(WASHINGTON) -- As the race reaches one week until Election Day, Kamala Harris delivered her "closing argument" on The Ellipse -- in the same spot where Donald Trump rallied his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, to march on the U.S. Capitol nearby.
Trump tried to preempt Harris's remarks, speaking to reporters Tuesday morning at Mar-a-Lago after declaring he's "the opposite of a Nazi" on Monday night in Georgia. He holds a rally later in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where there is a large population of Puerto Rican Americans.
More than 53 million Americans have voted early
As of 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday, more than 53 million Americans have voted early, according to the Election Lab at the University of Florida.
Of the total number of early votes, 27,765,237 were cast in person and 25,686,627 were returned by mail
There is now just one week until Election Day.
Trump says his campaign is one of 'positive solutions'
Former President Donald Trump said on social media late Tuesday that his "campaign of positive solutions to save America" stands in contrast to what he called Vice President Kamala Harris' "campaign of hate."
"She has spent all week comparing her political opponents to the most evil mass murderers in history," Trump wrote on Truth Social, before also hitting out at President Joe Biden.
"Now, on top of everything, Joe Biden calls our supporters 'garbage,'" Trump continued, though he was the first to use the term "garbage can" to describe the United States with a migrant population.
Calling Harris and Biden "unfit" to lead the country, Trump claimed he's leading "the biggest, broadest, and most important political coalition in American history."
"We are welcoming historic numbers of Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, and citizens of every race, religion, color, and creed," Trump wrote. "It is my desire to be the president of all the people," he continued.
-ABC News' Soo Rin Kim, Lalee Ibssa and Kelsey Walsh
Michelle Obama warns Atlanta crowd young people will have to 'clean up the mess' if Harris doesn't win
A week out from the election, former first lady Michelle Obama headlined a star-studded get out the vote event for her nonpartisan civic organization When We All Vote in Atlanta.
Obama did not give the same speech she had while with Vice President Kamala Harris in Michigan on Saturday. Instead of focusing on reproductive rights, she warned against the dangers of being an apathetic voter.
“In this country, change takes not days, but decades, y'all. So that can be frustrating. So, it's natural to wonder if anyone hears you, if anyone sees you. It is healthy to push your leaders to be better, even to even to question the whole system,” Obama told the audience.
Obama urged these voters to take the same interest in this election as the most “powerful” people in the world.
“I have sat at tables with some of the most powerful people in the world. And let me tell you, a lot of these people sitting at those tables have absolutely no clue what your lives are like,” said Obama. “They could not care less about your apathy. In fact, they welcome it. They welcome it. They are happy to be in full control of this game. That's why every single person who has real power in this world, they are fully engaged in the political process.”
She told the audience that they cannot “afford” to be apathetic.
“So y'all, you have a choice. You can listen to them. You can fold your arms and stay home. Or you can listen to me. And if you want to listen to me, here's a warning. There are only a handful of very wealthy people in the world who can actually afford to be indifferent about our politics.”
She continued, “You don't have the luxury to be indifferent to who's in power and who makes the rules. And for the young people, as the years go on, you all are going to be the ones left to clean up the mess. Good, because I'm not going to be here forever. And I don't want I don't want you, all our young people, to lookup one day and realize that you don't even recognize the world you're living in."
Obama pushed the audience to make sure that those in power actually "care" about those voters.
“How are you going to make sure that those in power actually care about you? And it's not by sitting out, are we getting help? It's not by sitting out. Or is it by you? It's by using the tools you have to make sure that those in power actually see you."
The event boasted appearances from Marsai Martin, Kerry Washington, Kelly Rowland, Shonda Rhimes, Ciara, Liza Koshy, Rita Wilson and Ari Lennox.
-ABC News' Gabriella Abdul-Hakim
Trump on comedian's 'garbage' speech at Madison Square Garden says, 'I can't imagine it's a big deal'
Former President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday night he hasn't watched comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's Madison Square Garden remarks referring to Puerto Rico as a "floating island of garbage" before finally acknowledging that the comedian "probably" shouldn't have been there.
