By KATE BRUMBACK and JEFF AMY

ATLANTA (AP) — National and state Republicans on Thursday appealed a judge’s ruling that said seven election rules recently passed by Georgia’s State Election Board are “illegal, unconstitutional and void.”

The Republican National Committee and the Georgia Republican Party are appealing a ruling from Fulton County Superior Court Judge Thomas Cox, who ruled Wednesday that the State Election Board did not have the authority to pass the rules and ordered it to immediately inform all state and local election officials that the rules are void and not to be followed.

The rules that Cox invalidated include three that had gotten a lot of attention — one that requires that the number of ballots be hand-counted after the close of polls and two that had to do with the certification of election results.

In a statement Thursday announcing the appeal. RNC Chairman Michael Whatley accused Cox of “the very worst of judicial activism.”

“By overturning the Georgia State Election Board’s commonsense rules passed to safeguard Georgia’s elections, the judge sided with the Democrats in their attacks on transparency, accountability, and the integrity of our elections,” Whatley said. “We have immediately appealed this egregious order to ensure commonsense rules are in place for the election — we will not let this stand.”

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Eternal Vigilance Action, an organization founded and led by former state Rep. Scot Turner, a Republican. The suit argued that the State Election Board overstepped its authority in adopting the rules.

The ruling was hailed as a victory by Democrats and voting rights groups, who say rules the State Election Board has passed in recent months could be used by allies of Donald Trump to cast doubt on results if the former president loses the presidential election to Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. Recent appointments to the five-member board have put three Trump-endorsed Republicans in the majority. They have passed new rules over the objections of the board’s lone Democrat and the nonpartisan chair.

County election officials from around the state — the people who run the elections — have voiced concerns over the flood of new rules taking effect so close to Election Day.

The other rules Cox said are illegal and unconstitutional are ones that: require someone delivering an absentee ballot in person to provide a signature and photo ID; demand video surveillance and recording of ballot drop boxes after polls close during early voting; expand the mandatory designated areas where partisan poll watchers can stand at tabulation centers; and require daily public updates of the number of votes cast during early voting.

By BARBARA ORTUTAY, AP Technology Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Just weeks before the U.S. presidential election, TikTok approved advertisements that contained election disinformation even though it has a ban on political ads, according to a report published Thursday by the nonprofit Global Witness.

The technology and environmental watchdog group submitted ads that it designed to test how well systems at social media companies work in detecting different types of election misinformation.

The group, which did a similar investigation two years ago, did find that the companies — especially Facebook — have improved their content-moderation systems since then.

But it called out TikTok for approving four of the eight ads submitted for review that contained falsehoods about the election. That’s despite the platform’s ban on all political ads in place since 2019.

The ads never appeared on TikTok because Global Witness pulled them before they went online.

“Four ads were incorrectly approved during the first stage of moderation, but did not run on our platform,” TikTok spokesman Ben Rathe said. “We do not allow political advertising and will continue to enforce this policy on an ongoing basis.”

Facebook, which is owned by Meta Platforms Inc., “did much better” and approved just one of the eight submitted ads, according to the report.

In a statement, Meta said while “this report is extremely limited in scope and as a result not reflective of how we enforce our policies at scale, we nonetheless are continually evaluating and improving our enforcement efforts.”

Google’s YouTube did the best, Global Witness said, approving four ads but not letting any publish. It asked for more identification from the Global Witness testers before it would publish them and “paused” their account when they didn’t. However, the report said it is not clear whether the ads would have gone through had Global Witness provided the required identification.

Google did not immediately respond to a message for comment.

Companies nearly always have stricter policies for paid ads than they do for regular posts from users. The ads submitted by Global Witness included outright false claims about the election — such as stating that Americans can vote online — as well as false information designed to suppress voting, like claims that voters must pass an English test before casting a ballot. Other fake ads encouraged violence or threatened electoral workers and processes.

The ads Global Witness submitted were text-based, but the group said it translated them into what it called “algospeak.” This is a widely used trick to try to bypass internet companies’ text-focused content moderation systems by substituting numbers and symbols as stand-in for letters, making it harder for automated systems to “read” the text.

By Christine Fernando, Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Donald Trump has had a tough time finding a consistent message to questions about abortion and reproductive rights.

The former president has constantly shifted his stances or offered vague, contradictory and at times nonsensical answers to questions on an issue that has become a major vulnerability for Republicans in this year’s election. Trump has been trying to win over voters, especially women, skeptical about his views, especially after he nominated three Supreme Court justices who helped overturn the nationwide right to abortion two years ago.

The latest example came this week when the Republican presidential nominee said some abortion laws are “too tough” and would be “redone.”

“It’s going to be redone,” he said during a Fox News town hall that aired Wednesday. “They’re going to, you’re going to, you end up with a vote of the people. They’re too tough, too tough. And those are going to be redone because already there’s a movement in those states.”

Trump did not specify if he meant he would take some kind of action if he wins in November, and he did not say which states or laws he was talking about. He did not elaborate on what he meant by “redone.”

He also seemed to be contradicting his own stand when referencing the strict abortion bans passed in Republican-controlled states since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Trump recently said he would vote against a constitutional amendment on the Florida ballot that is aimed at overturning the state’s six-week abortion ban. That decision came after he had criticized the law as too harsh.

Trump has shifted between boasting about nominating the justices who helped strike down federal protections for abortion and trying to appear more neutral. It’s been an attempt to thread the divide between his base of anti-abortion supporters and the majority of Americans who support abortion rights.

About 6 in 10 Americans think their state should generally allow a person to obtain a legal abortion if they don’t want to be pregnant for any reason, according to a July poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Voters in seven states, including some conservative ones, have either protected abortion rights or defeated attempts to restrict them in statewide votes over the past two years.

Trump also has been repeating the narrative that he returned the question of abortion rights to states, even though voters do not have a direct say on that or any other issue in about half the states. This is particularly true for those living in the South, where Republican-controlled legislatures, many of which have been gerrymandered to give the GOP disproportionate power, have enacted some of the strictest abortion bans since Roe v. Wade was overturned.

Currently, 13 states have banned abortion at all stages of pregnancy, while four more ban it after six weeks — before many women know they’re pregnant.

Meanwhile, anti-abortion groups and their Republican allies in state governments are using an array of strategies to counter proposed ballot initiatives in at least eight states this year.

Here’s a breakdown of Trump’s fluctuating stances on reproductive rights.

Flip-flopping on Florida

On Tuesday, Trump claimed some abortion laws are “too tough” and would be “redone.”

But in August, Trump said he would vote against a state ballot measure that is attempting to repeal the six-week abortion ban passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

That came a day after he seemed to indicate he would vote in favor of the measure. Trump previously called Florida’s six-week ban a “terrible mistake” and too extreme. In an April Time magazine interview, Trump repeated that he “thought six weeks is too severe.”

