The latest on the 2020 election

By Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya and Mike Hayes, CNN

Updated 8:07 p.m. ET, October 27, 2020
33 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
8:07 p.m. ET, October 27, 2020

Court sets plan to make sure Postal Service delivers ballots quickly

From CNN's Katelyn Polantz

Workers at the Miami-Dade County Election Department move racks of vote-by-mail ballots onto a U.S. Post Office truck to be delivered to voters on October 01, in Doral, Florida.
Workers at the Miami-Dade County Election Department move racks of vote-by-mail ballots onto a U.S. Post Office truck to be delivered to voters on October 01, in Doral, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images/FILE

United States Postal Service leadership received a sweeping set of orders from a federal judge on Tuesday, laying out ways the Postal Service must make sure ballots are delivered quickly because of the ongoing election and absentee voting deadlines. 

One week ahead of Election Day, Judge Emmet Sullivan of the DC District Court told the Postal Service to inform its employees that late delivery trips are allowed and the delivery of ballots by state elections deadlines is important. 

The order is some of the most aggressive oversight USPS has faced yet in its handling of election mail. It adds to several directives the Post Office has weathered in court in recent months, after state governments won injunctions that would prevent policy changes put in place by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy that could have disrupted the quick delivery of mailed ballots to election officials.

Sullivan's order largely follows a proposed plan agreed upon by the USPS and by those suing the Postal Service, which includes the NAACP and the group Vote Forward.

States and other groups had sought for courts to monitor and enforce the injunctions they won, which Sullivan agreed to do in the USPS cases he oversees.

The Postal Service also must provide daily updates to the court on mail delivery data and will appear daily before the judge.

The Postal Service declined to comment on the order other than to say that delivering ballots remains its top priority.

CNN's Paul P. Murphy contributed to this report.

6:40 p.m. ET, October 27, 2020

DHS chief urges Election Day patience in contrast to Trump 

From CNN's Geneva Sands

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf echoed other administration officials in an interview Tuesday, urging voters to "stay patient" when it comes to election results. His remarks are in sharp contrast with President Trump who has said he wants immediate results. 

"There will be some states, not all states, but there will be likely some that we will not know on Election Night what the result is," said Wolf in an interview with CBS News. "Again, remain patient. And again, be mindful of whatever you're seeing on social media. Get your information from trusted officials. Don't believe — what we are likely to see — misinformation campaigns."

Pressed on Trump's desire for a Nov. 3 result, Wolf said, "I think the vast majority of Americans would like that result come election night ... but we do know that certain states will continue to count some of their mail-in ballots for a couple of days after."

Wolf also said voters should be confident when casting their vote. 

"Every American who's voted either early voting or plans to do that on Election Day should be confident their vote that they cast will be counted," he said.  

He touted the relationships that DHS has built with state and local election officials over the past few years, saying the change since 2016 has been "night and day."

Wolf told CBS News that the department anticipates a potential spike in foreign election interference in the week leading up to the election, according to CBS' Catherine Herridge, who interviewed Wolf. 

"We understand what they're doing. We've called them out on that," Wolf said when asked about the threat from Iran and Russia. "We remain on high alert. So will that—is that to say that they won't try anything else? Absolutely not. We are anticipating that they might."

7:56 p.m. ET, October 27, 2020

Biden campaigns in Atlanta a week before Election Day: "We win Georgia, we win everything"

From CNN's Sarah Mucha

Drew Angerer/Getty Images North
Drew Angerer/Getty Images North

Delivering remarks at a drive-in rally in Atlanta Tuesday, Joe Biden emphasized that his presence in Georgia one week until the election means that Democrats believe the state is in play. 

“You know, there aren’t a lot of pundits who would have guessed four years ago that a Democratic candidate for president in 2020 would be campaigning in Georgia on the final week of the election or that we’d have such competitive Senate races in Georgia. But we do. Because something’s happening here in Georgia and across America," he said.  

Biden went on to say that people of all races and ages are coming together to “transcend the old divides” in the battle for the soul of America.