Trump's latest comments came in an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity. Earlier Tuesday, Trump told ABC News' Rachel Scott he didn't hear the comedian's comments.
"I have no idea who he is," Trump told Hannity in the later interview. "Somebody said there was a comedian that joked about Puerto Rico … and I have no idea who he is. Never saw him, never heard of him, and don't want to hear of him."
Trump said that Hinchcliffe's comments weren't vetted by the campaign.
"But I have no idea, they put a comedian in, which everybody does," Trump said. "You throw comedians in, you don't vet them and go crazy. It's nobody's fault, but somebody said some bad things," he said.
Trump added, "Now what they've done is taken somebody that has nothing to do with the party, has nothing to do with us, said something, and they try and make a big deal. But I don't know who it is. I don't even know who put him in, and I can't imagine it's a big deal. I've done more for Puerto Rico than any president."
It wasn't until Hannity asked, "You wish he wasn't there?" that Trump finally said, "Probably," adding, "I don't know if it's a big deal or not, but I don't want anybody making nasty jokes or stupid jokes. Probably he shouldn't have been there."
Touting his relationship with Puerto Rico, Trump recounted the time he visited in 2017 to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and tossed paper towels to a crowd of people.
"I mean, they love me in Puerto Rico, and I love them," Trump said. … I was there handing out food. I got in trouble for that, too, because we were having fun. We had a lot of people, and I was throwing paper towels to the back. They were all having fun everywhere, and the fake news came over, 'That was very disrespectful to be throwing towels.'"
-ABC News' Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim and Kelsey Walsh
Biden angers Republicans by associating 'garbage' with Trump supporters
President Joe Biden has drawn fire from Republicans due to comments he made at a Voto Latino campaign call Tuesday night -- when his wording seemed to be referring to the supporters of former President Donald Trump as “garbage.”
"Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage,’” Biden said, according to a video clip on CNN.
He went on to call Puerto Ricans "good, decent, honorable people" before adding, "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters."
The comment was followed by: "His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it's un-American. It's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've been."
Republicans quickly pounced on the comment, comparing it to Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment in 2016.
Sen. Marco Rubio broke the news to Trump onstage as he campaigned in Allentown, Philadelphia.
Trump responded, "Remember, Hillary said 'deplorable.'"
"That didn't work out," he continued. "'Garbage' I think is worse, right?"
Trump Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded by saying, "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris hate America and don't deserve four more years. Kamala must answer for this disgraceful attack on tens of millions of Americans."
The new controversy comes one week out from the election, and on the night that Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her closing campaign message on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C.
“The President referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage,’” a White House spokesperson said in a statement.
A transcript of the remarks given to ABC News by the White House has an apostrophe at the end of “supporter's,” but it is unclear from the video of Biden’s remarks whether the president meant that word in the possessive.
A spokesman for Harris’ campaign referred ABC News to the White House’s official statement.
Biden responded shortly afterward with a post on X, saying that it was specifically the "hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporter" that he was calling "garbage."
-ABC News' Justin R. Gomez
RFK Jr. says Trump 'promised' him 'control of the public health agencies'
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said this week that if elected, former President Donald Trump will put him in "control" of America's public health agencies.
Kennedy made the remarks on a Zoom call with supporters Monday night.
The agencies Kennedy mentioned include the Centers for Disease Control, the Federal Drug Administration, the National Institute of Health and the United States Department of Agriculture.
"The key, which President Trump has promised me, is control of the public health agencies, which is HHS and its sub-agencies, CDC, FDA, NIH, and a few others. And also the USDA, which is, you know, key to making America healthy, because we’ve got to get off of seed oils and we’ve got to get off of pesticides... and we need to make that transition to regenerative agriculture," Kennedy said.
RFK Jr., who made his own bid for president in the 2024 election, told supporters what he would do if appointed the position.
"I want to make sure to reorient NIH, so that instead of developing drugs and serving as an incubator for new pharmaceutical products, that instead NIH will be figuring out what’s causing these autism rates and autoimmune diseases and the neurodevelopmental diseases," Kennedy said.
