In a pair of decisions welcomed by Democrats, the Supreme Court on Wednesday let election officials in two key battleground states, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, accept absentee ballots for several days after Election Day.

In the Pennsylvania case, the court refused a plea from Republicans in the state that it decide before Election Day whether election officials can continue receiving absentee ballots for three days after Nov. 3.

In the North Carolina case, the court let stand lower court rulings that allowed the state’s board of elections to extend the deadline to nine days after Election Day, up from the three days called for by the state Legislature.

The court’s brief orders in the two cases were unsigned. The Pennsylvania order appeared to be unanimous, while the North Carolina one was issued over three noted dissents.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who joined the court on Tuesday, did not take part in either case. A court spokeswoman said Barrett had not participated "because of the need for a prompt resolution" and because "she has not had time to fully review the parties’ filings.”

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The Pennsylvania and North Carolina cases were the latest examples of the complications that COVID-19 has presented to officials preparing for next week’s election and facing a record-setting number of absentee and mail-in ballots cast by voters eager to avoid voting in person during a pandemic.

Democrats have consistently pushed for more lenient rules when it comes to mail-in ballots and how and when they are counted. Republicans have resisted such changes, with many of them arguing that the relaxed rules could open the process to abuse and fraud.

There were no noted dissents in the Pennsylvania case, though three justices said the court might return to it after Election Day. In the North Carolina case, the same three members of the court — Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — said they would have granted requests from Republican lawmakers and the Trump campaign to block lower court rulings allowing the longer deadline.

The two cases involved broadly similar issues. In Pennsylvania, the question was whether the state’s Supreme Court could override voting rules set by the state legislature. In North Carolina, the question was whether state election officials had the power to alter such voting rules.

The Pennsylvania case left open the possibility of later action by the court.

“I reluctantly conclude that there is simply not enough time at this late date to decide the question before the election,” Alito wrote.

“Although the court denies the motion to expedite” the petition seeking review, he wrote, the petition “remains before us, and if it is granted, the case can then be decided under a shortened schedule.”

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The court’s refusal to move more quickly came a little more than a week after it deadlocked, 4-4, on an emergency application in the case. The Pennsylvania Republican Party had asked the justices to temporarily block a ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that allowed election officials to count some mailed ballots received up to three days after Election Day.

The state court said the extra time was needed because of the coronavirus pandemic and delays in mail service.

State Republicans, apparently hoping that the arrival of Barrett would alter the judicial calculus, returned to the Supreme Court on Friday asking it to hear an ordinary appeal from the state court’s ruling, which is not unusual, but to compress a process that usually takes months into a few days, which certainly is.

In his statement, Alito criticized his court’s treatment of the case, which he said had “needlessly created conditions that could lead to serious postelection problems.”

“The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has issued a decree that squarely alters an important statutory provision enacted by the Pennsylvania legislature pursuant to its authority under the Constitution of the United States to make rules governing the conduct of elections for federal office,” he wrote.

That echoed a concurring opinion issued on Monday by Justice Brett Kavanaugh in a case from Wisconsin. Kavanaugh also said that state legislatures, rather than state courts, have the last word in setting state election procedures.

Writing on Wednesday, Alito said he regretted that the election would be “conducted under a cloud.”

“It would be highly desirable to issue a ruling on the constitutionality of the State Supreme Court’s decision before the election,” he wrote. “That question has national importance, and there is a strong likelihood that the State Supreme Court decision violates the federal Constitution.”

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“The provisions of the federal Constitution conferring on state legislatures, not state courts, the authority to make rules governing federal elections would be meaningless,” he wrote, “if a state court could override the rules adopted by the legislature simply by claiming that a state constitutional provision gave the courts the authority to make whatever rules it thought appropriate for the conduct of a fair election.”

Earlier Wednesday, Pennsylvania officials told the court that they had instructed county election officials to segregate ballots arriving after 8 p.m. on Election Day through 5 p.m. three days later. That could potentially allow a later ruling from the court to determine whether they were ultimately counted.

In its motion seeking expedited consideration of the case, lawyers for the Republican Party wrote that the court’s ordinary briefing schedules “would not allow the case to be considered and decided before the results of the general election must be finalized.”

The motion noted that four justices had already indicated where they stood when the court deadlocked on Oct. 19. Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh said they would have granted a stay blocking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision. On the other side were Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three-member liberal wing: Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

Neither side gave reasons, and the split suggested that Barrett could play a decisive role if the court eventually heard the case.

Responding to the motion seeking expedited treatment of the Republicans’ appeal, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party called the request “rash and unseemly.”

“Even on the extraordinarily hurried schedule” proposed by the Republicans, the response said, “a ruling from this court could not realistically issue until the eve of the election.”

“By then,” it added, “it will be too late for many Pennsylvania voters who have relied on the existing rules to adjust to any change in the rules that this court might impose.”

The state court ordered a three-day extension for ballots clearly mailed on or before Election Day and for those with missing or illegible postmarks “unless a preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that it was mailed after Election Day.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has not hesitated to block orders from federal judges that sought to alter state rules for conducting elections. Rulings from state courts present more difficult questions, because the Supreme Court generally defers to them in cases concerning interpretations of state law and the Constitution empowers state legislatures to set the times, places and manner of congressional elections.

In an earlier brief, Republicans argued that “the Constitution reserves a special role for state legislatures in federal elections,” one that cannot be overridden by state courts. The brief relied heavily on the Supreme Court’s decision in the cases culminating in Bush v. Gore, the 2000 ruling that handed the presidency to George W. Bush.

“By extending the deadline by judicial fiat and establishing a presumption of timeliness that will allow voters to cast or mail ballots after Election Day,” the brief said, “the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has impermissibly altered both the ‘time’ and ‘manner’ established by the General Assembly” for conducting elections.

In response, Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s attorney general, a Democrat, said a provision of the state constitution protecting “free and equal elections” allowed the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to extend the deadline.

The North Carolina case concerned a state law that allowed absentee ballots to be received up to three days after Election Day. But the state’s board of elections, drawing on its power to address natural disasters, had agreed to nine days as part of a settlement of a lawsuit in state court.

All five members of the board agreed to the settlement, including two Republicans who later resigned, saying they had been “gulled into providing their assent.”

Republican lawmakers, the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign challenged the settlement in federal court, saying the board had exceeded its power. By a 12-3 vote, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against them. All three of President Donald Trump’s appointees to the court voted with the majority.

“All ballots must still be mailed on or before Election Day,” Judge James A. Wynn Jr. wrote. “The change is simply an extension from three to nine days after Election Day for a timely ballot to be received and counted. That is all.”

In dissent, Judges J. Harvie Wilkinson and G. Steven Agee, joined by Judge Paul V. Niemeyer, said the majority’s ruling had endorsed a pernicious trend.

“It takes no special genius to know what this insidious formula is producing,” they wrote. “Our country is now plagued by a proliferation of pre-election litigation that creates confusion and turmoil and that threatens to undermine public confidence in the federal courts, state agencies and the elections themselves.”

In the Supreme Court, the Trump campaign urged the justices to intercede.

“This case involves an extraordinary attempt by an unelected state board of elections to rewrite the unambiguous terms of a statute enacted in June by a bipartisan state legislature to set time, place, and manner requirements for absentee voting in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the brief said.

The board responded that it had the statutory authority to act. A state law gave it emergency powers to be used when elections are disrupted by natural disasters.

“In the past three years alone, the board has twice extended the absentee-ballot receipt deadline after hurricanes hit the state’s coast,” its brief said. “No one challenged those extensions.”

Thomas said he would have granted the stay sought by the Republicans, but he gave no reasons.

Gorsuch, joined by Alito, criticized “the board’s constitutional overreach.”

Its actions, Gorsuch wrote, “do damage to faith in the written Constitution as law, to the power of the people to oversee their own government, and to the authority of legislatures.”

“Such last-minute changes by largely unaccountable bodies, too,” he wrote, “invite confusion, risk altering election outcomes, and in the process threaten voter confidence in the results.”

In a pair of decisions welcomed by Democrats, the Supreme Court on Wednesday let election officials in two key battleground states, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, accept absentee ballots for several days after Election Day.

In a pair of decisions welcomed by Democrats, the Supreme Court on Wednesday let election officials in two key battleground states, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, accept absentee ballots for several days after Election Day. In the Pennsylvania case, the court refused a plea from Republicans in the state that it decide before Election Day whether election officials can continue receiving absentee ballots for three days after Nov. 3. In the North Carolina case, the court let stand lower court rulings that allowed the state’s board of elections to extend the deadline to nine days after Election Day, up from the three days called for by the state Legislature. The court’s brief orders in the two cases were unsigned. The Pennsylvania order appeared to be unanimous, while the North Carolina one was issued over three noted dissents. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who joined the court on Tuesday, did not take part in either case. A court spokeswoman said Barrett had not participated "because of the need for a prompt resolution" and because "she has not had time to fully review the parties’ filings.” Also Read | US election 2020 the most expensive in American history: Study The Pennsylvania and North Carolina cases were the latest examples of the complications that COVID-19 has presented to officials preparing for next week’s election and facing a record-setting number of absentee and mail-in ballots cast by voters eager to avoid voting in person during a pandemic. Democrats have consistently pushed for more lenient rules when it comes to mail-in ballots and how and when they are counted. Republicans have resisted such changes, with many of them arguing that the relaxed rules could open the process to abuse and fraud. There were no noted dissents in the Pennsylvania case, though three justices said the court might return to it after Election Day. In the North Carolina case, the same three members of the court — Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — said they would have granted requests from Republican lawmakers and the Trump campaign to block lower court rulings allowing the longer deadline. The two cases involved broadly similar issues. In Pennsylvania, the question was whether the state’s Supreme Court could override voting rules set by the state legislature. In North Carolina, the question was whether state election officials had the power to alter such voting rules. The Pennsylvania case left open the possibility of later action by the court. “I reluctantly conclude that there is simply not enough time at this late date to decide the question before the election,” Alito wrote. “Although the court denies the motion to expedite” the petition seeking review, he wrote, the petition “remains before us, and if it is granted, the case can then be decided under a shortened schedule.” Also Read | Joe Biden leading in US Election 2020 against Donald Trump: Survey The court’s refusal to move more quickly came a little more than a week after it deadlocked, 4-4, on an emergency application in the case. The Pennsylvania Republican Party had asked the justices to temporarily block a ruling from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that allowed election officials to count some mailed ballots received up to three days after Election Day. The state court said the extra time was needed because of the coronavirus pandemic and delays in mail service. State Republicans, apparently hoping that the arrival of Barrett would alter the judicial calculus, returned to the Supreme Court on Friday asking it to hear an ordinary appeal from the state court’s ruling, which is not unusual, but to compress a process that usually takes months into a few days, which certainly is. In his statement, Alito criticized his court’s treatment of the case, which he said had “needlessly created conditions that could lead to serious postelection problems.” “The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has issued a decree that squarely alters an important statutory provision enacted by the Pennsylvania legislature pursuant to its authority under the Constitution of the United States to make rules governing the conduct of elections for federal office,” he wrote. That echoed a concurring opinion issued on Monday by Justice Brett Kavanaugh in a case from Wisconsin. Kavanaugh also said that state legislatures, rather than state courts, have the last word in setting state election procedures. Writing on Wednesday, Alito said he regretted that the election would be “conducted under a cloud.” “It would be highly desirable to issue a ruling on the constitutionality of the State Supreme Court’s decision before the election,” he wrote. “That question has national importance, and there is a strong likelihood that the State Supreme Court decision violates the federal Constitution.” × “The provisions of the federal Constitution conferring on state legislatures, not state courts, the authority to make rules governing federal elections would be meaningless,” he wrote, “if a state court could override the rules adopted by the legislature simply by claiming that a state constitutional provision gave the courts the authority to make whatever rules it thought appropriate for the conduct of a fair election.” Earlier Wednesday, Pennsylvania officials told the court that they had instructed county election officials to segregate ballots arriving after 8 p.m. on Election Day through 5 p.m. three days later. That could potentially allow a later ruling from the court to determine whether they were ultimately counted. In its motion seeking expedited consideration of the case, lawyers for the Republican Party wrote that the court’s ordinary briefing schedules “would not allow the case to be considered and decided before the results of the general election must be finalized.” The motion noted that four justices had already indicated where they stood when the court deadlocked on Oct. 19. Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch and Kavanaugh said they would have granted a stay blocking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision. On the other side were Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three-member liberal wing: Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. Neither side gave reasons, and the split suggested that Barrett could play a decisive role if the court eventually heard the case. Responding to the motion seeking expedited treatment of the Republicans’ appeal, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party called the request “rash and unseemly.” “Even on the extraordinarily hurried schedule” proposed by the Republicans, the response said, “a ruling from this court could not realistically issue until the eve of the election.” “By then,” it added, “it will be too late for many Pennsylvania voters who have relied on the existing rules to adjust to any change in the rules that this court might impose.” The state court ordered a three-day extension for ballots clearly mailed on or before Election Day and for those with missing or illegible postmarks “unless a preponderance of the evidence demonstrates that it was mailed after Election Day.” The U.S. Supreme Court has not hesitated to block orders from federal judges that sought to alter state rules for conducting elections. Rulings from state courts present more difficult questions, because the Supreme Court generally defers to them in cases concerning interpretations of state law and the Constitution empowers state legislatures to set the times, places and manner of congressional elections. In an earlier brief, Republicans argued that “the Constitution reserves a special role for state legislatures in federal elections,” one that cannot be overridden by state courts. The brief relied heavily on the Supreme Court’s decision in the cases culminating in Bush v. Gore, the 2000 ruling that handed the presidency to George W. Bush. “By extending the deadline by judicial fiat and establishing a presumption of timeliness that will allow voters to cast or mail ballots after Election Day,” the brief said, “the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has impermissibly altered both the ‘time’ and ‘manner’ established by the General Assembly” for conducting elections. In response, Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s attorney general, a Democrat, said a provision of the state constitution protecting “free and equal elections” allowed the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to extend the deadline. The North Carolina case concerned a state law that allowed absentee ballots to be received up to three days after Election Day. But the state’s board of elections, drawing on its power to address natural disasters, had agreed to nine days as part of a settlement of a lawsuit in state court. All five members of the board agreed to the settlement, including two Republicans who later resigned, saying they had been “gulled into providing their assent.” Republican lawmakers, the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign challenged the settlement in federal court, saying the board had exceeded its power. By a 12-3 vote, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against them. All three of President Donald Trump’s appointees to the court voted with the majority. “All ballots must still be mailed on or before Election Day,” Judge James A. Wynn Jr. wrote. “The change is simply an extension from three to nine days after Election Day for a timely ballot to be received and counted. That is all.” In dissent, Judges J. Harvie Wilkinson and G. Steven Agee, joined by Judge Paul V. Niemeyer, said the majority’s ruling had endorsed a pernicious trend. “It takes no special genius to know what this insidious formula is producing,” they wrote. “Our country is now plagued by a proliferation of pre-election litigation that creates confusion and turmoil and that threatens to undermine public confidence in the federal courts, state agencies and the elections themselves.” In the Supreme Court, the Trump campaign urged the justices to intercede. “This case involves an extraordinary attempt by an unelected state board of elections to rewrite the unambiguous terms of a statute enacted in June by a bipartisan state legislature to set time, place, and manner requirements for absentee voting in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the brief said. The board responded that it had the statutory authority to act. A state law gave it emergency powers to be used when elections are disrupted by natural disasters. “In the past three years alone, the board has twice extended the absentee-ballot receipt deadline after hurricanes hit the state’s coast,” its brief said. “No one challenged those extensions.” Thomas said he would have granted the stay sought by the Republicans, but he gave no reasons. Gorsuch, joined by Alito, criticized “the board’s constitutional overreach.” Its actions, Gorsuch wrote, “do damage to faith in the written Constitution as law, to the power of the people to oversee their own government, and to the authority of legislatures.” “Such last-minute changes by largely unaccountable bodies, too,” he wrote, “invite confusion, risk altering election outcomes, and in the process threaten voter confidence in the results.”

Supreme Court allows longer deadlines for absentee ballots in Pennsylvania and North Carolina

In Georgia, a database that verifies voter signatures was locked up by Russian hackers in a ransomware attack that also dumped voters’ registration data online.

In California and Indiana, Russia’s most formidable state hackers, a unit linked to the Federal Security Service, or FSB, bore into local networks and hit some election systems, although it is still unclear why.

In Louisiana, the National Guard was called in to stop cyberattacks aimed at small government offices that employed tools previously seen only in attacks by North Korea.

And Tuesday night, someone hacked the Trump campaign, defacing its website with a threatening message in broken English, warning that there would be more to come.

None of these attacks amounted to much. But from the sprawling war room at U.S. Cyber Command to those monitoring the election at Facebook, Twitter, Google and Microsoft, experts are watching closely for more “perception hacks.” Those are smaller attacks that can be easily exaggerated into something bigger and potentially seized upon as evidence that the whole voting process is “rigged,” as President Donald Trump has claimed it will be.