Trump on vetoing a national ban

Trump’s latest flip-flopping has involved his views on a national abortion ban.

During the Oct. 1 vice presidential debate, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that he would veto a national abortion ban: “Everyone knows I would not support a federal abortion ban, under any circumstances, and would, in fact, veto it.”

This came just weeks after Trump repeatedly declined to say during the presidential debate with Democrat Kamala Harris whether he would veto a national abortion ban if he were elected.

Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, said in an interview with NBC News before the presidential debate that Trump would veto a ban. In response to debate moderators prompting him about Vance’s statement, Trump said: “I didn’t discuss it with JD, in all fairness. And I don’t mind if he has a certain view, but I don’t think he was speaking for me.”

‘Pro-choice’ to 15-week ban

Trump’s shifting abortion policy stances began when the former reality TV star and developer started flirting with running for office.

He once called himself “very pro-choice.” But before becoming president, Trump said he “would indeed support a ban,” according to his book “The America We Deserve,” which was published in 2000.

In his first year as president, he said he was “pro-life with exceptions” but also said “there has to be some form of punishment” for women seeking abortions — a position he quickly reversed.

At the 2018 annual March for Life, Trump voiced support for a federal ban on abortion on or after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

More recently, Trump suggested in March that he might support a national ban on abortions around 15 weeks before announcing that he instead would leave the matter to the states.

Views on abortion pills, prosecuting women

In the Time interview, Trump said it should be left up to the states to decide whether to prosecute women for abortions or to monitor women’s pregnancies.

“The states are going to make that decision,” Trump said. “The states are going to have to be comfortable or uncomfortable, not me.”

Democrats have seized on the comments he made in 2016, saying “there has to be some form of punishment” for women who have abortions.

Trump also declined to comment on access to the abortion pill mifepristone, claiming that he has “pretty strong views” on the matter. He said he would make a statement on the issue, but it never came.

Trump responded similarly when asked about his views on the Comstock Act, a 19th century law that has been revived by anti-abortion groups seeking to block the mailing of mifepristone.

IVF and contraception

In May, Trump said during an interview with a Pittsburgh television station that he was open to supporting regulations on contraception and that his campaign would release a policy on the issue “very shortly.” He later said his comments were misinterpreted.

In the KDKA interview, Trump was asked, “Do you support any restrictions on a person’s right to contraception?”

“We’re looking at that and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly,” Trump responded.

Trump has not since released a policy statement on contraception.

Trump also has offered contradictory statements on in vitro fertilization.

During the Fox News town hall, which was taped Tuesday, Trump declared that he is “the father of IVF,” despite acknowledging during his answer that he needed an explanation of IVF in February after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law.

Trump said he instructed Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., to “explain IVF very quickly” to him in the aftermath of the ruling.

As concerns over access to fertility treatments rose, Trump pledged to promote IVF by requiring health insurance companies or the federal government to pay for it. Such a move would be at odds with the actions of much of his own party.

Even as the Republican Party has tried to create a national narrative that it is receptive to IVF, these messaging efforts have been undercut by GOP state lawmakers, Republican-dominated courts and anti-abortion leaders within the party’s ranks, as well as opposition to legislative attempts to protect IVF access.

The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are vying for workers’ support in a race that could mark a pivotal moment for organized labor.

By FERNANDA FIGUEROA and MELISSA PEREZ WINDER

CHICAGO (AP) — For Luis Martinez, competing in lowriding bike and car competitions is about more than glory and bragging rights. The lowrider clubs in the Chicago area have become like one big family and a source of mutual support.

“It just starts with the metal,” said Martinez, who got his introduction to lowrider culture when his mother took him to a flea market. He had his first bike when he was 12.

“To me, it’s about expressing my art and what I can do with my own hands,” Martinez told The Associated Press as he polished a shiny red bike at his home in Mishawaka, Indiana.

A movement of expression with origins in Mexican American and Chicano communities, lowriding is an aspect of Latino history in the U.S. in which people show their pride, honor family and uplift culture. But misrepresentation of the culture in entertainment and media has often associated the lowriding’s “low and slow” motto with gang culture.

Still, decades since its emergence, and as the Hispanic U.S. population increases, lowriding has experienced a boom, as evidenced by an increase in car shows and conventions nationwide.

Lowriding involves the customization of a vehicle — from the tires to the sound system — with vivid designs and colors. Unlike hot rods or muscle cars, which are often modified to have big tires and move at high speeds, the lowrider community modified the cars and bikes to go “low and slow,” said Alberto Pulido, the chair of the Ethnic Studies department at the University of San Diego.

“It was a way to speak to an identity, a presence and it was done with few resources,” said Pulido, who also directed the award-winning documentary, “Lowriding: Everything Comes From the Streets.”

“Our community didn’t have a lot of money,” he said. “They might have had a little bit expendable income to buy a car but then they were kind of on their own to create their vehicles. We call that Chicano ingenuity.”

Lowriding blends Latino and American culture

According to Pulido, lowriding originated in the Southwest, although there are disputes about where exactly it first appeared. Pulido said lowriders in Los Angeles would like to make the claim they were the first, while those in San Diego want their undeniable influence in the culture acknowledged.

The culture can be traced to post-World War II, when veterans were coming home with an expendable income. And with the growth of highways and freeways in California, people wanted to modify their vehicles, Pulido said.

Today, conventions attract enthusiasts from all over the U.S. Last month, what was once a small showcase with only 40 lowriders at Lincoln Park in El Paso, Texas, grew to over 300 lowriders from clubs across the U.S.

Hector Gonzalez, of the Lincoln Park Conservation Committee, said the car clubs help members travel to all the showcases in the nation. In the ’70s and ’80s, lowrider clubs became a representation of the community and offered mutual aid such as ride-sharing and food donations when the local government could not or would not, Gonzalez said.

“It is something that gets passed on from generation to generation,” said Gonzalez, who, like most lowriders, was introduced to the community with a bike at the young age of 13. He has passed on his love for lowriding to his own children, nephews and cousins

“Kids grow up seeing the cars, they pick it up and they carry on the tradition,” Gonzalez said.

Lauren Pacheco, co-founder and co-curator of the Slow and Low Chicago Low Rider Festival, described lowriding as a global, multibillion-dollar phenomenon of self-expression and innovation.

“It’s a marvel of mechanical innovation,” Pacheco said. “It is the beautiful artistry in the creative practice of muralism, storytelling and upholstery.”

Within the last decade, lowrider conventions have grown so much that they’ve made their way to Japan. In Nagoya, Japanese lowriders have modified their cars, created clubs and even come to events at Chicano Park in San Diego.