"And I want to make sure that the FDA -- that the people on the panels at FDA do not have conflicts of interest, their people are genuinely interested in public health," he added.
"I want to end the financial entanglements – the fact that the FDA gets half of its budget from the pharmaceutical companies. I’d like to get the pharma ads off of TV," Kennedy said.
Kennedy’s remarks drew condemnation from Trump’s former surgeon general Jerome Adams.
"If RFK has a significant influence on the next administration, that could further erode people's willingness to get up to date with recommended vaccines, and I am worried about the impact that could have on our nation's health, on our nation's economy, on our global security,” Adams said at a public health conference, according to according to New York Times reporter Sheryl Gay Stolberg.
-ABC News' Will McDuffie
Nikki Haley says she hasn't talked to Trump since June but is on 'standby'
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley told Fox News' Bret Baier on Tuesday evening that she hasn’t spoken with former President Donald Trump since June — but she's prepared to support his campaign, if asked.
“Last time I talked to him was back in June,” Haley said. “They're very aware that we're on standby. They know that we would be there to help.”
“But look, we're on the same team," Haley continued. "It is their campaign's decision on what he needs in these last final days, it does not bother me at all.”
ABC News has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
In the same interview, Haley denounced the messaging at Trump's rally in New York earlier this week, calling it "overly masculine" and "edgy." She said it was "harmful" to allow a comedian to disparage Puerto Ricans, and she thought that the choice of speakers might have made women feel "uncomfortable."
"This is not a time for them to get overly masculine with this bromance thing that they’ve got going," she said. "Fifty-three percent of the electorate are women. Women will vote. They care about how they’re being talked to."
Despite those criticisms, she said, "There's no bad blood between me and the president. We want Donald Trump to win."
Haley stressed that she is not voting for Trump for his personality, but rather for his policies, adding: “I don't agree with Trump 100% of time, but I don't agree with Kamala Harris on anything.”
-ABC News' Soorin Kim
Colorado accidentally put voting system passwords online, no threat to election: Officials
The Colorado Secretary of State's office posted partial voting system passwords online but the error did not pose an immediate security threat to the state’s elections, officials said on Tuesday.
"The Colorado Department of State is aware that a spreadsheet located on the Department’s website improperly included a hidden tab including partial passwords to certain components of Colorado voting systems," Secretary of State Jena Griswold’s office said in a statement. "This does not pose an immediate security threat to Colorado’s elections, nor will it impact how ballots are counted."
The Colorado GOP first announced the incident on Tuesday and released an affidavit from an individual purporting to find the hidden tab. The individual’s name was redacted.
"We hear all the time in Colorado from Secretary Griswold and Governor Polis that we represent the 'Gold Standard' for election integrity, a model for the nation," said Dave Williams, chairman of the Republican Party of Colorado in a press release. "One can only hope that by the Secretary of State posting our most sensitive passwords online to the world dispels that myth," said Williams
According to Griswold's office, there are two unique passwords for every election equipment component which are kept in separate places, held by different parties and can only be used with physical in-person access to a voting system.
Under Colorado law, voting equipment must be stored in secure rooms that are under 24/7 surveillance.
"No person may be present in a secure area unless they are authorized to do so or are supervised by an authorized and background-checked employee," Griswold said. "There are also strict chain of custody requirements that track when a voting systems component has been accessed and by whom."
-ABC News' Laura Romero
2 people arrested near Harris' campaign rally in DC, sources say
Two people were arrested at the Harris campaign rally at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, sources told ABC News.
One adult male and one adult female were arrested for assault on a police officer near the intersection of 17th St. and Constitution Ave. near the site of the rally.
North Carolina appeals court rejects RNC's challenge to overseas ballots
A North Carolina appeals court on Tuesday rejected a Republican-led effort to block ballots cast by overseas voters unless they could provide additional proof of their residency in the state.
The Republican National Committee sued the North Carolina State Board of Elections earlier this month over a policy that allows voters living abroad to cast their ballot in the state if their parents previously lived in North Carolina, even if the voter never resided in the state themselves.