The phrase comes up every time Christopher Krebs, the Department of Homeland Security official responsible for making sure voting systems are secure, talks about the biggest vulnerabilities in this election. His worry is not a vast attack but a series of smaller ones, perhaps concentrated in swing states, whose effect is more psychological than real.

Perception hacks are just one of a range of issues occupying election officials and cybersecurity experts in the final days of voting — and their concerns will not end on Election Day.

One theory gaining ground inside U.S. intelligence agencies is that the Russians, having made the point that they remain inside key American systems despite bolstered defenses and new offensive operations by Cyber Command, may sit out the next week — until it is clear whether the vote is close.

The Russian play, under this theory, would be to fan the flames of state-by-state election battles, generating or amplifying claims of fraud that would further undermine U.S. confidence in the integrity of the election process.

The Iranians would continue their playbook, which U.S. intelligence officials see as more akin to vandalism than serious hacking, filled with threats in mangled English.

But American experts have warned local officials that come Nov. 3, the Iranians may seek to paralyze or deface the websites of secretaries of state, affecting the reporting of results, and create the impression of being inside the voting infrastructure even if they never were and the election results have not been compromised.

Here is a look at some of the potential threats and what has been learned in a year of behind-the-scenes cyberbattles.

Protecting the Machines

Government officials are trying to assure voters that voting machines are hard to hack on a large scale: They are almost entirely offline. States and counties use their own systems, and the breadth and diversity of those systems, the argument goes, make it nearly impossible for a single attack to target all of them.

But that does not eliminate the risk. At the University of Michigan, J. Alex Halderman has turned his laboratory into an arcade of voting-machine vulnerabilities and found ways to create “attacks that can spread from machine to machine like a computer virus and silently change election outcomes.”

Others point out that no one needs to hack every state to cause havoc. In a tight election, an attacker could target Atlanta, Philadelphia, Detroit or Milwaukee and delay the reporting of results from an electoral battleground.

The other weak point in the diversity-as-security claim, election security experts say, is the constellation of contractors that support elections across multiple states and counties. “The claim that diversity is protecting the election is a logical fallacy,” said Harri Hursti, an election security consultant.

Hursti worries about a scenario in which ballot scanners could be reprogrammed to read a vote for Joe Biden as a vote for Trump or vice versa.

“A single point of failure could compromise election infrastructure across multiple counties and states,” Hursti warned.

His concern is strictly cautionary but not unheard-of. Not long after the 2016 election, a National Security Agency whistleblower revealed that VR Systems, a Florida company that provided check-in software to multiple states, including critical swing states like Florida and North Carolina, was compromised by Russian hackers before the vote. There is no evidence they used that access to affect the final vote.

Backups

The constant drumbeat of cyberattacks and foreign interference has forced states to put safeguards in place. States have worked to print paper backups of voter registration data, and they have phased out machines that leave no paper backup.

Krebs said that next week about 92% of all votes cast would be “associated” with some kind of paper record, up significantly from four years ago.

But with the surge in mail-in ballots this year, machine voting will also diminish as a percentage of the total vote. So the vulnerabilities that the Homeland Security Department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is focused on are potential attacks on voter registration, verification and vote reporting systems, along with the computer networks of secretaries of state, or power outages at the polls.

Those kinds of attacks would not change the vote tallies. But, executed artfully enough, especially in battleground states or key districts within those states, they could be used to sow doubt about the legitimacy of the election.

Some officials still wonder if that was the motivation behind some of Russia’s 2016 interference, when hackers “scanned” the registration databases of all 50 states, breached systems in Arizona and Florida, and made an unusually noisy show of stealing voters’ registration data in Illinois but ultimately did nothing with it.

Many of those vulnerabilities have been patched, thanks to an aggressive campaign by the Homeland Security Department and the states. But voting is a local affair and vulnerabilities remain, as Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida discovered when he went to vote early in Tallahassee, the state capital. Someone — the police arrested a 20-year-old from Naples, Florida — had changed the governor’s address to West Palm Beach.

That is why there is so much concern about a Russian group called Energetic Bear. Over the years, the group, believed to be a unit of the FSB, has breached U.S. power grids, water treatment plants, a nuclear power plant in Kansas and, more recently, web systems at San Francisco International Airport.

And starting in September, it began going into the systems of state and local governments. Intelligence officials say they have succeeded in breaching only two servers in California and Indiana.

Ransomware

The most imminent threat, officials say, is ransomware attacks that could freeze some part of the voting system and delay results.

It is a sign of how concerned the intelligence agencies and private industry are about ransomware that over the past month both Cyber Command and a group of companies led by Microsoft have been bringing down servers around the world linked to TrickBot, a set of tools used in some of the most sophisticated ransomware operations.

“This is all about disrupting TrickBot’s operations during peak election activity,” said Tom Burt, the Microsoft executive in charge of the operation.

But there is already evidence that the hackers behind TrickBot have shifted to new tools, according to Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm. Over the past month and a half, researchers discovered that the same people have directed a spate of vicious new ransomware attacks that have taken U.S. hospitals offline, just as coronavirus cases are spiking.

“They could use these same tools against whoever they want whether it’s the election or hospitals,” said Kimberly Goody, a cybercrime analyst at Mandiant.

A ransomware attack in Gainesville, Georgia, locked up the voter signature verification systems last week, forcing poll workers to do things the old-fashioned way, pulling registration cards manually and eyeballing the signatures.

The attack, which does not appear to have been directed at the election but took election systems down as collateral damage, exposed continued weak spots in Georgia, a key battleground state.

Internal emails showed that the Georgia secretary of state’s office disabled two-factor authentication in recent weeks, after its election software was buckling under the deluge of early voters. Two-factor authentication, which keeps hackers from breaking into systems with one stolen password, has been key to the Homeland Security Department’s election security strategy, and in this case emails show that the secretary of state simply turned it off.

Preparing for the Aftermath

Trump has already promoted the idea that mail-in ballots will be riddled with fraud and has sought to use small glitches in the distribution and return of mail ballots as evidence that the system cannot be trusted if the result goes against him.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a “public service announcement” recently about taking care to verify information before believing it or reposting it. But as some government officials concede, there is no remedy for a president who repeats unproven rumors and conspiracy theories — other than directly contradicting him.

“They have walked the line carefully,” said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine. “But the real test is coming.”

In Georgia, a database that verifies voter signatures was locked up by Russian hackers in a ransomware attack that also dumped voters’ registration data online. In California and Indiana, Russia’s most formidable state hackers, a unit linked to the Federal Security Service, or FSB, bore into local networks and hit some election systems, although it is still unclear why.

In Georgia, a database that verifies voter signatures was locked up by Russian hackers in a ransomware attack that also dumped voters’ registration data online. In California and Indiana, Russia’s most formidable state hackers, a unit linked to the Federal Security Service, or FSB, bore into local networks and hit some election systems, although it is still unclear why. In Louisiana, the National Guard was called in to stop cyberattacks aimed at small government offices that employed tools previously seen only in attacks by North Korea. And Tuesday night, someone hacked the Trump campaign, defacing its website with a threatening message in broken English, warning that there would be more to come. None of these attacks amounted to much. But from the sprawling war room at U.S. Cyber Command to those monitoring the election at Facebook, Twitter, Google and Microsoft, experts are watching closely for more “perception hacks.” Those are smaller attacks that can be easily exaggerated into something bigger and potentially seized upon as evidence that the whole voting process is “rigged,” as President Donald Trump has claimed it will be. The phrase comes up every time Christopher Krebs, the Department of Homeland Security official responsible for making sure voting systems are secure, talks about the biggest vulnerabilities in this election. His worry is not a vast attack but a series of smaller ones, perhaps concentrated in swing states, whose effect is more psychological than real. Perception hacks are just one of a range of issues occupying election officials and cybersecurity experts in the final days of voting — and their concerns will not end on Election Day. One theory gaining ground inside U.S. intelligence agencies is that the Russians, having made the point that they remain inside key American systems despite bolstered defenses and new offensive operations by Cyber Command, may sit out the next week — until it is clear whether the vote is close. The Russian play, under this theory, would be to fan the flames of state-by-state election battles, generating or amplifying claims of fraud that would further undermine U.S. confidence in the integrity of the election process. The Iranians would continue their playbook, which U.S. intelligence officials see as more akin to vandalism than serious hacking, filled with threats in mangled English. But American experts have warned local officials that come Nov. 3, the Iranians may seek to paralyze or deface the websites of secretaries of state, affecting the reporting of results, and create the impression of being inside the voting infrastructure even if they never were and the election results have not been compromised. Here is a look at some of the potential threats and what has been learned in a year of behind-the-scenes cyberbattles. Protecting the Machines Government officials are trying to assure voters that voting machines are hard to hack on a large scale: They are almost entirely offline. States and counties use their own systems, and the breadth and diversity of those systems, the argument goes, make it nearly impossible for a single attack to target all of them. But that does not eliminate the risk. At the University of Michigan, J. Alex Halderman has turned his laboratory into an arcade of voting-machine vulnerabilities and found ways to create “attacks that can spread from machine to machine like a computer virus and silently change election outcomes.” Others point out that no one needs to hack every state to cause havoc. In a tight election, an attacker could target Atlanta, Philadelphia, Detroit or Milwaukee and delay the reporting of results from an electoral battleground. The other weak point in the diversity-as-security claim, election security experts say, is the constellation of contractors that support elections across multiple states and counties. “The claim that diversity is protecting the election is a logical fallacy,” said Harri Hursti, an election security consultant. Hursti worries about a scenario in which ballot scanners could be reprogrammed to read a vote for Joe Biden as a vote for Trump or vice versa. “A single point of failure could compromise election infrastructure across multiple counties and states,” Hursti warned. His concern is strictly cautionary but not unheard-of. Not long after the 2016 election, a National Security Agency whistleblower revealed that VR Systems, a Florida company that provided check-in software to multiple states, including critical swing states like Florida and North Carolina, was compromised by Russian hackers before the vote. There is no evidence they used that access to affect the final vote. Backups The constant drumbeat of cyberattacks and foreign interference has forced states to put safeguards in place. States have worked to print paper backups of voter registration data, and they have phased out machines that leave no paper backup. Krebs said that next week about 92% of all votes cast would be “associated” with some kind of paper record, up significantly from four years ago. But with the surge in mail-in ballots this year, machine voting will also diminish as a percentage of the total vote. So the vulnerabilities that the Homeland Security Department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is focused on are potential attacks on voter registration, verification and vote reporting systems, along with the computer networks of secretaries of state, or power outages at the polls. Those kinds of attacks would not change the vote tallies. But, executed artfully enough, especially in battleground states or key districts within those states, they could be used to sow doubt about the legitimacy of the election. Some officials still wonder if that was the motivation behind some of Russia’s 2016 interference, when hackers “scanned” the registration databases of all 50 states, breached systems in Arizona and Florida, and made an unusually noisy show of stealing voters’ registration data in Illinois but ultimately did nothing with it. Many of those vulnerabilities have been patched, thanks to an aggressive campaign by the Homeland Security Department and the states. But voting is a local affair and vulnerabilities remain, as Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida discovered when he went to vote early in Tallahassee, the state capital. Someone — the police arrested a 20-year-old from Naples, Florida — had changed the governor’s address to West Palm Beach. That is why there is so much concern about a Russian group called Energetic Bear. Over the years, the group, believed to be a unit of the FSB, has breached U.S. power grids, water treatment plants, a nuclear power plant in Kansas and, more recently, web systems at San Francisco International Airport. And starting in September, it began going into the systems of state and local governments. Intelligence officials say they have succeeded in breaching only two servers in California and Indiana. Ransomware The most imminent threat, officials say, is ransomware attacks that could freeze some part of the voting system and delay results. It is a sign of how concerned the intelligence agencies and private industry are about ransomware that over the past month both Cyber Command and a group of companies led by Microsoft have been bringing down servers around the world linked to TrickBot, a set of tools used in some of the most sophisticated ransomware operations. “This is all about disrupting TrickBot’s operations during peak election activity,” said Tom Burt, the Microsoft executive in charge of the operation. But there is already evidence that the hackers behind TrickBot have shifted to new tools, according to Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm. Over the past month and a half, researchers discovered that the same people have directed a spate of vicious new ransomware attacks that have taken U.S. hospitals offline, just as coronavirus cases are spiking. “They could use these same tools against whoever they want whether it’s the election or hospitals,” said Kimberly Goody, a cybercrime analyst at Mandiant. A ransomware attack in Gainesville, Georgia, locked up the voter signature verification systems last week, forcing poll workers to do things the old-fashioned way, pulling registration cards manually and eyeballing the signatures. The attack, which does not appear to have been directed at the election but took election systems down as collateral damage, exposed continued weak spots in Georgia, a key battleground state. Internal emails showed that the Georgia secretary of state’s office disabled two-factor authentication in recent weeks, after its election software was buckling under the deluge of early voters. Two-factor authentication, which keeps hackers from breaking into systems with one stolen password, has been key to the Homeland Security Department’s election security strategy, and in this case emails show that the secretary of state simply turned it off. Preparing for the Aftermath Trump has already promoted the idea that mail-in ballots will be riddled with fraud and has sought to use small glitches in the distribution and return of mail ballots as evidence that the system cannot be trusted if the result goes against him. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a “public service announcement” recently about taking care to verify information before believing it or reposting it. But as some government officials concede, there is no remedy for a president who repeats unproven rumors and conspiracy theories — other than directly contradicting him. “They have walked the line carefully,” said Sen. Angus King, I-Maine. “But the real test is coming.”

‘Perception hacks’ and other potential threats to the election

Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, was the anonymous author of The New York Times op-ed article in 2018 whose description of President Donald Trump as “impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective” roiled Washington and set off a hunt for his identity, Taylor confirmed Wednesday.

Taylor was also the anonymous author of “A Warning,” a book he wrote the following year that described the president as an “undisciplined” and “amoral” leader whose abuse of power threatened the foundations of American democracy. He acknowledged that he was the author of both the book and the opinion article in an interview and in a three-page statement he posted online.

Taylor resigned from Homeland Security in June 2019 and went public with his criticism of Trump this past summer. He released a video just before the start of the Republican National Convention declaring that the president was unfit for office and endorsed Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee.

But Taylor, who had repeatedly denied being Anonymous, did not reveal himself to be the author of the opinion article and book at the time.

On Wednesday, Trump claimed not to know who Taylor is, despite the fact that there are numerous pictures of the president with Taylor in meetings.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-american-voters-make-history-more-than-70-million-cast-ballots-338468">Also read|&nbsp;US Election 2020: American voters make history in early voting; more than 70 million cast ballots</a>

“Who is Miles Taylor? Said he was ‘anonymous’, but I don’t know him — never even heard of him,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Just another @nytimes SCAM — he worked in conjunction with them. Also worked for Big Tech’s @Google. Now works for Fake News @CNN. They should fire, shame, and punish everybody associated with this FRAUD on the American people!”

The op-ed pages of The Times are managed separately from the news department, which was never told of Anonymous’ identity.

Taylor served for two years as a top aide to Kirstjen Nielsen, Trump’s third homeland security secretary, and wrote in The Times that he was part of a cadre of officials around Trump who were quietly working to “frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.”

As a senior administration official, Taylor often interacted with the president at the White House, particularly on issues related to immigration, cybersecurity and terrorism. He left government after Nielsen was fired and later became the head of national security relations for Google. He has been on personal leave from the company for the past several months after endorsing Biden and has been organizing other Republicans to campaign against Trump’s reelection.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/donald-trump-vs-joe-biden-which-celebrity-is-backing-whom-in-the-us-presidential-elections-333505">Also read|&nbsp;Donald Trump Vs Joe Biden: Which celebrity is backing whom in the US presidential elections</a>

“More than two years ago, I published an anonymous opinion piece in The New York Times about Donald Trump’s perilous presidency, while I was serving under him. He responded with a short but telling tweet: ‘TREASON?’” Taylor wrote in his statement.

“When I left the administration, I wrote ‘A Warning,’ a character study of the current commander in chief and a caution to voters that it wasn’t as bad as it looked inside the Trump administration — it was worse,” he added.

The disclosure of Taylor’s identity is likely to renew the debate over his mdotives and raise questions about whether his position in the Trump administration was senior enough to justify the decisions by The Times’ Opinion desk and the book’s publisher to keep his identity secret. As chief of staff to a Cabinet secretary, Taylor was one of the top political officials in the sprawling, 240,000-person department, with frequent access to Trump and other senior White House officials.

At the time, The Times published the essay with a note that said: “The Times is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers.”

Taylor’s decision to assail the president anonymously in the Times article created a sensation in Washington because of its claims about the president’s lack of character and inability to govern. In the book, Taylor described Trump as a “12-year-old in an air traffic control tower, pushing the buttons of government indiscriminately, indifferent to the planes skidding across the runway.”