Lowrider community sheds gang culture stereotype

Appreciation for lowriding has increased in recent years, enthusiasts say. But that was not always the case.

In the beginning, lowriding was associated with harmful stereotypes about Latinos as gangsters, Pulido said. Because the culture involved predominantly Latino participants, lowriding became racialized and that overshadowed the artistic and community service aspects of the movement.

The 1979 thriller-drama “Boulevard Nights” also helped to perpetuate the lowriders as gangsters trope. The film’s main character, Raymond Avila, played by Richard Yñiguez tried to avoid getting lured into the violent street gangs of East Los Angeles. Lowriding vehicles and the lowrider “cholo” aesthetic was featured throughout the film.

While the perception of lowriding has since gotten better, Pulido said he has been to lowriding car shows where police immediately show up.

Martinez, the Indiana lowrider, said lowriding misconceptions grew in the Chicago area because the community members were tattooed in ways often associated with gang affiliation. Pacheco said the Chicago festival works to dispel those misconceptions.

“We really try not to create a space that glamorizes or romanticizes gang culture,” she said. “It’s really a celebration of creativity and innovation and family.”

Lowriding culture becomes a booming industry

Gonzalez, the Texas lowriding showcase organizer, said the culture’s focus on wheels, hydraulic systems and accessories, has helped lowriding become a booming industry.

In El Paso, people have opened small businesses orientated to the lowriding community. In the last couple of years, at least 25 new businesses opened, including body shops, upholstery shops and apparel shops, Gonzalez said.

“It has become a mainstream business,” he said. “Back in the 70s and 80s, it was more of a local thing. Everybody helping each other do things on their own. Now there’s just all kinds of opportunities to purchase things and have things done to your vehicle.”

Originally from Dallas, Texas, Martinez said he would buy the parts he needed from a man in his neighborhood, who would buy in bulk from Lowrider magazine. He said the unfortunate thing about lowriding becoming so big is parts are now mass produced from China instead of being Mexican made.

Lowriding carries family legacy

But lowriding is not just about the often pricey task of modifying cars, Pulido said. It is about building a community that is always there for each other, throughout generations, he said.

“We have grandparents that are lowriders and then their kids and their grandkids are in tune already,” Pulido said.

It’s a legacy that Sonia Gomez wants for her 8-year-old son, Daniel Marquez. His late father, Alberto Marquez, had been a member of a Chicago area lowrider club. Too young to drive the car left to him by his father, Daniel has a lowriding bike that is more of a memorial to his dad.

“The bike is what he’s doing to build it up,” Gomez said.

The family will do an ofrenda, a display often associated with Mexican Dia de los Muertos celebrations, when local lowriding festivals are held. As part of the ofrenda, Daniel takes an image he has with his father on a lowriding bike and places it next to his actual bike, which he named “Wishing on a Star.”

“We would either go on a (lowriding) cruise with my uncle, or we would go to actual car shows,” Daniel recently recalled, while sitting at the driver’s seat of his dad’s lowriding car parked in the driveway of their home in Frankfort, Illinois.

“My mom would be there,” he said pointing to the passenger seat. “And I’d be back there all squished.”

The Associated Press received financial support from the Sony Global Social Justice Fund to expand certain coverage areas. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

By  JESSICA DAMIANO

If you’ve been pining to plant a tree, now is a great time.

The season’s cooling temperatures and still-warm soil mean less stress on newly planted trees, which allows them to direct more energy into growing strong roots rather than struggling to survive the heat and drought often seen in summer. And, because the trees are preparing for dormancy, that energy doesn’t have to be shared with root and flower growth.

Since planting a tree is a long-term investment, it’s important to get it right, and that will require a bit of research.

For starters, choose the right tree. Yes, this means selecting a tree that will make you happy, but it also means taking your hardiness zone, soil type, sunlight exposure and natural moisture levels into consideration.

The tree’s mature size is important, too, lest it grow into overhead electrical wires, eaves or other overhangs, or its roots grow to interfere with underground utilities.

When digging a hole, make it twice as wide as the tree’s root ball and exactly as deep. Then remove the tree from its container and place it in the center of the hole, taking care to support it under its roots rather than holding it by the trunk.

Evaluate its depth. It should land level with the ground around it so that when planted, all the roots are covered with soil, but the flare where the bottom of the trunk attaches to them is not. If the top of the root ball is too high, remove the tree and dig the hole deeper; if it’s too low, add more soil to the bottom of the hole, tamp it firmly and check again.

If your new tree came balled-and-burlapped rather than in a container, that means it was grown in a field and dug up for sale. Although often larger, these trees are more susceptible to transplant shock because their roots are severed in the digging process. Canvas or burlap is tied around the remaining root system to retain soil and prevent the roots from falling apart during transport. Sometimes, roots are enclosed in a wire cage.

After you’ve situated the tree at the proper depth in the hole, cut and remove the twine (or use wire cutters to remove the cage) and cut away as much of the burlap as possible, allowing the portion under the roots to remain; it will gradually decompose without interfering with root growth. (However, if the roots are wrapped in a synthetic material like plastic or vinyl, remove it all.)

If the roots appears tightly wound, gently loosen them with a garden fork to allow them to grow outward into the soil.

Next, confirm the tree is straight, then backfill the hole with soil, periodically tamping it down to eliminate air pockets. Never mound soil up against the trunk.

Thoroughly moisten the soil with a slow flow of water. Allow the surface to dry for a day or so, then add 2 inches of compost or well-rotted manure, topped with 2 inches of wood chips or mulch, over the soil, extending at least as far as the branches extend overhead. Push those materials 4 inches away from the trunk (never mound soil, amendments or mulch up against trunks “volcano” style; the practice slowly kills trees).

Water your new tree regularly during its first 12 months, especially during hot and dry spells. Then, familiarize yourself with the species’ requirements. Some tree types will need supplemental watering throughout their lives, but others will not.

Jessica Damiano writes weekly gardening columns for the AP and publishes the award-winning Weekly Dirt Newsletter. You can sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Jimmy Carter cast his ballot in the 2024 election Wednesday.

The former president voted by mail, the Carter Center confirmed in a statement. It happened barely two weeks after Carter celebrated his 100th birthday on Oct. 1 at his home in Plains, Georgia, where he’s been living in hospice care.

His son Chip Carter said before the family gathering that his father had this election very much in mind.

“He’s plugged in,” Chip Carter told The Associated Press. “I asked him two months ago if he was trying to live to be 100, and he said, ‘No, I’m trying to live to vote for Kamala Harris.’”

The Carter Center’s brief statement said it had no more details to share.

Georgia’s registered voters have been turning out in record numbers since early voting began Monday. Nearly 460,000 had voted in-person or cast absentee ballots by Tuesday afternoon, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said.