A trial judge last week denied the RNC's request to stop the policy, and their appeal of that decision was unanimously rejected by a panel of three judges on the North Carolina Court of Appeals Tuesday.
The Republican National Committee -- joined by the state party and two voters -- argued that the policy "flies in the face of the state constitution" by allowing non-residents to participate in the state’s elections.
"North Carolina has notoriously close elections," the lawsuit said. "Now more than ever, counting every legitimate vote from every eligible voter -- and only legitimate votes from eligible voters -- matters."
The North Carolina State Board of Elections highlighted that the policy has been in place for over a decade without issue, arguing the injunction requested by the RNC would "disenfranchise an entire class of lawful voters."
"Petitioners’ petition represents an unwarranted and unprecedented effort to disrupt an ongoing election by throwing countless voters’ duly cast ballots into question with no actual proof of any problem with them," the state said in their filing.
The case is yet another legal setback for Republicans, who lost a similar case in Pennsylvania earlier Tuesday.
-ABC News' Peter Charalambous
Multiple pro-Palestinian protesters escorted out during Harris' speech
Multiple pro-Palestinian protesters were escorted out at separate points by security during Vice President Kamala Harris' remarks on Tuesday night at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C.
The protesters, who ABC News saw inside the Ellipse, were staging small protests calling for an arms embargo on Israel. One protester was escorted out right near the stage.
'President for all Americans': Harris appeals to voters in closing argument
Vice President Kamala Harris' closing argument took hits at her opponent, former President Donald Trump, but made a case for voters on both sides of the political aisle.
"Unlike Donald Trump, I don’t believe people who disagree with me are the enemy. He wants to put them in jail; I’ll give them a seat at the table," Harris said, referencing her campaign platform to include a Republican in her cabinet if elected.
"I pledge to you to approach my work with the joy and optimism that comes from making a difference in peoples' lives," Harris said.
"And I pledge to be a president for all Americans -- and to always put country above party and self," Harris added.
Harris invokes Trump's role in Jan. 6 riot at the Ellipse
Vice President Kamala Harris stressed former President Donald Trump's role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, while standing on the same stage he did that preceded the riot.
"We know who Donald Trump is. He is the person who stood at this very spot nearly four years ago and sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol to overturn the will of the people in a free and fair election," Harris said, adding, "An election that he knew he lost."
"Americans died as a result of that attack. 140 law enforcement officers were injured because of that attack," Harris said.
Harris says, 'It's time to stop pointing fingers and start locking arms'
At the top of her speech at the Ellipse Tuesday, Harris took shots at former President Donald Trump's recent rhetoric, specifically invoking his "enemy from within" comment.
"This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance and out for unchecked power. Donald Trump has spent a decade trying to keep the American people divided and afraid of each other," Harris said.
"That is who he is, but America, I am here tonight to say, that is not who we are. That is not who we are," Harris added.
The vice president went on to call for unity across the nation.
"We have to stop pointing fingers and start locking arms. It is time to turn the page on the drama and the conflict, the fear and division. It is time for a new generation of leadership in America," Harris said.
Harris takes the stage in DC to deliver closing argument
"Good evening, America," Vice President Kamala Harris said to the giant crowd assembled at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. Tuesday.
Crowds gather for Harris' Ellipse speech
Thousands of supporters gathered in anticipation of Vice President Kamala Harris' closing argument on the Ellipse in Washington D.C.
Asked what the Harris-Walz ticket should do to appeal more to young men, 21-year-old Ramiro Paz Lopez told ABC News that men were the ones who needed to change their behavior.
"I think men just have to listen. I think Kamala and Walz are presenting their message pretty strongly, and I just think men just have to listen and go away from their bubble and just be willing to hear other points of views," he said.
Grace Ledford, a 13-year-old attendee, told ABC News she left her hometown of Champaign, Illinois, at 1:30 a.m. and boarded a flight at 6 a.m. to make it to Washington, D.C. specifically for the Harris rally on Tuesday.
