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WASHINGTON (AP) Presidential politics move fast. What were watching heading into the final week of the 2020 campaign:

Days to general election: 1

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THE NARRATIVE

Its almost over. By this time next week, and hopefully much sooner, well likely know who will occupy the Oval Office for the next four years.

The ghosts of 2016 are keeping Democrats on edge, but they are hopeful that voters will make President Donald Trump the first incumbent to lose reelection since George H.W. Bush in 1992. Democrat Joe Biden is running significantly ahead of where Hillary Clinton was in most polls the day before the election.

Election 2020: Learn More

Some Republicans are pointing to a shift on the ground in Florida in particular that portends good news for Trump. The problem for Republicans is that Trump must win Florida and several more battleground states if hes going to have any chance to keep his job.

Can Trump pull an inside straight again? Anxious Democrats will be the first to tell you its possible. But veteran Republican strategists will also tell you it isnt likely. There are fewer undecided voters this time, and no strong third-party candidates to siphon votes.

Democrats had an advantage in early voting, but Trumps vaunted ground game is well-positioned to turn out its voters en masse on Tuesday.

What makes this election different from those in the past are the swirling questions about voter intimidation, lawsuits and counting delays related to the coronavirus pandemic. Trump has already indicated he may reject the result of the election if he loses.

Buckle up. This could get messy.

More Election Explainers:

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THE BIG QUESTIONS

Will the loser of this election accept the result?

The stage is set for a chaotic finish no matter what the final numbers say.

Trump has sought to undermine the election results for several months by raising debunked conspiracy theories about election fraud. He has repeatedly refused to say whether he would agree to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses.

Biden has promised to accept the results no matter what, but that doesnt mean that Democrats wont end up in an extended court battle in certain states if things dont go their way particularly if there are any Election Day disruptions or court rulings that throw out a significant numbers of mail ballots.

Never before in modern U.S. history has there been such uncertainty looming over basic rules of democracy on the eve of an election.

What is the red mirage scenario?

Dont be fooled by the early numbers. Because of the way ballots will be counted by different states, the final vote tally could look dramatically different from the early returns especially if Democrats look to be struggling.

The so-called red mirage scenario would show Trump having a good night based on the votes cast in person on Tuesday. But pivotal states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin arent expected to count all their mail ballots, the preferred voting method by many Democrats, until after in-person votes are counted.

That raises the likelihood that Republicans will look to be having a strong showing earlier in the night than they will once all the votes are in.

Trump has falsely raised just this scenario as an example of voter fraud, but its actually a completely legitimate function of the way different states process ballots. And because of complications related to the pandemic, several states, including Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Minnesota, will accept mail ballots received several days after polls close.

Will fewer people vote on Election Day than voted early?

Election Day turnout remains a mystery. As of Sunday afternoon, more than 93 million Americans had already voted. Thats two-thirds of all ballots cast in the 2016 election. Tens of millions more votes are expected on Tuesday, but its hard to imagine that Election Day turnout will exceed the early vote count.

Never before have more than 140 million Americans voted in a single presidential election.

Both sides acknowledge that Trump will have an advantage among voters who cast ballots on Tuesday because Democrats were more likely to vote by mail. Presumably, the more people who show up on Election Day, the better the final outcome will be for the Republican president.

Democrats are particularly concerned about turning out their infrequent voters especially young people, Blacks and Latinos who historically vote Democrat but arent necessarily excited to show up for Biden.

Republicans rightly claim an advantage on the ground in several states. Even before Trumps first election, the GOP began investing heavily in field offices and staff across the country to build relationships in key communities designed to turn out hard-to-reach voters when it matters most.

Democrats have not made the same investment, and more than that, theyve largely avoided the door-to-door get-out-the vote operations of years past, relying on texts, phone calls or emails to communicate with their supporters.

Will Election Day be peaceful?

Were coming to you from downtown Washington, where most local businesses have covered their first-floor windows with plywood. No, theres not a hurricane on the way.

Washingtons business owners are bracing for the possibility of election-related violence. And given the rioting that has already accompanied civil unrest in several states in recent months, its not hard to imagine protests turning violent well beyond Washington this week.

At the same time, there are real questions about the possibility of voter intimidation at the ballot box on Tuesday.

Tensions are high on both sides, but most eyes will be on Republican poll watchers given the partys history of bad behavior and Trumps repeated calls for his die-hard supporters to be on the lookout for voting fraud.

This is the first election in decades that Republicans have been allowed to install official poll watchers. The GOP was banned from the practice by federal courts that found repeated evidence in past elections of Republicans intimidating or trying to exclude minority voters in the name of preventing fraud.

Were all hoping for a peaceful Election Day, but the conditions are ripe for disorder.

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THE FINAL THOUGHT

This is probably our last dispatch for a while. We want to thank you for following along over this past year. Weve tried our best to take you behind the curtain to see the 2020 presidential contest from an insiders perspective.

