Election Day 2020 live updates: FBI investigates voting misinformation robocalls

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By LAUREN KING, MICHELLE STODDART, CATHERINE THORBECKE and MORGAN, ABC News (WASHINGTON) — Election Day is finally here. In the weeks leading up to Tuesday, at least 99.6 million early votes were cast. Nationally, voters have cast 72.3% of the total votes counted in the 2016 general election. Hawaii and Texas have already surpassed their 2016 total and five other states — Montana, North Carolina, Georgia, New Mexico and Nevada — are close to doing the same. While polls have closed in Guam, there were some opening in Vermont as early as 5 a.m. ET.ABC News Live will begin streaming Election Day coverage at 7 a.m. ET. Beginning at 7 p.m. ET on the ABC television network, Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos will lead coverage from New York City joined by World News Tonight Anchor David Muir, “ABC News Live Prime” Anchor Linsey Davis and the ABC News powerhouse political team. President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., will continue campaigning Tuesday. On election night, Trump has invited about 400 people to the White House, sources told ABC News, and Biden and Harris are expected to be in Wilmington, Delaware. Here’s how Election Day is unfolding. All times Eastern:

 

Nov 03, 1:36 pm: Judge orders mail inspectors to USPS facilities in key battlegrounds to ensure ‘no ballots were left behind A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Postal Service to send inspectors to several processing facilities in key battleground states — including Pennsylvania, Michigan and Florida — to ensure that no mail-in ballot is left behind. U.S. Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled Tuesday that the Postal Service must “sweep the facilities between 12:30 PM EST and 3:00 PM EST to ensure that no ballots have been held up and that any identified ballots are immediately sent out for delivery. ”Those inspectors are ordered to report back to the court by 4:30 p.m. ET “confirming, in the most efficient manner available, that sweeps were conducted and that no ballots were left behind,” Sullivan wrote. The matter at hand is part of a lawsuit brought in August by the NAACP accusing the Postal Service and its leader, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, of disenfranchising voters of color by implementing a set of cost-cutting initiatives that slowed mail service.- ABC News’ Lucien Bruggeman

Nov 03, 1:22 pm: FBI investigating robocalls with election misinformation The FBI is probing reports of robocalls being made on Election Day urging people to stay home and not vote, according to a senior Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency official. The official added this is a “voter intimidation, voter suppression tactic.” The official also pointed out that robocalls of this nature are made in every election. “Be mindful of people that are trying to intimidate you, undermine your confidence, but keep calm and vote on,” the senior CISA official added. Earlier today, ABC News confirmed robocalls have been going out to voters in the battleground state of Michigan — specifically targeting the city of Flint, Michigan, where the majority of residents are Black. These robocalls are “purposefully spreading misinformation” according to the statements from Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. The robocalls are telling voters to vote tomorrow — instead of today — due to long lines, according to the tweet from Nessel.Nessel urged people not to “believe the lies.”-ABC News’ Luke Barr

Nov 03, 12:50 pm: Front-line poll workers lauded on Election Day Across the country, images of poll workers decked out in full personal protective equipment during this unusual election are garnering applause on social media. In Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told reporters earlier this week that 52,000 Georgians volunteered to be poll workers this election, even in the middle of a pandemic, and later on urged voters to “show grace” to those helping to usher in record turnout. Meanwhile in Ohio, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said on the “Powerhouse Politics” podcast Monday that the state recruited a “whole new generation” of poll workers ahead of the 2020 vote. “That’s been a huge success. 56,000 Ohioans have volunteered and been trained to be poll workers. That’s far and away above previous numbers,” he said. “37,000 is really the bare minimum that we need, but we wanted to go 50% above that. So we’ve got 56,000 poll workers trained and ready to go. ”In Michigan, the Pistons are lending their facility to receive ballots, while all employees are given a paid day off this Election Day in order to vote and serve as poll workers. Michigan has also worked to recruit multilingual poll workers to assist voters as part of a new effort to make voting more accessible.-ABC News’ Kendall Karson

Nov 03, 12:32 pm: Larry Kudlow says all guests at White House election night party will be tested for COVID-19 White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow confirmed Tuesday that the roughly 400 guests at President Donald Trump’s election night party in the East Room of the White House will all be tested for coronavirus. “Every guest will be tested, and I will be wearing a mask,” Kudlow said. Notably, Kudlow did not commit to staying in the administration if Trump is reelected. “I’m an old-fashioned guy, I take it one day at a time,” he said when asked if he’s stick around after the election.-ABC News’ Elizabeth Thomas.