Carter’s vote should count even if he’s no longer alive by Election Day on Nov. 5.

Robert Sinners, a spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, noted that Georgia election rules state that when an absentee ballot is received by local election officials “it shall be deemed to have been voted then and there.”

By Steve Peoples, Colleen Long and Nicholas Riccardi, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the presidential race moves into its final weeks, Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump embarked on an interview blitz that offered new details about their policy priorities and their political strategies.

In recent days, Harris has sat with Charlamagne tha God, whose radio show is especially popular among younger and Black audiences, and will be interviewed on Fox News, typically a safe haven for Republicans. Trump, meanwhile, participated in a contentious interview with the editor of Bloomberg News at an economic forum in Chicago, though the crowd was friendly to him, and participated in town halls on Fox News and the Spanish-language network Univision.

Here are some takeaways from the cascade of appearances:

Controlled campaigns are going public

Both candidates have largely avoided traditional interviews during the campaign, preferring to sit before friendly hosts, often in nontraditional media settings. The two-day interview marathon was a noteworthy, partial break from that strategy.

Harris, whom the Trump campaign hammered for not doing interviews after replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket, has ramped up the pace this month. The Vice President appeared on ABC’s “The View,” spoke with radio host Howard Stern and taped a show with late-night comedian Stephen Colbert, among other appearances. She also sat down with the newsmagazine “60 Minutes,” as is traditional for presidential candidates, while Trump canceled his appearance with the show.

Harris’ appearance on Fox with anchor Bret Baier on Wednesday seemed designed to show her willingness to face any questioner, especially after Trump bailed on “60 Minutes.”

The former president’s interview by Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait in Chicago on Tuesday was an unusual appearance before a nonconservative questioner, though the audience frequently cheered him when he clashed with the interviewer. Micklethwait challenged Trump’s support for tariffs and his plans to pay for his campaign promises.

He also faced an all-women audience in a Fox News town hall before participating in a town hall on the Spanish-language network Univision, where he faced pointed questions from Latino voters. Like Harris, Trump is trying to broaden his coalition to get the key votes he needs to win the neck-and-neck race. So, for him as well, every interview counts.

Trump offers tacit acknowledgment that he’s vulnerable on abortion

Trump has repeatedly said he is proud of his leading role in the reversal of Roe v Wade. But his latest comments on abortion serve as a fresh reminder that the Republican understands that the issue is dangerous politically for him and his party.

He was forced to defend his position when asked a surprisingly pointed question from the all-women audience at a Fox News town hall.

“Women are entitled to do what they want to and need to do with their bodies, including their unborn. That’s on them regardless of the circumstance,” the questioner said. “Some are necessary to save their own lives. Why is the government involved in women’s basic rights?”

Trump initially responded with his typical refrain that the issue had been returned to the states. But he also acknowledged that some of the state laws are “too tough.” And he went further: “And this is going to be redone, because already there’s a movement in those states … to redo it.”

It’s not exactly clear what Trump was referring to. There is little evidence that pro-Trump Republican officials in states that have adopted strict abortion bans, some that take effect before many women realize they’re pregnant, are taking action to “redo” their laws.

A few states with strict bans have questions on the ballot this year that would roll them back. That includes Florida, where Trump has criticized the ban as too harsh but also said he would vote to uphold the law.

The truth is that the reversal of Roe has been a political disaster for Trump’s Republican Party. Women have revolted against the GOP in various elections since the Supreme Court ruling. But Trump is betting that muddying the waters with vague promises and a softer tone might limit the damage come November.

Harris agrees that Trump is a ‘fascist’ as Trump doubles down on authoritarian rhetoric

Charlamagne pushed the limits of Harris’ rhetoric when the Democrat reminded voters that they had “two choices … and it’s two very different visions for our nation.”

“The other is about fascism. Why can’t we just say it?” Charlamagne interjected.

Harris immediately replied: “Yes, we can say that.”

It was the first time that the vice president so directly and publicly agreed with that kind of language to describe Trump. The exchange underscored Harris’ decision to revert to a key Biden argument as Election Day draws near: Democracy is on the line on Nov. 5. And, the Democratic argument goes, Trump is unfit to lead because of his lies about the legitimacy of the 2020 election, his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and his consistent authoritarian rhetoric, among other things.

Trump offered a fresh example during his appearances on Fox and Univision.

When pressed about his supporters’ violent attack against the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump defended his loyalists. “That was a day of love from the standpoint of the millions,” he said on Univision.

He also refused to back down from his weekend comments that his Democratic rivals represent a more serious threat to the United States than China and Russia. Over the weekend and again in the Fox interview, he called them “the enemy within.”

Experts have warned that such language is common among authoritarian leaders seeking to quell dissent.

“It is the enemy from within, and they’re very dangerous. They’re Marxists and communists and fascists,” Trump said on Fox, naming former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who served on the congressional committee that investigated Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.

“We have China, we have Russia, we have all these countries. If you have a smart president, they can all be handled. The more difficult are, you know, Pelosi, these people, they’re so sick and they’re so evil.”

Both campaigns are vying to win over Black men

In an election that could be decided on the margins, every vote counts. In the final stretch toward the election, Trump and Harris are turning their focus to Black men.

Harris, in her interview with Charlamagne, warned that Trump wanted to oversee a return to harsh policing tactics known as “stop and frisk” that disproportionately affect Black men. She promised to push for legislation to address discriminatory law enforcement practices and decriminalize marijuana arrests, which also affect Black men disproportionately. And she said that reparations for ancestors of slaves should be studied, a position that isn’t new but one that Trump has sought to exploit to help strengthen his advantage with white voters.

It was among the first times this campaign season that criminal justice reforms have been a leading talking point for Harris, though they dominated in 2020.

Trump oozed confidence when he addressed Black voters on Tuesday. Both parties concede that while Harris is likely to win Black voters overwhelmingly, Trump is eating into her margins, especially among young Black men. Any significant shift could be consequential in a razor-thin election.

“Any African American or Hispanic, and you know how well I’m doing there, that votes for Kamala, you’ve got to have your head examined,” Trump said.

Harris said part of her challenge is that Trump’s campaign is “trying to scare people away because otherwise they know they have nothing to run on.”

“Ask Donald Trump what is his plan for Black America,” she said. “Ask him.”

Peoples reported from New York. Riccardi reported from Denver.

By Brian Slodysko, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk, a tech mogul who is the world’s richest person, plunged more than $70 million into helping Donald Trump and other Republicans win in November’s election, making him one of the biggest donors to GOP causes this campaign season, according to campaign finance disclosures released this week.

Musk made the donation over the summer to America PAC, a super political action committee he launched in May to aid Trump in his bid to return to the White House. It quickly became a central player in Trump’s election effort.