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-surge-in-can-i-change-my-vote-donald-trump-says-trend-refers-to-him-338447">Also read|&nbsp;US election 2020: Surge in 'can I change my vote'; Donald Trump says trend refers to him</a>

Taylor’s essay has had less impact over time as an array of onetime Trump administration officials have come forward with names attached to publicly criticize the president’s leadership and character, among them the former defense secretary, Jim Mattis, and Trump’s third national security adviser, John Bolton. But Taylor’s essay was among the first cracks in the White House defense and led to prolonged speculation about the writer’s identity, with readers pointing to specific passages in it as evidence of who must have been the author.

The White House engaged in its own lengthy hunt to identify who had written the article. In the days after its publication, Trump declared that he wanted the attorney general at the time, Jeff Sessions, to find the writer, saying, “I would say Jeff should be investigating who the author of that piece was because I really believe it’s national security.”

As late as November, the Justice Department demanded to know from the publisher of the forthcoming book whether the author had violated any confidentiality agreements related to classified information.

The president last year called the author of the Times article a “gutless” bureaucrat and tweeted “TREASON?” In a statement ahead of the book’s publication last year, Stephanie Grisham, then the White House press secretary, called the author “a coward” who wrote a “work of fiction” filled with lies about the president.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-president-donald-trumps-wildest-prediction-till-date-338554">Also read|&nbsp;US election 2020: President Donald Trump's wildest prediction till date</a>

“Real authors reach out to their subjects to get things fact-checked — but this person is hiding, making that very basic part of being a real writer impossible,” Grisham said.

On Wednesday, Kayleigh McEnany, the president’s current press secretary, called Taylor a “low-level, disgruntled former staffer,” adding that he “is a liar and a coward who chose anonymity over action and leaking over leading. He was ineffective and incompetent during his time as DHS chief of staff.”

McEnany said that “it is appalling a low-ranking official would be granted anonymity, and it is clear The New York Times is doing the bidding of Never-Trumpers and Democrats.”

In the book, Taylor said he decided to remain anonymous because he believed that revealing his identity would have allowed Trump and his allies to distract attention from the substance of the critique he leveled against the president.

“I have decided to publish this anonymously because this debate is not about me,” Taylor wrote. “Removing my identity from the equation deprives him of an opportunity to create a distraction. What will he do when there is no person to attack, only an idea?”

In his statement Wednesday, Taylor acknowledged that “some people consider it questionable to levy such serious charges against a sitting president under the cover of anonymity.” But he said he his decision was justified.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-polling-guru-who-forecasted-donald-trumps-2016-win-reveals-this-years-winner-338228">Also read|&nbsp;US election 2020: Polling guru who forecasted Donald Trump's 2016 win, reveals this year's winner</a>

“Issuing my critiques without attribution forced the president to answer them directly on their merits or not at all, rather than creating distractions through petty insults and name-calling,” Taylor wrote. “I wanted the attention to be on the arguments themselves. At the time I asked, ‘What will he do when there is no person to attack, only an idea?’ We got the answer. He became unhinged. And the ideas stood on their own two feet.”

Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokeswoman for The Times, said in a statement that “we take seriously our obligations to protect sources.”

She added: “Many important stories in sensitive areas like politics, national security and business could never be reported if our journalists violated that trust. In this case, however, the writer has personally waived our agreement to keep his identity confidential. We can confirm that he is the author of the Anonymous op-ed. We don’t plan to comment further.”

The book’s publisher, Sean Desmond of Twelve Books, said in a statement that the company was proud of the book, which he said “every day seems more and more prescient.”

He added, “Miles Taylor has been a great publishing partner, and we support him and the true act of political courage it took to tell his story.”

The publisher has said that Taylor declined to take any advance payment for writing it and has pledged to donate a large portion of any royalties to nonprofit organizations, including the White House Correspondents’ Association, the membership organization for reporters who cover the president.

Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, was the anonymous author of The New York Times op-ed article in 2018 whose description of President Donald Trump as “impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective” roiled Washington and set off a hunt for his identity, Taylor confirmed Wednesday.

Miles Taylor, the former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, was the anonymous author of The New York Times op-ed article in 2018 whose description of President Donald Trump as “impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective” roiled Washington and set off a hunt for his identity, Taylor confirmed Wednesday. Taylor was also the anonymous author of “A Warning,” a book he wrote the following year that described the president as an “undisciplined” and “amoral” leader whose abuse of power threatened the foundations of American democracy. He acknowledged that he was the author of both the book and the opinion article in an interview and in a three-page statement he posted online. Taylor resigned from Homeland Security in June 2019 and went public with his criticism of Trump this past summer. He released a video just before the start of the Republican National Convention declaring that the president was unfit for office and endorsed Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee. But Taylor, who had repeatedly denied being Anonymous, did not reveal himself to be the author of the opinion article and book at the time. On Wednesday, Trump claimed not to know who Taylor is, despite the fact that there are numerous pictures of the president with Taylor in meetings. Also read| US Election 2020: American voters make history in early voting; more than 70 million cast ballots “Who is Miles Taylor? Said he was ‘anonymous’, but I don’t know him — never even heard of him,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Just another @nytimes SCAM — he worked in conjunction with them. Also worked for Big Tech’s @Google. Now works for Fake News @CNN. They should fire, shame, and punish everybody associated with this FRAUD on the American people!” The op-ed pages of The Times are managed separately from the news department, which was never told of Anonymous’ identity. Taylor served for two years as a top aide to Kirstjen Nielsen, Trump’s third homeland security secretary, and wrote in The Times that he was part of a cadre of officials around Trump who were quietly working to “frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.” As a senior administration official, Taylor often interacted with the president at the White House, particularly on issues related to immigration, cybersecurity and terrorism. He left government after Nielsen was fired and later became the head of national security relations for Google. He has been on personal leave from the company for the past several months after endorsing Biden and has been organizing other Republicans to campaign against Trump’s reelection. Also read| Donald Trump Vs Joe Biden: Which celebrity is backing whom in the US presidential elections “More than two years ago, I published an anonymous opinion piece in The New York Times about Donald Trump’s perilous presidency, while I was serving under him. He responded with a short but telling tweet: ‘TREASON?’” Taylor wrote in his statement. “When I left the administration, I wrote ‘A Warning,’ a character study of the current commander in chief and a caution to voters that it wasn’t as bad as it looked inside the Trump administration — it was worse,” he added. The disclosure of Taylor’s identity is likely to renew the debate over his mdotives and raise questions about whether his position in the Trump administration was senior enough to justify the decisions by The Times’ Opinion desk and the book’s publisher to keep his identity secret. As chief of staff to a Cabinet secretary, Taylor was one of the top political officials in the sprawling, 240,000-person department, with frequent access to Trump and other senior White House officials. At the time, The Times published the essay with a note that said: “The Times is taking the rare step of publishing an anonymous Op-Ed essay. We have done so at the request of the author, a senior official in the Trump administration whose identity is known to us and whose job would be jeopardized by its disclosure. We believe publishing this essay anonymously is the only way to deliver an important perspective to our readers.” Taylor’s decision to assail the president anonymously in the Times article created a sensation in Washington because of its claims about the president’s lack of character and inability to govern. In the book, Taylor described Trump as a “12-year-old in an air traffic control tower, pushing the buttons of government indiscriminately, indifferent to the planes skidding across the runway.” Also read| US election 2020: Surge in 'can I change my vote'; Donald Trump says trend refers to him Taylor’s essay has had less impact over time as an array of onetime Trump administration officials have come forward with names attached to publicly criticize the president’s leadership and character, among them the former defense secretary, Jim Mattis, and Trump’s third national security adviser, John Bolton. But Taylor’s essay was among the first cracks in the White House defense and led to prolonged speculation about the writer’s identity, with readers pointing to specific passages in it as evidence of who must have been the author. The White House engaged in its own lengthy hunt to identify who had written the article. In the days after its publication, Trump declared that he wanted the attorney general at the time, Jeff Sessions, to find the writer, saying, “I would say Jeff should be investigating who the author of that piece was because I really believe it’s national security.” As late as November, the Justice Department demanded to know from the publisher of the forthcoming book whether the author had violated any confidentiality agreements related to classified information. The president last year called the author of the Times article a “gutless” bureaucrat and tweeted “TREASON?” In a statement ahead of the book’s publication last year, Stephanie Grisham, then the White House press secretary, called the author “a coward” who wrote a “work of fiction” filled with lies about the president. Also read| US election 2020: President Donald Trump's wildest prediction till date “Real authors reach out to their subjects to get things fact-checked — but this person is hiding, making that very basic part of being a real writer impossible,” Grisham said. On Wednesday, Kayleigh McEnany, the president’s current press secretary, called Taylor a “low-level, disgruntled former staffer,” adding that he “is a liar and a coward who chose anonymity over action and leaking over leading. He was ineffective and incompetent during his time as DHS chief of staff.” McEnany said that “it is appalling a low-ranking official would be granted anonymity, and it is clear The New York Times is doing the bidding of Never-Trumpers and Democrats.” In the book, Taylor said he decided to remain anonymous because he believed that revealing his identity would have allowed Trump and his allies to distract attention from the substance of the critique he leveled against the president. “I have decided to publish this anonymously because this debate is not about me,” Taylor wrote. “Removing my identity from the equation deprives him of an opportunity to create a distraction. What will he do when there is no person to attack, only an idea?” In his statement Wednesday, Taylor acknowledged that “some people consider it questionable to levy such serious charges against a sitting president under the cover of anonymity.” But he said he his decision was justified. Also read| US election 2020: Polling guru who forecasted Donald Trump's 2016 win, reveals this year's winner “Issuing my critiques without attribution forced the president to answer them directly on their merits or not at all, rather than creating distractions through petty insults and name-calling,” Taylor wrote. “I wanted the attention to be on the arguments themselves. At the time I asked, ‘What will he do when there is no person to attack, only an idea?’ We got the answer. He became unhinged. And the ideas stood on their own two feet.” Danielle Rhoades Ha, a spokeswoman for The Times, said in a statement that “we take seriously our obligations to protect sources.” She added: “Many important stories in sensitive areas like politics, national security and business could never be reported if our journalists violated that trust. In this case, however, the writer has personally waived our agreement to keep his identity confidential. We can confirm that he is the author of the Anonymous op-ed. We don’t plan to comment further.” The book’s publisher, Sean Desmond of Twelve Books, said in a statement that the company was proud of the book, which he said “every day seems more and more prescient.” He added, “Miles Taylor has been a great publishing partner, and we support him and the true act of political courage it took to tell his story.” The publisher has said that Taylor declined to take any advance payment for writing it and has pledged to donate a large portion of any royalties to nonprofit organizations, including the White House Correspondents’ Association, the membership organization for reporters who cover the president.

Miles Taylor, a former Homeland security official, reveals he was ‘anonymous’

The COVID-19 pandemic is driving more Americans to vote by mail. At least 70 million Americans have already cast their ballots with a record number which keeps getting larger day by day. Watch the report to know, how is the vote counted on election night?

US Election 2020: How is the vote counted on election night?

There are just 6 days to go for US Presidential Election 2020 and early voting is taking pace at a historic pace. Number of votes cast has topped 70 million. This is more than half of the total early-voting turnout in the last election. It is as much a sign of how most Americans don't want to risk exposure to COVID-19 as it is of an intense fight between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

But do most Americans want to change their vote?&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-can-americans-change-their-vote-338653/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Donald Trump says they do. He says most &nbsp;Americans want to change their vote to him after watching the final presidential debate

Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me. The answer in most states is YES. Go do it. Most important Election of your life!" he tweeted.

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Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me. The answer in most states is YES. Go do it. Most important Election of your life!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1321042229838909441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
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After advising people to vote twice, Trump now wants them to change their preference and vote again. In America, you can change your vote yes, but not in 'most states' as the US President suggests. Only a few handful of states have this option

How it works

Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alaska and some counties in Connecticut explicitly allow voters to change their absentee ballot. In New York, there's no specific provision to correct a vote. Voters who have returned their absentee ballot can still vote in person on election day. But only in-person vote will be counted.

Everywhere else, once a vote is cast, it cannot be changed.&nbsp;

But do Americans really want to change their votes?

Trump says recent Google trends suggest they do. He says the topic was trending on Google after the final debate. After looking at Google's top trending searches Trump's claim does hold up to some extent at least. There has been a spike in 'can I change my vote' searches in last two weeks. But there is no way to know whether the spike is related either to the debate or to the fact that most people want to change their vote to Trump. It can hence be said that Donald Trump exaggerated.

Meanwhile, the shooting of a 27-year-old African American in Philadelphia has drawn fresh attention to police brutality. The entire incident has been caught on the video. The victim Walter Wallace was seen holding a knife in the encounter. The police say that they shot him because he refused to drop the weapon.

But for protesters, this was yet another act of racism and high-handedness of American police. America has gone back to the state it was in a few months back. There is violence, arson and loot. The US National Guard has been called in as Philadelphia braces for further unrest.

Six days to go for the presidential polls, and America is as divided as it was.

There are just 6 days to go for US Presidential Election 2020 and early voting is taking pace at a historic pace. Number of votes cast has topped 70 million. This is more than half of the total early-voting turnout in the last election.

There are just 6 days to go for US Presidential Election 2020 and early voting is taking pace at a historic pace. Number of votes cast has topped 70 million. This is more than half of the total early-voting turnout in the last election. It is as much a sign of how most Americans don't want to risk exposure to COVID-19 as it is of an intense fight between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. But do most Americans want to change their vote? Watch | Donald Trump says they do. He says most Americans want to change their vote to him after watching the final presidential debate Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me. The answer in most states is YES. Go do it. Most important Election of your life!" he tweeted. Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me. The answer in most states is YES. Go do it. Most important Election of your life! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2020 × After advising people to vote twice, Trump now wants them to change their preference and vote again. In America, you can change your vote yes, but not in 'most states' as the US President suggests. Only a few handful of states have this option How it works Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Alaska and some counties in Connecticut explicitly allow voters to change their absentee ballot. In New York, there's no specific provision to correct a vote. Voters who have returned their absentee ballot can still vote in person on election day. But only in-person vote will be counted. Everywhere else, once a vote is cast, it cannot be changed. But do Americans really want to change their votes? Trump says recent Google trends suggest they do. He says the topic was trending on Google after the final debate. After looking at Google's top trending searches Trump's claim does hold up to some extent at least. There has been a spike in 'can I change my vote' searches in last two weeks. But there is no way to know whether the spike is related either to the debate or to the fact that most people want to change their vote to Trump. It can hence be said that Donald Trump exaggerated. Meanwhile, the shooting of a 27-year-old African American in Philadelphia has drawn fresh attention to police brutality. The entire incident has been caught on the video. The victim Walter Wallace was seen holding a knife in the encounter. The police say that they shot him because he refused to drop the weapon. But for protesters, this was yet another act of racism and high-handedness of American police. America has gone back to the state it was in a few months back. There is violence, arson and loot. The US National Guard has been called in as Philadelphia braces for further unrest. Six days to go for the presidential polls, and America is as divided as it was.

US Elections 2020: Do most Americans want to change their vote?

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/general-bajwa-quivering-qureshi-said-india-will-attack-if-abhinandan-not-released-pakistan-mp-recalls-338667">General Bajwa quivering, Qureshi said India will attack if Abhinandan not released: Pakistan MP recalls</a>

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2019/03/02/85529-untitled-design-7.jpg?itok=fEUzxZt2" /> 
A Pakistan politician claimed that fearing an attack by India, the Imran Khan Government had abruptly released Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-joe-biden-and-wife-jill-biden-cast-early-vote-in-wilmington-days-before-us-election-338663">Joe Biden and wife, Jill Biden, cast an early vote in Wilmington days before US Election</a>

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2020/10/29/167153-joe-biden-casts-early-vote.jpg?itok=aDng4tqw" /> 
Less than a week away from the US elections 2020, the Democrat candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden cast an early vote with his wife, Jill Biden, in his home town of Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/war-torn-yemen-on-brink-of-losing-an-entire-generation-of-children-to-hunger-un-338662">War-torn Yemen on brink of losing an entire generation of children to hunger: UN</a>

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2020/07/03/148002-yemen-humanitarian-crisis.jpg?itok=0cz8vT9u" /> 
Conflict-ravaged Yemen has become a "living hell" for children with thousands dying every year from malnutrition and easily preventable diseases. 
&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/azerbaijan-says-21-killed-by-armenian-shelling-of-barda-338679/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo">&nbsp;</div>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/mike-pompeo-china-brought-lawlessness-to-maldives-338668/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

General Bajwa quivering, Qureshi said India will attack if Abhinandan not released: Pakistan MP recalls A Pakistan politician claimed that fearing an attack by India, the Imran Khan Government had abruptly released Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman.

General Bajwa quivering, Qureshi said India will attack if Abhinandan not released: Pakistan MP recalls A Pakistan politician claimed that fearing an attack by India, the Imran Khan Government had abruptly released Indian Air Force (IAF) Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. Joe Biden and wife, Jill Biden, cast an early vote in Wilmington days before US Election Less than a week away from the US elections 2020, the Democrat candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden cast an early vote with his wife, Jill Biden, in his home town of Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday. War-torn Yemen on brink of losing an entire generation of children to hunger: UN Conflict-ravaged Yemen has become a "living hell" for children with thousands dying every year from malnutrition and easily preventable diseases.