Though she is too young to vote, Ledford expressed how "excited" she was to witness her first rally, explaining how she and her dad lined up over five hours in advance.
-ABC News' Emily Chang and Oren Oppenheim
Transition teams met with both candidates' reps: Sources
Federal agency transition members met with representatives from both the Harris and Trump campaigns, sources with knowledge of the meetings confirmed to ABC News.
Up until now, the Trump team has been very reticent to conduct any formal meetings with Biden White House staff and had blown past ethics and funding agreement deadlines.
A spokesperson for the White House confirmed the meeting, which took place in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
"The ATDC has been meeting regularly for months to prepare for a transition, and the meeting this week included representatives from both transition teams," the spokesperson said in a statement. "The meeting focused on post-election readiness to ensure agencies and the transition teams are ready to execute responsibly and efficiently."
-ABC News' MaryAlice Parks, Katherin Faulders and Justin Gomez
Pennsylvania officials 'bracing' for onslaught of litigation
In the battleground state of Pennsylvania, election officials have been preparing for months for millions of residents to cast their highly anticipated votes.
But those election officials have also quietly been preparing for another possibility: an onslaught of litigation that could flood the courts on Election Day and beyond.
"We are the biggest swing county in the biggest swing state, so we are very conscious of the fact that we have a lot of eyes on us," Bob Harvie, the Democratic vice chair of the Bucks County Board of Commissioners, said in an interview with ABC News.
Bucks County -- a Philadelphia suburb that former Trump narrowly lost by less than a percentage point in 2016 and by about 5% in 2020 -- has been sued 11 times since the 2020 election, according to Harvie.
Now they are "bracing" for a repeat, he said.
Walz says Harris speech will be 'spectacular'
Gov. Tim Walz said Tuesday that Harris' speech at the Ellipse would be "spectacular," while adding that it isn't "by chance" that she's delivering her campaign's closing message there.
"Vice President is going to give a spectacular speech tonight on the Ellipse, and it's not by chance that it's there, because she's going to highlight the promise of America versus the chaos," he said at Iron Black Coffee Co. in Columbus, Georgia, where he was meeting with the Educators for Harris-Walz coalition.
-ABC News' Isabella Murray
Maricopa County officials lay out Election Day security plan
Officials in Maricopa County, Arizona, the fourth largest county in the country, said Tuesday they’ve been planning for years to secure polling locations and the tabulation center on Election Day.
The county, which has been at the center of election conspiracy theories and threats since 2020, will have one of the most intense security operations in the country with patrols on horseback and drones for surveillance and security cameras, according to Maricopa County Sheriff Russ Skinner.
Skinner told reporters there haven’t been "a lot of threats" this year but expects to see more as Election Day approaches and in the days after.
"There is no place in politics or this process that criminal activity is allowed and there is zero tolerance that we as public safety will take in relative any type of criminal act or any type of issue that arises," Skinner said. "We want this to be a safe and secure process."
During the press conference, Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates said that an individual with a hidden camera recently recorded a county training and posted videos and photos of election workers on social media.
"Election workers are off limits, they should be off limits," Gates said. "They should not be threatened. They should not have their names and images put out there. And I have full confidence we're not going to see that from this point on."
Gates added that the county has received over 1 million early ballots and said that for the first time since 2006, there will be a two-page ballot which will mean it will take more time than usual to fill out ballots.
The county has increased the number of voting booths and staff to mitigate long lines at the polls.
-ABC News' Laura Romero
Pennsylvania Puerto Ricans think controversial comments from comedian hurt Trump
Several Puerto Ricans in battleground Pennsylvania say the controversial comments a comedian made about Puerto Ricans at Trump's Madison Square Garden rally over the weekend will hurt the former president in his quest for the White House.
Ramon Martinez, who is a co-owner with his brother and wife of Mofongo, a Dominican/Puerto Rican restaurant in Reading, Pennsylvania, spoke with ABC News' Terry Moran after the rally where Tony Hinchcliffe made the joke. Martinez said the comments will play a role with the decisions from undecided Latino voters.
"I think that they will take one side when they hear what we heard last night," Martinez said.
Asked if Hinchcliffe's comments could hurt Trump, Martinez said "yes, I strongly believe that."
"Every time they speak, they put down the immigrants, the Latinos. I don't think that's the right way to get the Latino vote."
Moran spoke with the voters ahead of Trump’s Tuesday evening rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania -- a town with a significant Puerto Rican population.
-ABC News' Eric Fayeulle and Terry Moran
Supreme Court rejects RFK Jr. appeals to be removed from 2 state ballots
The U.S. Supreme Court denied Tuesday evening Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s request for an injunction ordering the Wisconsin Election Commission to use stickers to cover his name on the state's presidential ballot.
The court did not elaborate on its decision in a single-sentence order and there were no noted dissents.
The court also denied Kennedy's appeal that sought to make Michigan reprint election ballots without his name.
The court did not elaborate on the decision, however, Justice Neil Gorsuch, in the sole noted dissent, indicated that he would have granted the injunction.
Gorsuch cited as his rationale the reasons given by several dissenting conservative members of a federal appeals court panel which had earlier weighed the case.
That minority in the appeals court had concluded that denying a federal candidate the ability to withdraw from the ballot may have infringed on his First Amendment rights.
Harris to spend election night at Howard University: Sources
Vice President Kamala Harris will spend election night at Howard University, her alma mater, two sources familiar with the planning told ABC News.
Harris graduated from the Washington, D.C., HBCU in 1986.
She used the campus to practice for ABC News's debate in August and occasionally worked from an office on campus while campaigning during her 2019 bid for the presidency.
-ABC News' Gabriella Abdul-Hakim
Florida election worker fired after ballots fell out of truck
An election worker in Miami-Dade County, Florida, was fired after a sealed bag of ballots fell out of a truck, according to election officials.
The Miami-Dade County Elections Department said in a statement Tuesday that the worker forgot to lock the back of a truck and as they drove off, one sealed bag fell out, containing completed ballots from early voting. Residents who observed the incident in real time recovered the bag and drove the items to a local police station.
Despite the incident occurring due to human error, the employee was terminated, the county officials said. All the ballots were accounted for.
“While unintentional, the Elections Department has a zero tolerance for error and therefore the employee was terminated,” the statement said.
-ABC News' Laura Romero
Biden says he'll be watching Harris' speech: 'It's her night'
President Joe Biden, during a stop at a local ice cream shop in Maryland, told ABC News' Justin Gomez he will be tuning into Harris' speech tonight at the Ellipse.
When asked why he is not attending, Biden responded: "Because it's for her. Because it's her night."
A preview of what Harris will say in her Ellipse speech
According to excerpts of Harris' speech, as prepared for delivery, she will go after Trump for the dark language he has used to describe his political opponents and pitch herself in contrast as someone who will govern for all Americans.
"Donald Trump intends to use the United States military against American citizens who simply disagree with him. People he calls 'the enemy from within.' This is not a candidate for president who is thinking about how to make your life better," she will say.
Harris will describe Trump as "unstable" and "obsessed with revenge."
"But America, I am here tonight to say: that’s not who we are," Harris will say.
She will then pivot to her optimistic plan for improving people's lives.
"I offer a different path. And I ask for your vote. And here is my pledge to you: I pledge to seek common ground and common sense solutions to make your lives better. I am not looking to score political points. I am looking to make progress," she will say.
-ABC News' Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
Jennifer Lopez to campaign with Harris this week
The Harris campaign announced Jennifer Lopez will give remarks in Las Vegas on Thursday. The event will also feature a performance by Maná.
Lopez was one of several Hispanic celebrities to show support for Harris this week after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage" at Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden.
North Carolina sees above-average turnout in counties impacted by Helene
Nearly 3.2 million North Carolinians -- more than 40% of the state’s registered voters -- have voted in the 2024 general election.
Notably, voter turnout in the 25 western North Carolina counties hardest hit by Hurricane Helene is outpacing the overall state turnout rate. The high turnout rate comes as Republican state legislators have raised concerns about voting access in western North Carolina.