“The America PAC is just aiming for common sense, centrist values,” the Space X and Tesla founder said Tuesday on his social media platform X, shortly after the sum of money he contributed was made public in a campaign finance filing.

Super PACs like Musk’s America PAC can raise and spend unlimited sums of money but are typically are forbidden from coordinating their efforts with the candidates they support. A recent opinion by the Federal Election Commission, which regulates federal political campaigns, allowed for candidates and these big-spending groups to work together on so-called ground game efforts, which are the armies of people deployed to knock on doors to help turn out the vote.

While candidates and political parties have traditionally organized and paid for such efforts, Trump’s campaign has struggled to raise money this year and has turned to a handful of outside groups to undertake the work, with Musk’s America PAC being top among them.

But in doing so, the campaign has outsourced a core function to a coterie of untested groups that operate independently. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ’ decision to have an outside group canvass for him was is said to be one of the reasons his presidential bid failed.

So far, America PAC has spent over $38 million on voter “canvassing” efforts, according to campaign finance disclosures.

Much of America PACs money has been paid to a handful of consulting firms, including a number that are linked to Phil Cox, a former presidential campaign aide to DeSantis and a onetime executive director of the Republican Governors Association. Businesses under the umbrella of Cox’s various companies have collected at least $21 million since August, records show.

Trump’s outsourcing much of his get-out-the-vote effort is not the only unorthodox strategy his campaign has adopted this year. His campaign and allies have also jettisoned the traditional approach toward getting out the vote, which typically focused on winning over independent or moderate voters to your side. Instead, they are trying to drive turnout among Trump supporters who seldom cast a ballot, a novel if risky approach.

Though Musk is America PAC’s top donor, he is not its only one. The super PAC also collected about $8.75 million from a handful of wealthy donors, including the Winklevoss twins, Tyler and Cameron, the disputed creators of Facebook.

The super PAC has spent nearly $80 million this year. Though most of the spending has gone toward the presidential race, at least $5 million has been spent to help Republican House candidates.

By Tom Murphy, Associated Press

A health care spending surge looms in the new year, and Business Group on Health is helping employers understand it.

The nonprofit found in a recent survey that large employers expect the cost to treat patients will jump nearly 8% next year before they make coverage changes to address it. That’s the highest growth rate in a decade.

Business Group on Health CEO Ellen Kelsay expects employers to react by being more selective about the care that people receive. They also will try to manage the use of expensive treatments for obesity and diabetes.

Kelsay’s nonprofit advises employers on health care cost and policy issues. The CEO spoke recently with The Associated Press.

Q: Big employers expect a jump in health care costs next year. How will they address it?

A: They’re going to be focused on the quality of services provided to their workforce. You might hear of high-performance networks or centers of excellence. Those are efforts where employers are looking for the highest quality providers and trying to encourage their workforce to seek services through those providers.

Q: Does this mean employees might see fewer choices for care?

A: They’ll see more curated, designed networks with perhaps fewer providers in them. But they will be higher quality.

Q: Your annual survey also found that better mental health care access is a big priority for large employers. Why do they care about this?

A: It’s foundational. A human being who is struggling with an issue at work or outside of work is not going to be as engaged, as productive or as healthy.

Q: How will employers manage expensive and popular weight loss drugs like Wegovy?

A: Most view them as a tool in their overall weight management strategy … not the only tool. (They) are going to be really focused on who is the appropriate population to be receiving these medications. Is a provider recommending this? Does the individual have certain co-morbidities? Does the individual have a (body mass index) that meets a certain threshold? And then also is the individual taking part in a lifestyle and behavioral modification program to ensure long-term success?

Q: Eight out of your 10 company leaders are women. How does that shape vision or direction?

A: I think we’re highly collaborative. We focus on inclusion of belonging, constructive discourse, encouraging different perspectives.

Q: You have studied employee benefits trends for more than 20 years. What has surprised you the most?

A: It’s this sobering continued increase in fundamental health care costs. It’s something we have been talking about for decades. There’s certainly a lot of good work happening, but it’s not enough.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 16, the 290th day of 2024. There are 76 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Oct. 16, 1995, the Million Man March, a gathering of Black men meant to foster unity in the face of economic and social issues affecting African Americans, was held in Washington D.C.

Also on this date:

In 1758, American lexicographer Noah Webster was born in Hartford, Connecticut.

In 1793, during the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette, the queen of France, was beheaded.

In 1859, radical abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry in what was then a part of western Virginia. (Ten of Brown’s men were killed and five escaped. Brown and six followers were captured; all were executed.)

In 1934, Chinese Communists, under siege by the Nationalists, began their “long march” lasting a year from southeastern to northwestern China.

In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis began as President John F. Kennedy was informed that reconnaissance photographs had revealed the presence of nuclear missile bases in Cuba.

In 1964, China set off its first atomic bomb, codenamed “596,” on the Lop Nur Test Ground.

In 1968, American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos sparked controversy at the Mexico City Olympics by giving “Black power” salutes during a victory ceremony after they had won gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter race.

In 1978, the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church chose Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (voy-TEE’-wah) to be the new pope; he took the name John Paul II.

In 1984, Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of non-violent struggle for racial equality in South Africa.

In 1987, 18-month-old Jessica McClure was pulled from an abandoned well in Midland, Texas, after being stuck there for more than two days. The efforts to rescue “Baby Jessica” captured the attention of the nation.

In 1991, a gunman opened fire at a Luby’s Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, killing 23 people before taking his own life.

In 2017, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been captured and held by the Taliban for five years after walking away from his post in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty to desertion and endangering his comrades.

Today’s Birthdays:

• Actor Fernanda Montenegro is 95.
• Actor Barry Corbin is 84.
• Musician Bob Weir is 77.
• Actor-director Tim Robbins is 66.
• Rock musician Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 62.
• Filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan is 62.
• Actor Terri J. Vaughn is 55.
• Singer John Mayer is 47.
• Former WNBA point guard Sue Bird is 44.
• Actor Caterina Scorsone is 43.
• Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper is 32.
• Tennis player Naomi Osaka is 27.

DETROIT (AP) A judge has approved a $13 million settlement in a lawsuit over an unannounced active shooter drill at a Michigan psychiatric hospital for children, an event that terrified kids and staff and caused them to scramble for cover, text family and urgently call 911.

Someone at the front desk declared through a speaker system that two armed men were inside the state-run Hawthorn Center in suburban Detroit and that shots were fired, attorney Robin Wagner said.

It wasn't true, but the message on Dec. 21, 2022, set off a frenzy.

It was horrifying, Wagner said Tuesday.

Everyone went into, Oh my God. This is the worst day of my life, she said. People were hiding under their desks. They were barricading the doors, trying to figure out how to protect the children.