Morning news brief: India-Pakistan dogfight, US election and more

Jennifer Lawrence created headlines last week when she revealed that she supported the Democrats despite hailing from a family of Republicans. On Tuesday, the actress took to Twitter to reveal that how she grew up in a Republican household and changed her political standing during Barack Obama's tenure as President of the United States.&nbsp; 
 
"I would like to clarify my voting record, which is the subject of many circulating headlines," she tweeted. "I grew up in a Republican family and voted for John McCain in 2008, but through Obama`s presidency, and growing up to realize I was voting against my own rights, I am proud to say I am a Democrat #Obama #HRC #BidenHarris," she added.&nbsp;

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Obama?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Obama</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HRC?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HRC</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BidenHarris?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BidenHarris</a> <a href="https://t.co/UgAoPhgZJV">pic.twitter.com/UgAoPhgZJV</a>
— Jennifer Lawrence - Represent.Us (@JLawrence_RepUs) <a href="https://twitter.com/JLawrence_RepUs/status/1321141203228766208?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
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For the upcoming US presidential election, Lawrence is casting her ballot for Democratic Party`s candidate Joe Biden.&nbsp;

During her chat on `Absolutely Not,` the Oscar-winning actor said that she understood "the fiscal benefits of the Republican policies," but found that "the social issues weren`t in line with" her own beliefs. 
 
Lawrence had also said that she found former President Barack Obama`s presidency to be tamer in comparison to Donald Trump led current administration. 
&nbsp;

Jennifer Lawrence created headlines last week when she revealed that she supported the Democrats despite hailing from a family of Republicans. On Tuesday, the actress took to Twitter to reveal that how she grew up in a Republican household and changed her political standing during Barack Obama's tenure as President of the United States.

Jennifer Lawrence created headlines last week when she revealed that she supported the Democrats despite hailing from a family of Republicans. On Tuesday, the actress took to Twitter to reveal that how she grew up in a Republican household and changed her political standing during Barack Obama's tenure as President of the United States. "I would like to clarify my voting record, which is the subject of many circulating headlines," she tweeted. "I grew up in a Republican family and voted for John McCain in 2008, but through Obama`s presidency, and growing up to realize I was voting against my own rights, I am proud to say I am a Democrat #Obama #HRC #BidenHarris," she added. #Obama #HRC #BidenHarris pic.twitter.com/UgAoPhgZJV — Jennifer Lawrence - Represent.Us (@JLawrence_RepUs) October 27, 2020 × For the upcoming US presidential election, Lawrence is casting her ballot for Democratic Party`s candidate Joe Biden. During her chat on `Absolutely Not,` the Oscar-winning actor said that she understood "the fiscal benefits of the Republican policies," but found that "the social issues weren`t in line with" her own beliefs. Lawrence had also said that she found former President Barack Obama`s presidency to be tamer in comparison to Donald Trump led current administration.

Jennifer Lawrence says she has been voting against her own rights as a Republican

Millions of Americans will turn on their television, pull up their twitter apps & log on to new websites for #Election2020 updates. But the eager anticipation might end up in disappointment due to an unprecedented delay. WION reports.

US Election 2020: Unprecedented delay in election outcome

Donald Trump wants a winner announced on election night; Donald Trump's team posts an ad declaring Trump won; Facebook deletes the ad; Trump wants to hold election night party. With so much demand for a result on the election night, will the delay lead to a murky post-poll scenario?

US Election 2020: Concerns over declaring election winner

With the senate Judiciary committee grilling the chiefs of Facebook, Google & Twitter, Mark Zuckerberg have defended the law protecting internet companies. To avoid a repeat of 2016 election fiasco, Facebook has deployed tools for the most contentious elections in America.

US Election 2020: Social media braces for election chaos

The shooting of a 27-year-old African-American in Philadelphia has drawn fresh attention to the fatal use of police force & racial injustice. Protests turned violent & businesses ruined. With just 6 days to election, focus remains on the swing state of Pennsylvania

US Election 2020: Shooting & violence a week before election

The final lap of #USElection cycle witnesses an action-packed campaign rallies. Donald Trump's team & Joe Biden's team have spread out across the swing states to address voters. Melania Trump is the new addition to the U.S. Rally round-up.

US Election 2020: Campaign teams spread out in swing states

Experts say that polarisation in the U.S. has spread beyond policies to more fundamental political disagreements. 'Lock her up' chants from 2016 has found its way to almost all Donald Trump's rivals in 2020. WION reports some usual & unusual voter appeals by The President.

US Election 2020: China, woman president & suburban women

The Palestinians are counting on a Trump defeat on Tuesday. They don’t even want to think about Plan B.

An end to the Trump administration would give the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, a face-saving chance to reverse a self-inflicted economic hardship that has been punishing his people for months.

Fearing Israeli annexation of West Bank land the Palestinians have counted on for a future state, Abbas, in a bitter protest, stopped accepting transfers of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes that Israel collects on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf. That forced painful salary cuts for tens of thousands of civil servants.

But former Vice President Joe Biden has made clear that he opposes Israeli annexation of land Palestinians want for a future state, and Israel has said it would not proceed without U.S. support. So a Biden victory would provide Abbas with “a ladder to climb down from the tree,” said Jehad Harb, a Palestinian political analyst in Ramallah. He could declare annexation dead and go back to accepting the tax transfers.

Isolated diplomatically and running out of money, plagued by old internal ideological divisions and by new threats like the coronavirus, the Palestinians are looking to Tuesday’s election more desperate than ever for a change in Washington. At the same time, senior members of Abbas’ Fatah party are increasingly looking ahead to his eventual exit from the stage and positioning themselves to try to succeed him.

Above all, Abbas, 84, and his lieutenants are counting on a President Biden to shelve the Trump administration’s lopsidedly pro-Israel plan for resolving the conflict. They are expecting a return to U.S. support for a two-state solution that Palestinians would consider viable. They are hoping for a thaw with the White House and wishing for the reinstatement of at least some financial aid.

Rolling back other moves by Trump, however, would be more complicated, like reopening a Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington. And Biden has already ruled out undoing Trump’s move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

Should Trump win a second term, the Palestinians see no good options.

In a second term, Trump administration officials have vowed to press to make their Mideast plan, which contemplates Israeli annexation of much of the West Bank, a basis for resolving the decades-old conflict.

And they have promised to complete more normalization deals for Israel with Arab countries like those with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, which shredded the decades-old Arab solidarity that had underpinned the Palestinian national strategy: No recognition of Israel before the creation of a Palestinian state.

But if Abbas is anxiously waiting to see whether Trump leaves office, nearly everyone around him is looking ahead to the day after Abbas makes his own exit. Senior members of his party are throwing elbows at one another while courting publicity for their own efforts at diplomacy, technocratic governance or popular protest.

“The ship is sinking, and everyone is fighting over the first-class cabin,” said Ghaith al-Omari, a former adviser to Abbas.

People around Abbas say he has even become fearful that the United States, Israel and their newly emboldened allies in the Arab world might plot to engineer his replacement — a concern rekindled by a recent interview with Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi spy chief and diplomat, on Saudi state television.

“With those people,” Bandar said, referring to the Palestinian leadership, “it’s hard to trust them or to think you can do something to serve Palestine in their presence.”

Ultimately, many analysts say, Abbas may have to eat crow and reengage the Trump administration, ideally with some sort of face-saving diplomatic cover like the intervention of a multilateral institution.

For now, though, he has tried to create at least the appearance of other options.

Suddenly something of an outcast among his traditional Arab allies in Egypt and the Gulf, he sought to send them a message — albeit one that few have accepted at face value — by flirting with Turkey and Qatar, bitter regional and ideological rivals of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

Abbas revived the idea of reconciling with Hamas, the militant Islamic group that rules the Gaza Strip. And he promised to call new elections in both the West Bank and Gaza as a way to reunify the Palestinians, renew his legitimacy and hamper any effort to oust him.

But few see these as serious options. Abbas is deeply mistrustful of Hamas, which is allied with Turkey and Qatar, and fearful that it could win control of the West Bank in new elections.

“Hot air,” said Mouin Rabbani, an expert on Palestinian politics, describing what he thought the end result of Abbas’ unity and elections bid would be.

Difficult as it may be to believe now, Abbas was quite optimistic about the Trump administration in its first few months, when the new president surprised many in the region by expressing interest in settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once and for all.

But those hopes were quickly dashed, and the administration’s treatment of the Palestinians became a growing nightmare of aid cuts, affronts and insults.

Upending long-standing U.S. positions on Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, settlements and other highly contentious aspects of the conflict, the administration seemed to go out of its way to take Israel’s side and undercut the Palestinians — infuriating Abbas, weakening his authority and isolating him diplomatically.

But even if Biden is elected, it will be difficult to undo much of what Trump has done.

Allowing the reopening of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s diplomatic mission in Washington or restoring much of the aid to projects that directly benefited the Palestinian Authority would require Biden to overcome a number of legal obstacles, some of which might require congressional approval.

And reestablishing the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, which until 2019 functioned as the U.S. diplomatic mission to the Palestinians, would require Israel’s permission — something it may not be too quick to grant in a city that Trump himself formally recognized as Israel’s capital.

“These are all possible, but they would require heavy political lifting,” said Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace and an expert on the role of Congress in the region.

What Abbas may wish for most — that Biden would prioritize the Palestinian cause, pressure Israel to make concessions and even move the U.S. Embassy back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem — seems highly unlikely at best.

Biden has made clear he has many higher priorities, beginning with the coronavirus pandemic. He has signaled that he does not want to clash with the Israeli government.

“The idea that everything will go back to the way it was before is somewhat of a fairy tale,” Rabbani said.

None of Abbas’ would-be successors are articulating a bold change in strategy either. But such ideas do exist outside of the Palestinian leadership.

Some Palestinians support renewed efforts to revive negotiations with Israel. Others want the Palestinian Authority to dissolve itself, forcing Israel to take responsibility for their lives and absorb the heavy financial and societal costs of a full-blown, direct military occupation, even in densely populated West Bank cities where Palestinians now generally govern themselves.

And fully 26% of Palestinians in the West Bank, according to a new poll, favor a return to an armed struggle against Israel.

A smaller but growing number of activists have tried to build interest in a peaceful protest movement.

Still, with Israeli politics moving rightward, many on the West Bank see little reason for optimism.

Khalil al-Arda, 52, a member of the municipal council in the village of Arraba, near Jenin, said he feared the status quo would never improve.

“I feel like we’re in a very dark tunnel with no light at the end,” he said.

The Palestinians are counting on a Trump defeat on Tuesday. They don’t even want to think about Plan B. An end to the Trump administration would give the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, a face-saving chance to reverse a self-inflicted economic hardship that has been punishing his people for months.

The Palestinians are counting on a Trump defeat on Tuesday. They don’t even want to think about Plan B. An end to the Trump administration would give the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, a face-saving chance to reverse a self-inflicted economic hardship that has been punishing his people for months. Fearing Israeli annexation of West Bank land the Palestinians have counted on for a future state, Abbas, in a bitter protest, stopped accepting transfers of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes that Israel collects on the Palestinian Authority’s behalf. That forced painful salary cuts for tens of thousands of civil servants. But former Vice President Joe Biden has made clear that he opposes Israeli annexation of land Palestinians want for a future state, and Israel has said it would not proceed without U.S. support. So a Biden victory would provide Abbas with “a ladder to climb down from the tree,” said Jehad Harb, a Palestinian political analyst in Ramallah. He could declare annexation dead and go back to accepting the tax transfers. Isolated diplomatically and running out of money, plagued by old internal ideological divisions and by new threats like the coronavirus, the Palestinians are looking to Tuesday’s election more desperate than ever for a change in Washington. At the same time, senior members of Abbas’ Fatah party are increasingly looking ahead to his eventual exit from the stage and positioning themselves to try to succeed him. Above all, Abbas, 84, and his lieutenants are counting on a President Biden to shelve the Trump administration’s lopsidedly pro-Israel plan for resolving the conflict. They are expecting a return to U.S. support for a two-state solution that Palestinians would consider viable. They are hoping for a thaw with the White House and wishing for the reinstatement of at least some financial aid. Rolling back other moves by Trump, however, would be more complicated, like reopening a Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington. And Biden has already ruled out undoing Trump’s move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Should Trump win a second term, the Palestinians see no good options. In a second term, Trump administration officials have vowed to press to make their Mideast plan, which contemplates Israeli annexation of much of the West Bank, a basis for resolving the decades-old conflict. And they have promised to complete more normalization deals for Israel with Arab countries like those with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, which shredded the decades-old Arab solidarity that had underpinned the Palestinian national strategy: No recognition of Israel before the creation of a Palestinian state. But if Abbas is anxiously waiting to see whether Trump leaves office, nearly everyone around him is looking ahead to the day after Abbas makes his own exit. Senior members of his party are throwing elbows at one another while courting publicity for their own efforts at diplomacy, technocratic governance or popular protest. “The ship is sinking, and everyone is fighting over the first-class cabin,” said Ghaith al-Omari, a former adviser to Abbas. People around Abbas say he has even become fearful that the United States, Israel and their newly emboldened allies in the Arab world might plot to engineer his replacement — a concern rekindled by a recent interview with Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi spy chief and diplomat, on Saudi state television. “With those people,” Bandar said, referring to the Palestinian leadership, “it’s hard to trust them or to think you can do something to serve Palestine in their presence.” Ultimately, many analysts say, Abbas may have to eat crow and reengage the Trump administration, ideally with some sort of face-saving diplomatic cover like the intervention of a multilateral institution. For now, though, he has tried to create at least the appearance of other options. Suddenly something of an outcast among his traditional Arab allies in Egypt and the Gulf, he sought to send them a message — albeit one that few have accepted at face value — by flirting with Turkey and Qatar, bitter regional and ideological rivals of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Abbas revived the idea of reconciling with Hamas, the militant Islamic group that rules the Gaza Strip. And he promised to call new elections in both the West Bank and Gaza as a way to reunify the Palestinians, renew his legitimacy and hamper any effort to oust him. But few see these as serious options. Abbas is deeply mistrustful of Hamas, which is allied with Turkey and Qatar, and fearful that it could win control of the West Bank in new elections. “Hot air,” said Mouin Rabbani, an expert on Palestinian politics, describing what he thought the end result of Abbas’ unity and elections bid would be. Difficult as it may be to believe now, Abbas was quite optimistic about the Trump administration in its first few months, when the new president surprised many in the region by expressing interest in settling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict once and for all. But those hopes were quickly dashed, and the administration’s treatment of the Palestinians became a growing nightmare of aid cuts, affronts and insults. Upending long-standing U.S. positions on Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, settlements and other highly contentious aspects of the conflict, the administration seemed to go out of its way to take Israel’s side and undercut the Palestinians — infuriating Abbas, weakening his authority and isolating him diplomatically. But even if Biden is elected, it will be difficult to undo much of what Trump has done. Allowing the reopening of the Palestine Liberation Organization’s diplomatic mission in Washington or restoring much of the aid to projects that directly benefited the Palestinian Authority would require Biden to overcome a number of legal obstacles, some of which might require congressional approval. And reestablishing the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, which until 2019 functioned as the U.S. diplomatic mission to the Palestinians, would require Israel’s permission — something it may not be too quick to grant in a city that Trump himself formally recognized as Israel’s capital. “These are all possible, but they would require heavy political lifting,” said Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace and an expert on the role of Congress in the region. What Abbas may wish for most — that Biden would prioritize the Palestinian cause, pressure Israel to make concessions and even move the U.S. Embassy back to Tel Aviv from Jerusalem — seems highly unlikely at best. Biden has made clear he has many higher priorities, beginning with the coronavirus pandemic. He has signaled that he does not want to clash with the Israeli government. “The idea that everything will go back to the way it was before is somewhat of a fairy tale,” Rabbani said. None of Abbas’ would-be successors are articulating a bold change in strategy either. But such ideas do exist outside of the Palestinian leadership. Some Palestinians support renewed efforts to revive negotiations with Israel. Others want the Palestinian Authority to dissolve itself, forcing Israel to take responsibility for their lives and absorb the heavy financial and societal costs of a full-blown, direct military occupation, even in densely populated West Bank cities where Palestinians now generally govern themselves. And fully 26% of Palestinians in the West Bank, according to a new poll, favor a return to an armed struggle against Israel. A smaller but growing number of activists have tried to build interest in a peaceful protest movement. Still, with Israeli politics moving rightward, many on the West Bank see little reason for optimism. Khalil al-Arda, 52, a member of the municipal council in the village of Arraba, near Jenin, said he feared the status quo would never improve. “I feel like we’re in a very dark tunnel with no light at the end,” he said.