On Monday, the Democratic nominee told reporters he believes his campaign has a "fighting chance" in the state. 

While he mostly stuck to delivering his standard stump speech, hitting the President on his handling of the pandemic and lack of a health care plan, Biden did express optimism at several points throughout his speech about winning the state of Georgia.

“It’s time to stand up and take back our democracy. And any place we can do it, here in Georgia — we win Georgia, we win everything,” he said to end his remarks.

“Folks, I think we are going to surprise the living devil out of everybody this year,” he said at the beginning of his speech. He argued for the importance of flipping the US Senate, adding, “There's no state more consequential than Georgia in that fight. You have two competitive races here at stake.”  

He criticized Georgia Sen. David Perdue for pretending like he couldn’t pronounce Sen. Kamala Harris’ name. “Let's give the people of Georgia two new senators who will fight for your interests, not for Donald Trump's interests,” Biden began. “And not continue, as Perdue and others have, to make fun of my running mate.”  

Biden made a call for decency as he provided an example of the kind of character that’s on the ballot in the state. “I love how these guys try to degrade everything and everybody,” he said. “It's got to stop and it's going to stop with us. Folks, it's go time. There's one week left.”

The Democratic nominee said in Atlanta that if he is elected, he will commit to have a section of the White House outreach office dedicated to the Divine Nine, a group of nine historically black fraternities and sororities.  

4:46 p.m. ET, October 27, 2020

Melania Trump attacks Democrats for politicizing pandemic in campaign speech

From CNN's Allie Malloy and Kate Bennett

First lady Melania Trump speaks during a campaign rally on Tuesday, October 27, in Atglen, Pennsylvania.
First lady Melania Trump speaks during a campaign rally on Tuesday, October 27, in Atglen, Pennsylvania. Laurence Kesterson/AP

First lady Melania Trump focused on the Covid-19 pandemic in her first solo campaign event of 2020 and blasted Democrats for allegedly politicizing the pandemic. 

She directly attacked Biden on Covid-19 saying, "Now he suggests that he could have done a better job. Well, the American people can look at Joe Biden's 36 years in Congress and eight years in the vice presidency and determine whether they think he'll finally be able to get something done for the American people." 

The first lady also spoke about her own family's struggle with the virus and demonstrated compassion for those suffering the virus — something rarely done by President Trump in rallies. 

"Like many of you, I have experienced the firsthand effects of Covid-19 — not only as a patient — but as a worried mother and wife. I know there are many people who have lost loved ones or know people who have been forever impacted by this silent enemy," she said in Pennsylvania. 

At one point, the first lady also addressed impeachment and tied it to the Democrats' response to coronavirus saying, "No one should be promoting fear of real solutions for purely political ends...The Democrats have chosen to put their own agendas over the American people's well-being. Instead, they attempt to create a divide. A divide in something that should be non-partisan and non-controversial. A divide that causes confusion and fear instead of hope and security. That is not the leadership."

"Let us also not forget what the Democrats chose to focus on when Covid-19 first came into our country. While the President was taking decisive action to keep the American people safe, the Democrats were wasting American taxpayer dollars in a sham impeachment," she said.

Trump also made mention of her husband's presence on social media saying, "For the first time in history, the citizens of this country get to hear directly and instantly from their president every single day through social media."

She then quipped: "I do not always agree what the way he says things, but it is important to him that he speaks directly to the people he serves."

3:59 p.m. ET, October 27, 2020

Joe Biden tested negative for Covid-19 ahead of Georgia trip

From CNN's Sarah Mucha

Joe Biden tested negative for Covid-19 today ahead of his swing through Georgia. 

“Vice President Biden underwent PCR testing for COVID-19 today and COVID-19 was not detected,” his campaign said.

3:59 p.m. ET, October 27, 2020

Melania Trump takes the stage at first solo campaign event of 2020 cycle

From CNN's Allie Malloy and Kate Bennett

Pool
Pool

First lady Melania Trump is taking the stage for her first solo campaign appearance this campaign cycle, just one week before the presidential election. 