And while well all need a break once this election is settled, recent history suggests that the jockeying for the next presidential election will begin almost immediately; 2024 Watch may be just around the corner.

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APs Advance Voting guide brings you the facts about voting early, by mail or absentee from each state: https://interactives.ap.org/advance-voting-2020/.

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2020 Watch: Will loser of the election accept the result? - The Associated Press

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), held simultaneous events in Pennsylvania on Monday night, a battleground state that President Trump narrowly won in 2016.

Biden held a drive-in rally in Pittsburgh, where he told the audience if elected, he will address income inequality and racial injustice and ensure that more people have access to health care. The polls show Biden leading Trump in Pennsylvania, and he said he has "a feeling we're coming together for a big win tomorrow."

During an earlier event, Biden said the country is at "one of those inflection points. This is going to be more than just who governs the next four years. What happens now, what happens tomorrow, is going to determine what this country looks like for a couple of generations."

While Biden campaigned in Pittsburgh, Harris was in Philadelphia, where she told voters the Democratic ticket "will confront, not condone white supremacy and fight for economic justice, no matter your ZIP code or your race. And Pennsylvania, we will begin the work of healing."

When it comes to COVID-19, which has left more than 230,000 Americans dead, Trump has "failed to lead," Harris said, but Biden will expand testing as well as the Affordable Care Act. "We're looking at over nine million people who have contracted the virus, and we know it's hitting communities of color the hardest," she said. "Latinos are contracting COVID at three times the rate of others, Black folks are dying at twice the rate of others."

Biden will stay in Pennsylvania, with plans to campaign in Scranton and Philadelphia on Election Day. Catherine Garcia

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Trump's final full day of 2020 rallies featured digs at celebrities, sports stars, and Hillary Clinton - The Week Magazine

By: Lifestyle Desk | New Delhi | Updated: November 1, 2020 11:15:01 amClinton surely knows how to pack a punch with elegance! (Photo: Hillary Clinton/ Instagram, designed by Gargi Singh)

The former United States secretary of state Hillary Clinton, has quite an enviable wardrobe. If you are someone who likes to keep it sharp, but not boring, Clinton is here to inspire you with her chic fashion. Check out what we are exactly talking about!

We all know how monochromatic outfits have been big on everyones list. They are chic, simple and polished; but they also match with your jewellery, and Clinton seems to do that here effortlessly. Pairing her chunky royal blue necklace with her royal blue pantsuit with white details, Clinton makes a statement.

We all love our dainty necklaces and pendants, but if you want to make a statement without trying too hard, take a note of Clintons beaded necklace. It is not flashy, rather a plain necklace with golden and white beads which goes perfectly with her ensemble. Fun fact: layered necklaces can also be worn as layered bracelets, and they look equally good!

When you think of pantsuits, the two most common shades that come to the mind are black and white. How boring! If you are a fan of pantsuits, go bold while you keep it sharp. Clintons pantsuit is a gorgeous royal blue colour its evident that this is her favourite colour given how frequently she dons it.

We all have been there, where after every season, we transition and keep a certain set of clothes aside, because they arent of any use to us. But, here is a trick we learnt from Clintons choices dont be afraid of layering. Here, she layers her black high-neck sweater with an oversized teal blue shirt and we love the result!

The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

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Here are some accessible style tips from Hillary Clintons wardrobe - The Indian Express

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) President Donald Trump and other Republicans will head into Election Day likely trailing by tens of thousands of votes in Iowa, a deficit they hope to overcome with a strong turnout of their supporters at polling places.

By Saturday, 62% of active registered Democrats in Iowa and 43% of Republicans had returned absentee ballots as part of a record-setting early vote in the state.

That means 123,000 more Democrats had voted than Republicans, an advantage far higher than the party enjoyed in 2016 or 2012 in absentee voting. But it also means the remaining electorate Tuesday will be smaller than unusual, tilt toward the GOP and feature a plurality of voters who arent registered to either party.

Trump won 208,000 more votes than Hillary Clinton on Election Day in Iowa in 2016, nearly 57% percent of ballots cast that day. He won the state by about 147,000 votes after Clinton carried the early vote.

Given the stronger early vote totals this year among Democrats, Republicans may need a similar performance for Trump to carry the states six electoral votes and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst to win re-election. They will have to do so with fewer Election Day voters expected and amid a raging coronavirus pandemic that has become a concern for some poll workers and voters.

Conservative activist Tammy Kobza said she doesnt believe that will be a problem, noting the forecast of sunny, warm weather.

I think its going to be a nice day and I think its going to be a huge turnout for Trump, said Kobza, who voted early this week in the Republican stronghold of Sioux County in northwest Iowa. Conservative people like to go to the polls. Thats just how it is.