Palestinian leaders are banking on Biden win next week

With less than a week before Election Day, President Donald Trump held an in-person campaign rally in Goodyear, Arizona, on Wednesday (October 28) despite a U.S. surge in COVID-19 cases and criticism he is prioritizing his re-election above the health of his supporters.

Trump predicts no Thanksgiving if Biden wins, at rally in Arizona

A research group has revealed that the upcoming <a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US election</a> of the year 2020 will be one of the most expensive elections in the history of American politics as the total expenditure can reach $14 billion approximately.

The Center for Responsive Politics has revealed that this election cycle is one of the most expensive elections and it is already twice as expensive as the 2016 elections which saw <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and Hillary Clinton rally against each other.

As per the study, the Democrat candidate and former Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;will be the first contestant to raise nearly (or more than) $1 billion from his donors. Biden's campaign raised a record-breaking figure of $938 million through October 14, whereas Trump's campaign managed to raise $596 million.

"Even amid a pandemic, everyone is giving more in 2020, from ordinary individuals making small donations to billionaires cutting eight-figure checks to super PACs."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-joe-biden-and-wife-jill-biden-cast-early-vote-in-wilmington-days-before-us-election-338663">Also read|&nbsp;Joe Biden and wife, Jill Biden, cast early vote in Wilmington days before US Election</a>

"Women are smashing donation records, and Americans are increasingly donating to candidates who aren't running for office in their state," it said in a statement.

The Center for Responsive Politics has claimed that an "extraordinary influx" of political donations in the final months has&nbsp;pushed the total spending&nbsp;in the elections well past the earlier estimated figure of $11 billion. The shift is being assumed to be a result of&nbsp;the Supreme Court battle and closely watched races for the White House and Senate.

Spendings this year will be more than the expenditure incurred in the last two elections combined, which is not something that the experts would have expected due to the pandemic. "Donors poured record amounts of money into the 2018 midterms, and 2020 appears to be a continuation of that trend - but magnified," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics.

"Ten years ago, a billion-dollar presidential candidate would have been difficult to imagine. This cycle, we're likely to see two," Krumholz said.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-american-voters-make-history-more-than-70-million-cast-ballots-338468">Also read|&nbsp;US Election 2020: American voters make history in early voting; more than 70 million cast ballots</a>

A majority of the spendings have come from wealthy national groups, and have majorly funded Biden instead of the current President Donald Trump.&nbsp;In the month of October alone, outside spending by super PACs and other big-money groups totalled nearly $1.2 billion.

"Their money machine is more powerful than ever in 2020," the Center said.

It is not just the wealthy groups that have donated money this election, the small-size groups have donated more this election cycle when compared to the other years. Joe Biden got donations of nearly $1.7 billion whereas the Republicans gained $1 billion from small groups. Overall, small donors account for 22 per cent of the money raised in the 2020 cycle. These individual donors giving USD 200 or less only accounted for 15 per cent of the money raised in the 2016 election.

In an interesting observation, more than 1.5 million women have donated to federal committees driving an increase of 37 per cent from the 2016 election — accounting for a total of 44 per cent of all donors.

The study also revealed that the Trump administration has failed to keep their old supporters in their corner as the majority of the leading industries have shifted over to Democrats' side, except fpr real estate which still favours Trump over Biden.&nbsp;

A research group has revealed that the upcoming US election of the year 2020 will be one of the most expensive elections in the history of American politics as the total expenditure can reach $14 billion approximately.

A research group has revealed that the upcoming US election of the year 2020 will be one of the most expensive elections in the history of American politics as the total expenditure can reach $14 billion approximately. The Center for Responsive Politics has revealed that this election cycle is one of the most expensive elections and it is already twice as expensive as the 2016 elections which saw Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton rally against each other. As per the study, the Democrat candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden will be the first contestant to raise nearly (or more than) $1 billion from his donors. Biden's campaign raised a record-breaking figure of $938 million through October 14, whereas Trump's campaign managed to raise $596 million. "Even amid a pandemic, everyone is giving more in 2020, from ordinary individuals making small donations to billionaires cutting eight-figure checks to super PACs." Also read| Joe Biden and wife, Jill Biden, cast early vote in Wilmington days before US Election "Women are smashing donation records, and Americans are increasingly donating to candidates who aren't running for office in their state," it said in a statement. The Center for Responsive Politics has claimed that an "extraordinary influx" of political donations in the final months has pushed the total spending in the elections well past the earlier estimated figure of $11 billion. The shift is being assumed to be a result of the Supreme Court battle and closely watched races for the White House and Senate. Spendings this year will be more than the expenditure incurred in the last two elections combined, which is not something that the experts would have expected due to the pandemic. "Donors poured record amounts of money into the 2018 midterms, and 2020 appears to be a continuation of that trend - but magnified," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "Ten years ago, a billion-dollar presidential candidate would have been difficult to imagine. This cycle, we're likely to see two," Krumholz said. Also read| US Election 2020: American voters make history in early voting; more than 70 million cast ballots A majority of the spendings have come from wealthy national groups, and have majorly funded Biden instead of the current President Donald Trump. In the month of October alone, outside spending by super PACs and other big-money groups totalled nearly $1.2 billion. "Their money machine is more powerful than ever in 2020," the Center said. It is not just the wealthy groups that have donated money this election, the small-size groups have donated more this election cycle when compared to the other years. Joe Biden got donations of nearly $1.7 billion whereas the Republicans gained $1 billion from small groups. Overall, small donors account for 22 per cent of the money raised in the 2020 cycle. These individual donors giving USD 200 or less only accounted for 15 per cent of the money raised in the 2016 election. In an interesting observation, more than 1.5 million women have donated to federal committees driving an increase of 37 per cent from the 2016 election — accounting for a total of 44 per cent of all donors. The study also revealed that the Trump administration has failed to keep their old supporters in their corner as the majority of the leading industries have shifted over to Democrats' side, except fpr real estate which still favours Trump over Biden.

US election 2020 the most expensive in American history: Study

Several polls and studies have tried to predict the winner of the upcoming <a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US election 2020</a>, which are to be held on November 03. While some are studying the shift in the political environment in several <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trump-vs-joe-biden-swing-states-and-their-role-in-us-election-2020-338559">swing states</a>, some are turning towards astrologers for answers.

Several organisations are now conducting independent polls to predict the next President of the United States. And as per a poll conducted by the American media house, CNN, the Democrat candidate and former Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>&nbsp;is still the frontrunner against the Republican candidate and current President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>.

The poll revealed that among the registered voters and the participants,&nbsp;54 per cent back Biden and 42 per cent Trump,&nbsp;matching several other opinion polls and predictions made by different organisations and individuals.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-joe-biden-and-wife-jill-biden-cast-early-vote-in-wilmington-days-before-us-election-338663">Also read|&nbsp;Joe Biden and wife, Jill Biden, cast early vote in Wilmington days before US Election</a>

This poll was conducted by CNN with&nbsp;SSRS, an independent research company. In this poll, nearly 1,005 American voters were approached and questioned between October 23-26, 2020. The interviews were conducted through telephone.

As per the results, among those who have voted,&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;leads by&nbsp;64 per cent to 34 per cent votes for&nbsp;Trump. The category of people who were yet to vote, at the time of being interviewed, also favoured Biden&nbsp;with 63 per cent lead&nbsp;and Trump lagging behind with 33 per cent.

However, a shift in results is seen in the category of the voters who plan to vote on November 03 with Trump leading with&nbsp;59 per cent, and&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;securing only 36 per cent voters' attention.

When the voter category is shifted to demographics of women versus men, women are still preferring the Democrats by 61 per cent and only&nbsp;37 per cent women supporting Republicans — with women of colour favouring Biden by 77 per cent and 54&nbsp;per cent&nbsp;white women also giving votes to Biden.&nbsp;Men, on the other hand, have a very small difference between the two leaders with Trump leading the race with 48 per cent and Biden matching up with 47 per cent — with men of colour giving a lead to&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;by&nbsp;64 per cent but white men favouring&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;with 56 per cent.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-american-voters-make-history-more-than-70-million-cast-ballots-338468">Also read|&nbsp;US Election 2020: American voters make history in early voting; more than 70 million cast ballots</a>

Another interesting observation made in this poll has been that American voters with college degrees, and higher, are favouring&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;whereas people without degrees are split evenly. Similarly,&nbsp;49 per cent white women without college degrees&nbsp;favour Biden and same with&nbsp;Trump.

Nearly 48 per cent of&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;supporters have also revealed that their vote is mainly a vote against the current President rather than a vote in favour of&nbsp;Joe Biden.&nbsp;On the other hand,&nbsp;79 per cent&nbsp;trump&nbsp;supporters have said their vote is in favour of the President rather than against his rival.

Overall,&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;is still leading the polls for the upcoming US election 2020, but&nbsp;Trump,&nbsp;too, can gain the lead if the political environment in the country keeps shifting. The final result of the elections will be revealed a little later than the estimated time period due to the majority votes being cast by mail-in.&nbsp;

Several polls and studies have tried to predict the winner of the upcoming US election 2020, which are to be held on November 03. While some are studying the shift in the political environment in several swing states, some are turning towards astrologers for answers.

Several polls and studies have tried to predict the winner of the upcoming US election 2020, which are to be held on November 03. While some are studying the shift in the political environment in several swing states, some are turning towards astrologers for answers. Several organisations are now conducting independent polls to predict the next President of the United States. And as per a poll conducted by the American media house, CNN, the Democrat candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden is still the frontrunner against the Republican candidate and current President Donald Trump. The poll revealed that among the registered voters and the participants, 54 per cent back Biden and 42 per cent Trump, matching several other opinion polls and predictions made by different organisations and individuals. Also read| Joe Biden and wife, Jill Biden, cast early vote in Wilmington days before US Election This poll was conducted by CNN with SSRS, an independent research company. In this poll, nearly 1,005 American voters were approached and questioned between October 23-26, 2020. The interviews were conducted through telephone. As per the results, among those who have voted, Biden leads by 64 per cent to 34 per cent votes for Trump. The category of people who were yet to vote, at the time of being interviewed, also favoured Biden with 63 per cent lead and Trump lagging behind with 33 per cent. However, a shift in results is seen in the category of the voters who plan to vote on November 03 with Trump leading with 59 per cent, and Biden securing only 36 per cent voters' attention. When the voter category is shifted to demographics of women versus men, women are still preferring the Democrats by 61 per cent and only 37 per cent women supporting Republicans — with women of colour favouring Biden by 77 per cent and 54 per cent white women also giving votes to Biden. Men, on the other hand, have a very small difference between the two leaders with Trump leading the race with 48 per cent and Biden matching up with 47 per cent — with men of colour giving a lead to Biden by 64 per cent but white men favouring Trump with 56 per cent. Also read| US Election 2020: American voters make history in early voting; more than 70 million cast ballots Another interesting observation made in this poll has been that American voters with college degrees, and higher, are favouring Biden whereas people without degrees are split evenly. Similarly, 49 per cent white women without college degrees favour Biden and same with Trump. Nearly 48 per cent of Biden supporters have also revealed that their vote is mainly a vote against the current President rather than a vote in favour of Joe Biden. On the other hand, 79 per cent trump supporters have said their vote is in favour of the President rather than against his rival. Overall, Biden is still leading the polls for the upcoming US election 2020, but Trump, too, can gain the lead if the political environment in the country keeps shifting. The final result of the elections will be revealed a little later than the estimated time period due to the majority votes being cast by mail-in.

Joe Biden leading in US Election 2020 against Donald Trump: Survey

The U.S. senate is not the only institution divided over Amy Coney Barrett. Protests were held outside the Supreme Court during Barrett's swearing-in. Pro-life & pro-choice activists faced off outside SCOTUS . WION reports

Pro-life & pro-choice protests outside Supreme Court | U.S. Election 2020 New York Direct

The battle for the White House is in its final lap. Donald Trump & Joe Biden are aiming for the battleground states. After several campaigns, Both candidates' rallies crossed paths in Pennsylvania. What happened next?

Trump & Biden campaigns cross paths in Pennsylvania | U.S. Election 2020 New York Direct

In a lightning-fast senate approval, Amy Coney Barrett has been confirmed to the Supreme Court. Handing a pre-poll SCOTUS victory to Donald Trump. For the first time in 151 years, a justice got confirmed without a single support from minority party. What next?

Amy Coney Barrett joins the Supreme Court | U.S. Election 2020 New York Direct

With just 7 days to US Election 2020, Team Trump is planning to host an election night party at one of the Trump Hotels in Washington, D.C. After the 'super spreader' event at the White House's rose garden, will the Washington, D.C. virus regulators allow another one?

Trump eyes to host a party on election night | U.S. Election 2020 New York Direct

The United States is exactly a week away from the day of voting. The town halls and the presidential debates are done, and the campaigning is headed towards a conclusion.

Pre-election voting has been underway for weeks now and it has surpassed all pre-election ballots cast in the history of America, more than 62 million Americans have voted already. These record-breaking figures are only set to grow.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/campaigning-for-us-presidential-election-enters-final-week-338396" hreflang="en">Campaigning for US presidential election enters final week</a>

The candidates are doing everything they can to woo undecided voters. Both Trump and Biden recently held clashing rallies on the same day in Pennsylvania. Trump addressed three boisterous events, while Biden made a low-key appearance at a voter activation centre.

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"He wants to shut down the whole country. And we're rounding the turn. You know, all they want to talk about is covid. By the way, on November 4th, you won't be hearing so much about it. Covid, covid, covid", Donald Trump said. 
 
"The bottom line is Donald Trump is the worst possible president, the worst possible person to try to lead us through this pandemic. I don't think he just, he either doesn't have any idea what to do or he just doesn't care. I'm never gonna give up. You know, Mr President, you have to have a little bit of shame, just a little bit of shame because people are dying'', Joe Biden said.

''He made his speech and he said that he doesn't do this kind of rallies because of covid, you know. No, he doesn't do them because nobody shows up. That's why nobody shows up. Covid, covid, covid'', President Trump retorted with.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/us-elections-over-64-million-votes-cast-will-voter-turnout-percentage-be-the-highest-ever-338306" hreflang="en">US elections: Over 64 million votes cast, will voter turnout percentage be the highest ever?</a>

''We're going to be travelling, continue to travel. But the big difference between us and reason why looks like we're not traveling, we're not putting on super spreaders'', Joe Biden said.

After weeks of high voltage political theatrics, the vacant Supreme Court seat has finally been filled. Conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett has been confirmed to the court with 52-48 votes. She has succeeded the late liberal judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It is a lifetime appointment and a major pre-election political victory for Donald Trump. Barrett has taken the first of the two oaths at the White House.

Barrett has taken the oath, but the legal troubles for Donald Trump are only mounting. Recently, a federal judge denied President Trump's request to be replaced as the defendant in a defamation lawsuit, which was filed by a woman.

&nbsp;She says Trump had raped her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. Trump's lawyers argued that he should be replaced as the defendant because he was forced to respond to the lawsuit to prove that he was fit to be president.

The judge ruled that Trump's denials of the rape allegations fall outside his scope of employment. So he couldn't be replaced.

The United States is exactly a week away from the day of voting. The town halls and the presidential debates are done, and the campaigning is headed towards a conclusion.

The United States is exactly a week away from the day of voting. The town halls and the presidential debates are done, and the campaigning is headed towards a conclusion. Pre-election voting has been underway for weeks now and it has surpassed all pre-election ballots cast in the history of America, more than 62 million Americans have voted already. These record-breaking figures are only set to grow. Also read: Campaigning for US presidential election enters final week The candidates are doing everything they can to woo undecided voters. Both Trump and Biden recently held clashing rallies on the same day in Pennsylvania. Trump addressed three boisterous events, while Biden made a low-key appearance at a voter activation centre. "He wants to shut down the whole country. And we're rounding the turn. You know, all they want to talk about is covid. By the way, on November 4th, you won't be hearing so much about it. Covid, covid, covid", Donald Trump said. "The bottom line is Donald Trump is the worst possible president, the worst possible person to try to lead us through this pandemic. I don't think he just, he either doesn't have any idea what to do or he just doesn't care. I'm never gonna give up. You know, Mr President, you have to have a little bit of shame, just a little bit of shame because people are dying'', Joe Biden said. ''He made his speech and he said that he doesn't do this kind of rallies because of covid, you know. No, he doesn't do them because nobody shows up. That's why nobody shows up. Covid, covid, covid'', President Trump retorted with. Also read: US elections: Over 64 million votes cast, will voter turnout percentage be the highest ever? ''We're going to be travelling, continue to travel. But the big difference between us and reason why looks like we're not traveling, we're not putting on super spreaders'', Joe Biden said. After weeks of high voltage political theatrics, the vacant Supreme Court seat has finally been filled. Conservative judge Amy Coney Barrett has been confirmed to the court with 52-48 votes. She has succeeded the late liberal judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It is a lifetime appointment and a major pre-election political victory for Donald Trump. Barrett has taken the first of the two oaths at the White House. Barrett has taken the oath, but the legal troubles for Donald Trump are only mounting. Recently, a federal judge denied President Trump's request to be replaced as the defendant in a defamation lawsuit, which was filed by a woman. She says Trump had raped her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s. Trump's lawyers argued that he should be replaced as the defendant because he was forced to respond to the lawsuit to prove that he was fit to be president. The judge ruled that Trump's denials of the rape allegations fall outside his scope of employment. So he couldn't be replaced.