Fifty children at the hospital each will receive roughly $60,000. Among staff, 90 people will receive an average of more than $50,000, depending on their score on a trauma exam, Wagner said. Two dozen others will get smaller amounts.

The state recognized that this was really a bad decision and harmed a lot of people, she said of the drill.

Police apparently didn't know anything about a drill. Dozens of officers responding to 911 calls showed up at Hawthorn Center with body armor and high-powered weapons, anticipating the worst.

Two people who were told to pose as shooters were captured, Wagner said. They were not armed.

Court of Claims Judge James Redford approved the settlement on Oct. 4, records show. More than $3 million will go to attorneys in the case.

The state Department of Health and Human Services felt it was in the best interest of all involved parties to settle this matter, spokesperson Lynn Sutfin said Tuesday.

We regret that our patients, staff and community were negatively affected by the unfortunate incident in December 2022, she said.

Wagner said the drill was organized by the Hawthorn Center's safety director, who still works for the state. The hospital was subsequently closed for reasons unrelated to what happened.

___

Follow Ed White at

https://twitter.com/edwritez

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 15, the 289th day of 2024. There are 77 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Oct. 15, 2017, actress and activist Alyssa Milano tweeted that women who had been sexually harassed or assaulted should write “Me too” as a status. Within hours, tens of thousands had taken up the #MeToo hashtag (using a phrase that had been introduced a decade earlier by social activist Tarana Burke).

Also on this date:

In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte, the deposed French emperor, arrived on the British-ruled South Atlantic island of St. Helena, where he spent the last 5 1/2 years of his life in exile.

In 1945, the former premier of Vichy France, Pierre Laval, was executed for treason.

In 1946, Nazi war criminal Hermann Goering (GEH’-reeng) fatally poisoned himself hours before he was to have been executed.

In 1954, Hurricane Hazel made landfall on the Carolina coast as a Category 4 storm; Hazel was blamed for about 1,000 deaths in the Caribbean, 95 in the U.S. and 81 in Canada.

In 1976, the first debate of its kind took place between vice-presidential nominees, Democrat Walter F. Mondale and Republican Bob Dole faced off in Houston.

In 1989, Wayne Gretzky of the Los Angeles Kings broke Gordie Howe’s all-time NHL scoring record in a game against his former team, the Edmonton Oilers.

In 1991, despite sexual harassment allegations by Anita Hill, the Senate narrowly confirmed the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court, 52-48.

In 1997, British Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green twice drove a jet-powered car in the Nevada desert faster than the speed of sound, officially shattering the world’s land-speed record.

In 2003, eleven people were killed when a Staten Island ferry slammed into a maintenance pier. (The ferry’s pilot, who had blacked out at the controls, later pleaded guilty to eleven counts of manslaughter.)

Today’s Birthdays:

• Actor Linda Lavin is 87.
• Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Palmer is 79.
• Musician Richard Carpenter is 78.
• Film director Mira Nair is 67.
• Britain’s Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, is 65.
• Chef Emeril Lagasse (EM’-ur-ul leh-GAH’-see) is 65.
• Actor Dominic West is 55.
• R&B singer Ginuwine (JIHN’-yoo-wyn) is 54.
• Singer-TV personality Keyshia Cole is 43.
• Actor Bailee Madison is 25.

By ALLAN KREDA
The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Chris Kreider scored the go-ahead goal on the power play late in the second period and the New York Rangers beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Monday night.

Kreider tipped Mika Zibanejad’s shot with 2:55 left in the middle period to snap a 1-1 tie after the teams traded goals in the first. Alexis Lafreniere, Reilly Smith and Zibanejad also scored for the Rangers, and Igor Shesterkin finished with 31 saves.

Dylan Larkin scored for Detroit with 2 seconds left in the first after Lafrieniere opened the scoring for the Rangers with 8:15 to go. Alex Lyon had 24 saves for the Red Wings in his first start of the season.

The Red Wings were playing their first road game. They beat Nashville 3-0 on Saturday after losing their season opener 6-3 to Pittsburgh.

Takeaways

Red Wings forward Patrick Kane, who played 19 games for New York after a heralded trade late in the 2022-23 season, received polite applause from the Madison Square Garden crowd during his first game back with Detroit. Kane assisted on Larkin’s goal for his 814th career assist to pass Mike Modano for second-most among U.S.-born players.

Rangers forward Artemi Panarin, who led with the team with 120 points last season, had three assists and has a team-best seven points — including two goals — in three games.

Key moment

Shesterkin denied Detroit’s J.T. Compher from in close with 1:58 left in the second period to keep it 2-1. Smith padded the lead at 4:51 of the third, his first goal with the Rangers.

Key stat

Kreider’s goal was the 307th of his career — third-most in Rangers history behind Rod Gilbert and Jean Ratelle. It was his 111th power-play goal, second-most in franchise history behind Camille Henry’s 116.

Up Next

The Rangers visit Detroit on Thursday to complete a home-and-home series.

By DAVE HOGG
The Associated Press

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions should have been in a celebratory mood on Monday.

After all, they had just beaten the Dallas Cowboys 47-9, their most dominant performance of the Dan Campbell era. Fox broadcaster Tom Brady said he believed they were the best team in the NFC.

Instead, they are dealing with the broken leg suffered by star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. Hutchinson, the league’s best pass rusher this season, remained in the Dallas area on Monday to have surgery to repair his fractured tibia and fibula.

“The surgery went great — it is all good news — but man, Hutch is a captain for us, a highly productive player and a great teammate who does everything the right way,” Campbell said. “So, look, it hurts. It hurts to lose somebody like that — not only the player, but the person.”

The expected recovery time is 4 to 6 months, which would have Hutchinson ready to go for training camp in 2025. However, Campbell isn’t quite ready to write off his 2024 season.

“I would never count Hutch out,” he said. “Yeah, it is probably a long road ahead, but I would never say he can’t do it. If anyone can make it back, it’s him.”

Even if Hutchinson makes it back in January, the Lions have to find a way to replace his pass rush for the next 12 games. The easy answer is to trade for someone like Raiders star Maxx Crosby, but Campbell doesn’t expect general manager Brad Holmes to rush into anything.

“(Injuries) come up every year, and Brad is always looking for ways to get better,” he said. “Is there someone out there who can potentially help us? At what cost? It has to be right — everything has to be right. Honestly, I believe in the guys that are here.

“We’re looking and we’re evaluating.”

What’s working

Quarterback Jared Goff followed up his perfect game against Seattle with another spectacular performance against the Cowboys. In the two games, Goff has completed 36 of 43 passes (83.7%) for five touchdowns and no interceptions — plus a touchdown catch against the Seahawks. And the Lions combined to score 89 points.

