BEAUMONT, Texas — This article contains ongoing Election Day updates for the 2020 general election. You can find more details by scrolling through the story which we are updating throughout the day. The newest items will be at the top.
Nov. 4, 1:10 a.m. — While it's too soon to know whether former Vice President Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States, the Democratic nominee has already reached a major election landmark.
As of early Wednesday afternoon, Biden had received the most votes for any presidential candidate in U.S. history with more than 70 million votes already tallied, according to the Associated Press count.
Until now, former President Barack Obama held the record after he received 69,498,516 votes in the 2008 election. At the time, Joe Biden was his running mate.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Associated Press count as of 2 p.m. Eastern said Biden received 70,238,852 votes, and it's still going. Ballots are still being counted in battleground states Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Nov. 4, 5:15 a.m. — Nevada says it will give next election update Thursday
Election officials in Nevada announced they would suspend updates of election results until Thursday. Joe Biden is currently holding a narrow lead over President Trump.
In a pair of tweets by Nevada Elections, it said it had counted all in-person early votes, all in-person Election Day votes, and all mail ballots through Nov. 2. It still needed to count mail ballots received on Election Day, mail ballots that will be received over the next week, and provisional ballots.
It said it will give its next election update at 9 a.m. on Nov. 5.
"Ballots outstanding is difficult to estimate in Nevada because every voter was sent a mail ballot," the tweet said. "Obviously, not all will vote."
Nov. 4, 3 a.m. — Biden campaign willing to fight Trump in court
Democrat Joe Biden's campaign says it will fight any efforts by President Donald Trump's campaign to go to the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent ballots from being tabulated.
In a statement sent before 4 a.m. Wednesday, Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon called Trump's statement that he will “be going to the U.S. Supreme Court” and that he wants “all voting to stop” “outrageous, unprecedented and incorrect.”
O'Malley Dillon says the Biden campaign has “legal teams standing by ready to deploy to resist that effort.” And she says, “They will prevail.”
The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the presidential race. There are still hundreds of thousands of votes left to be counted, and the outcome hinges on a handful of uncalled battleground states.
Nov. 4, 2:04 a.m. — Democrats gain Senate seat in Arizona
Mark Kelly (D) has defeated incumbent Sen. Martha McSally (R) in the race for U.S. Senate from Arizona, according to the Associated Press. McSally was appointed to the seat in 2019. This election was to fill out the final two years of the term of the late Sen. John McCain. Kelly will have to run again in 2022.
Nov. 4, 1:59 a.m. — Biden flips Arizona
Joe Biden has won Arizona and its 11 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press. The last two Democrats to win it: Bill Clinton in 1996 and Harry Truman in 1948.
Nov. 4, 1:33 a.m.— Trump claims victory, but neither candidate has 270 electoral votes
President Donald Trump spoke to from The White House early Wednesday morning, declaring that he believes vote counting must end and also prematurely declaring victory.
The Associated Press is not calling the presidential race yet because neither candidate has secured the 270 electoral college votes needed to claim victory.
Republican Donald Trump said, “Frankly, we did win this election” over Democrat Joe Biden and said he would take the election to the Supreme Court. His assertion of victory does not match the results and information currently available to the AP.
At this stage in the race, according to AP counts, Trump has 213 electoral votes while Biden has 225. Trump would need 270 electoral votes to win. Several key states are too early to call, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Michigan.
Nov. 4,1 a.m. — Allegheny County, Pennsylvania pausing counting until morning
Election officials in Allegheny County, Pa., which includes Pittsburgh, have paused counting until 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, according to WESA.
Nov. 4, 12:57 a.m. — Republicans hold Senate seat in Montana
Incumbent Sen. Steve Daines (R) has defeated Steve Bullock (D) in the race for U.S. Senate from Montana, according to the Associated Press.
Nov. 4, 12:30 a.m. — Trump, Biden split electoral votes in Nebraska
Trump and Biden have split the five electoral votes in Nebraska, according to the Associated Press. Nebraska and Maine give two statewide votes, but also one for the winner of each congressional district. Trump won the statewide vote and two districts while Biden took the other district.
Nov. 4, 12:15 a.m. — Texas and its 38 electoral votes have been called for President Trump by the Associated Press.
Nov. 3, 11:45 p.m. — Joe Biden spoke to supporters in Wilmington, Del., early Wednesday morning as the presidential election remained too close to call.
"We feel good about where we are," Biden said. "We believe we're on track to win the election."
Nov. 3, 11:30 p.m. — President Donald Trump has won the presidential race in Florida according to the Associated Press. Florida has 29 electoral votes.
