Election cliffhanger captivates world, prompting fears over fate of U.S. democracy

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The world watched with a mixture of apprehension, dismay and fear on Wednesday as the United States struggled to extricate itself from a divisive presidential election and appeared to face a protracted legal battle.

President Trump’s premature victory claim late Tuesday night and false allegations of voter fraud were met with expressions of shock over the state of U.S. democracy, along with disparagement on the part of U.S. adversaries.

Here are the latest developments:

  • International election observers found that the vote was “competitive and well-managed” but also “tarnished by legal uncertainty,” in initial assessmentreleased Wednesday. The statement condemned Trump’s claims of voter fraud, calling them “baseless allegations.”

We still don’t know much about this election — except that the media and pollsters blew it again

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By early morning Wednesday, there was a lot that millions of anxious Americans didn’t know.

Mainly, they didn’t know who the president-elect is. That, in itself, wasn’t unexpected, nor is it terrible.

But after consuming hours of news on Tuesday night, and observing the election results thus far, there are a few things that we can be certain of. Continue reading.

Minnesota U.S. Sen. Tina Smith staves off Jason Lewis, wins second term

Appointed nearly three years ago as Al Franken’s successor in the U.S. Senate, Smith won her first full term from voters. 

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith held off former Republican congressman Jason Lewis on Tuesday in a Senate race that could help decide the balance of power in Washington.

Smith sought a full six-year term after being appointed to replace Al Franken, who resigned in 2017. A former Planned Parenthood executive and lieutenant governor, she won a special election in 2018 to serve out Franken’s term.

Smith vowed to overcome the divisions of the hard fought campaign. “We may not always agree, but I will always listen, and look for common ground,” she said in a statement. Continue reading.

As America Awaits a Winner, Trump Falsely Claims He Prevailed

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The president made his unfounded claim even though no news organizations declared a winner between him and Joseph R. Biden Jr., and a number of closely contested states still had millions of mail-in ballots to count.

With no winner declared in the 2020 presidential race, President Trump appeared in the White House just after 2 a.m. on Wednesday to brazenly claim he had already won the election — and to insist that votes stop being counted even though the ballots of millions of Americans had yet to be tallied. 

Speaking with a mix of defiance, anger and wonder that the election had not yet been called in his favor, the president recounted his standing in an array of battleground states before falsely declaring: “Frankly, we did win this election.”

No news organizations declared a winner between Mr. Trump and Joseph R. Biden Jr., and a number of closely contested states still had millions of mail-in ballots to count, in part because state and local Republican officials had insisted that they not be counted until Election Day. Continue reading.

Deutsche Bank looking to dump Trump after election and may seize his assets if he cannot repay debts: report

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The German multinational investment lender Deutsche Bank may be looking to sever its business relationship with President Donald Trump and drop approximately $340 million of the president’s debt after the election, according to a new report published by Reuters. 

A Deutsche Bank management committee that focuses on upholding the lender’s reputation and risk factors in North America has been discussing various ways to distance from the Trump Organization, Trump’s parent company currently being run by his two sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

It has been reported that Trump’s debt with the bank consists of three loans that will be coming due over the next two years. While the loans are current on payments, there are still multiple concerns about the bank’s relationship with Trump and the bank may be considering ways to drop the debt by seeking to “sell or demand repayment” of the loan, according to Business Insider. Continue reading.

USPS data shows thousands of mailed ballots missed Election Day deadlines

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The Postal Service ignored a federal judge’s order to sweep processing plants on Tuesday after more than 300,000 scanned ballots could not be traced.

Nearly 7 percent of ballots in U.S. Postal Service sorting facilities on Tuesday were not processed on time for submission to election officials, according to data the agency filed Wednesday in federal court, potentially leaving tens of thousands of ballots caught in the mail system during an especially tight presidential race.

The Postal Service reported the timely processing — which includes most mail-handling steps outside of pickup and delivery — of 93.3 percent of ballots on Election Day, its best processing score in several days, but still well below the 97-percent target that postal and voting experts say the agency should hit.

The Postal Service processed 115,630 ballots on Tuesday, a volume much lower than in recent days after weeks of warnings about chronic mail delays. Of that number, close to 8,000 ballots were not processed on time, a small proportion but one that could factor heavily in states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, which do not accept ballots after Election Day and could be decided by a few thousand votes. Continue reading.

How to be a good digital citizen during the election – and its aftermath

In the runup to the U.S. presidential election there has been an unprecedented amount of misinformation about the voting process and mail-in ballots. It’s almost certain that misinformation and disinformation will increase, including, importantly, in the aftermath of the election. Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information, and disinformation is misinformation that is knowingly and deliberately propagated.

While every presidential election is critical, the stakes feel particularly high given the challenges of 2020.

study misinformation online, and I can caution you about the kind of misinformation you may see on Tuesday and the days after, and I can offer you advice about what you can do to help prevent its spread. A fast-moving 24/7 news cycle and social media make it incredibly easy to share content. Here are steps you can take to be a good digital citizen and avoid inadvertently contributing to the problem. Continue reading.

Potential for uncounted military votes looms large in swing states

Six battleground states have tight deadlines for mail ballots

Many states have thousands of mailed military ballots. Many states have tight deadlines for counting them. And many states are swing states. But this year six states stand out for checking all three of those boxes.

In Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota, state law provides little or no time after Election Day for military ballots to be counted. If the election is close enough, the outcome in one or more of those states could tilt the national contest one way or the other, and counting those ballots — or not — could determine the outcome.

Several factors could make it harder to count all ballots on time, whether mailed or cast in person. These include postal system delays as well as the sheer number of ballots of all types that are being cast — perhaps the most in U.S. history. Continue reading.