What needs help

Despite their best efforts, the Lions couldn’t get any of their offensive linemen into the end zone on Sunday. Still stinging from having Taylor Decker’s 2-point conversion last season at Dallas called back due to a disputed penalty, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson called a pass to Decker, a hook and lateral from Amon-Ra St. Brown to Penai Sewell and a screen pass to lineman Dan Skipper. Decker couldn’t hold on in the end zone, Sewell’s catch was called back due to another penalty, and backup quarterback Hendon Hooker got sacked before he could get the ball to Skipper.

Stock up

CB Terrion Arnold, Detroit’s first-round pick in 2024, had been plagued all season by penalties. Against the Cowboys, he wasn’t flagged and helped hold CeeDee Lamb to seven catches for 89 yards on 14 targets.

Injuries

On the same drive that Hutchinson was injured, CB Carlton Davis left the game with a head injury. Davis, though, passed through the concussion protocol and will be able to practice this week.

Key number

251 — The total yards gained by Dallas. In Lions’ 42-29 win over Seattle, the defense gave up 516 yards and it appeared Detroit’s secondary was going to be a significant problem. It didn’t look that way against the Cowboys.

Next steps

Find a way to get past the Hutchinson injury and beat the undefeated Vikings on the road.

The post Republican lawsuits target rules for overseas voters, but those ballots are already sent appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

By Robert Yoon, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Control of the White House and the narrowly divided Senate and House may hang in the balance on Nov. 5, but don’t expect election night to be all nail-biters and barn burners. Chances are some winners will be declared before a single vote has been tallied, just as the polls close in those states.

So what gives?

Although determining a winner before any votes have been counted may seem counterintuitive, race calls at poll closing time in uncontested or landslide races have been a routine part of election nights for decades, even though competitive, hotly contested races that can take hours, days or even weeks to decide tend to be the most memorable and attract the most attention.

The Associated Press will consider multiple factors and analyze available data before determining whether a winner can be declared when polls close in a given state. But the AP will never declare the outcome in a competitive contest before enough votes are counted to make the winner clear.

Uncontested races

Many of the races called just as the polls close are uncontested elections where only one candidate appears on the ballot and is therefore the only possible winner of the race. Voters in some parts of the country live in multimember districts for offices such as state legislature, where more than one candidate is elected in a district. In those districts, an uncontested race is one where the number of candidates on the ballot is equal to or less than the number of seats available in that district.

In the 2024 general election, the AP will declare winners in nearly 2,000 uncontested races, compared with about 4,500 contested races.

Noncompetitive contests

The AP will not call a race when polls close if AP VoteCast’s results indicate a deviation from the state’s long-standing political trends and voting history. AP VoteCast results will be available for all 50 states, though only a small number will be considered as potential poll close calls. There is no AP VoteCast survey in the District of Columbia, so no contest there will be called when polls close even though the nation’s capital has a long history of overwhelming victories for Democratic candidates.

For example, the AP’s poll close calls in the 2020 presidential election included Wyoming, a state that last voted for a Democrat in 1968 and that Donald Trump won over Joe Biden by 44 points; and Massachusetts, which last voted for a Republican in 1984 and that Biden won by 34 points over Trump.

A handful of states and districts have multiple poll closing times because they are in more than one time zone. In these cases, the AP will not declare a winner before the final poll closing time in that state or district. Florida, Texas and some others begin to release vote results from most of the state shortly after polls close in the earlier time zone. Votes that are already counted from areas in the earlier time zones will also be considered in determining whether a winner can be declared at the moment when the last polls close.

Other election data the AP takes into account include an area’s voting history from recent elections, voter registration statistics and pre-Election Day polling.

When the above data points confirm the expected result in a state where either major party has a history of dominating elections, the AP may call the race as soon as voting ends.

Read more about how U.S. elections work at Explaining Election 2024, a series from The Associated Press aimed at helping make sense of the American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By Robert Yoon, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s usually possible to determine who won an election before the vote counting is 100% complete. But doing so requires determining how many ballots still need to be tabulated at any point in the vote count, and that’s not as straightforward or clear-cut as you might imagine.

In fact, it’s only gotten more complicated as elections have evolved, making traditional methods of tracking vote count progress less reliable.

What happened to ‘precincts reporting’?

For years, the most common way news organizations kept track of the progress in the vote count on election night was to calculate the percentage of precincts that had reported their results. But over the years, that method has become a less and less reliable measurement that does not reflect the realities of modern elections.

For starters, precincts throughout a state are not necessarily equal in population. Saying that 10% of precincts have yet to report could mean different things depending on which precincts are at issue. In addition, sometimes a state or county will count a precinct as reporting even if it has only reported some of its votes.

An even bigger problem is that “precincts” traditionally refer to Election Day polling places. As voting by mail and early in-person voting has gained in popularity, the “precincts reporting” measurement could be deceiving depending on how the votes are tabulated from state to state.

Some states do not include pre-Election Day votes in the voters’ home precincts — that is, the ones where they would vote if they voted on Election Day — and opt instead to lump all of their pre-Election Day votes into one precinct. In some other states, “precincts reporting” only reflects votes cast in person on Election Day and excludes any mail or early in-person voting altogether.

These states may show that all or nearly all precincts have reported complete results, even though the actual number of ballots yet to be tabulated might be significantly larger. Alternately, they sometimes report large numbers of early and mail votes before any precincts are reported at all.

In some states where there’s relatively little voting before Election Day or where election officials strive to assign mail and early votes to their home precincts, the percentage of precincts reporting does still provide a reasonably accurate sense of the votes left to be counted.

But across the board, The Associated Press calculates an expected vote estimate to provide a more consistent and reliable measurement to track the progress of the vote count on Election Night.

Reporting the expected vote

Clearly, the ideal way to calculate the number of ballots that remain to be counted is to subtract the total votes counted so far from the total number of votes cast overall. But since the exact number of votes cast in an election isn’t immediately available on election night, the AP instead analyzes several key pieces of election data to estimate the total votes expected to be cast in any given contest.

This estimate is based on several factors, including the total votes cast in previous elections, changes in population, voter registration figures and the competitiveness of the current election. Turnout data on pre-Election Day voting has become increasingly helpful in determining the expected vote, as the share of voters casting early ballots has gone up.

Once voting and vote counting begins, the AP will evaluate the latest Election Day voter turnout figures reported by elections officials as well as actual vote returns to update and refine its expected vote estimates.

Over the course of election night, the AP will report for every contest the percentage of the total expected vote counted so far. This percentage should steadily grow as the number of votes counted gradually approaches the expected vote total. But because the expected vote estimate is continually monitored and updated as more data becomes available, it’s possible that the percentage of the vote counted may temporarily get smaller because the estimate of overall turnout got bigger.

For example, if elections officials initially tell the AP that Election Day turnout in their state was 1 million voters but later revise that number to 1.2 million, the percentage of votes counted will drop temporarily before going back up again as more votes are tabulated.