Nov 03, 12:28 pm: Robocalls with election misinformation reported in Michigan ABC News has confirmed robocalls have been going out to voters in the battleground state of Michigan today — specifically targeting the city of Flint, Michigan, where the majority of residents are Black. Robocalls “purposefully spreading misinformation” have been going out to residents in Flint, Michigan, today, according to the statements from Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. The robocalls are telling voters to vote tomorrow — instead of today — due to long lines, according to the tweet from Nessel, in which she called the effort “an attempt to suppress the vote.” “Obviously this is FALSE and an effort to suppress the vote,” Nessel said in her tweet. “No long lines and today is the last day to vote. Don’t believe the lies! Have your voice heard! RT PLS. “Flint is a Democratic stronghold that former Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama visited earlier this week. Flint has a 53.7% Black population, according to U.S. Census data. Secretary Benson said her office “will be working quickly all day to stamp out any misinformation.” “Lines in the area and across the state are minimal and moving quickly, and Michigan voters can feel confident that leaders across state and local government are vigilant against these kinds of attacks on their voting rights and attempts at voter suppression,” Benson said, “and we will be working quickly all day to stamp out any misinformation aimed at preventing people from exercising their right to vote.”-ABC News’ Olivia Rubin.

Nov 03, 12:15 pm: At least 100 million people voted early At least 100 million people early voted in the 2020 general election, according to the United States Elections Project, which is spearheaded by University of Florida’s political expert Michael McDonald. In total, an unprecedented 100,298,838 voters have already voted this election. Nationally, so far, voters have cast 72.8% of the total votes counted in the 2016 general election.-ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh.

Nov 03, 12:09 pm: Polls open in 2 states and American Samoa The polls are opening in Hawaii, American Samoa and some areas of Alaska.

Nov 03, 12:04 pm: Milwaukee County to livestream its absentee vote counting Milwaukee election officials will livestream their tabulation of the county’s absentee ballots, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Local election officials estimate the process could take until 3 or 4 a.m. Those interested can tune in on YouTube, where three cameras have been set up to live broadcast the whole process. In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia City Commissioners are similarly broadcasting tabulations.

Nov 03, 11:33 am: Biden wraps up a visit to hometown of Scranton Biden wrapped up an Election Day visit to his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday. The former vice president visited his childhood home and church as well as a local carpenters’ union and gave his granddaughters a tour of the place he grew up. He signed the walls of his childhood home during this trip, writing, “From this house to the White House with the grace of God. Joe Biden 11-3-2020.”He also stopped by the sandwich shop Hanks Hoagies, where supporters flocked Biden. Earlier in the morning in Delaware, Biden attended church and visited the gravesite of his late son Beau Biden — at the same cemetery that his first wife and baby daughter were buried in 1972.After Scranton, Biden is heading to Philadelphia.-ABC News’ John Verhovek.

Nov 03, 11:03 am: First lady casts her vote in Florida First Lady Melania Trump was spotted arriving at the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday to cast her vote.

Nov 03, 11:00 am: Polls open in 2 states The polls are opening in much of Alaska and the State Elections Office opens for accessible voting in Washington.

Nov 03, 10:52 am: Bill and Hillary Clinton cast their votes Former President Bill Clinton shared a photo of him and Hillary Clinton, both wearing masks, with “I voted” stickers after they headed to the polls Tuesday.”Hillary and I just proudly cast our ballots for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” he captioned the photo. “They will work tirelessly to heal our divisions and build a better future for all of us. If you haven’t done so already, vote today!”

Nov 03, 10:16 am: Kamala Harris negative for COVID-19 Vice Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris underwent PCR testing for COVID-19 Tuesday and COVID-19 was not detected, an aid for Harris said.- ABC News’ Averi Harper

Nov 03, 10:06 am: Polls open in 4 states The polls are opening in Idaho, Nevada, California and Oregon.

