From making sure voters are eligible to cast a ballot, to tracking and reporting results, local election officers are key players in the U.S. presidential election. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias reports on what they’re doing to make the voting fair and safe.Camera and Produced by: Veronica Balderas Iglesias …
Leave a commentFacebook, Twitter and other internet companies are rolling out new policies on controversial content during the U.S. presidential campaign. Michelle Quinn reports. Camera: Deana Mitchell …
Leave a commentThe second and final debate before the U.S. presidential election appears set to go forward with new rules in place meant to prevent the candidates from talking over each other. President Donald Trump expressed his displeasure with the overall setup, telling reporters Monday that while he thinks “it is very unfair,” he will be a part of Thursday’s event in Nashville, Tennessee. “I will participate but it’s very unfair that they changed the topics and it’s very unfair that again we have an anchor who is totally biased,” Trump said. Kristen Welker, a respected NBC White House reporter, is moderating the debate and has chosenmore
Leave a commentWasting no time, the Senate is on track to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court by next Monday, charging toward a rare weekend session as Republicans push past procedural steps to install President Donald Trump’s pick before Election Day. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he will begin the process as soon as the Senate Judiciary Committee wraps up its work Thursday. With a 53-47 Republican majority, and just two GOP senators opposed, Trump’s nominee is on a glide path to confirmation that will seal a conservative hold on the court for years to come. McConnellmore
Leave a commentAs Republicans rush to confirm Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump’s pick to replace the late-Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court before Election Day, some liberal Democrats are floating the idea of adding more seats to the court — beyond the current nine. The number of justices has changed over time, from six to as many as 10, but the number has remained steady at nine since 1869. In the 1930s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to pack the court to preserve his New Deal legislation, which kept getting struck down by the high court. He failed. If Democrats capture the White House andmore
Leave a commentThe second and final debate before the U.S. presidential election appears set to go forward with new rules in place meant to prevent the candidates from talking over each other. President Donald Trump expressed his displeasure with the overall setup, telling reporters Monday that while he thinks “it is very unfair,” he will be a part of Thursday’s event in Nashville, Tennessee. “I will participate but it’s very unfair that they changed the topics and it’s very unfair that again we have an anchor who is totally biased,” Trump said. Kristen Welker, a respected NBC White House reporter, is moderating the debate and has chosenmore
Leave a commentThursday’s debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger former Vice President Joe Biden will feature a mute button to allow each candidate to speak uninterrupted, organizers said Monday, in a bid to avoid the disruptions that marred the first matchup. The Presidential Commission on Debates said each candidate’s microphone would be silenced to allow the other to make two minutes of opening remarks at the beginning of each 15-minute segment of the debate. Both microphones will be turned on to allow a back-and-forth after that time. Trump’s campaign objected to the change but said the president would still take part. “President Trump is committed to debatingmore
Leave a commentPresident Donald Trump heaped criticism Monday against Dr. Anthony Fauci, the press and the polls that show him trailing Democrat Joe Biden in key battleground states two weeks before Election Day. On the third day of a Western campaign swing, Trump is hoping for the type of last-minute surge that gave him a come-from-behind victory four years ago. His aggressive travel comes as Trump plays defense in states he won four years ago, though the president insisted he was confident as he executed a packed schedule despite the pandemic. “We’re going to win,” he told campaign staff on a morning conference call from Las Vegas. He went on to acknowledge: “I wouldn’t havemore
Leave a comment“If we win this state, we win it all,” U.S. President Donald Trump declared Monday at a political rally in the state of Arizona, which has 11 electoral votes out of the 270 needed to win the presidency. Trump won the state by 4 percentage points in 2016. “We’re in first place in Arizona,” Trump said at the political rally in Prescott, his first of two during the day in the southwestern state, two weeks before the general election. An average of major polls that have been released this month shows Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden leading in Arizona bymore
Leave a commentThe spread of misinformation makes the search for trustworthy news that much harder. But as Tina Trinh reporters, tech companies are identifying media bias and helping readers discern the real news from the fake. …
Leave a commentPresident Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden campaigned Sunday in swing states they are trying to flip during the Nov. 3 election that is just more than two weeks away. Trump began his day in Nevada, making a visit to church before a fundraiser and an evening rally in Carson City. Once considered a battleground, Nevada has not swung for a Republican presidential contender since 2004. The rally drew thousands of supporters who sat elbow to elbow, cheering Trump and booing Biden and the press. The vast majority wore no masks to guard against the coronavirus, though cases in the state are on the rise, with more thanmore
Leave a commentWhen Michigan voter Dr. Mahmoud Al-Hadidi casts his ballot in the November election, there is one issue that rises above all others as he makes his choice — respect. “In this election, honestly, respect and recognition,” the emergency room physician told VOA during a recent interview at his lakefront home in the southeastern part of the state. “The Muslim community would like to be acknowledged as part of this great American nation, and not as an alien culture to this nation. The Muslim community would like to be treated with respect.” Al-Hadidi supported Democratic former secretary of statemore