US election 2020: With a week to go, here's what is abuzz

With exactly a week to go for the US election 2020 on November 3rd, presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden&nbsp;will be watching a few states more closely than others.

How is the president of the United States elected and what is the role of the electoral college in an election process?

The swing states also are known as purple or the battleground states will play a key role in deciding the next president of America. In these battleground states, the presidential race is expected to be the closest, where the winner remains unclear until the final votes are counted. The presidential candidates often spend more time and money in these states, than other states for various factors.&nbsp;

How are the swing states determined?

The swing states are predicted at the beginning of the election cycle based on political history, ongoing crises, and the number of electoral votes. The states with a larger number of electors are crucial for the battle for the presidency in America.

What is an electoral college?

When Americans go to the polls, they won’t be technically voting for Donald Trump or Joe Biden directly. The citizens will vote for the electoral college, also known as the electors.&nbsp;

Remember the 2016 election? Donald Trump became the President of the United States despite getting almost 3 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton.&nbsp;

Each state has a specific number of electors, based on the population. The candidate which wins the popular votes in a state will get the support of all the electors of that particular state. So, if a candidate wins a state with the highest number of electors, even if it a razor-thin win, he will receive all the electoral votes of that state. Therefore, it is possible for a candidate to lose the popular vote across the country and still win the presidency.&nbsp;&nbsp;

This year, there are 538 electors and the winning presidential candidate will require a majority of at least 270 votes. The experts &amp; campaign teams had identified 6 core battleground states in 2020, on the basis of the electoral college and&nbsp;the ongoing political crises. But with the election day inching closer the S.S. Electoral map is undergoing a series of changes with a dozen states showing sharp swings. At the last stretch of the biggest election battle of the year, the campaign teams are focusing on Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Nevada, Michigan, New Hampshire, Arizona, Georgia, and&nbsp;Ohio.&nbsp;

Most of these states have historically been unpredictable, swinging from one party to another. These are the reasons why the candidates focus on the battleground states rather than a nation-wide campaign. In 2016, two-thirds of the campaign events were held in just six states. So, every election year, these battleground states play a crucial role in electing a president.

Electoral vote distribution 2020

California: 55 
&nbsp; 
Texas: 38 
&nbsp; 
Florida: 29 
&nbsp; 
New York: 29 
&nbsp; 
Illinois: 20 
&nbsp; 
Pennsylvania: 20 
&nbsp; 
Ohio: 18 
&nbsp; 
Georgia: 16 
&nbsp; 
Michigan: 16 
&nbsp; 
North Carolina: 15 
&nbsp; 
New Jersey: 14 
&nbsp; 
Virginia: 13 
&nbsp; 
Washington: 12 
&nbsp; 
Arizona: 11 
&nbsp; 
Minnesota: 10 
&nbsp; 
Iowa: 6 
&nbsp; 
Nevada: 6 
&nbsp; 
New Hampshire: 5 
&nbsp; 
Total electoral votes: 538 
Majority needed to win: 270 
&nbsp; 
Key battleground states 2020 
 
Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Nevada, Michigan, New Hampshire, Arizona, Georgia, and Ohio 
&nbsp;

With exactly a week to go for the US election 2020 on November 3rd, presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden will be watching a few states more closely than others.

With exactly a week to go for the US election 2020 on November 3rd, presidential candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden will be watching a few states more closely than others. How is the president of the United States elected and what is the role of the electoral college in an election process? The swing states also are known as purple or the battleground states will play a key role in deciding the next president of America. In these battleground states, the presidential race is expected to be the closest, where the winner remains unclear until the final votes are counted. The presidential candidates often spend more time and money in these states, than other states for various factors. How are the swing states determined? The swing states are predicted at the beginning of the election cycle based on political history, ongoing crises, and the number of electoral votes. The states with a larger number of electors are crucial for the battle for the presidency in America. What is an electoral college? When Americans go to the polls, they won’t be technically voting for Donald Trump or Joe Biden directly. The citizens will vote for the electoral college, also known as the electors. Remember the 2016 election? Donald Trump became the President of the United States despite getting almost 3 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton. Each state has a specific number of electors, based on the population. The candidate which wins the popular votes in a state will get the support of all the electors of that particular state. So, if a candidate wins a state with the highest number of electors, even if it a razor-thin win, he will receive all the electoral votes of that state. Therefore, it is possible for a candidate to lose the popular vote across the country and still win the presidency. This year, there are 538 electors and the winning presidential candidate will require a majority of at least 270 votes. The experts & campaign teams had identified 6 core battleground states in 2020, on the basis of the electoral college and the ongoing political crises. But with the election day inching closer the S.S. Electoral map is undergoing a series of changes with a dozen states showing sharp swings. At the last stretch of the biggest election battle of the year, the campaign teams are focusing on Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Nevada, Michigan, New Hampshire, Arizona, Georgia, and Ohio. Most of these states have historically been unpredictable, swinging from one party to another. These are the reasons why the candidates focus on the battleground states rather than a nation-wide campaign. In 2016, two-thirds of the campaign events were held in just six states. So, every election year, these battleground states play a crucial role in electing a president. Electoral vote distribution 2020 California: 55 Texas: 38 Florida: 29 New York: 29 Illinois: 20 Pennsylvania: 20 Ohio: 18 Georgia: 16 Michigan: 16 North Carolina: 15 New Jersey: 14 Virginia: 13 Washington: 12 Arizona: 11 Minnesota: 10 Iowa: 6 Nevada: 6 New Hampshire: 5 Total electoral votes: 538 Majority needed to win: 270 Key battleground states 2020 Wisconsin, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Nevada, Michigan, New Hampshire, Arizona, Georgia, and Ohio

US election 2020: Battleground states and electoral colleges

The US President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>'s campaign website was hacked in for a few minutes, a week before the upcoming <a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US elections</a>&nbsp;in which Trump is racing against the Democratic candidate and former Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a>.

On Tuesday, the events tab of the website 'Donaldjtrump.com', read that the world has&nbsp;"had enough" of the "fake news" spread by Pesident Trump&nbsp;— a term verycommonly used by Trump for the media houses that oppose him.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-with-a-week-to-go-heres-what-is-abuzz-338402">Also read|&nbsp;US election 2020: With a week to go, here's what is abuzz</a>

The hacker(s), who have not been caught till now, claimed to have dirt on the President. They did not offer any proof or evidence but posted a cryptocurrency account asking people to transfer funds in if they want to see the secrets being revealed. They also took a hit at the FBI by posting seals of the FBI and Department of Justice above the message, mocking them as these seals are posted on the FBI website over the messages the FBI posts about as a part of their criminal investigation.

<img alt="Trump's website hacked" data-align="left" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="7a46d6b9-ed48-4483-8b50-14f76131bf29" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Trump%27s%20website%20hacked.jpg" />

The website, later, went offline for a brief period of time as soon as the social media went abuzz with the news of the Trumps website being defaced by unknown hacker(s).&nbsp;&nbsp;

"Earlier this evening, the Trump campaign website was defaced and we are working with law enforcement authorities to investigate the source of the attack. There was no exposure to sensitive data because none of it is actually stored on the site. The website has been restored," campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement.

<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/campaigning-for-us-presidential-election-enters-final-week-338396">Also read|&nbsp;Campaigning for US presidential election enters final week</a>

The&nbsp;CISA Director Chris Krebs took to Twitter to issue statement biut the defacement saying, "Like I said yesterday, website defacements are noise. Don't fall for these attempts designed to distract, sensationalize, and confuse. Ultimately they're trying to undermine your confidence in our voting process."

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Like I said yesterday, website defacements are noise. Don’t fall for these attempts designed to distract, sensationalize, and confuse. Ultimately they’re trying to undermine your confidence in our voting process. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/keepcalmandvoteon?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#keepcalmandvoteon</a> <a href="https://t.co/5lZ7YoLYO8">https://t.co/5lZ7YoLYO8</a> <a href="https://t.co/Qk9XOlFELE">pic.twitter.com/Qk9XOlFELE</a>
— Chris Krebs #Protect2020 (@CISAKrebs) <a href="https://twitter.com/CISAKrebs/status/1321255987890835456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Meanwhile, Trump was seen&nbsp;campaigning with&nbsp;a mask-less crowd and&nbsp;almost zero social distancing in an open-air space in Michigan and Wisconsin. "I've got to say I'm working my ass off here!," he told a massive crowd of supporters wearing 'MAGA'caps.&nbsp;Biden,&nbsp;on the other hand, held a 'drive-in'rally in georgia with&nbsp;Barack Obama&nbsp;by his side and masked supporters chanting "Dump Trump".

The hacking matter is being investigated by the authorities and there has not been any comment by the Trump administration, as of now.

The US President Donald Trump's campaign website was hacked in for a few minutes, a week before the upcoming US elections in which Trump is racing against the Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden.

The US President Donald Trump's campaign website was hacked in for a few minutes, a week before the upcoming US elections in which Trump is racing against the Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden. On Tuesday, the events tab of the website 'Donaldjtrump.com', read that the world has "had enough" of the "fake news" spread by Pesident Trump — a term verycommonly used by Trump for the media houses that oppose him. Also read| US election 2020: With a week to go, here's what is abuzz The hacker(s), who have not been caught till now, claimed to have dirt on the President. They did not offer any proof or evidence but posted a cryptocurrency account asking people to transfer funds in if they want to see the secrets being revealed. They also took a hit at the FBI by posting seals of the FBI and Department of Justice above the message, mocking them as these seals are posted on the FBI website over the messages the FBI posts about as a part of their criminal investigation. The website, later, went offline for a brief period of time as soon as the social media went abuzz with the news of the Trumps website being defaced by unknown hacker(s). "Earlier this evening, the Trump campaign website was defaced and we are working with law enforcement authorities to investigate the source of the attack. There was no exposure to sensitive data because none of it is actually stored on the site. The website has been restored," campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said in a statement. Also read| Campaigning for US presidential election enters final week The CISA Director Chris Krebs took to Twitter to issue statement biut the defacement saying, "Like I said yesterday, website defacements are noise. Don't fall for these attempts designed to distract, sensationalize, and confuse. Ultimately they're trying to undermine your confidence in our voting process." Like I said yesterday, website defacements are noise. Don’t fall for these attempts designed to distract, sensationalize, and confuse. Ultimately they’re trying to undermine your confidence in our voting process. #keepcalmandvoteon https://t.co/5lZ7YoLYO8 pic.twitter.com/Qk9XOlFELE — Chris Krebs #Protect2020 (@CISAKrebs) October 28, 2020 × Meanwhile, Trump was seen campaigning with a mask-less crowd and almost zero social distancing in an open-air space in Michigan and Wisconsin. "I've got to say I'm working my ass off here!," he told a massive crowd of supporters wearing 'MAGA'caps. Biden, on the other hand, held a 'drive-in'rally in georgia with Barack Obama by his side and masked supporters chanting "Dump Trump". The hacking matter is being investigated by the authorities and there has not been any comment by the Trump administration, as of now.

Donald Trump's campaign website hacked a week before US Election 2020

WASHINGTON —While senior Trump administration officials said this week that Iran has been actively interfering in the presidential election, many intelligence officials said they remained far more concerned about Russia, which in recent days has hacked into state and local computer networks in breaches that could allow Moscow broader access to U.S. voting infrastructure.

The discovery of the hacks came as U.S. intelligence agencies, infiltrating Russian networks themselves, have pieced together details of what they believe are Russia’s plans to interfere in the presidential race in its final days or immediately after the election Nov. 3. Officials did not make clear what Russia planned to do, but they said its operations would be intended to help President Donald Trump, potentially by exacerbating disputes around the results, especially if the race is too close to call.

FBI and Homeland Security officials also announced Thursday that Russia’s state hackers had targeted dozens of state and local governments and aviation networks starting in September. They stole data from at least two unidentified victims’ computer servers and continued to crawl through some of the affected networks, the agencies said. Other officials said that the targets included some voting-related systems and that they may have been collateral damage in the attacks.

So far, there is no evidence that the Russians have changed any vote tallies or voter registration information, officials said. They added that the Russian-backed hackers had penetrated the computer networks without taking further action, as they did in 2016. But U.S. officials expect that if the presidential race is not called on election night, Russian groups could use their knowledge of the local computer systems to deface websites, release nonpublic information or take similar steps that could sow chaos and doubts about the integrity of the results, according to U.S. officials briefed on the intelligence. Such steps could fuel Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that the vote is “rigged” and that he can be defeated only if his opponents cheat.

Some U.S. intelligence officials view Russia’s intentions as more significant than the announcement Wednesday night by the director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, that Iran has been involved in the spreading of faked, threatening emails, which were made to appear as if they came from the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group.

The Treasury Department on Thursday announced sanctions against Iraj Masjedi, a former general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the country’s ambassador to Iraq. The department said Masjedi had overseen training of pro-Iranian militia groups in Iraq and directed groups responsible for killing U.S. forces there.

Officials briefed on the intelligence said that Ratcliffe had accurately summarized the preliminary conclusion about Iran. But Iran’s hackers may have accomplished that mission simply by assembling public information and then routing the threatening emails through Saudi Arabia, Estonia and other countries to hide their tracks. One official compared the Iranian action to playing single A baseball, while the Russians are major leaguers.

Nonetheless, the Iranian and the Russian activity could pave the way for “perception hacks,” which are intended to leave the impression that foreign powers have greater access to the voting system than they really do. Federal officials have warned for months that small breaches could be exaggerated to prompt inaccurate charges of widespread voter fraud.

Officials say Russia’s ability to change vote tallies nationwide would be difficult, given how disparate U.S. elections are. The graver concern is the potential effect of any attack on a few key precincts in battleground states.

Russian hackers recently obtained access “in a couple limited cases, to election jurisdiction, an election-related network,” Christopher Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said Thursday. But he was careful to note that the breaches had “nothing to do with the casting and counting” of votes.

The hackers believed to be operating at the behest of Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB — the successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB — have infiltrated dozens of state and local computer networks in recent weeks, according to officials and researchers. But Krebs said the attacks appeared to be “opportunistic” in nature, a scattershot break-in of vulnerable systems rather than an attempt to zero in on key battleground states.

But officials were alarmed by the combination of the targets, the timing — the attacks began less than two months ago — and the adversary, which is known for burrowing inside the supply chain of critical infrastructure that Russia may want to take down in the future.

The officials fear that Russia could change, delete or freeze voter registration or pollbook data, making it harder for voters to cast ballots, invalidating mail-in ballots or creating enough uncertainty to undermine results.

“It’s reasonable to assume any attempt at the election systems could be for the same purpose,” said John Hultquist, director of threat analysis at FireEye, a security firm that has been tracking the Russian group’s foray into state and local systems. “This could be the reconnaissance for disruptive activity.”

Krebs said so far Russia was not as active as Iran, and its targeting was imprecise. “They’re broadly looking to scan for vulnerabilities, and they’re working opportunistically,” he said.

Current and former officials said there was little doubt that Russia remained a greater threat and questioned why the focus was on Iran on Wednesday, though they acknowledged that Iran’s interference was real and troubling.

Administration officials said the news conference reflected the urgency of the intelligence about Iran. But some saw politics at play. Ratcliffe’s focus on Iran would potentially benefit Trump politically.

“It is concerning to me that the administration is willing to talk about what the Iranians are doing — supposedly to hurt Trump — than what the Russians are likely doing to help him,” said Jeh Johnson, a former secretary of homeland security in the Obama administration. “If the Russians have in fact breached voter registration data, then the American people deserve to know from their government what it believes the Russians are doing with that data.”

A senior official briefed on the intelligence said U.S. spy agencies had been tracking the Iranian group responsible for the spoofed emails for some time. As a result, the government was able to quickly debunk the falsified Proud Boys emails and identify Iran as the culprit.

Iran’s hackers appear to have scanned or penetrated some state and local networks, government officials said Thursday. But security experts said the Proud Boys email campaign that the government attributed to Iran did not appear to be based on hacked materials and instead relied on publicly available information that Florida officials regularly distribute.

“This was an email sent from a nonexistent domain using publicly available information,” said Kevin O’Brien, chief executive of GreatHorn, a cybersecurity firm. “There was no hack here. Your name, your party affiliation, your address and email address are all, generally speaking, public information.”

O’Brien said the information presented publicly had not persuaded him that Iran was culpable.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi also voiced scepticism of Ratcliffe’s announcement. “Russia is the villain here,” she said before a briefing from intelligence officials. “From what we have seen in the public domain, Iran is a bad actor but in no way equivalent.”

So far, the FSB’s hackers have not zeroed in on swing states, where a hack that affects digital disenfranchisement could have maximum effect; they have taken a scattershot approach instead, hitting systems in multiple states, including some battlegrounds. Experts said they might be just testing to see where they could get in, like a thief trying every doorknob in the neighborhood.