What’s so difficult about nailing down the total votes cast?

The main challenge is that it can take a while for the people running elections to figure out exactly how many people voted in any given election. It often takes local and state officials weeks to arrive at the final, official number.

That’s in part because of mail voting. A local elections office might know exactly how many mail ballots they sent out to voters and have a good estimate of how many have been returned in the days leading up to Election Day. In fact, before officials begin counting votes, it’s often easier to know the approximate number of mail ballots cast than the number of people who turned up on Election Day.

But they won’t know exactly how many of those voters actually cast a mail ballot until their deadline to receive them, which is usually on Election Day itself or even after that.

With the number of voters casting their ballots by mail each year steadily on the rise, determining the total number of mail ballots can take some time, especially if the deadline to receive them is after Election Day.

Mail voting spiked in the 2020 election and outnumbered voting at polling places on Election Day for the first time ever as voters sought alternatives to in-person voting during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the level of mail voting is expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels, in many areas, it may fall in comparison to the 2020 election, adding another complication to estimating the expected vote in this year’s elections.

Read more about how U.S. elections work at Explaining Election 2024, a series from The Associated Press aimed at helping make sense of the American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

By ROBERT YOON

WASHINGTON (AP) — One question will be asked over and over on election night: Who won?

The Associated Press will answer that question for nearly 5,000 contested races across the United States and up and down the ballot, from president and state ballot measures to a variety of local offices.

The AP has compiled vote results and declared winners in elections for more than 170 years, filling what could otherwise be a critical information void of up to a month between Election Day and the official certification of results.

What goes into determining the winners? A careful and thorough analysis of the latest available vote tallies and a variety of other election data, with the ultimate goal of answering this question: Is there any circumstance in which the trailing candidate can catch up? If the answer is no, then the leading candidate has won.

Analyzing the vote

Race calls are based on provable facts, primarily from the AP’s vote count, which is compiled from state and local election offices around the nation.

As more and more ballots are tabulated starting on election night, the AP will monitor the incoming vote at the county level and analyze who is in the lead and what areas the votes are coming from.

At the same time, the AP tries to determine throughout the night how many ballots are uncounted and from what areas. State and local election officials don’t immediately know by election night exactly how many ballots were cast in every contest. Determining how many remain has become more complicated because of the growing number of ballots cast by mail that may arrive after Election Day, which is Nov. 5 this year.

This means there are usually no official and exact tallies of the outstanding vote to rely on once the vote counting gets underway. As a result, the AP estimates the turnout in every race based on several factors and uses that estimate to track how much of the vote has been counted and how much remains.

The AP also tries to determine how ballots counted so far were cast, and the types of vote — such as mail ballots or Election Day in-person — that remain.

That’s because the method a voter chooses often speaks to whom they voted for. Since the issue of voting by mail became highly politicized in the 2020 election, most mail votes nationally have been cast by Democratic voters, while most in-person Election Day votes have been cast by Republicans.

In many states, it is possible to know which votes will be counted first from past elections or plans announced by election officials. In some others, votes counted so far are clearly marked by type.

This helps to determine if an early lead is expected to shrink or grow. For example, if a state first counts votes cast in person on Election Day, followed by mail-in votes, that suggests that an early Republican lead in the vote count may narrow as more mail ballots are tabulated. But if the reverse is true and mail ballots are counted first, an early Republican lead could be the first sign of a comfortable victory.

Finding clues from election data

The AP’s analysis to determine the winners is also greatly informed by other election data, especially the long-standing voting trends in a given area. Past election results over time show that states and counties with a long history of lopsided Republican or Democratic victories tend to continue the same voting patterns from one election to the next.

Even in closely contested races, comparing current vote patterns with those in past races can provide important clues.

For example, if a Democratic candidate is performing a few percentage points better across all counties that have reported votes in a state a Democrat previously won by a narrow margin, that could be a sign of a more comfortable Democratic victory. But if the Republican is performing a few percentage points better, that could point to an exceedingly close race or even a flipped result.

Large changes in an area’s voting patterns that differ substantially from statewide trends are certainly possible but tend to take root over a time frame of multiple elections. This helps analysts understand whether one candidate’s lead is an expected result or a sign of tight race. It also helps determine whether the remaining uncounted ballots are from areas that would likely benefit one candidate over another.

Demographic data can also shed light on the vote count. For example, shifts that differ from statewide patterns might be explained by a shift among a specific group, such as Hispanic voters or white voters without college degrees.

Harnessing AP VoteCast

Another tool available to the AP’s decision teams is AP VoteCast, a comprehensive, 50-state election survey that provides a detailed snapshot of who voted in an election and what was on their minds when they voted. Data from AP VoteCast makes it possible in some cases to call non-competitive or less competitive races as the polls close or shortly afterward with the initial release of votes.

When considering poll-close calls, the AP will only declare a winner if AP VoteCast data confirms the expected result in that contest based on past vote history and other preelection data.

When does the AP call a race?

In almost all cases, races can be called well before 100% of the votes have been counted. The AP’s team of election journalists and analysts will call a race as soon as a clear winner can be determined. That may sound obvious, but it is the guiding principle that drives the organization’s election race-calling process.

The AP’s race calls are not predictions and are not based on speculation. They are declarations based on an analysis of vote results and other election data that one candidate has emerged as the winner and that no other candidate in the race will be able to overtake the winner once all the votes have been counted.

Why might the AP not declare a winner?

The AP may delay calling a winner if the vote results go against the expected outcome of the contest as indicated by the available election data. In other words, if the vote results show a large lead for one candidate but some combination of the past vote history, demographic data or AP VoteCast data point to a different outcome, the AP would carefully review the vote results before making any determination.

In competitive races, AP analysts may need to wait until additional votes are tallied or to confirm specific information about how many ballots are left to count.

The AP may declare that a race is “too close to call” if a race is so close that there’s no clear winner even once all ballots except for provisional and late-arriving absentee ballots have been counted.

Competitive races where votes are actively being tabulated — for example in states that count a large number of voters after election night — might be considered “too early to call.” The “too close to call” designation is not used for these types of races.

The AP may also decide not to call a race if the margin between the top two candidates is less than 0.5 percentage points unless it determines that the margin is wide enough that it could not change in a recount.

Things that don’t affect a call

AP race calls are never made based on lobbying from campaigns or political parties or announcements made by other news organizations, or on candidate victory speeches. Although it will never call a winner based on a concession speech, in some cases, a concession is the final piece of the puzzle in confirming that there will be no recount in a close race.

Read more about how U.S. elections work at Explaining Election 2024, a series from The Associated Press aimed at helping make sense of the American democracy. The AP receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP’s democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.