Leave a commentPresident Donald Trump was outraised by Democrat Joe Biden in September and is being outgunned financially by his rival with just weeks to go until Election Day. Trump’s campaign, along with the Republican National Committee and associated groups, raised $247.8 million in September, short of the $383 million raised by Biden and the Democratic National Committee in the same period. Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh tweeted that the Trump effort had $251.4 million on hand at the end of September, compared with $432 million for Biden. Trump’s financial disadvantage was once unthinkable — incumbent presidents traditionally vastlymore
Leave a commentIn the U.S. state of Michigan, authorities have apprehended 13 men accused of conspiring to abduct and possibly kill the state’s governor. The plot, which involved a self-styled militia group armed with semi-automatic weapons and explosives, was timed to disrupt the U.S. election and incite an insurrection. Matt Dibble spoke to experts who are warning that provocative messaging from leaders and under-regulated social media could be driving the American political climate towards violence. Camera: Sam Paakkonen Producer: Matt Dibble …
Leave a commentIn the U.S. state of Michigan, authorities have apprehended 13 men accused of conspiring to abduct and possibly kill the state’s governor. The plot, which involved a self-styled militia group armed with semi-automatic weapons and explosives, was timed to disrupt the U.S. election and incite an insurrection. Matt Dibble spoke to experts who are warning that provocative messaging from leaders and under-regulated social media could be driving the American political climate towards violence. Camera: Sam Paakkonen Producer: Matt Dibble …
Leave a commentOn Friday, President Donald Trump campaigned in Fort Myers, Florida, a state with one of the highest populations of elderly voters, delivering remarks aimed at reassuring older Americans that he will protect them from the pandemic. “I am honored to be here in Fort Myers to reaffirm my solemn pledge to America’s seniors,” Trump said. “I will protect you, I will defend you, and I will fight for you with every ounce of energy and conviction that I have.” Trump delivered his speech in front of an indoor crowd, some of them not socially distanced and many not wearing masks. “My message tomore
Leave a commentThe Women’s March returns to cities across the United States on Saturday, with organizers hoping thousands will turn out despite the pandemic.Organizers of the march in Washington are focusing on a range of left-leaning political issues, including urging Americans to vote President Donald Trump out of office and protesting the Supreme Court nomination of conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett, following the death of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.According to a permit issued by the National Park Service, organizers expect between 6,000 and 10,000 people to gather on Freedom Plaza for a midday rally, followed by a march to the Suprememore
Leave a commentOn Friday, President Donald Trump campaigned in Florida — a state with one of the highest populations of elderly voters — promising that he would protect American seniors from the coronavirus pandemic. Trump handily won senior citizens’ votes in 2016, but the latest polls show that Democratic nominee Joe Biden is leading by a significant margin among Americans 65 and older. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has the story. …
Leave a commentThe Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up President Donald Trump’s policy, blocked by a lower court, to exclude people living in the U.S. illegally from the census count that will be used to allocate seats in the House of Representatives.Never in U.S. history have immigrants been excluded from the population count that determines how House seats, and by extension Electoral College votes, are divided among the states, a three-judge federal panel said in September when it held Trump’s policy illegal.The justices put the case on a fast track, setting arguments for Nov. 30. A decision is expected by themore
Leave a commentThe Superior Court in Washington, D.C., has ruled that actions taken by the U.S. Agency for Global Media’s chief executive against the board of the Open Technology Fund are invalid.The court ruling came in response to a July lawsuit regarding who controls the OTF. The suit was filed by the office of the District of Columbia’s attorney general under the district’s Nonprofit Corporations Act.OTF, an independent, nonprofit grantee of USAGM, In one of his first acts as chief executive of USAGM, the federal agency that oversees Voice of America and other networks and grantees, including OTF, Michael Pack fired themore
Leave a commentAs the U.S. inches closer to pivotal elections November 3, Michigan’s 270,000 registered Muslim American voters could determine the outcome of the presidential contest in the battleground state. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more.Camera, Producer: Kane Farabaugh …
Leave a commentU.S. Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential challenger Joe Biden return to the campaign trail Friday after sparring the night before in separate televised town hall events. Trump and Biden visit three battleground states as the November 3 presidential election draws closer in an ongoing effort to capture support from voters, 18 million of whom have already cast ballots, according to the U.S. Elections Project at the University of Florida. Trump makes stops in Florida and Georgia, two southern states that are considered crucial to his chances of winning a second term in the White House. Themore
Leave a commentThe US is seeing unprecedented numbers of voters who are choosing to cast ballots ahead of the November 3rd presidential election. More than 14 million Americans have voted already, at least 10 times the norm at this point, and millions more are expected to do so before Election Day. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti examines who is voting and how that could affect the outcome of the presidential election. Camera: Miguel Amaya, Aleksandr Bergan Producer: Miguel AmayaLesia Bakalets contributed to this report in Miami …
Leave a commentMore than 17 million Americans have already cast ballots in the 2020 election, a record-shattering avalanche of early votes driven both by Democratic enthusiasm and a pandemic that has transformed the way the nation votes. The total represents 12% of all the votes cast in the 2016 presidential election, even as eight states are not yet reporting their totals and voters still have more than two weeks to cast ballots. Americans’ rush to vote is leading election experts to predict that a record 150 million votes may be cast and turnout rates could be higher than in any presidentialmore
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