Presidential election results 2020

By Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya, Veronica Rocha, Melissa Mahtani and Amanda Wills, CNN

Updated 2:44 p.m. ET, November 23, 2020
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8:11 a.m. ET, November 3, 2020

Republicans challenge one Pennsylvania county's process for handling some absentee ballots

From CNN's Jessica Schneider and Laura Jarrett

The Montgomery County, Pa., courthouse is seen, Monday, Oct. 19, 2020, in Norristown, PA.
The Montgomery County, Pa., courthouse is seen, Monday, Oct. 19, 2020, in Norristown, PA. Matt Slocum/AP

Shortly after polls opened on Election Day, Republicans in Pennsylvania filed a fresh new lawsuit in federal court challenging the Montgomery County officials' process for handling absentee ballots that arrived before Nov. 3. 

The plaintiffs had previewed their concerns in a letter earlier this week, and they are now asking for a court order to stop alleged "pre-canvassing" of these ballots before 7 a.m. local time and stop contacting anyone whose mail-in ballot contains a perceived defect to change their ballot.

They want any ballots changed set aside. However, the number of ballots affected could be quite narrow since the complaint only identifies roughly 1,200 votes that might be defective. As of this morning, roughly 223,000 absentee ballots had been cast in Montgomery County.

Notably, the county, which is just outside Philadelphia, leans Democratic. Clinton won the county in 2016 by 58.9% to 37.4%.

In response, a Montgomery County spokesperson told CNN's Scott Glover:

“The letter from the Montgomery County Republican Committee to Secretary Boockvar is a blatant mischaracterization of our procedures around allowing voters to remedy potential deficiencies with their ballots. The PA Supreme Court’s decision regarding this practice stated it is not a requirement to provide notice and the opportunity to cure ballots, but did not prohibit it. Our process in no way takes the place of the procedures that are followed as part of the canvass of ballots, and at no point prior to canvass is a determination made on whether a ballot will or will not be accepted. We believe in doing whatever we can to afford those who have legally requested and returned a ballot a fair opportunity to have their vote count.”
7:50 a.m. ET, November 3, 2020

President Trump interviewed on "Fox & Friends" on Election Day

From CNN’s Jason Hoffman

As he did on Election Day morning 2016, President Trump is calling in for an interview with "Fox & Friends."

The interview was scheduled to start at 7 a.m. ET He began the interview at 7:46 a.m. ET.

6:23 p.m. ET, November 3, 2020

Who you should listen to for trusted voting information, according to a federal election official

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

A polling station in Manhattan, New York, on Election Day.
A polling station in Manhattan, New York, on Election Day. Maria Khrenova/TASS/Getty Images

Ellen Weintraub, with the Federal Election Commission, urged voters to be safe while voting during the coronavirus pandemic and get their voter information only from trusted sources.

“Be safe. Wear your mask. But by all means, if you haven't voted yet, please, do vote,” she said Tuesday. “We want to have a really strong and vibrant democracy where every citizen's voice and vote matters. So, please, if you haven't voted yet, stay safe, but please vote.”

When voters come across information on the internet, Weintraub says, “consider the source.”

“Just because some guy on the internet said something doesn't make it true. Make sure it's reputable source before you believe it and share it,” she said.

Here’s a list of trusted sources she recommends.

  1. Boards of elections
  2. Secretaries of state's offices
  3. Vote.org, which will give you links to your local election officials’ websites

She also urged voters to check their polling station and what the hours are before heading out to cast their ballots.

“A lot of polling stations have moved this year. I know I've been voting in the same place for 30 years but this year my polling station moved. So just be careful,” she added. “Make sure that you have your information from the horses mouth, from the election officials.”

Watch more:

7:37 a.m. ET, November 3, 2020

Pennsylvania's Allegheny County begins processing absentee ballots — but it's not counting votes yet

From CNN's Kelly Mena and Ellie Kaufman

 

A portion of mail-in and absentee ballots that have arrived at the Allegheny County Election Division are kept in a secure area at the Elections warehouse in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020.
A portion of mail-in and absentee ballots that have arrived at the Allegheny County Election Division are kept in a secure area at the Elections warehouse in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020. Gene J. Puskar/AP

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, election officials will begin processing mail-in and absentee ballots this morning, according to Allegheny County Director of Communications Amie Downs.