The event in Atglen, Pennsylvania, is being held indoors and there is limited social distancing measures being implemented.

Participants are standing less than six feet apart but almost everyone is wearing a mask. 

Former counselor to President Trump, Kellyanne Conway, introduced the first lady.

Conway discussed winning Pennsylvania in 2016 and the first lady's event in the commonwealth five days before the last election, referring to the event as "essential." 

3:22 p.m. ET, October 27, 2020

Trump is at first of three rallies today

From CNN's Nikki Carvajal

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

President Trump took the stage in Lansing, Michigan, at 3:06 p.m. ET under a light drizzle.

The crowd heard “God Bless the USA” twice as the motorcade made its way over from Air Force One, and the President then walked to the stage.

Trump has two more rallies later today, at 5 p.m. ET in West Salem, Wisconsin, and at 8:30 p.m. ET in Omaha, Nebraska.

3:04 p.m. ET, October 27, 2020

Biden delivers message of unity to Georgia voters: "I know we can heal and unite this nation"

From CNN's Sarah Mucha and Arlette Saenz

Andrew Harnik/AP
Andrew Harnik/AP

Democratic presidential Joe Biden delivered his closing pitch to Americans one week out to Election Day in Warm Springs, Georgia, the location of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “Little White House,” promising to deliver unity and healing to a nation faced with multiple historic crises.

“Anger and suspicion are growing, and our wounds are getting deeper,” Biden warned.

“Many wonder, has it gone too far? Have we passed the point of no return? Has the heart of this nation turned to stone?” he asked. "I don't think so. I refuse to believe it. I know this country. I know our people. And I know we can unite and heal this nation." 

Biden has frequently cited Roosevelt as an inspiration, and he shared recently in an interview on Pod Save America that he’s reading “The Defining Moment,” a book by Jonathan Alter about Roosevelt's first 100 days.

Biden said that Warm Springs is a "good place" to talk about healing, as Roosevelt was reported to visit to use the therapeutic waters after suffering paralysis following a polio diagnosis. 

The Democratic nominee also laid out the current state of affairs in his speech.

“These are historic painful crises: the insidious virus, the economic anguish, the systematic discrimination. Any one of them could have rocked the nation, yet we’ve been hit by all three all at once,” Biden said.

He sharply criticized President Trump for his handling of the pandemic but did not mention him by name.

He once again condemned White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ comments to CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union, who said “we’re not going to control the pandemic," by saying, “It’s capitulation, it’s a waving of a white flag. It's a window into the shocking truth about this White House that they've never really tried.”  

The Democratic nominee struck an optimistic tone as he delivered a message of hope.

“I tell you this from my heart. I believe in America and an America of hope, not fear. Unity, not division. Love, not hate," he said.

Biden added that people often ask him how he is so confident about the future of the nation, and responded to his rhetorical question by citing a line he often uses to close his speeches: “We are the United States of America. There’s nothing, nothing the American people can’t do and have been unable to do when we put our minds to it.”  

At the end of his remarks, Biden leaned into a heavily religious message, citing a recent encyclical by Pope Francis that warns against “phony populism” and arguing that “God and history” have called the country to this moment.  

 

2:19 p.m. ET, October 27, 2020

More than 3 million voters have cast ballots in Georgia 

From CNN’s Jason Morris

People wait in line to cast their ballots at Smyrna Community Center on October 24 in Smyrna, Georgia.
People wait in line to cast their ballots at Smyrna Community Center on October 24 in Smyrna, Georgia. Elijah Nouvelage/AFP/Getty Images

More than 3 million Georgians have cast ballots early, both in-person at early voting locations, and by absentee ballot voting by mail or through a secure drop box, according to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.   

In a news release, the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office said that as of noon today, 3,063,716 ballots have been cast so far.   

Some context: Georgians have already cast nearly three-quarters of the total vote of the 2016 election, when just over four million total votes were recorded across the state. There has been a 96.6% increase in total turnout to date compared to this stage of early voting in Georgia in 2016, according to the secretary of state.