Nov. 3, 10:00 p.m. — Republican Sen. Brandon Creighton has been re-elected to the Texas Senate for District 4, beating two opponents for the seat.
He was up against Democrat Jay Stittleburg and Libertarian Cameron Brock.
Nov. 3, 9:45 p.m. — Sheriff Zena Stephens has been re-elected for another four years as Jefferson County's top cop. She won over Republican opponent David Odom. Read more.
Nov. 3, 9:30 p.m. — Voters in the Hardin-Jefferson Independent School District have approved two bonds totaling $25 million to help fund nearly $70 million in improvements in the district. Read more.
Hamshire-Fannett ISD Superintendent Dwaine K. Augustine told 12News proposition A has passed, and proposition B failed.
The total bond request totaled $38,400,000.
Proposition A includes renovations, 4 classrooms, a new wood shop, utility upgrades, bus loops and a number of other upgrades for HFISD's campuses. Proposition A requests $36,920,000.
Proposition B, which would have helped construct a new concession stand with restroom s and upgrades would have cost $1,480,000. Read more.
Nov. 3, 8:45 p.m. — A spokesperson for MJ Hegar confirmed with 12News' sister station WFAA that Hegar called Sen. John Cornyn to concede the U.S. Senate Race.
Gov. Greg Abbott has already congratulated Cornyn, saying, "I know [Cornyn] will continue to be a powerful voice for Texans in the United States Senate."
Cornyn's press office confirmed the call. Read more here.
Nov. 3, 7:50 p.m. — Ballot boxes are being dropped off for counting at the Jefferson County elections barn.
Nov. 3, 7:40 p.m. — Incumbent Democrat Joe Deshotel has won the seat for state representative of District 22 according to 12News and the Beaumont Enterprise's Tom Taschinger.
Nov. 3, 5:30 p.m. — Voters continue to show up to vote at Rogers Park in Beaumont with less than two hours left to cast ballots. The 12News crew on scene said the parking lot looks packed, but lines weren't long around 5:30.
Nov. 3, 5 p.m. — The first polls close at 6 p.m. Eastern time in swaths of Indiana and Kentucky, followed by a steady stream of closings every 30 minutes to an hour throughout the evening. The last polls in Alaska were shutting down at 1 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday.
Nov. 3, 3:00 p.m. — A Federal judge in Washington, D.C. ordered the U.S. Postal Service to immediately begin sweeping processing facilities in more than two dozen states for any mail-in ballots which had not been processed. The mandate stated those ballots must be immediately rush delivered as ballot deadlines neared.
U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered sweeps in areas including centers in central Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, south Florida and parts of Wisconsin. It comes after national delivery delays leading up to the election and concerns the agency wouldn’t be able to deliver ballots on time.
The Postal Service’s ability to handle the surge of mail-in ballots became a concern after its new leader, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a major GOP donor, implemented a series of policy changes that delayed mail nationwide this summer. Delivery times have since rebounded but have consistently remained below the agency’s internal goals of having more than 95% of first-class mail delivered within five days, with service in some battleground areas severely lagging, according to postal data.
The contentious issue of mail-in ballots has been a hot button topic throughout the campaign as President Trump has emphasized, without evidence, that they can lead to fraud.
Judge Sullivan wrote in the order that inspectors were to report to court after the sweeps to confirm "in the most efficient manner available, that sweeps were conducted and that no ballots were left behind.”
USPS delivery performance has reportedly dropped five straight days in the run up to the election, CNN reported.
There are five states where the USPS has received low processing scores, where ballots are also not allowed to be turned in after Election Day. Those states are Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, New Hampshire and Maine.
Nov. 3, 12:20 p.m. — Supporters cheered and applauded President Donald Trump at his campaign headquarters, where he visited Tuesday to thank dozens of staffers working to get him reelected. Trump predicted his victory, but acknowledged he could lose.
“I think we’re going to have a great night, but it’s politics and it’s elections and you never know,” Trump said.
He said his campaign was doing well in states like Florida, Arizona and Texas. He noted the importance of winning Pennsylvania.
“Winning is easy. Losing is never easy,” he said. “Not for me it's not.”
The president went to the Republican National Committee’s annex in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington after days of grueling campaigning on the road.
“After doing that many rallies, the voice gets a little choppy,” Trump said with his now-gravely delivery.
Trump said success will bring unity. He listed what he believes are his accomplishments with the coronavirus and the economy. More than 100 staffers, almost all wearing masks, lined up against the back wall of the operations center to hear from their candidate. Some masks were emblazoned with “Trump” and “MAGA” for Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.
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Nov. 3, 11:20 p.m. — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she’s “absolutely certain” that Democrats will “solidly hold” onto their House majority.