This process is known as “pre-canvassing” and refers to the process of opening absentee and mail-in envelopes, checking them and getting the ballots ready to be counted. They are not counting absentee and mail-in ballot votes yet.

Downs also said that some polling locations will “be opening a few minutes late as poll workers set up equipment.” She said this happens every year.

“We have had a few reports, as we do each year, of polling places that will be opening a few minutes late as poll workers set up equipment, or because someone was late,” Downs said in an email.

Pittsburgh is in Allegheny County. 

7:42 a.m. ET, November 3, 2020

Joe Biden goes to church in Delaware on Election Day

 

US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden walks with granddaughter Finnegan as he attends church on election day in the Wilmington area on Tuesday, November 3.
US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden walks with granddaughter Finnegan as he attends church on election day in the Wilmington area on Tuesday, November 3. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Joe Biden, Jill Biden, and two of his grandchildren, Finnegan and Natalie Biden, walked into St. Joseph’s on the Brandywine in Delaware for one last church service on Election Day this morning.

Watch the moment:

7:18 a.m. ET, November 3, 2020

This Ohio county will use paper poll books instead of electronic ones today

From CNN's Ellie Kaufman

People bundled against the cold stand in a slowly moving line to cast early votes at the Franklin County Board of Elections on Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, in Columbus, Ohio.
People bundled against the cold stand in a slowly moving line to cast early votes at the Franklin County Board of Elections on Friday, Oct. 30, 2020, in Columbus, Ohio. Andrew Welsh-Huggins/AP

Franklin County, Ohio, which includes the city of Columbus, will use paper poll books to check voters in today, Franklin County Board of Elections Public Information Officer Aaron Sellers told CNN.

The decision to use paper poll books instead of their electronic poll book system was made at 5:30 a.m. local time, he said, because there was trouble updating the electronic poll book system after yesterday’s early voting concluded, Sellers said.

Early voting ended in the county at 2 p.m. yesterday, but because of long lines, Sellers said they were not finished with voting until about 3:30 p.m. After voting concluded, there was trouble updating the electronic poll book file, Sellers said. “There was an issue where we couldn’t determine that 100 percent of it was downloaded onto poll pads. Because of that, we decided to go with paper poll books,” today, Sellers said.

This decision applies to all of the county’s polling locations, Sellers said.

Poll workers are trained on paper poll books, and contingency plans were made to be able to use paper poll books if needed, he said. Sellers does not anticipate that this will negatively impact voting today. He said it might “slow things down a bit,” but also noted that about 50 percent of registered voters in the county have already voted.

“Up until three or four years ago, that’s what we used to do, we used to have paper poll books,” Sellers said. “We’re going old school I guess.” 

The Ohio secretary of state said Franklin County will use paper poll books today “due to the large amount of early voting. This happens occasionally and is something the boards were directed to prepare for,” in a tweet.

7:14 a.m. ET, November 3, 2020

More than 100 million ballots were cast before Election Day

From CNN's Adam Levy, Ethan Cohen, and Liz Stark  

People wait in line to casts their absentee ballots in person at the Sterling Heights Election Center located in the Senior Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020.
People wait in line to casts their absentee ballots in person at the Sterling Heights Election Center located in the Senior Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan on Monday, Nov. 2, 2020. Salwan Georges/The Washington Post/Getty Images

More than 100 million Americans voted nationwide before the polls opened on Election Day, according to a survey of election officials by CNN, Edison Research, and Catalist.  

These votes represent more than 47% of registered voters nationwide. Twenty-one states and Washington, DC, have seen more than half of their registered voters cast ballots already.  

Pre-Election Day voting has skyrocketed nationwide during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. At least six states, including Texas, Hawaii, Nevada, Washington, Arizona and Montana have surpassed their total turnout from the 2016 general election in recent days. 

In an additional seven states, the pre-election vote represents at least 90% of their 2016 total vote – North Carolina, Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee. 

Nationwide, the 100.2 million ballots already cast represents 73% of the more than 136.5 million ballots cast in the 2016 presidential election.  