Trump carried 81% of Sioux Countys vote in 2016, and Kobza said she sees more enthusiasm for his candidacy this year.

In all, a record 924,533 voters statewide had returned their absentee ballots by mail, dropped them off at an auditors office or voted early in person by Saturday. That is 235,000 more than the previous absentee record set in 2012, when Barack Obama carried Iowa on his way to reelection.

Auditors were beginning Saturday to process the crush of absentee ballots, and they can begin tabulating them Monday. County officials say that, barring something unexpected, they should already be counted by the time polls close at 9 p.m.

Bryce Smith, chairman of the Democratic party in Dallas County, said hes seeing positive signs for Joe Biden, Ernst challenger Theresa Greenfield and other Democrats in the fast-growing suburbs west of Des Moines. He said more than 1,500 county Democrats who didnt vote in 2016 have already done so this year.

The number who voted early will make it easier for volunteers to focus on convincing remaining Democrats to return outstanding absentee ballots or get to the polls on Election Day, he said.

I truly believe that if Dallas County is painted blue on election night, the Senate and White House are going to flip, he said of the county, where Trump defeated Clinton in 2016.

Democrats are also hoping to protect their 3-1 margin in Iowas congressional delegation.

Statewide, turnout is expected to exceed the 1.58 million from 2016, which was nearly 73% of registered voters. This year, a 75% turnout would mean an electorate of about 1.66 million.

About 1,200 polling places will be open, compared to 1,450 in the 2018 election, after counties closed and consolidated some locations because of health and budget concerns. State officials are urging voters to check their polling place locations many of which may have moved online at Voterready.iowa.gov.

The election will also be the first presidential race since the passage of Iowas 2017 voter identification law. Voters must show their drivers license or another accepted form of identification in order to vote.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said that he expects a busy day at the polls despite the record number of absentee voters. He said his office was working to keep polling places safe from coronavirus by distributing 145,000 gloves, 200,000 masks and 11,000 social distancing markers for use by voters and poll workers.

In addition, representatives of state and federal law enforcement agencies will monitor the election at the State Emergency Operations Center in Johnston and be prepared to respond to any incident that disrupts voting.

The concerns include any foreign or domestic disinformation campaigns, any physical intimidation or threats at polling places and any attempts to hack voter registration or other computer systems.

The integrity of the vote and the safety of the voters are my top priority, Pate said. The vote must be protected and were committing vast resources to ensure that happens.

Read the rest here:
Trump, GOP will need big Election Day margins to win in Iowa - Associated Press

The full panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on Wednesday rejected a request to revisit whether Hillary Clinton is required to answer questions about her use of a private server during her tenure as secretary of state.

None of the ten circuit judges participating in the matter requested a vote on the petition filed by the conservative activist group Judicial Watch, including Donald Trump-appointed Judges Gregory Katsas, Justin Walker, and Neomi Rao.Judge David Tatel, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, didnt participate in the matter.

A district court judge in March initially took unusual step of ordering discovery in a lawsuit stemming from a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by Judicial Watch in relation to Clintons emails.

U.S. District JudgeRoyce Lamberth, an appointee of Ronald Reagan, said the case presented a rare set of circumstances that required further discovery, ordering Clinton to sit for a deposition.

Although discovery in FOIA cases is rare, the Court again reminds the government that it was States mishandling of this case which was either the result of bureaucratic incompetence or motivated by bad faith that opened discovery in the first place, Lamberth wrote.Discovery up until this point has brought to light a noteworthy amount of relevant information, but Judicial Watch requests an additional round of discovery, and understandably so. With each passing round of discovery, the Court is left with more questions than answers.

The district court did deny Judicial Watchs request to depose Clinton over other mattersspecifically those relating to the Benghazi attacks.

But a three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in August unanimously overturned Lamberths ruling, granting a writ of mandamus to prevent the ordered deposition.

Writing for the court, U.S. Circuit Judge Robert L. Wilkins, a Barack Obama appointee, said the facts of the case underscore both the impropriety of the District Courts Order and the appropriateness of turning the page on the issue. Wilkins said that Judicial Watch was likely to use the opportunity question Clinton about matters unrelated to her emails.

Especially in light of Judicial Watchs present access to extensive information responsive to its proposed deposition topics, the deposition of Secretary Clinton, if allowed to proceed, at best seems likely to stray into topics utterly unconnected with the instant FOIA suit, and at worst could be used as a vehicle for harassment or embarrassment, the judge wrote. We refrain from opining further on these topics except to observe that neither path can be squared with the dictates of either FOIA or Rule 26.

See the en banc Circuit Courts order below:

DC Circuit Clinton Denial by Law&Crime on Scribd

[image via Rune Hellestad/Getty Images]

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Full Panel of Federal Judges, Including Three Trump Appointees, Unanimously Reject Judicial Watchs Effort to Depose Hillary Clinton - Law & Crime