On an Election Day conference call with reporters, the California Democrat said “this election is about nothing less than taking back the soul of America, whether our nation will follow the voices of fear or whether we will choose hope.”
Pelosi and Rep. Cheri Bustos say the party is reaching deep into Trump country to win seats. Bustos is chair of the campaign arm for House Democrats, who are well positioned to try to add longtime GOP seats in Long Island, Arkansas, Indiana and rural Virginia.
Bustos says Democrats “are going to see some wins in those deep red districts.”
Pelosi says she's confident Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden will win the White House from President Donald Trump.
Nov. 3, 10 a.m. — First lady Melania Trump has cast her vote, stopping in at a voting center in Palm Beach, Florida, close to President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.
Asked why she didn’t vote with the Republican president last week, the first lady told reporters on Tuesday: “It’s Election Day so I wanted to come here to vote today for the election.”
The first lady waved and smiled to reporters. She was the only person not wearing a mask to guard against the coronavirus when she entered the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center to vote, presumably for her husband.
Mrs. Trump's spokesperson, Stephanie Grisham, says the first lady was the only person in the polling site, with the exception of a couple of poll workers and her own staffers, all of whom were tested.
Grisham says no one was near the first lady “because of social distancing and the privacy” people receive when they vote.
Nov. 3, 9:40 a.m. — Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has returned to his roots on his final day of campaigning with a visit to his childhood home in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Biden arrived at the small, white two-story house to a hero’s welcome of more than 100 people cheering across the street. Biden greeted the crowd and said, “It’s good to be home!”
Biden lived in the home until he was 10 years old. On Tuesday, he walked up the front steps and chatted with the current owners before going in with his granddaughters. When Biden came out, he said the current residents had him sign their wall.
Biden then walked across the street to greet the crush of supporters, who cheered his name and applauded.
Pennsylvania is key to Biden’s White House hopes. He plans to visit Philadelphia later.
Nov. 3, 9 a.m. — Federal authorities are monitoring voting and any threats to the election across the country at an operations center just outside Washington, D.C., run by the cyber-security component of the Department of Homeland Security. Officials there said there were no major problems detected early Tuesday but urged the public to be wary and patient.
U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director Christopher Krebs said from the center there was "some early indication of system disruption,” but he did not elaborate. He says he has "confidence that the vote is secure, the count is secure and the results will be secure.”
Nov. 3, 8:20 a.m. — Joe Biden is spending Election Day campaigning in his hometown of Scranton and in Philadelphia. He will meet with voters in each city.
While boarding his flight on Tuesday morning, Biden tossed a thumbs up to the traveling press and said he was feeling “good.”
Nov. 3, 7:00 a.m. — President Trump kicked off Election Day by calling into FOX News for a live interview over the phone. The president said he'll declare victory, "only when there's a victory" and said he doesn't "want to play games." He predicted that he'll get more than the 306 electoral votes he won in 2016.
Trump said he plans to spend the day making a "big series of calls" to thank some people and then will pay a visit to Republican party offices in Virginia to thank staffers.
Nov. 3, 6:30 a.m. — Joe Biden began his morning by going to St. Joseph’s on the Brandywine in Wilmington, Delaware, with two of his grandchildren in tow.
After a brief church visit, the four walked to his late son Beau Biden’s grave, in the church cemetery. Beau, a former Delaware attorney general, died of brain cancer in 2015 and had encouraged the former vice president to make another White House run.
Biden next heads to Philadelphia and his native Scranton as part of a closing get-out-the-vote effort before awaiting election results in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
While boarding his flight on Tuesday morning, Biden tossed a thumbs up to the traveling press and said he was feeling “good.”
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Texans will begin heading to the polls for Election Day voting on Tuesday, November 3, following record numbers of early voters who finished their ballots last Friday.
In Jefferson County you can can vote at ANY polling location in the county.
What do I need to bring with me to vote?
You will be required to present one of seven acceptable forms of identification:
- Texas driver license issued by Texas DPS
- Texas election identification certificate issued by DPS
- Texas personal identification card issued by DPS
- Texas handgun license issued by DPS
- United States military identification card containing the person's photograph
- United States citizenship certificate containing the person's photograph
- United States passport
According to the Secretary of State's office: "If a voter does not possess an acceptable form of photo identification and cannot reasonably obtain one, the voter may present a supporting form of identification and execute a Reasonable Impediment Declaration, noting the voter’s reasonable impediment to obtaining an acceptable form of photo identification, stating that the information contained in the declaration is true, that the voter is the same individual personally appearing at the polling place to sign the declaration, and that the voter faces a reasonable impediment to procuring an acceptable form of photo identification."