The latest on the midterm elections.
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Mail-In Pennsylvania Ballots With Incorrect Dates Will Be Saved but Not Counted, Court Rules
Pennsylvania’s highest court on Tuesday ordered officials to disallow mail-in ballots with the wrong date marked on the envelope, potentially throwing out numerous votes in close races that could determine control of the U.S. Congress in elections next week.
The ruling is a win for Republicans, who filed the case and who have been fighting to eliminate ballots with incorrect information on them in an effort they say is meant to ensure election security. Democrats say the lawsuits are really efforts to disallow votes and could sway tight races.
In its short ruling, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court also said that it was evenly split on the question of whether throwing out ballots with incorrect dates or no dates marked on the envelopes in which they are mailed violates a federal law that makes it illegal to throw out ballots for trivial reasons.
For that reason, the court directed Pennsylvania county boards of elections to “segregate and preserve any ballots contained in undated or incorrectly dated outer envelopes,” the ruling said.
Such a move would ensure that the ballots were preserved in the event that a higher court overturns the ruling or finds that discarding such ballots would violate federal law.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said that opinions would follow.
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Arizona GOP Candidate’s Twitter Account Restored After Musk Writes He’s ‘Looking Into’ It
Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem, the Republican candidate for Secretary of State, wrote Monday that his Twitter account was suspended and then restored as new owner Elon Musk confirmed he would look into the incident—coming just about one week to go before the 2022 midterm elections.
“Twitter has blocked my account from speaking truth with one week left until the election,” Finchem wrote on Facebook, including a photo that shows that his Twitter account appeared to be locked. “They are trying to put their thumb on the scales of this election. Tag Elon Musk and tell him to unban me right now.”
Read the full article here
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Grassroots Activism May Have Turned the Tide in the Race for Governor of Michigan
The same grassroots citizen activism that helped elect Republican Glenn Youngkin governor of Virginia may well make Tudor Dixon the next governor of Michigan.
Over recent weeks, incumbent Democrat governor Gretchen Whitmer’s double-digit lead over Dixon, a Republican, has evaporated, with most observers now calling the race a dead heat.
Dixon’s surge in the polls is no surprise to Tammy Clark, vice-president of a grassroots citizens’ group called Stand Up Michigan-We the People.
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Republicans Surpass Democrats in Vote-By-Mail and Early Voting Numbers in Florida
With only one week to go until the Nov. 8 midterm election, Republicans have surpassed Democrats in vote-by-mail and early voting numbers.
According to reports, Republicans surpassed Democrats in the number of vote-by-mail ballots and in-person early votes cast, as of Oct. 29. Just five days before, Democrats were ahead. In the months leading to the Nov. 8 midterms, Republicans out registered Democrats by a margin of nine to one.
According to Michael McDonald, a professor of political science at the University of Florida, this is a cause for concern for Democrats.
“Historically, Democrats lead in the early vote,” he told local media. “And right now, when you combine both the in-person and the mail ballots, registered Democrats are trailing the Republicans by about 30,000 ballots that have been returned. So that should be very concerning to them.”
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More Than 13 Million Mail-In Ballots Cast so Far Ahead of 2022 Midterms: Research
About 24 million people have voted early or cast mail-in ballots ahead of the 2022 midterms, which are a week from Tuesday.
Across more than 40 states that have reported voting totals so far, about 10.1 million have voted in person and 13.7 million people have returned mail-in ballots, according to the United States Election Project, run by the University of Florida.
“This is the make-or-break week for early voting,” wrote University of Florida professor Michael McDonald on Twitter. “If the past is a guide, the volume should pick up as people who tend to be younger and do not hold as strong partisan attachments make their choices and decide to vote.”
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As the Election Looms, Republicans Gain as Voters Focus on the Economy
Polling gains strengthening the chances of a “red wave” election are likely tied to voters settling on key issues favoring the GOP: the economy and inflation, which Republican candidates have relentlessly tied to the Biden administration and Democratic Party policies.
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Democrats, Tech Leaders Fund PAC to Boost McMullin in Utah
Tech leaders and Democratic Party-aligned groups are among those funneling millions into Utah to support independent Evan McMullin’s bid to unseat Republican Sen. Mike Lee.
The race has been inundated with outside spending, with super PACs unaffiliated with either the Lee or McMullin campaign spending heavily on glossy mailers and attack ads on the local affiliates of the four major television networks in the lead-up to the midterm elections.
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Republicans Score Big Win in Race for Key Senate Seat After Libertarian Candidate Exits
Libertarian Senate candidate Marc Victor has dropped out of the Arizona race and endorsed GOP challenger Blake Masters against incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.).
Polls have shown that the race between Kelly, a former NASA astronaut, and the former President Donald Trump-endorsed Masters is close with just a week to go before the midterm elections.
“I found Blake to be generally supportive of the Live and Let Live Global Peace Movement,” Victor said in a statement on Tuesday confirming he is dropping out of the race. “Likewise, we found ourselves in general agreement about how to improve America and advance the cause of freedom and peace. After that discussion, I believe it is in the best interests of freedom and peace to withdraw my candidacy and enthusiastically support Blake Masters for United States Senate. I intend to assist in any way reasonably possible to elect Blake.”
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Pittsburgh Newspaper Endorses Oz, Questions Fetterman’s Transparency and Experience
One of the largest newspapers in Pennsylvania has endorsed Republican Senate nominee Mehmet Oz, while questioning his competitor Democrat John Fetterman about his life experience, maturity, and transparency.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which endorsed former President Donald Trump’s reelection bid in 2020, said Oz is “better equipped to lead and deliver for Pennsylvania,” according to its editorial piece published on Oct. 30. The editorial board stressed that Fetterman’s health after a stroke he suffered in May was not an issue.
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Biden Aims to Drive GOP Contrast in Florida 1 Week Out
President Joe Biden is heading to Florida to underline the contrast between the Democratic and Republican agendas, blasting the GOP over proposals to undo prescription drug price caps and change Social Security and Medicare.
Biden’s trip Tuesday will include taxpayer-funded remarks in Hallandale Beach, where the White House said he would highlight Republicans’ “very different vision” for America. Also on Biden’s schedule are a fundraiser for Florida gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist and a rally for the state’s Democratic Party, including Senate candidate Val Demings.
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$500,000 Raised Since Liz Cheney’s ‘Anti Endorsement’: Arizona GOP Frontrunner
Arizona Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake claimed on Monday that her campaign raised over $500,000 since outgoing Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) recently attempted to derail her campaign in an “anti-endorsement” effort.
Cheney has targeted Lake and Republican candidate for Arizona’s secretary of state Rep. Mark Finchem in a 30-second ad where she’s urging voters to reject the two candidates because “they’ll only honor the results of an election if they agree with it.”
While speaking on Fox News’s “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Monday, Lake said the outgoing GOP congresswoman has now officially become her “biggest fundraiser” to date.
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Lorenz Duchamps, Jack Phillips, Frank Fang, Dan M. Berger, Patricia Tolson, Steven Kovac, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.