Nov 03, 9:41 am: In Election Day spin, Kayleigh McEnany predicts ‘tonight will be a landslide’ White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox News Tuesday morning that they are predicting a “landslide” victory. “Under every circumstance our campaign believes that tonight will be a landslide,” McEnany said on Election Day. When asked about Trump continuing to attack the Supreme Court decision on Pennsylvania ballots, McEnany echoed the president’s sentiments but said further litigation may not be necessary.” We’ll take our case to the Supreme Court as needed,” McEnany said. “We don’t think it will come down to that. I predict now we win Nevada, Minnesota. I do believe President Trump has a landslide and this talk of litigation is nothing.”McEnany also blasted former Vice President Joe Biden’s schedule saying he is now trying to “catch up with President Trump.” “You have Biden finally out of the basement on Election Day trying to catch up with President Trump,” she said. “Voters are wise and smart. They see if Joe Biden would not fight for your vote.”- ABC News’ Elizabeth Thomas

Nov 03, 9:26 am: Trump says he will declare victory ‘when there is victory’ President Donald Trump called into Fox & Friends Tuesday morning for his first interview on Election Day. When asked about reporting that he could try to prematurely declare victory, Trump said he will only declare victory “when there is victory.” He added that “there is no reason to play games,” but was unspecific about what determines victory in his mind.

The president went on to say he thinks he has a “very solid chance at winning.” He then immediately followed that with, “I don’t know what the chances are,” but he said he is basing his confidence in part on his crowd sizes. On his Election Day plans, the president said that in addition to going to visit his campaign headquarters in Virginia Tuesday morning, he’ll be doing a “big series of phone calls” to people who have been loyal to him. On the specter of civil unrest resulting from the election — specifically about the possibility of chaos in the streets if he wins again — Trump said it will all be in “Democrat-run cities” and said that “my side is a very strong side, if they wanted to but they don’t like doing that.” The president also predicted he would be victorious in key states including Texas, Florida, Arizona, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. 
Finally, the president reiterated that he would like the results of the election to be finalized by the end of the day. “I’d like to find out on November 3rd, the end of the evening or, you know, late into the morning, who won the election,” he said.

Nov 03, 9:00 am: Polls open in seven states The polls are opening in Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and in several counties in Tennessee.

Nov 03, 8:31 am: Polls open in Arkansas The polls are opening in Arkansas.

Nov 03, 8:02 am: Polls open in 12 states and Puerto Rico The polls are opening in North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Mississippi, Arizona, Alabama, in several counties in Tennessee and Puerto Rico.

Nov 03, 8:00 am: In new videos, Biden, Harris urge voters to head to the polls in final campaign pushAs part of the campaign’s final efforts to turn out voters and deny President Donald Trump a second term, both former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris are urging Americans to head to the polls Tuesday as a chaotic election is set to near its end. In two new digital videos released by the Biden campaign on Tuesday, both Biden and Harris are telling Americans that have not voted to make sure their voices are heard. “Today is Election Day. The future of our country is going to hinge on who votes in the next few hours. So please, if you have to go out and vote, please vote. And vote as soon as possible,” Biden says in one of the videos.

“Today is Election Day, our last chance to choose once and for all a brighter future for our country and leadership that will restore the soul of our nation. And we are counting on you to put us over the finish line,” Harris says in the other.

The late push comes as a record number of Americans, nearly 100 million, have voted early this cycle, another way in which the coronavirus pandemic has upended the 2020 race and reshaped the electoral battlefield. Both Biden and Harris were in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Monday, and the former vice president is set to visit his hometown of Scranton later Tuesday, while Harris will travel to Detroit, Michigan, to rally voters and boost turnout in another state key to the Democratic ticket’s chances of victory.

Nov 03, 7:01 am: Polls open in 13 states The polls are opening in South Carolina, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, Georgia, Florida, District of Columbia, Delaware, Missouri, Louisiana and in several counties in Tennessee.

Nov 03, 6:30 am: Polls open in three states The polls are opening in West Virginia, Ohio and North Carolina.

Nov 03, 6:00 am: Polls open in eight states The polls are opening in Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Maine, Kentucky, Connecticut, Indiana and New Hampshire.

Nov 03, 5:38 am: ABC News interactive election map Forecast if Trump or Biden will win the 2020 presidential election with ABC News’ interactive election map here.Also, check out the final 2020 presidential election forecast, Senate forecast and House forecast from FiveThirtyEight.

Nov 03, 5:04 am: Polls open in Vermont and close in Guam Polls are opening in Vermont and closing in Guam.

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