“My concern is not that they are pinpointing individual races but are gaining access where they can for some disruption down the road,” Hultquist said.

The threat is similar to the one that officials have highlighted from ransomware attacks, which hold data hostage until victims pay to have access restored. Likewise, officials and researchers believe the Russian attacks would not necessarily change vote tallies but could make voter data inaccessible or delete or change voters’ registration data to disenfranchise voters or cause the kind of confusion and delays that would undermine U.S. confidence in the election.

In recent years, Homeland Security officials have made a concerted effort to secure voter registration systems and to ensure that election officials have paper copies of voter information in case of disruptions.

But they have further to go. In Gainesville, Georgia, this week, a ransomware attack held city systems hostage, including an online map with polling locations and the database used to verify voters’ signatures on mail-in ballots.

Officials and experts believe the greatest defense against a coordinated cyberattack on the election is not so much how secure these voting system are but how disparate.

“You can’t just ‘hit the election,’” said Eric Chien, a cybersecurity director at Symantec, now part of Broadcom, which was among the first to detail the Stuxnet attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran’s nuclear program a decade ago. “The soft targets are really the state and local election committees, local websites that provide information about polling places and hold voter registration data.”

&nbsp;

WASHINGTON —While senior Trump administration officials said this week that Iran has been actively interfering in the presidential election, many intelligence officials said they remained far more concerned about Russia, which in recent days has hacked into state and local computer networks in breaches that could allow Moscow broader access to U.

WASHINGTON —While senior Trump administration officials said this week that Iran has been actively interfering in the presidential election, many intelligence officials said they remained far more concerned about Russia, which in recent days has hacked into state and local computer networks in breaches that could allow Moscow broader access to U.S. voting infrastructure. The discovery of the hacks came as U.S. intelligence agencies, infiltrating Russian networks themselves, have pieced together details of what they believe are Russia’s plans to interfere in the presidential race in its final days or immediately after the election Nov. 3. Officials did not make clear what Russia planned to do, but they said its operations would be intended to help President Donald Trump, potentially by exacerbating disputes around the results, especially if the race is too close to call. FBI and Homeland Security officials also announced Thursday that Russia’s state hackers had targeted dozens of state and local governments and aviation networks starting in September. They stole data from at least two unidentified victims’ computer servers and continued to crawl through some of the affected networks, the agencies said. Other officials said that the targets included some voting-related systems and that they may have been collateral damage in the attacks. So far, there is no evidence that the Russians have changed any vote tallies or voter registration information, officials said. They added that the Russian-backed hackers had penetrated the computer networks without taking further action, as they did in 2016. But U.S. officials expect that if the presidential race is not called on election night, Russian groups could use their knowledge of the local computer systems to deface websites, release nonpublic information or take similar steps that could sow chaos and doubts about the integrity of the results, according to U.S. officials briefed on the intelligence. Such steps could fuel Trump’s unsubstantiated claims that the vote is “rigged” and that he can be defeated only if his opponents cheat. Some U.S. intelligence officials view Russia’s intentions as more significant than the announcement Wednesday night by the director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, that Iran has been involved in the spreading of faked, threatening emails, which were made to appear as if they came from the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group. The Treasury Department on Thursday announced sanctions against Iraj Masjedi, a former general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the country’s ambassador to Iraq. The department said Masjedi had overseen training of pro-Iranian militia groups in Iraq and directed groups responsible for killing U.S. forces there. Officials briefed on the intelligence said that Ratcliffe had accurately summarized the preliminary conclusion about Iran. But Iran’s hackers may have accomplished that mission simply by assembling public information and then routing the threatening emails through Saudi Arabia, Estonia and other countries to hide their tracks. One official compared the Iranian action to playing single A baseball, while the Russians are major leaguers. Nonetheless, the Iranian and the Russian activity could pave the way for “perception hacks,” which are intended to leave the impression that foreign powers have greater access to the voting system than they really do. Federal officials have warned for months that small breaches could be exaggerated to prompt inaccurate charges of widespread voter fraud. Officials say Russia’s ability to change vote tallies nationwide would be difficult, given how disparate U.S. elections are. The graver concern is the potential effect of any attack on a few key precincts in battleground states. Russian hackers recently obtained access “in a couple limited cases, to election jurisdiction, an election-related network,” Christopher Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said Thursday. But he was careful to note that the breaches had “nothing to do with the casting and counting” of votes. The hackers believed to be operating at the behest of Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB — the successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB — have infiltrated dozens of state and local computer networks in recent weeks, according to officials and researchers. But Krebs said the attacks appeared to be “opportunistic” in nature, a scattershot break-in of vulnerable systems rather than an attempt to zero in on key battleground states. But officials were alarmed by the combination of the targets, the timing — the attacks began less than two months ago — and the adversary, which is known for burrowing inside the supply chain of critical infrastructure that Russia may want to take down in the future. The officials fear that Russia could change, delete or freeze voter registration or pollbook data, making it harder for voters to cast ballots, invalidating mail-in ballots or creating enough uncertainty to undermine results. “It’s reasonable to assume any attempt at the election systems could be for the same purpose,” said John Hultquist, director of threat analysis at FireEye, a security firm that has been tracking the Russian group’s foray into state and local systems. “This could be the reconnaissance for disruptive activity.” Krebs said so far Russia was not as active as Iran, and its targeting was imprecise. “They’re broadly looking to scan for vulnerabilities, and they’re working opportunistically,” he said. Current and former officials said there was little doubt that Russia remained a greater threat and questioned why the focus was on Iran on Wednesday, though they acknowledged that Iran’s interference was real and troubling. Administration officials said the news conference reflected the urgency of the intelligence about Iran. But some saw politics at play. Ratcliffe’s focus on Iran would potentially benefit Trump politically. “It is concerning to me that the administration is willing to talk about what the Iranians are doing — supposedly to hurt Trump — than what the Russians are likely doing to help him,” said Jeh Johnson, a former secretary of homeland security in the Obama administration. “If the Russians have in fact breached voter registration data, then the American people deserve to know from their government what it believes the Russians are doing with that data.” A senior official briefed on the intelligence said U.S. spy agencies had been tracking the Iranian group responsible for the spoofed emails for some time. As a result, the government was able to quickly debunk the falsified Proud Boys emails and identify Iran as the culprit. Iran’s hackers appear to have scanned or penetrated some state and local networks, government officials said Thursday. But security experts said the Proud Boys email campaign that the government attributed to Iran did not appear to be based on hacked materials and instead relied on publicly available information that Florida officials regularly distribute. “This was an email sent from a nonexistent domain using publicly available information,” said Kevin O’Brien, chief executive of GreatHorn, a cybersecurity firm. “There was no hack here. Your name, your party affiliation, your address and email address are all, generally speaking, public information.” O’Brien said the information presented publicly had not persuaded him that Iran was culpable. Speaker Nancy Pelosi also voiced scepticism of Ratcliffe’s announcement. “Russia is the villain here,” she said before a briefing from intelligence officials. “From what we have seen in the public domain, Iran is a bad actor but in no way equivalent.” So far, the FSB’s hackers have not zeroed in on swing states, where a hack that affects digital disenfranchisement could have maximum effect; they have taken a scattershot approach instead, hitting systems in multiple states, including some battlegrounds. Experts said they might be just testing to see where they could get in, like a thief trying every doorknob in the neighborhood. “My concern is not that they are pinpointing individual races but are gaining access where they can for some disruption down the road,” Hultquist said. The threat is similar to the one that officials have highlighted from ransomware attacks, which hold data hostage until victims pay to have access restored. Likewise, officials and researchers believe the Russian attacks would not necessarily change vote tallies but could make voter data inaccessible or delete or change voters’ registration data to disenfranchise voters or cause the kind of confusion and delays that would undermine U.S. confidence in the election. In recent years, Homeland Security officials have made a concerted effort to secure voter registration systems and to ensure that election officials have paper copies of voter information in case of disruptions. But they have further to go. In Gainesville, Georgia, this week, a ransomware attack held city systems hostage, including an online map with polling locations and the database used to verify voters’ signatures on mail-in ballots. Officials and experts believe the greatest defense against a coordinated cyberattack on the election is not so much how secure these voting system are but how disparate. “You can’t just ‘hit the election,’” said Eric Chien, a cybersecurity director at Symantec, now part of Broadcom, which was among the first to detail the Stuxnet attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran’s nuclear program a decade ago. “The soft targets are really the state and local election committees, local websites that provide information about polling places and hold voter registration data.”

Russia poses greater election threat than Iran, many US officials say

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/donald-trumps-campaign-website-hacked-a-week-before-us-election-2020-338446">Donald Trump's campaign website hacked a week before US Election 2020</a>

<img src="https://cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/styles/story_page/public/2020/10/25/166530-trump.jpg?itok=6fTp6yAs" />

The hacker(s), who have not been caught till now, claimed to have dirt on the President.&nbsp;They did not offer any proof or evidence but posted a cryptocurrency account asking people to transfer funds in if they want to see the secrets being revealed.&nbsp;

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Donald Trump's campaign website hacked a week before US Election 2020 The hacker(s), who have not been caught till now, claimed to have dirt on the President. They did not offer any proof or evidence but posted a cryptocurrency account asking people to transfer funds in if they want to see the secrets being revealed.

Donald Trump's campaign website hacked a week before US Election 2020 The hacker(s), who have not been caught till now, claimed to have dirt on the President. They did not offer any proof or evidence but posted a cryptocurrency account asking people to transfer funds in if they want to see the secrets being revealed. Charlie Hebdo caricatures Recep Erdogan; sparks Turkish fury Charlie Hebdo's intervention came during an escalating war of words between Erdogan, Macron, and other European leaders after the beheading of French schoolteacher Samuel Paty by a suspected Islamist attacker this month. Citizens launch anti-Lukashenko strike, 500 riot-related cases initiated in Belarus Over 500 criminal cases have been opened in Belarus over riots and participation of Belarusian citizens in them, Andrey Serbun, deputy head of the Belarusian Prosecutor General's Office`s department for overseeing the implementation of legislation by the Investigative Committee, said. US election 2020: Surge in 'can I change my vote'; Donald Trump says trend refers to him More than 60 million Americans have cast ballots in the US presidential election, a record-breaking pace that could lead to the highest voter turnout in over a century. Protests continue in Islamic world against France over cartoon row × Amy Coney Barrett takes first oath at the White House ×

Morning news brief: Donald Trump's website hacked; Erdogan-Macron clash and more

Republican President Donald Trump questioned the integrity of the U.S. election again on Tuesday, saying it would be "inappropriate" to take extra time to count the tens of millions of ballots cast by mail in his race against Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump questions counting late ballots as Biden preaches unity in Georgia

Deep inside a 10-block-long factory outlet mall in China, the people who supply Americans with their plastic dinosaurs and “Kiss My Bass” baseball caps are confident about an election victory for President Donald Trump.

Trump’s campaign paraphernalia — hats, banners, mugs and practically anything else that can carry a logo — has been selling briskly at shops in the vast wholesale market in the Chinese city of Yiwu. By contrast, shop owners said during recent visits, bulk orders for materials supporting former Vice President Joe Biden have been almost nonexistent.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/business-economy/how-trump-maneuvered-his-way-out-of-trouble-in-chicago-338483" hreflang="en">How Trump maneuvered his way out of trouble in Chicago</a>

“We’ve had four or five shoppers for Trump materials each month,” said Ge Lu, a salesman at one of about 100 shops specializing just in flags, referring to big purchasers who buy banners by the thousands. “We’ve had one Biden shopper this year.”

The place isn’t for the average shopper. Yiwu is home to the world’s largest wholesale market, where global retailers look for items to stock on their own shelves. In building after cavernous building, buyers for companies big and small pick through stalls featuring hats, T-shirts, banners, face masks, baby toys, knapsacks, modeling clay and practically any other manufactured product that will delight the world’s fickle consumers.

It is also home to what Chinese watchers of U.S. politics — a nervous group these days, given souring relations between the two countries and Beijing’s tighter limits on conversation — call the Yiwu Index. Big demand for a presidential candidate’s merchandise, goes the theory, translates into big voter turnout in November.

Right now, according to the informal and highly unscientific index, Trump leads Biden substantially.

“Trump still has the better chance,” said Zhang Zhijiang, the owner of a caps and hats factory in Jiangsu province who keeps a sales office in the Yiwu market.

Trump might welcome the news from Yiwu. He trails Biden in nationwide polls and in a majority of key battleground states just a week before the election. His campaign has been shaken by the coronavirus, which continues to spread relentlessly through the United States and has even struck the White House.

Followers of the Yiwu Index believe it is reliable, however, and they have history on their side. In 2016, the index consistently predicted a Trump victory. In the final weeks of the campaign, demand for Hillary Clinton hats and other souvenirs weakened considerably.

“They started off even, but then they stopped selling, and later, Trump sold more,” said Dai Fuli, the owner of a baseball cap factory in the city of Qingdao who maintains an outlet in Yiwu.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/donald-trumps-campaign-website-hacked-a-week-before-us-election-2020-338446" hreflang="en">Donald Trump's campaign website hacked a week before US Election 2020</a>

China is watching the election nervously. Trump launched a trade war against Beijing and has taken a more confrontational approach on issues like high-tech export controls, industrial espionage, Taiwan and the South China Sea.

At the same time, some in China expect little improvement under a Biden administration. They worry that Biden might even step up criticism of China’s human rights record while strengthening U.S. alliances with China’s neighbors and with Europe to limit China’s rise.

Official anxiety has led to light coverage of the election. Chinese state media has reported the large role that money plays and urged without success that China policy not become a political issue. On Chinese social media, Trump’s frequent interruptions during debates with Biden attracted widespread attention.

Given the political sensitivities, the government-controlled market has banned big displays of campaign merchandise for fear of looking partisan. Many merchants declined to speak during the recent visits.

Formally named the Yiwu International Trade City, it boasts 12 times the floor space of the Empire State Building, making it look like a small city. Much of the complex was hastily and even shoddily built two decades ago, giving its prematurely aging buildings a ramshackle look.

It has 70,000 shops, and transactions taking place under its many roofs exceed $60 billion a year. The national government considers the market enough of an indicator of the health of light manufacturing that it manages its own Yiwu Index, of average prices at the shops.

With some disorderly exceptions, floors are organized by type of merchandise. The warren-like corridors of one floor were devoted to hats. A second housed flags. A third floor featured costumes and masks, while another was devoted to toys.

Dai, the owner of the baseball cap factory in Qingdao, rents a stall on the hat floor. She said orders for Trump baseball caps had been consistently strong for two years. Biden cap orders were negligible until he became the expected Democratic nominee last spring, but only in recent weeks have these customers wanted to put down cash, she added. The recent orders arrived too late to make and deliver the hats before the election.

So the total for Trump cap orders so far this year: “There are tens of thousands this year,” Dai said. “Biden has a few thousand.”

Despite its accuracy in 2016, the Yiwu political index has its flaws. Often the buyers are not the campaigns themselves but proxies, like companies and other institutions that want to express their support for a candidate, or simply stores that want to sell popular merchandise.

The pandemic has interfered with normal marketing. China has barred practically all international visitors since the end of March, and it has required stringent, two-week quarantines for those who do enter. This has reduced overall activity compared with the 2016 presidential campaign, merchants said.

The pandemic has also produced different styles of campaigning. Trump has emphasized large gatherings, with supporters waving pennants and wearing various campaign merchandise, which increases demand for goods from Yiwu. Biden has avoided holding or encouraging mass gatherings in person and has relied more on online events.

As in 2016, Trump also appears to be gaining a considerable share of his support from people in rural areas, where people may have more room for yard signs and banners. Biden has done better in cities, where apartment dwellers have less room to wave flags.

Some vendors think Biden’s supporters may simply be taking business elsewhere. Zhang, the hat factory owner in Jiangsu province, said Biden supporters appeared to be placing more of their baseball cap orders in Vietnam and Myanmar.

With trade with the United States increasingly in doubt, a few Yiwu vendors said they were becoming less interested in the U.S. market. In the flag section, some appeared to be appealing instead to China’s rising nationalism. On the flag floor, the corridors were a scarlet sea of red national flags, red Chinese Communist Party pennants and other souvenirs.

Yet Trump paraphernalia is still in demand. At a Halloween mask factory outlet, rubbery Trump masks were consistently popular and completely sold out.

The factory created a Biden mask, said Gigi Zhang, the store manager, but nobody had ordered it yet.

Deep inside a 10-block-long factory outlet mall in China, the people who supply Americans with their plastic dinosaurs and “Kiss My Bass” baseball caps are confident about an election victory for President Donald Trump.

