The Latest: Trump and Harris bring their campaigns to the battleground state of Wisconsin

01 Nov 2024, 07:03 by The Associated Press · The Seattle Times

In the waning days of the presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump zero in on the battleground state of Wisconsin.

Meanwhile, concerns over attempts at outside interference in Tuesday’s election sprang up in the state of Georgia. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said his state has been targeted with a video that’s “obviously fake” and likely the product of Russian trolls.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said it is investigating the video.

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the latest:

Trump makes his opposition to transgender rights a core theme

Trump has made his opposition to transgender rights a central theme in the closing days of the campaign.

The Republican nominee’s campaign and aligned political action committees have spent tens of millions of dollars on advertising that attacks Harris for previous statements supporting transgender rights.

Trump has vowed to target transgender people if elected. He has said he would ask Congress to pass a bill stating there are “only two genders” and to ban hormonal or surgical intervention for transgender minors in all 50 states.

Harris has been underscoring that she has supported federal policies that were in place when Trump was president. LGBTQ advocates argue that Trump’s rhetoric encourages hostility toward transgender people and fosters misunderstandings about who they are.

Final day for voters in populous Philly county to apply for early mail-in ballot

The final day for voters to apply for an early mail-in ballot in a populous suburban Philadelphia county is underway.

Voters in Bucks County, a bellwether whose residents Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris have courted in the presidential campaign’s final days, have until 5 p.m. Friday to apply for, receive and cast on the spot a mail-in ballot.

The court-ordered deadline is a three-day extension, stemming from a lawsuit brought by Trump’s campaign, the Republican National Committee and GOP Senate candidate David McCormick’s campaign this week.

They alleged that voters faced disenfranchisement when they were turned away when county government offices that process the applications closed.

Trump and Harris both visit Milwaukee area in swing-state Wisconsin

Harris and Trump will host dueling rallies on Friday in the Milwaukee area as part of a final push for votes in swing-state Wisconsin.

Milwaukee is home to the most Democratic votes in Wisconsin, but its conservative suburbs are where most Republicans live and are a critical area for Trump as he tries to reclaim the state he narrowly won in 2016 and lost in 2020.

Georgia election official says video purporting illegal voting is “likely” the work of Russian trolls

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said his state has been targeted with a video that’s “obviously fake” and likely the product of Russian trolls “attempting to sow discord and chaos on the eve of the election.”

The video, which began circulating on the social media platform X on Thursday afternoon, claims to show a Haitian immigrant with multiple Georgia IDs who says he is planning to vote multiple times in two counties.

“This is false and is an example of targeted disinformation we’ve seen this election,” Raffensperger said.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said it is investigating the video.

An Associated Press analysis of the information on two of the IDs confirms it does not match any registered voters in the counties.

The original video was no longer on X on Friday morning, but copycat versions were still being shared widely.

Trump criticizes former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney as a ‘war hawk’

Former President Donald Trump launched another attack on former Rep. Liz Cheney late Thursday, calling the Republican former Wyoming congresswoman a “war hawk.”

During an event in Glendale, Arizona, with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the Republican presidential candidate was asked if it is weird to see Cheney campaign against him.

Cheney held the No. 3 GOP leadership position in the House, but lost the job after she voted to to impeach Trump for the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. She has since campaigned for Harris.