Fla. moves closer to record for voter turnout
More than 41% of eligible voters have already cast ballots in Florida, which might come close to matching its record for highest rate of turnout in a presidential election. The state said Monday that more than 6 million early ballots have been cast, the third largest total in the nation behind Texas and California. Florida has 14.4 million registered voters. The state’s modern record for turnout was set in 1992 at 83%.
According to the state, as of Monday morning registered Democrats outpaced registered Republicans in voting by mail, 1.79 million to 1.18 million, while Republicans held the edge in in-person early voting, 1.02 million to 767,000.
Ocasio-Cortez calls long lines unacceptable, ‘suppression’
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., on Monday criticized long wait times at early voting sites in New York, while New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called for more voting machines. Some voters reported waiting in line for hours since early voting kicked off Saturday. Ocasio-Cortez said she was “thrilled” to see so many voters, but “there is no place in the United States of America where two-, three-, fourhour waits to vote is acceptable. ... Just because it’s happening in a blue state doesn’t mean that it’s not voter suppression.”
Pompeo faces Hatch Act probe
A government ethics office is investigating Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for possible violations of the Hatch Act barring Executive Branch employees from engaging in partisan political activities, according to two House Democrats.
The probe centers on Pompeo’s decision to deliver remarks to the Republican National Convention. The State Department’s press office did not immediately respond to questions.
Pelosi wants another term as House speaker
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says that she will run for another term as speaker should Democrats keep control of the chamber. When asked whether she would seek reelection in 2021, Pelosi told CNN “State of the Union” host Jake Tapper, “Yes, I am. But let me also say, we have to win the Senate.” The statement is in line with an agreement Pelosi made when she was elected to the office, which limits her speakership to four years.
FBI investigates ballot drop box fire in Massachusetts
A fire was set Sunday in a Boston ballot drop box holding more than 120 ballots in what Massachusetts election officials said appears to have been a “deliberate attack,” now under investigation by the FBI. The fire that was set around 4 a.m. outside the Boston Public Library downtown. Eighty-seven ballots were still legible and able to be processed, officials said.
N.H. can’t ban armed voters from polling places
As opposed to Michigan, a fellow open-carry state that has moved to ban voters from bringing firearms into polling sites, New Hampshire won’t attempt to keep armed voters away.
The Attorney General’s office said it does not have that authority but will be on the lookout for voter intimidation in the upcoming election.
“We are not able to use any of our New Hampshire election laws to prohibit a voter from entering to vote if they have a firearm, and that includes if the polling place is a school,” said Assistant Attorney General Nicholas Chong Yen, according to NHPR.org.
The website said some New Hampshire poll workers and voters have expressed concern about the presence of armed individuals at polling places.