At least 37 states and Washington, DC have crossed their halfway marks for total 2016 ballots cast, including 14 of CNN’s 16 most competitively-ranked states - Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada, Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Wisconsin, Maine, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Ohio 

A little less than half of the votes already cast this cycle comes from those 16 key states, which will play a crucial role in determining who wins the presidency this year.  

Some voter information comes from Catalist, a company that provides data, analytics and other services to Democrats, academics and nonprofit issue-advocacy organizations and is giving insights into who is voting before November.  

7:06 a.m. ET, November 3, 2020

What it's like at the only drive-thru polling place open on Election Day in the Houston area

From CNN's Aditi Sangal

Demonstrators stand across the street from the federal courthouse in Houston, Texas, on Monday, before a hearing in federal court involving drive-thru ballots cast in Harris County.
Demonstrators stand across the street from the federal courthouse in Houston, Texas, on Monday, before a hearing in federal court involving drive-thru ballots cast in Harris County. David J. Phillip/AP

Nine out of 10 drive-thru polling locations will be closed in the Houston-area county on Election Day.

Some background: On Monday, a federal judge had rejected a GOP request to invalidate 127,000 ballots cast in drive-thru early voting. However, he said he would have ruled against allowing such voting on Election Day, adding that voting needed to take place in a "structure."

In announcing the decision to close most of the drive-thru locations, Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins said on Twitter that he "cannot in good faith encourage voters to cast their votes in tents if that puts their votes at risk." The location that will remain open is the Toyota Center, which has "walls and a roof" and would fit the judge's description as a building, a county clerk spokesperson told CNN.

CNN’s Brian Todd is at the only drive-thru polling place that's still open. He walked through the parking garage of this Toyota Center in Houston to explain what voters can expect.

Watch the moment:

6:46 a.m. ET, November 3, 2020

Why the presidential race could come down to Arizona and Pennsylvania

Analysis from CNN's Harry Enten

President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport in Avoca, Pennsylvania, on Monday, November 2.
President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport in Avoca, Pennsylvania, on Monday, November 2. Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

President Trump is trying to stop former Vice President Joe Biden's pathway to 270 electoral votes. The polls released over the weekend suggest that this will be difficult, but not an impossible task.

Trump's best path to stop Biden is for there to be a larger than average polling error in Arizona and especially Pennsylvania.

The electoral math is pretty simple. Biden needs to find 38 electoral votes on top of the 232 in the contests that Hillary Clinton won in 2016. He's likely to win the one from Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District. Remember, the state of Nebraska allocates an electoral vote to the winner of each of its congressional districts.

On top of that, Biden holds clear and significant leads in two states Trump won by less than a point in 2016: Michigan and Wisconsin. A CNN/SSRS poll on Saturday put Biden up 12 points in Michigan among likely voters, while Biden led in Wisconsin by 8 points in a CNN/SSRS poll and 11 points in a New York Times/Siena College poll released Sunday.

Those two states are worth a combined 26 electoral votes. Add in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, you get Biden to 259 electoral votes.

This means Biden needs to get 11 more electoral votes. Other polls released on Saturday and Sunday from individual states worth at least 11 electoral votes suggest he will have options to choose from.

The hardest lift is probably in Florida. A New York Times/Siena College poll has Biden and Trump separated by 3 points, while an ABC News/Washington Post poll has the race within 2 points. Although the nominal leader in both was different, the polls combined indicate what has become clear for weeks. Florida and its 29 electoral votes are too close to call with perhaps a slight edge to Biden.

Biden could also get to 270 electoral votes with North Carolina and its 15 electoral votes. A CNN/SSRS poll had Biden up by 6 points there yesterday, while the polling average puts the race closer to a 3 point edge. This is a race that Biden is favored to win, though one where an average sized polling error (about 3 points in competitive presidential races dating back to 1972) would be enough for Trump to emerge victorious.

If Trump is able to take both Florida and North Carolina (along with Georgia which has similar polling to Florida), then you can begin to see how Trump could pull it off.

He would need to win in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Is that possible? Yes. Will it be easy? No.

Read the full analysis here

Watch John King break down latest Electoral College numbers: