Georgia judge says voters can hand in mail ballots in rejection of GOP lawsuit
A judge in Georgia on Saturday dismissed a Republican lawsuit that sought to block voters from hand-returning mail-in ballots in the state over the weekend. The lawsuit centered around officials in Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold, opening normally closed country offices on Saturday and Sunday to allow voters to hand in their ballots. Five other Democratic-leaning counties in the state also announced that county offices would be open over the weekend. Early voting in Georgia ended on Friday and the lawsuit, filed Friday night, cited a section of state law that says ballot drop boxes cannot be open past the end of advance voting. HARRIS TEARS INTO TRUMP, PRAISES GEN Z IN CLOSING ARGUMENT TO GEORGIA VOTERS But state law also states that voters can hand in mail ballots until the polls close on Tuesday night. GEORGIA’S NEARLY 4 MILLION EARLY VOTES BODES WELL FOR TRUMP, TOP STATE REPUBLICAN SAYS GOP lawyer Alex Kaufman argued in a Saturday emergency hearing that while it’s OK to mail absentee ballots, they shouldn’t be hand-delivered after early voting ends, but Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kevin Farmer rejected all of his arguments. “I find that it is not a violation of those two code sections for a voter to hand-return their absentee ballots,” Farmer said. A Fulton County spokesperson said on Saturday afternoon that only a couple dozen ballots had been returned to the four open county offices. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Former President Trump narrowly lost Georgia, a usually reliably Republican state, to President Biden by fewer than 12,000 votes in 2020, and afterward Trump made unsubstantiated accusations of fraud in Fulton County. Both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have been actively campaigning in the state, now considered a battleground. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
GOP candidate in New Hampshire points out Dem opponent is a millionaire after being accused of favoring rich
A Republican congressional candidate in New Hampshire blasted her Democratic opponent Thursday evening, reminding her she is a multimillionaire after the Democrat accused her of favoring the rich. “She believes that we should give a break to the wealthiest and the biggest corporations and hope for the best, hope that the results will trickle down to hardworking people,” Democratic congressional candidate Maggie Goodlander, who is married to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, said of Republican Lily Tang Williams during a debate. “I take a very different approach. I believe that the middle class deserves a tax cut, and I believe that we will do a lot for this country by ensuring that we don’t continue this disastrous tax policy.” Raising her hand to respond, Republican Lily Tang Williams hit back at Goodlander, saying, “You are wealthy. You’re worth $20 million to $30 million. How do you know about regular people’s suffering? Do you go shopping? Go to Walmart? Buy food? I talk to those people. And you pretend to be a renter in Nashua a few months ago, move back to run for this open seat with millions of dollars from Washington, D.C., insiders. … I don’t have money to run a TV ad, and you pretend you are poor, complain rent is so high. HARRIS PICKS UP ENDORSEMENTS FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE REPUBLICANS 6 DAYS BEFORE ELECTION “You do not understand regular people’s concerns.” Goodlander has an apartment in Nashua, New Hampshire, in the 2nd District and said during the debate that she would own property in the district if elected, the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism reported. Both candidates are millionaires, but Goodlander appears to be worth far more than Tang Williams. Tang Williams is worth between $3.8 million and $8.6 million, while Goodlander is worth between $9.9 million and $39 million, with most of her wealth in a trust fund, according to WMUR-TV, citing financial disclosures. When Tang Williams came to the U.S. from China, she only had $100 in her pocket, according to the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism. BIDEN CALLS FOR TRUMP TO BE ‘POLITICALLY’ LOCKED UP AT NEW HAMPSHIRE EVENT The two women are running for the open seat in New Hampshire’s 2nd District vacated by Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster. The latest poll shows Goodlander with an eight-point lead ahead of Tuesday. Tang Williams is a Chinese immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 1994. She has also previously run as a Libertarian in Colorado. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Goodlander is a native of New Hampshire and part of a well-connected political family in the state. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has called Tang Williams a “phenomenal success story,” according to the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism.
Republicans score victory in Georgia fight over election observers, RNC chairman says
The Republican National Committee (RNC) is celebrating after GOP poll watchers were allowed into four blue-leaning counties’ election offices for extended absentee ballot hours this weekend, according to party Chair Michael Whatley. Federal and state GOP groups had threatened to sue Fulton County late Friday after it and the counties of Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett announced several election offices would be open this weekend for people to turn in absentee ballots in person. Republicans also accused Fulton County of not allowing any public observers into those locations open on the weekends, which Whatley and Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon argued was against the Peach State’s election observer laws. “Following our efforts, our poll watchers have now been let into the building in all four Georgia counties. Our lawsuit over the offices remaining open is still pending, but we have eyes in the room as votes are being counted,” Whatley wrote on X. “We will continue our aggressive efforts to enforce Georgia law and protect the vote.” GEORGIA DEMS CHAIR REVEALS MESSAGE TO UNDECIDED GOP VOTERS AS HARRIS WORKS TO BUILD BROAD BASE Fox News Digital reached out to the four relevant county governments for comment. RNC co-chair Lara Trump, former President Trump’s daughter-in-law, posted on X, “Update on Georgia — working with the [Georgia Secretary of State] and [state Attorney General], we have been able to confirm that our observers WILL be allowed in the room while these ballots are being processed.” The alleged exclusion of poll watchers from the weekend absentee ballot submission hours was not limited to just the GOP. It included all observers, Republicans said. An RNC spokesperson told Fox News Digital having public poll observers through the weekend benefited both Republicans and Democrats but argued their absence would hurt the GOP more in left-leaning areas. The spokesperson said the RNC worked with Georgia election officials to secure access for poll observers. Fulton County includes the city of Atlanta, while DeKalb, Gwinnett and Cobb counties make up the Georgia capital’s suburbs. All four were critical to President Biden flipping Georgia blue by less than 1% in 2020. ‘ILLEGAL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND VOID’: GEORGIA JUDGE STRIKES DOWN NEW ELECTION RULES AFTER LEGAL FIGHTS The Friday night lawsuit threat came after the state GOP learned that election officials planned to open four election offices this weekend “to accommodate voters seeking to hand-return their absentee ballots.” “This is a blatant violation of Georgia law … which states ‘all drop boxes shall be closed when the advance voting period ends,’” the Georgia GOP said in a statement late Friday. “To make matters worse, the four election office locations are situated in areas of the county that will clearly favor Democrat candidates.” HOUSE GOP LEADERS RIP ACTBLUE AFTER DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT HIT WITH SUBPOENA Drop boxes are a way for voters to turn in their absentee ballots at election offices without human contact, which is different from submitting them in person at the office itself. Drop boxes were available through Georgia’s early voting period, from Oct. 15 through Nov. 1. But Republicans are arguing that the extended hours for turning in absentee ballots over the weekend run afoul of the state’s rules. Meanwhile, Democrats have accused Republicans of trying to sow chaos and uncertainty in Georgia’s election processes, particularly in blue-leaning counties like Cobb and Fulton. NPR reporter Stephen Fowler wrote on X of the lawsuit threat, “Multiple counties are doing it, and there’s nothing illegal about it – these aren’t drop boxes.” It comes after a Fulton County Superior Court judge rejected Republicans’ bid to force the county to hire more Republican poll workers for Election Day on Tuesday. State, federal and local Republican parties accused the Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections of not hiring enough GOP poll workers. They alleged that nine out of 45 qualified applicants were hired to help with early voting, while just six of 62 were hired for Election Day, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Judge Kevin Farmer said the case would be looked at further but declined to order emergency measures to force more Republican poll workers in by Tuesday. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Harris tears into Trump, praises Gen Z in closing argument to Georgia voters
Democratic 2024 presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris blasted former President Trump and praised young voters in what was likely her final campaign speech in Georgia. Harris spoke to supporters in downtown Atlanta on Saturday, three days before voters across the country who haven’t already cast ballots head to the polls on Election Day. “We have three days left – three days in one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime – and we still have work to do,” the vice president said. She pivoted to attacking Trump just a few minutes into her roughly 22-minute speech. ‘ILLEGAL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND VOID’: GEORGIA JUDGE STRIKES DOWN NEW ELECTION RULES AFTER LEGAL FIGHTS “We have an opportunity in this election to finally turn the page on a decade of Donald Trump, who spends full time trying to keep us divided and afraid of each other. We’re done. We’re done with that,” Harris said. “This is not someone who is thinking about how to make your life better, this is someone who is increasingly unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance. And the man is out for unchecked power.” She later asked “young leaders” to raise their hands and lavished praise on members of Generation Z – a voting bloc that both Republicans and Democrats have fought to win over. “I love Gen Z. I love it,” Harris said. “Because, see, this generation, you are rightly impatient for change. You are rightly impatient for change. You are determined to live free from gun violence, and tackle the climate crisis, and shape the world you inherit.” “I see your power. And I am so proud of you.” ‘NO SUCH PROMISE’: JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’ The speech mined familiar territory, with Harris repeating slogans and promises that she has already uttered on the campaign trail – as is typical of presidential candidates this close to Election Day. She vowed to crack down on grocery price gouging, which critics have panned as attempts at price-controlling goods, and pledged to cut taxes for small businesses. Harris also pledged to lower health care costs and accused Trump of wanting to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), despite his campaign already insisting that is not his policy position. The rally also featured appearances from famed director Spike Lee, rapper 2 Chainz, and both of Georgia’s Democratic U.S. senators. Georgia has smashed turnout records already, with more than four million people casting early in-person or absentee ballots during the early voting period from Oct. 15 through Nov. 1. More than 50% of active voters cast ballots early, including over 700,000 people who did not vote at all in 2020. HOUSE GOP LEADERS RIP ACTBLUE AFTER DEM FUNDRAISING GIANT HIT WITH SUBPOENA The counties leading in terms of turnout percentage have been largely rural, Republican-leaning areas. Bluer counties like DeKalb and Fulton, however, have significantly larger populations and have outpaced the redder areas in terms of sheer numbers. Both Harris and Trump have poured enormous resources into Georgia, a state that President Biden won by less than 1% during the previous election cycle. Trump’s campaign criticized Harris’ visit to the Peach State in a statement on Saturday morning. “Kamala Harris’ last-ditch attempt to gaslight Georgians and distract them with out of touch liberal Hollywood elites and flashy celebrities shows how desperate she is to distract Georgians from the last four years of her failed policy agenda,” said Morgan Ackley, a spokeswoman for Trump’s campaign in Georgia. “That’s why Georgians are ready to elect President Trump on Tuesday to fix our problems and fire Kamala Harris.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Dan Patrick debunks claims about Texas voting machines switching votes
Republican National Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump said Texas had fixed an error with voting machines, but Patrick quickly said there was no problem to fix.
Republicans outpacing Democrats in North Carolina early voting, data shows
Republicans in North Carolina are outpacing Democrats in the state in early voting going into Saturday, according to new data from the state. North Carolina Board of Elections data of ballots cast through Friday shows over 1.4 million (59.95%) registered Republicans have cast their early vote compared to 1.35 million (55.19%) registered Democrats in the battleground state. In-person early voting in North Carolina ends on Saturday. The data shows a massive shift in early voting in the state, where four years earlier Democrats outpaced Republicans in early voting by more than a million votes, according to the state election board. Republicans have put an emphasis on encouraging voters to vote early this election year after seeing lower early turnout for the party compared to Democrats last cycle. REPUBLICANS ARE RUNNING A ‘SUCCESSFUL’ EARLY VOTING CAMPAIGN IN BATTLEGROUND NORTH CAROLINA: NRCC CHAIR North Carolina saw record turnout on the first day of early voting in the state, Oct. 17, when 353,000 registered voters cast their ballots. EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING ENDING SATURDAY IN NORTH CAROLINA, NEW MEXICO, SOUTH CAROLINA, VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA The North Carolina Elections Board passed a bipartisan emergency resolution that reformed the state’s early voting process in 13 counties, including changing or adding voting sites and maintaining their availability, extending the hours and adding or reducing when any site is open within the early voting period, according to the election board. As of Friday, about 53.33% of ballots were already cast in North Carolina for the 2024 election. Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
Trump poised to hit Harris over disastrous jobs report: ‘Hurricane Kamala’
Former President Trump plans to take a final swipe at Vice President Kamala Harris over the latest jobs report on Friday. Prepared remarks for Trump’s upcoming rally in North Carolina later Saturday show him blaming Harris for tens of thousands of lost jobs. The report itself from the Department of Labor blames the losses on the fallout from hurricanes Helene and Milton. “Yesterday, it was announced that our country lost nearly 30,000 private sector jobs last month alone, along with nearly 50,000 manufacturing jobs in a single month. They’re trying to blame the Hurricane for the jobs numbers—but it wasn’t Hurricane Helene, it was Hurricane Kamala,” Trump is set to say. “Under her catastrophic economic agenda, more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs have been wiped out since the start of this year. 150,000 Americans joined the unemployment rolls last month, and nearly a quarter of a million people dropped out of the labor force,” the remarks continue. WHY TRUMP IS MAKING LAST-MINUTE STOPS AHEAD OF ELECTION DAY IN TWO BLUE-LEANING STATES U.S. job growth slowed down in October, coming in well short of economists’ expectations, while the unemployment rate was unchanged. SWING-STATE’S SUPREME COURT ISSUES PIVOTAL RULING ON MAIL-IN BALLOTS SENT WITHOUT POSTMARK The Labor Department on Friday reported that employers added 12,000 jobs in October, well below the 113,000 gain that was predicted by LSEG economists and the lowest tally since December 2020. The unemployment rate was 4.1%, in line with expectations. The number of jobs added in the prior two months were both revised downward, with job creation in August revised down by 81,000 from a gain of 159,000 to 78,000, while September was revised down by 31,000 from a gain of 254,000 to 223,000. Private sector payrolls contracted by 28,000 in October after LSEG economists projected they would rise by 90,000. The manufacturing sector saw employment decline by 46,000 jobs in October, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) noted was largely due to strike activity in the transportation equipment manufacturing sector. About 33,000 unionized machinists at Boeing have been on strike since early September. 26 REPUBLICAN ATTORNEYS GENERAL JOIN VIRGINIA IN PETITIONING SUPREME COURT TO RULE ON VOTER ROLL The construction sector added 8,000 jobs — below the average of 20,000 jobs per month in the past 12 months. Health care added 52,300 jobs in October, near its average monthly gain of 58,000 in the last year. The government added 40,000 jobs in October, mostly in line with its average monthly gain of 43,000 over the past 12 months. The BLS noted that Hurricane Helene made landfall in the southeast before the reference period for its employment surveys, while Hurricane Milton hit the same region during the report period. Fox Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report
Dem insiders head into final election stretch confident on Harris win: ‘Nauseously optimistic’
Democratic insiders and strategists heading into the final hours of the election are expressing confidence that Vice President Kamala Harris will defeat former President Donald Trump on Tuesday at the ballot box. “Nauseously optimistic,” is how Democrats described themselves to New York magazine as the clock continues ticking for the final 100 hours of the election cycle. Trump and Harris both delivered what were their respective closing arguments earlier this week, with Trump addressing massive crowds at a historic rally at Madison Square Garden, and Harris delivering her final pitch in the nation’s capital Tuesday at the Ellipse, located just south of the White House and north of the National Mall. Polls are neck-and-neck, with a Fox News national survey published last month finding that Trump had a two-point edge over Harris, while the pair have zeroed-in on campaigning in key battleground states to increase the weight on their respective political scales. As of Saturday morning, Trump has nine events scheduled until Election Day, zig-zagging from battlegrounds such as Pennsylvania and Michigan to Georgia and also Virginia. CNN DATA GURU BREAKS DOWN SIGNS POINTING TO HARRIS VICTORY: PERHAPS DEMS WILL ‘SURPRISE A LOT OF FOLKS’ Harris is expected to travel to Georgia and North Carolina on Saturday, before delivering her final pitch to voters in Michigan’s rust belt on Sunday. As she caps off her final leg of the campaign since ascending the top of the Democratic ticket in July, when President Biden dropped out of the race, her allies have touted that she has a win within her grasp. HARRIS HOLDS COMMANDING 10-POINT LEAD OVER TRUMP IN VIRGINIA: POLL David Plouffe, a senior adviser to the Harris campaign, said this weekend that voters deciding for whom to cast their ballot late into the election are going to benefit the Harris campaign and carry them to a victory. “The question is, of the people who have not yet decided who to vote for, who are actually going to vote?” he said on CNN Friday, noting that current polls show Harris and Trump tied. “And our sense in the last week is that the people who have made up their mind in the last week we’re doing quite well with, and we like the people who have yet to make a decision . . . .” DEM STRATEGIST JAMES CARVILLE CERTAIN HARRIS WILL WIN, KNOCKS ‘SWEATY’ DEMOCRATS “It’s very important to look at who those undecideds are,” Plouffe added. Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville, who worked as lead strategist for former President Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 election, touted that Harris’ financial backing and “united” Democrat Party sets her up for a win over Trump come Tuesday. “I think she’s going to win,” Carville said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday. “She’s got more money, more energy, has a more united party, has better surrogates, and he’s stone-a–nuts.” New York magazine detailed in a piece this week that the buzz among Democrats is they are cautiously optimistic of a win on Tuesday, “largely based on the campaign’s close monitoring of early voting data from the seven battleground states, and its evolving understanding of who has already cast ballots and who’s left to convince.” “The posture is driven both by reports from the field, especially from canvassers in competitive suburbs, and by senior advisers staring at the analytics in Wilmington. It’s far from a prediction of a win. Instead, it’s a belief that Harris maintains achievable paths to winning a majority or plurality of the vote in the tightly contested states — each of which they see as effectively tied, and almost all of which they see as home to a Democratic advantage in get-out-the-vote operations,” the outlet reported. Other Democratic insiders are reporting more or less the same on social media and during media interviews. DEMOCRATS HAVE AN ENORMOUS DILEMMA IF KAMALA HARRIS LOSES Jon Favreau, former President Barack Obama’s director of speechwriting, posted on X, for example, that though the race is an “extremely close toss-up,” he argued that Trump isn’t ending on a strong note, pointing to jokes made by a comedian at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally that were viewed negatively by the media and Democrats and other political issues he sees as election demerits. Daily Beast columnist and political affairs analyst David Rothkopf declared in a column on Friday that, “Kamala Harris is going to be the next president of the United States,” pointing to Harris’ “exceptional campaign,” speeches that were “suffused with a new energy and vision” for the nation, and her “‘closing argument’ on the Ellipse in Washington.” “On January 20, 2025, she will become America’s first woman president, America’s first woman of color to be commander-in-chief and America’s first person of Asian heritage to become the country’s chief executive,” he wrote. CNN senior political data reporter Harry Enten said Thursday that there are “clear” signs of a Harris win. “And the number-one sign is that Harris, simply put, is more popular than Donald Trump,” he said. The Trump campaign and its allies have meanwhile remained steadfast that the Republican ticket will be victorious on Tuesday, as Trump rallies his base to vote early and attracts new supporters through his “make America great again” pleddge following the Biden-Harris administration. As the cycle entered its final weeks, Trump said during a Las Vegas rally last month that the Harris campaign is “imploding” and has a victory in his sights. “[Harris is] actually imploding, if you take a look. Because, look, I’m not supposed to say it, but we are leading by so much,” Trump said last Thursday. TRUMP CAMP TAKES VICTORY LAP FOLLOWING ELECTION CASE LEGAL WIN IN BATTLEGROUND STATE “Now, we’re leading by a lot in Nevada. We’re leading by a lot in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. Even states that are typically never in play for 50, 60, 70 years. . . . But the fact is that states, other states too, big states, are all in play and they like us. But you know what? They think she
‘Another example of…’: MEA on Canada labelling India ‘cyber adversary’
India on Saturday slammed Canada for naming it in the list of countries considered cyberthreat “adversaries, describing the “categorisation” as “another example” of the Canadian strategy to “attack” the country.
Cardi B suffers teleprompter glitch during Harris rally in Wisconsin
Rapper Cardi B took the stage in Wisconsin to deliver a speech at a campaign rally for Vice President Harris on Friday, but an apparent teleprompter glitch had the performer stumbling before she could begin. Cardi B was among the celebrities at Harris’ third and final Wisconsin rally, in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis. Milwaukee is home to the most Democratic votes in Wisconsin, but its conservative suburbs are where most Republicans live. As Cardi B stood before the podium, it appeared the teleprompter wasn’t displaying her speech. “One second guys, one second,” the rapper said as the crowd cheered. 10 CELEBRITIES CAMPAIGNING FOR HARRIS IN ELECTION’S FINAL WEEKS For nearly two minutes, the “WAP” singer tried to work the crowd until the apparent glitch was fixed. “I’m a little nervous, guys! I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life,” she said as the crowd continued to cheer the rapper on. “I need Patience over here. Patience, where are you girl?” Cardi B said, referring to a staffer. A woman eventually brought Cardi B a cell phone on which the rapper could begin her speech. “I took my time writing this speech so I’m going to make sure I deliver it right,” Cardi B told the crowd. ELECTION 2024: TRUMP, HARRIS’ TOP HOLLYWOOD CELEBRITY SUPPORTERS At one point during the speech, the rapper addressed former President Trump. “Did you hear what Donny Trump said the other day?” Cardi B said, referring to Trump saying he’ll protect women “whether they like it or not.” “Donny, don’t,” she said. “Please.” Trump held a dueling rally across town in Milwaukee in the same arena where the Republican convention took place in July. Trump narrowly won Wisconsin in 2016 but lost in 2020 to President Biden. The Associated Press contributed to this report.