Following Helene, the North Carolina State Board of Elections passed a series of measures to expand voting access in the counties impacted by the storm.
Early in-person voting in the state has increased by 2% compared to 2020.
-ABC News' Peter Charalambous
Harris' closing argument has been years in the making, former staffers say
Three people who worked with Harris for more than a decade believe there will be threads in her speech tonight to the type of argument Harris has been building since Trump won in 2016.
It's not just a 100-day campaign, they said.
While they have not seen her remarks, they say several previous speeches and moments best represent the case she's built.
Those include the first big speech she gave the night Trump won the presidency in 2016, which was the same night she was elected to the U.S. Senate. In it, she vowed to fight for reproductive rights and said she believed the nation was at an inflection point.
“Let’s remember what Corretta Scott King told us so long ago, she famously said the fight for civil rights, the fight for justice, the fight for equality must be fought and won -- sí se puede! -- must be fought and won, that fight for civil rights must be fought and won with each generation," Harris said in those remarks.
-ABC News' Zohreen Shah
Preparations underway for Harris' speech in DC
Fencing has been installed ahead of Harris' speech at the Ellipse in Washington.
Metropolitan police estimate up to 52,000 people may attend the rally.
The event, for which gates open at 3 p.m. ET, has been advertised to Harris supporters with push alerts, emails and online ads.
The Secret Service said in a statement to ABC News that it is “working closely with our federal and local partners to ensure the safety and security of Vice President Harris and all attendees at the campaign event on Tuesday at the White House Ellipse.
Several protest groups have announced plans to protest Harris’ speech, including a large group of anti-war and pro-Palestinian protesters from several well known Washington-based groups.
-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson
In Michigan, Vance says Trump wouldn't give Musk's Tesla preferential treatment
Campaigning in Michigan, Sen. JD Vance was asked if, given Elon Musk's involvement in Trump's campaign, a Trump administration would give preferential treatment to Musk's Tesla over Detroit's Big Three automakers -- General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Stellantis.
Vance said no.
Since 2008, Saginaw County and Michigan have voted for the person who would win the presidential election. Asked by local reporters how important carrying Saginaw County and Michigan is for a path to 270 electoral votes, Vance said it was "extremely important."
"Michigan is one of, if not the very most important battleground state," Vance said.
Michigan is home to thousands of Big Three employees.
-ABC News' Hannah Demissie
Trump and Harris effectively tied among likely voters in 2 swing states: Polls
A set of state polls by CNN and SSRS released Tuesday found Trump and Harris to be effectively tied among likely voters in Arizona and Nevada.
The Democratic Senate candidates, meanwhile, comfortably lead in each state.
In the Senate race in Arizona, Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego faces Republican Kari Lake. Lake is a Trump ally who was one of the most vocal election deniers after the 2020 election, refusing to concede that Trump had lost the presidential election and that she had lost her governor's race.
In Nevada, Democratic incumbent Jacky Rosen races Republican candidate Sam Brown.
Federal judge dismisses suit to delay ballot count for PA ex-pats
A federal judge in Pennsylvania dismissed a lawsuit Tuesday brought by five GOP congressmen who sought to segregate absentee ballots from overseas voters, including military members and their families.
On Sept. 30, Reps. Guy Reschenthaler, Dan Meuser, Glenn Thompson, Lloyd Smucker and Mike Kelly filed a suit against Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt and Deputy Secretary for Elections Jonathan Marks, accusing them of providing guidance to local election offices to not allow ID requirements for their foreign absentee voters.
They asked that the overseas ballots be segregated to ensure their validity.
Pennsylvania election law only permits ballots to be sent overseas if the applicant is eligible and the office has rarely seen any misuse, representatives from the Pennsylvania Secretary of State argued.
U.S. District Judge Christopher C. Conner sided with the secretary of state's office in his 21-page decision.
"Plaintiffs delayed too long to file their action, they lack standing, they have failed to join indispensable parties, and they have failed to articulate a viable cause of action," he said.
