to Georgia election workders Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss, for, while serving as Trump’s election lawyer, comparing them to drug dealers and falsely claiming they introduced “suitcases” of illegal ballots into a countin center. They suffered months of death threats.
−Bart Jansen
More: Federal judge orders Rudy Giuliani to surrender luxury apartment but not World Series rings
Where do Trump, Harris stand in the polls?
Trump and Harris have been neck-and-neck in national polls and battleground surveys for weeks. On Tuesday, Harris held a 46%-43% lead over Trump in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, within the survey’s margin of error.
An exclusive USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll released Monday put Harris at 45%, Trump at 44%, a closer race than the poll found in August.
– Marina Pitofsky
Election Day is Nov. 5. Sign up for USA TODAY’s On Politics newsletter for breaking news and exclusive analysis.
What’s on Harris’ schedule on Wednesday?
Kamala Harris is participating in a town hall in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia, on Wednesday.
The event is hosted by CNN, and anchor Anderson Cooper will moderate as voters in the crucial battleground ask the vice president questions.
– Marina Pitofsky
What’s on Trump’s schedule on Wednesday?
Trump is courting voters in Georgia on Wednesday. In the afternoon, he’s participating in a town hall dubbed “Believers and Ballots,” focused on faith and the 2024 election. The event is in Zebulon, Georgia, located about 50 miles south of Atlanta.
In the evening, Trump and conservative group Turning Point Action will host a rally in Duluth, Georgia, located northeast of Atlanta.
– Marina Pitofsky
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Election 2024 live updates: Harris and Trump town halls, Jan. 6 prep
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