Presidential election results 2020

The biggest county in Iowa, which includes Des Moines, has finished counting all absentee ballots received through Monday, according to a tweet from the Polk County Auditor Jamie Fitzgerald. 

The results from those ballots will be posted shortly after polls close at 10 p.m. ET (9 p.m. CT.)

Polk County went for Hillary Clinton by 11 points in 2016.

The county has more than 300,000 registered voters and more than 136,731 had already voted or sent in an absentee ballot through Saturday.

Of those early voters, 58% were registered Democrats, 23% were registered Republicans, and 19% were not registered with either party.

Iowans still have time to return their absentee ballots. They will be counted as long as they are postmarked by Nov. 2 and arrive by Nov. 9.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden started his day at his home in Wilmington, Delaware. He attended mass at his Catholic church and spent a brief visit to his son Beau Biden's grave site, also visiting the grave site of his late wife and baby daughter. 

From there, Biden traveled to his old hometown Scranton, Pennsylvania. He stopped by his boyhood home, writing on the wall: "From this house to the White House with the Grace of God, Joe Biden November 3rd, 2020."

Biden has just landed in Philadelphia, where he's making a few stops trying to get out the vote. Then he's going to return to Wilmington. He'll be watching the returns from his home and then move to an election center. 

President Trump left the White House a short time ago and arrived at his campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, according to the press pool traveling with the President.

From the pool:

Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are expected to spend Election Night at the White House.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports from Wilmington, Delaware:

As the race for the White House comes to a close, there are several key states that remain a toss-up. CNN’s political correspondents and reporters tell us what races they're watching and why:

CNN Political Correspondent Abby Phillip is watching Arizona:

"This Election Day, I'm looking at the state of Arizona. It is a red state, but this year, it is very much in play. I'm hoping that they're able to count their ballots pretty quickly, so we can have a sense of what's going on in that state. And whether Joe Biden has a shot of flipping a state that Donald Trump won four years ago."

Arizona’s increasingly diverse and suburban electorate has rapidly turned what was once a GOP stronghold into a swing state with 11 electoral votes up for grabs. Polls close in Arizona at 9 p.m. ET.

Read more on Arizona here.

Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash is watching Pennsylvania:

"On Election Day, I'm going to be watching Pennsylvania like a hawk. It's really critical for both candidates in each path to 270 — that magic number to get the presidency. And it is so close."

Pennsylvania polls close at 8 p.m. ET. It's the largest electoral vote prize of the "blue wall" states with 20 electoral votes up for grabs, and polls have shown it could be the most competitive. Biden and Trump both barnstormed the state in the race's final days, underscoring its importance.

Read more on Pennsylvania here.

Senior Political Reporter Nia-Malika Henderson is watching Georgia

"The state I'm going to be watching most closely on election night is Georgia. Sixteen electoral votes up for grabs. Two open Senate seats as well. Can a Democrat flip that state in the Sun Belt region. So, my eyes are on the Peach State."

Georgia will be the first true battleground of the night, with 16 electoral votes. It’s poll close at 7 p.m. ET. Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Ohio are crucial to the President's narrow path to victory. The Southeastern states are expected to count votes relatively quickly, offering an early window into Trump's chances of winning reelection.

Read more on Georgia here.

Florida’s Secretary of State Laurel Lee said that no voting security issues have been reported in the state so far Tuesday.  

She said at a news conference there may be isolated precincts in two counties – Lake County, in Central Florida, and Lee County, in Southwest Florida — that had “some technology challenges this morning.” But she said these issues will not prevent any voters from casting ballots. 

She also said that “misinformation and disinformation continues to be an active threat,” though she said no new concerning messages had been reported Tuesday.  

Asked by CNN’s Drew Griffin for examples of misinformation, she referenced the previously reported threatening emails sent to voters that were made to appear as though they were sent by the Proud Boys, a far-right group, though she said Iran was determined to be behind those emails. 

“Our databases are secure,” Lee said. 

At the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Florida National Guard has been mobilized in the state “out of an abundance of caution,” Lee said.  

Lewis McCaleb, a 22-year-old first-time voter in St. Paul, Minnesota, said the death of George Floyd helped spur him to vote this Election Day. 

McCaleb wore a hoodie with the words “We Will Breathe” to his polling location, which he told Broaddus was a form of protest for him. He also wrote the names of Black men and women who have been killed by police on the back of his ballot, Broaddus reported. 

Watch:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Cheri Bustos, expressed confidence Democrats will expand their House majority tonight.

On a Zoom conference call with reporters, Bustos said the party is “well-positioned to have a good night.” 

She declined to predict how many seats Democrats will gain. 

“We’re not going to put a number to it,” she said, adding that “you make your own luck going into any election.”

Bustos also said Democratic leaders are preparing for “extended counts and even potential recounts” after Election Day.

On the call, Nancy Pelosi reiterated her advice to Democratic voters:

She said she believes Joe Biden will be inaugurated in January. 

However, Pelosi refused to answer CNN’s Manu Raju when asked if she would abide by her promise to only serve as speaker through the end of 2022. In order to secure the votes for speaker in 2019, Pelosi promised she would only serve as speaker for this current Congress and the next Congress, which begins in January.

Officials in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, say they haven’t received any reports about problems so far, either at polling places or at the city’s absentee ballot counting center. 

“No news is good news,” Mayor Tom Barrett said. “We’re off to a great start.” 

All of the city’s 173 polling places opened successfully, Barrett added.

At the central count location where volunteers are tallying about 175,000 absentee ballots today, more volunteers showed up than expected, Election Commission executive director Claire Woodall-Vogg said. 

“Poll workers turned out in just phenomenal numbers today so we’re confident our polling places are fully staffed,” she said. 

As of 10 a.m., there have been no disruptions at the central count location and no valid challenges of absentee ballots by election observers or vote-counters, Woodall-Vogg said. 

Barrett noted that the city’s absentee voting numbers “shatters all records” set in previous elections. He reminded Milwaukee voters that they have until 7:30 p.m. to return ballots to the city’s 15 dropboxes and that anyone who is standing in line at the polls at 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

Brandon Davis, a 34-year-old truck driver, had anticipated a long wait when he showed up to cast his ballot this morning at the Sandtown Park Recreation Center west of downtown Atlanta in Fulton County. Instead, he was pleasantly surprised by the experience.  

Fulton County — Georgia’s largest county, which includes most of the city of Atlanta — has seen some long lines in past elections, including the June primary, when some voters waited eight hours to cast their ballots. 

For this election, the county greatly expanded the number of early voting locations and increased its capacity to process absentee ballots, in the hopes of cutting down lines on Election Day. 

So far, signs indicate its plan is working: By mid-morning, average wait times across Fulton were under 30 minutes, according to county election officials. 

And even if he had run into a long line, Davis said he was willing to wait it out. 

“Even if I had to sit out here for six hours, it didn’t matter because we need to vote,” he said. “The fact that I was only here maybe five minutes, that’s just the icing on the cake. Now I get to go enjoy my day and go to work later.”

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar on Tuesday reminded voters to have patience and that not all vote counting is finished on Election Day. 

“Vote counting is never finished on Election Day and if we stop counting ballots on Election Day, we will be disenfranchising all the men and women who serve our country, all the military and civilian overseas voters whose ballots by law must be accepted up to seven days after the election," she said.

“We are the only ones that can actually declare results of an election or an election count being over," said Boockvar. “Everyone should have patience.”