Similar lawsuits filed by the Republican National Committee in Michigan and North Carolina were dismissed by local courts. The plaintiffs have vowed to appeal..
USPS urges absentee voters to mail ballots today
The U.S. Postal Service issued an alert to voters who are planning to mail an absentee ballot and urged them to send them through the mail on Tuesday.
Although the USPS said it is "ready to successfully deliver the nation's mail-in ballots for voters who choose to use us to vote," it is anticipating an uptick of ballots in the mail over the coming days.
"We continue to recommend that it is a good common-sense measure for voters who choose to mail in their ballots to do so before Election Day and at least a week before their election office needs to receive them. If a ballot is due on Election Day, the Postal Service recommends mailing the ballot by this Tuesday (October 29)," the agency said in a news release.
The USPS said 99.9% of ballots were delivered within a week in 2020 and 98.3% of ballots were delivered within three days.
The USPS said it has undertaken "extraordinary measures" that it has taken in past elections, including extra deliveries and collections, special pickups, specialized sort plans at processing facilities to expedite delivery to boards of elections, and local handling and transportation of ballots.
Vance to join Joe Rogan podcast on Wednesday
Vice presidential nominee Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump's running mate, will sit down for an interview with Joe Rogan on Wednesday for his podcast, a spokesperson for Vance told ABC News.
The interview will take place in Austin, Texas, and is expected to drop later this week.
Vance's interview with Rogan comes after Trump sat down with Rogan last week for a three-hour interview.
Rogan posted on X on Monday that Vice President Harris' campaign offered to do his podcast on Tuesday on the road, but that he didn't want to travel from his studio.
-ABC News' Hannah Demissie
Permit for Harris' speech amended as up to 40,000 attendees expected
A National Park Service permit for Harris' speech tonight on the Ellipse has increased the number of expected participants to 40,000.
A park permit issued to the campaign last week said that 20,000 people were anticipated to attend the event.
Trump claims to ABC's Scott he didn't hear comedian's Puerto Rico comment, doesn't denounce it
The former president denied knowing the comedian who made a slew of racist, sexist and vulgar comments at his rally at Madison Square Garden, ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott reports.
That comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe, drew headlines in part for calling Puerto Rico an "island of floating garbage."
"I don't know him, someone put him up there. I don't know who he is," Trump told ABC's Scott.
Trump also insisted he didn't hear any of the comments, even as they've been played on television and written about extensively. When asked what he made of them, he did not take the opportunity to denounce them, repeating that he didn't hear the comments.
Trump expressed confidence that he will win the White House with just a week to go.
Harris set for closing pitch on The Ellipse near the Capitol and White House
Harris will deliver a speech at the Ellipse on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Harris' campaign said she plans to paint Trump as someone who is consumed by his grievances and an endless desire for retribution, highlighting his pledge to go after those on his "enemies list" and how it contrasts with Harris' focus on her "to-do list."
Her closing argument will highlight what she claims is a desire for Americans to "turn the page" from Trump by stressing her plans and priorities for the country, namely the economy. The vice president has promised to bring down costs and prioritize the middle class in her "opportunity economy."
Fallout continues from comedian's comment on Puerto Rico at Trump rally
Trump is set to deliver remarks to reporters at 10 a.m. ET in Florida before heading to Pennsylvania -- a swing state with a significant Puerto Rican population.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said in a radio interview on Monday: "We're the proud home to about a half a million Puerto Ricans. I'm damn proud to be their governor.”
Trump's campaign has tried to distance itself from comedian Tony Hinchcliffe's comments, saying they don't reflect their views. Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump's running mate, told reporters on Monday he hadn't seen the comment made by the comedian but that people had to "stop getting so offended."
Trump did not address the Puerto Rico comment during his rally in Georgia on Monday night, though he called the New York City event "one of the greatest rallies in the history of the world."
Meanwhile, former President Barack Obama ripped Trump for the anti-immigrant rhetoric at his MSG rally while campaigning for Harris. “These are fellow citizens he’s talking about," Obama told a crowd gathered in Philadelphia.