Trump news: President plays down record Covid spike as Obama mocks him for ending 60 Minutes interview

In swing states such as Florida, Latino voters could be key

President Donald Trump currently has the backing of 35 per cent of Hispanic voters under the age of 45, up from the 22 per cent who backed him in 2016, according to poll analysis by FiveThirtyEight.com.

This support could be pivotal in battlegrounds such as Florida and Arizona with a record number of 32 million Hispanics projected to be eligible to vote in 2020.

While only making up around two per cent of the population aged 25 and older nationwide, they are disproportionately concentrated in Florida. The state is home to 3.1 million registered Hispanic voters, who could make a vast difference as Joe Biden is only 3.9 per cent leading Trump.

The Republican party has strong support among Cuban Americans in the state, due to what they perceive to be Democratic appeasement of the Castros.

Voting activists are hoping to prevent intimidation at polls

Election officials are on high alert over fears that polling stations could attract the similar strains of violence and civil unrest that erupted on American streets this year.

The pandemic, outrage over police brutality and one of the most contentious elections ever has led to fears that polling stations might be places of confrontation.

President Donald Trump has even encouraged one far-right extremist group to "stand back and stand by" and called for an army of "poll watchers" to keep tabs on polling places.

Gun rights advocates say fears of violence at the polls are unfounded but commentators worry that voters will be kept from the polls and the election adversely affected.

On Friday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that teams of civilians will spread out across the city to report any instance of voter intimidation on Election Day.

Meanwhile, in Ohio, the League of Women Voters is recruiting and training "peacekeeper teams" of clergy and social workers to de-escalate any tensions at polling stations.

'I voted for a guy named Trump': President wears mask as casts ballot in Florida ahead of battleground state rallies

President Donald Trump has cast his ballot early in the battleground state of Florida in an effort to encourage his supporters to vote in person for the upcoming election.

The president wore a mask as he arrived at the Palm Beach County main library in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday morning ahead of a weekend of campaigning in the pivotal state. 

Trump casts early voting ballot in Florida

“We’re doing very well in Florida, and we’re doing very well everywhere else," Trump told reporters after casting his vote in the key battleground state on Saturday morning.

He added: “I voted for a guy named Trump." 

Joe Biden holding drive-in rallies in battleground state Pennsylvania

In an effort to shore up support in Joe Biden’s home state, the former vice president will host two drive-in rallies on Saturday in the crucial electoral college.

The Democratic presidential nominee is a Scranton native and is also set to campaign in Bucks County, southeast of Allentown, which narrowly voted Democratic in 2016.

Biden will also stop at Lancaster County, close to the Maryland and New Jersey borders, which went easily Republican in 2016.

During Thursday’s debate, the former vice president angered some oil industry advocacy groups by suggesting that the US will have to transition away from fossil fuels eventually to reach net-zero emissions.

Biden backed up his comments by claiming "millions" of new jobs will be forged by redirecting key infrastructure to be more environmentally friendly.

Jon Bon Jovi is due to perform three songs at the drive-in rallies in Pennsylvania. His appearances are somewhat reminiscent of Election Day in 2016, when he took part in a huge outdoor concert with the Obamas and then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in Philadelphia.

New report finds coronavirus infections surged in states following Trump rallies

Cases of coronavirus e spiked in states where President Donald Trump has held campaign rallies, according to researchers at USA Today.

In Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the number of coronavirus cases rose at a faster rate than prior to Trump’s visit.

In five countries across the three states, there were more than 1,500 cases in the two weeks after Trump’s rally.

Meanwhile, a rally in Minnesota was officially named a “super-spreader” event when 16 cases were confirmed among attendees with two individuals being taken to hospital.

More than 50 million Americans have already voted in the presidential election

With just 11 days remaining before Election Day on 3 November, US election officials have received more than 50 million ballots, roughly equating to 37 per cent of the total number of ballots cast in the entire 2016 presidential election.

This has led some experts to predict a record-setting 150-million-plus American citizens will vote this year.

Pollster Nate Silver has forecast that the total election turnout will be 154 million, writing on Thursday that the polls show record levels of enthusiasm and that he increased the estimates after academic research showed more extensive voting options tends to increase turnout.

Early voting returns overwhelmingly favour Democratic candidates, with the most significant margins held in Arizona (16 per cent), Pennsylvania (46 per cent) and Michigan (24 per cent), according to Hawkfish analysis.

The last record-setting eligible voter turnout rate – 82.6 per cent – was as far back as the 1876 presidential election, which saw Rutherford Hayes defeat Samuel Tilden.

Supreme Court mostly sides with Republicans in last-minute voting appeals

The US Supreme Court has decided on a series of last-minute appeals spearheaded by Republicans over election procedures during the election.

The court has mostly rejected calls to allow less restrictive voting measures during the pandemic, meaning Republicans have prevailed in appeals that seek to block changes that make it easier to vote. In particular, casting mail-in ballots.

Rejected appeals include a Democratic effort to lift an age eligibility requirement for mail ballots in Texas, or to allow curbside voting and waive the witness requirement for mail ballots in Alabama. The court also suspended the witness requirement in South Carolina.  

11 election-related cases have been taken to the Supreme Court since April, and the appeals with Republican interests have won in eight.

Biden slams Trump for not telling truth on Covid risks: 'The American people don't panic, he panicked'

Joe Biden has attacked Donald Trump for lying to the American people about the coronavirus pandemic, telling them “he panicked”.

The president told Bob Woodward, journalist and author, that he knew how serious the risks were but did not tell the US public to “avoid panic”.

Speaking in Pennsylvania on Saturday, Mr Biden, 77, rounded on Mr Trump for his attitude.

“The American people don’t panic, he panicked,” Mr Biden said.

Harriet Alexander reports: 

Trump to head to three coronavirus hotspots for campaign rallies

Donald Trump has a packed schedule on Saturday with his campaign working to squeeze in as many events just 10 days before Election Day. 

The first event of the day will happen in Lumberton, North Carolina, around 12:30 EST. He will then head to Circleville, Ohio, for his second rally of the day before ending the day in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

All three states are battleground states in the upcoming presidential election, but they are also experiencing surges in coronavirus cases and hospitalisations, causing concern among health experts. 

North Carolina and Ohio both set a record for the highest single-day increase in new cases since the start of the pandemic.  

The state of Wisconsin fares worse than the other two states as it has reported a top five per-capita infection rate over the past week. Wisconsin also reported its highest single-day death toll on Wednesday with 48 people dying from the novel virus. 

In an effort to manage the number of hospitalisations, Wisconsin opened a field hospital and accepted the first patient in the makeshift space on Wednesday. 

Mr Trump’s campaign rallies will all be outdoors, but attendees are not required to social distance or wear masks.