Deep inside a 10-block-long factory outlet mall in China, the people who supply Americans with their plastic dinosaurs and “Kiss My Bass” baseball caps are confident about an election victory for President Donald Trump. Trump’s campaign paraphernalia — hats, banners, mugs and practically anything else that can carry a logo — has been selling briskly at shops in the vast wholesale market in the Chinese city of Yiwu. By contrast, shop owners said during recent visits, bulk orders for materials supporting former Vice President Joe Biden have been almost nonexistent. Also read: How Trump maneuvered his way out of trouble in Chicago “We’ve had four or five shoppers for Trump materials each month,” said Ge Lu, a salesman at one of about 100 shops specializing just in flags, referring to big purchasers who buy banners by the thousands. “We’ve had one Biden shopper this year.” The place isn’t for the average shopper. Yiwu is home to the world’s largest wholesale market, where global retailers look for items to stock on their own shelves. In building after cavernous building, buyers for companies big and small pick through stalls featuring hats, T-shirts, banners, face masks, baby toys, knapsacks, modeling clay and practically any other manufactured product that will delight the world’s fickle consumers. It is also home to what Chinese watchers of U.S. politics — a nervous group these days, given souring relations between the two countries and Beijing’s tighter limits on conversation — call the Yiwu Index. Big demand for a presidential candidate’s merchandise, goes the theory, translates into big voter turnout in November. Right now, according to the informal and highly unscientific index, Trump leads Biden substantially. “Trump still has the better chance,” said Zhang Zhijiang, the owner of a caps and hats factory in Jiangsu province who keeps a sales office in the Yiwu market. Trump might welcome the news from Yiwu. He trails Biden in nationwide polls and in a majority of key battleground states just a week before the election. His campaign has been shaken by the coronavirus, which continues to spread relentlessly through the United States and has even struck the White House. Followers of the Yiwu Index believe it is reliable, however, and they have history on their side. In 2016, the index consistently predicted a Trump victory. In the final weeks of the campaign, demand for Hillary Clinton hats and other souvenirs weakened considerably. “They started off even, but then they stopped selling, and later, Trump sold more,” said Dai Fuli, the owner of a baseball cap factory in the city of Qingdao who maintains an outlet in Yiwu. Also read: Donald Trump's campaign website hacked a week before US Election 2020 China is watching the election nervously. Trump launched a trade war against Beijing and has taken a more confrontational approach on issues like high-tech export controls, industrial espionage, Taiwan and the South China Sea. At the same time, some in China expect little improvement under a Biden administration. They worry that Biden might even step up criticism of China’s human rights record while strengthening U.S. alliances with China’s neighbors and with Europe to limit China’s rise. Official anxiety has led to light coverage of the election. Chinese state media has reported the large role that money plays and urged without success that China policy not become a political issue. On Chinese social media, Trump’s frequent interruptions during debates with Biden attracted widespread attention. Given the political sensitivities, the government-controlled market has banned big displays of campaign merchandise for fear of looking partisan. Many merchants declined to speak during the recent visits. Formally named the Yiwu International Trade City, it boasts 12 times the floor space of the Empire State Building, making it look like a small city. Much of the complex was hastily and even shoddily built two decades ago, giving its prematurely aging buildings a ramshackle look. It has 70,000 shops, and transactions taking place under its many roofs exceed $60 billion a year. The national government considers the market enough of an indicator of the health of light manufacturing that it manages its own Yiwu Index, of average prices at the shops. With some disorderly exceptions, floors are organized by type of merchandise. The warren-like corridors of one floor were devoted to hats. A second housed flags. A third floor featured costumes and masks, while another was devoted to toys. Dai, the owner of the baseball cap factory in Qingdao, rents a stall on the hat floor. She said orders for Trump baseball caps had been consistently strong for two years. Biden cap orders were negligible until he became the expected Democratic nominee last spring, but only in recent weeks have these customers wanted to put down cash, she added. The recent orders arrived too late to make and deliver the hats before the election. So the total for Trump cap orders so far this year: “There are tens of thousands this year,” Dai said. “Biden has a few thousand.” Despite its accuracy in 2016, the Yiwu political index has its flaws. Often the buyers are not the campaigns themselves but proxies, like companies and other institutions that want to express their support for a candidate, or simply stores that want to sell popular merchandise. The pandemic has interfered with normal marketing. China has barred practically all international visitors since the end of March, and it has required stringent, two-week quarantines for those who do enter. This has reduced overall activity compared with the 2016 presidential campaign, merchants said. The pandemic has also produced different styles of campaigning. Trump has emphasized large gatherings, with supporters waving pennants and wearing various campaign merchandise, which increases demand for goods from Yiwu. Biden has avoided holding or encouraging mass gatherings in person and has relied more on online events. As in 2016, Trump also appears to be gaining a considerable share of his support from people in rural areas, where people may have more room for yard signs and banners. Biden has done better in cities, where apartment dwellers have less room to wave flags. Some vendors think Biden’s supporters may simply be taking business elsewhere. Zhang, the hat factory owner in Jiangsu province, said Biden supporters appeared to be placing more of their baseball cap orders in Vietnam and Myanmar. With trade with the United States increasingly in doubt, a few Yiwu vendors said they were becoming less interested in the U.S. market. In the flag section, some appeared to be appealing instead to China’s rising nationalism. On the flag floor, the corridors were a scarlet sea of red national flags, red Chinese Communist Party pennants and other souvenirs. Yet Trump paraphernalia is still in demand. At a Halloween mask factory outlet, rubbery Trump masks were consistently popular and completely sold out. The factory created a Biden mask, said Gigi Zhang, the store manager, but nobody had ordered it yet.

In China, an election bellwether flashes for Trump

With less than a week to go for the final showdown between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden for the US election 2020, it appears that voters who have voted early are trying to change their minds.

More than 60 million Americans have cast ballots in the US&nbsp;presidential election, a record-breaking pace that could lead to the highest voter turnout in over a century, according to data from the US&nbsp;Elections Project.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-how-are-votes-counted-in-the-presidential-election-335422" hreflang="en">US election 2020: How are votes counted in the presidential election?</a>

Apparently, there was a spike in&nbsp;'can I change my vote', and Trump believes that this means that the trend refers to him.

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Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me. The answer in most states is YES. Go do it. Most important Election of your life!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1321042229838909441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Reportedly, the trend skyrocketed after the final presidential debate and has been going up steadily ever since.

A media professor at the University of New Mexico, Nick Flor posted his analysis about it.

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BTW, did you hear that "Can I change my vote" is trending as a search term on Google? ROFL! 
 
Started peaking right after the final debate / Hunter Biden controversy. This is why social media is trying so hard to censor.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FoxAndFriends?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FoxAndFriends</a> 
 
The answer is yes:<a href="https://t.co/xrQwOeoOAU">https://t.co/xrQwOeoOAU</a> <a href="https://t.co/qZA3tPmK3u">pic.twitter.com/qZA3tPmK3u</a>
— Nick Flor-ProfessorF (@ProfessorF) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProfessorF/status/1321042252982972416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
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However, he later said that this happens in every US election and is not something that has occurred for the first time.

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LOL, no it is not EVERY election this happens — contrary to what the correct-the-record mob is frantically trying to post. 
 
And this is the highest level ever for "Can I change my vote" (dashes indicate still climbing, see below) <a href="https://t.co/uOC9TdVmHZ">pic.twitter.com/uOC9TdVmHZ</a>
— Nick Flor-ProfessorF (@ProfessorF) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProfessorF/status/1321045284613361664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Consumer confidence dropped sharply in October in three US&nbsp;states considered crucial for Republican President Donald Trump's re-election&nbsp;as fears about the economy's outlook mounted, according to a survey on Tuesday.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-with-a-week-to-go-heres-what-is-abuzz-338402" hreflang="en">US election 2020: With a week to go, here's what is abuzz</a>

The Conference Board's findings came ahead of next Tuesday's fiercely contested battle for the White House between Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Trump is trailing the former vice president in national opinion polls.

Consumer confidence in Florida dropped to a reading of 100.3 this month from 114.4 in September. Though confidence has rebounded after slumping as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the state, it is near levels seen just before the 2016&nbsp;election.

In Pennsylvania, consumer confidence tumbled to a reading of 92.0 from 115.5 in September. Consumer confidence in Michigan fell to 119.2 in October from a reading of 124.1 in the prior month. Confidence in the three swing states was dragged by declines in consumers' expectations.

"The numbers can be choppy, but this does not bode well for Donald Trump's chances of re-election&nbsp;and with incomes being squeezed and COVID-19 cases on the rise, neither for the economy," said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING in New York.

Consumer confidence also fell in Ohio and Illinois and Texas this month but edged up in New York and California.

As result, overall consumer confidence dipped to a reading of 100.9 in October from 101.3 in September.

"There is little to suggest that consumers foresee the economy gaining momentum in the final months of 2020, especially with COVID-19 cases on the rise and unemployment still high," said Lynn Franco, senior director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board.

&nbsp;

With less than a week to go for the final showdown between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden for the US election 2020, it appears that voters who have voted early are trying to change their minds.

With less than a week to go for the final showdown between President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden for the US election 2020, it appears that voters who have voted early are trying to change their minds. More than 60 million Americans have cast ballots in the US presidential election, a record-breaking pace that could lead to the highest voter turnout in over a century, according to data from the US Elections Project. Also read: US election 2020: How are votes counted in the presidential election? Apparently, there was a spike in 'can I change my vote', and Trump believes that this means that the trend refers to him. Strongly Trending (Google) since immediately after the second debate is CAN I CHANGE MY VOTE? This refers changing it to me. The answer in most states is YES. Go do it. Most important Election of your life! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 27, 2020 × Reportedly, the trend skyrocketed after the final presidential debate and has been going up steadily ever since. A media professor at the University of New Mexico, Nick Flor posted his analysis about it. BTW, did you hear that "Can I change my vote" is trending as a search term on Google? ROFL! Started peaking right after the final debate / Hunter Biden controversy. This is why social media is trying so hard to censor.#FoxAndFriends The answer is yes:https://t.co/xrQwOeoOAU pic.twitter.com/qZA3tPmK3u — Nick Flor-ProfessorF (@ProfessorF) October 27, 2020 × However, he later said that this happens in every US election and is not something that has occurred for the first time. LOL, no it is not EVERY election this happens — contrary to what the correct-the-record mob is frantically trying to post. And this is the highest level ever for "Can I change my vote" (dashes indicate still climbing, see below) pic.twitter.com/uOC9TdVmHZ — Nick Flor-ProfessorF (@ProfessorF) October 27, 2020 × Consumer confidence dropped sharply in October in three US states considered crucial for Republican President Donald Trump's re-election as fears about the economy's outlook mounted, according to a survey on Tuesday. Also read: US election 2020: With a week to go, here's what is abuzz The Conference Board's findings came ahead of next Tuesday's fiercely contested battle for the White House between Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden. Trump is trailing the former vice president in national opinion polls. Consumer confidence in Florida dropped to a reading of 100.3 this month from 114.4 in September. Though confidence has rebounded after slumping as the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the state, it is near levels seen just before the 2016 election. In Pennsylvania, consumer confidence tumbled to a reading of 92.0 from 115.5 in September. Consumer confidence in Michigan fell to 119.2 in October from a reading of 124.1 in the prior month. Confidence in the three swing states was dragged by declines in consumers' expectations. "The numbers can be choppy, but this does not bode well for Donald Trump's chances of re-election and with incomes being squeezed and COVID-19 cases on the rise, neither for the economy," said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING in New York. Consumer confidence also fell in Ohio and Illinois and Texas this month but edged up in New York and California. As result, overall consumer confidence dipped to a reading of 100.9 in October from 101.3 in September. "There is little to suggest that consumers foresee the economy gaining momentum in the final months of 2020, especially with COVID-19 cases on the rise and unemployment still high," said Lynn Franco, senior director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board.

US election 2020: Surge in 'can I change my vote'; Donald Trump says trend refers to him

Americans are breaking early voting records. More than 62 million people have already voted in US Election 2020. The figures have surpassed all pre-election ballots cast in America's history. WION's Palki Sharma tells you more.

Gravitas: US Election 2020: Americans are breaking early voting records

As the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">US elections</a> near, the two leaders — <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden</a> — have now kickstarted their last leg of campaigning. On Tuesday, Biden&nbsp;held a drive-in rally to make sure there is no spread of the novel coronavirus — an issue he grilled&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;on, yet again.

Biden, on Tuesday, accused the current US President of surrendering in front of a pandemic. The rally, that took place in the&nbsp;Republican stronghold of Georgia, saw the attendance of&nbsp;Biden&nbsp;fans in the Democrat minority area.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-with-a-week-to-go-heres-what-is-abuzz-338402">Also read|&nbsp;US election 2020: With a week to go, here's what is abuzz</a>

During the rally, Biden stressed on the statement made by&nbsp;Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows at the weekend that "we're not going to control the pandemic." Further, he claimed the White Houe's efforts to control the pandemic&nbsp;as&nbsp;"a capitulation"&nbsp;that White House and the Trump administration "never really tried" to halt a pandemic which has now killed more than 226,000 Americans.

Biden claimed that the President,&nbsp;"shrugged, he swaggered and he surrendered"instead of fighting the pandemic and helping fellow Americans get a healthy aid during this deadly virus outbreak. Promising that he can control the virus, unlike&nbsp;Trump, the Democratic candidate said,&nbsp;"I'm here to tell you: We can and we will control this virus".

<a href="http://13.235.153.162/world/campaigning-for-us-presidential-election-enters-final-week-338396">Also read|&nbsp;Campaigning for US presidential election enters final week</a>

He also showed confidence in his voters on Georgia and urged them to get out and vote.&nbsp;"We win Georgia, we win everything!" Biden said. "These are the final days, so keep that sense of empowerment with you, that sense of optimism."

Biden&nbsp;also got help fort he former US President&nbsp;Barack Obama&nbsp;who motivated the voters to voter for the "right candidate" saying,&nbsp;"One week until the most important election in our lifetimes," Obama said.

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Two years ago, a white supremacist entered Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue and perpetrated the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history. May the memories of those we lost be a blessing — and may we never stop fighting the scourges of anti-Semitism and gun violence.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1321255611795951618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
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"We were complacent last time. Folks got a little lazy, folks took things for granted, and look what happened," Obama said.&nbsp;"Not this time. Let's bring it home."

Meanwhile, Trump&nbsp;was also seen campaigning in a mask-less crowd with almost zero social distancing in an open-air space in Michigan and Wisconsin.&nbsp;"I've got to say I'm working my ass off here!," he told a massive crowd of supporters wearing 'MAGA'caps.

The First Lady, Melania Trump, too, finally joined her husband's campaign and calling him a "fighter", she said,&nbsp;"I do not always agree with the way he says things. But it is important to him that he speaks directly to the people he serves."

As the US elections near, the two leaders — Donald Trump and Joe Biden — have now kickstarted their last leg of campaigning. On Tuesday, Biden held a drive-in rally to make sure there is no spread of the novel coronavirus — an issue he grilled Trump on, yet again.

As the US elections near, the two leaders — Donald Trump and Joe Biden — have now kickstarted their last leg of campaigning. On Tuesday, Biden held a drive-in rally to make sure there is no spread of the novel coronavirus — an issue he grilled Trump on, yet again. Biden, on Tuesday, accused the current US President of surrendering in front of a pandemic. The rally, that took place in the Republican stronghold of Georgia, saw the attendance of Biden fans in the Democrat minority area. Also read| US election 2020: With a week to go, here's what is abuzz During the rally, Biden stressed on the statement made by Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows at the weekend that "we're not going to control the pandemic." Further, he claimed the White Houe's efforts to control the pandemic as "a capitulation" that White House and the Trump administration "never really tried" to halt a pandemic which has now killed more than 226,000 Americans. Biden claimed that the President, "shrugged, he swaggered and he surrendered"instead of fighting the pandemic and helping fellow Americans get a healthy aid during this deadly virus outbreak. Promising that he can control the virus, unlike Trump, the Democratic candidate said, "I'm here to tell you: We can and we will control this virus". Also read| Campaigning for US presidential election enters final week He also showed confidence in his voters on Georgia and urged them to get out and vote. "We win Georgia, we win everything!" Biden said. "These are the final days, so keep that sense of empowerment with you, that sense of optimism." Biden also got help fort he former US President Barack Obama who motivated the voters to voter for the "right candidate" saying, "One week until the most important election in our lifetimes," Obama said. Two years ago, a white supremacist entered Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue and perpetrated the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in American history. May the memories of those we lost be a blessing — and may we never stop fighting the scourges of anti-Semitism and gun violence. — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 28, 2020 × "We were complacent last time. Folks got a little lazy, folks took things for granted, and look what happened," Obama said. "Not this time. Let's bring it home." Meanwhile, Trump was also seen campaigning in a mask-less crowd with almost zero social distancing in an open-air space in Michigan and Wisconsin. "I've got to say I'm working my ass off here!," he told a massive crowd of supporters wearing 'MAGA'caps. The First Lady, Melania Trump, too, finally joined her husband's campaign and calling him a "fighter", she said, "I do not always agree with the way he says things. But it is important to him that he speaks directly to the people he serves."

US Election 2020: Joe Biden slams Donald Trump on coronavirus blunder

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