US ELECTIONS

It was another weekend of President Donald Trump supporters protesting against the election results. "We don’t feel that the election is fair.”Although a slightly smaller crowd in Downtown Detroit, Biden supporters had a different message. Luiz, with the group ‘Trump/Pence Out Now,’ said Trump claiming election fraud is causing more harm than good. Recently, several lawsuits claiming election fraud on behalf of Donald Trump were thrown out in several states, including Michigan. Biden supporters said it’s time to move on.

Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result. There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised. In Michigan, Trump and his team have filed a lawsuit in an effort to halt the state’s certification of its election results. The Trump campaign is suing Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson along with the Wayne County and the Michigan Board of Canvassers, which are in charge of reviewing elections. More: Hundreds provide testimonies -- but no real evidence -- in Trump campaign lawsuit to stop certification of Michigan election results

Americans around the country are coming together in celebration Saturday after Joe Biden was declared the projected president-elect earlier that day. As of Saturday morning, The Associated Press is projecting that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has won the 2020 presidential election after wining the state of Pennsylvania. Biden, resting at 264 electoral votes early Friday morning, was projected to win the state of Pennsylvania as of 11:25 a.m., according to The AP. With its 20 electoral votes up for grabs, Pennsylvania placed Biden at 284 electoral votes -- enough to call the race nearly four days after Election Day. The AP also projected that Biden won the state of Nevada on Saturday, bringing his electoral vote total to 290.

A number of states have completed ballot counting -- including Michigan -- but some counting is still taking place in some key states, such as Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada. As of Friday, Nov. 6, Biden only needs one more state -- at least six electoral votes -- to get to 270 and be projected the winner. According to the AP’s projections, Biden has collected 264 electoral votes as of early Friday morning. Trump, meanwhile, has 214 electoral votes and needs to win Pennsylvania to stay in the race. There are four other states up for grabs: Alaska (3 electoral votes), Georgia (10), North Carolina (15) and Nevada (6).

Voting in the 2020 U.S. presidential election is already underway in Michigan with early in-person voting and absentee voting. All Michigan voters are eligible to vote using an absent voter ballot. You can apply to receive an absent voter ballot on the state’s website right here. Michigan voters registered to vote at their current address can request an absentee ballot in person at their local clerk’s office anytime up to 4 p.m. on the day before Election Day -- which is November 2. Once completed, your absentee ballot must be returned to your local clerk’s office no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day, November 3.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced Wednesday that both Iran and Russia have made attempts to interfere with the current presidential election, for which voting is already underway. Officials announced during a news briefing Wednesday evening that Russia and Iran have obtained U.S. voting registration information. The obtained voter registration information is considered easily accessible. The voter-intimidation operation apparently used email addresses obtained from state voter registration lists, which include party affiliation and home addresses and can include email addresses and phone numbers. Bennett said the home address included in the personalized email he received was not current so he figures the data on him was acquired from the 2018 primary election voter roll.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) held a news conference on Wednesday evening to discuss a “major election security” issue. Officials announced Wednesday that the FBI has identified that Iran and Russia have taken actions to disrupt the election process as voting is already underway across the U.S. for the presidential election. "They may seek to target those systems, or simply leave the impression that they have altered or manipulated those systems, in order to undermine their credibility and our confidence in them. “As we enter the last weeks before the election, we urge every American -- including members of the media -- to be cautious about believing or spreading unverified, sensational claims related to votes and voting,” the statement continues. “State and local election officials are in regular contact with federal law enforcement and cyber security professionals, and they are all working around the clock to ensure that Election 2020 is safe, secure, and free from outside interference.”Read more

Are Michigan polls still open for in-person voting during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic? All registered Michigan voters do also have the option to instead vote by mail using an absent voter ballot. Vote-by-mail option for Michigan votersThe state of Michigan mailed absentee voting applications to all registered Michigan voters in May for both this year’s August and November elections. Click here to learn more about voting by mail in Michigan for the 2020 General Election. Click here to view a sample of your Michigan ballot for the 2020 General Election.

MOSCOW – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday decried what he called Joe Biden’s “sharp anti-Russian rhetoric” but praised the Democratic presidential nominee’s comments on arms control. While Putin again denied meddling in the U.S. election, U.S. intelligence officials believe Russia is using a variety of measures to denigrate Biden and that individuals linked to the Kremlin are boosting Trump’s reelection bid. The U.S.-Russian talks on extending the pact have produced no visible progress, and Russian diplomats said that chances for making a deal with the Trump administration look slim. “This is a very serious element of our potential collaboration in the future,” Putin said, speaking on his 68th birthday. He added that Russia would be ready to work with any future U.S. president.

Likewise, Trump was intimately involved in the planning for his evening return to the White House, turning it into a made-for-TV moment that dominated evening newscasts. The president was still contagious, and the White House doctor, Navy Cmdr. And even once he’s no longer actively shedding the virus, Trump could still test positive for some time, putting his participation in next week’s debate in doubt despite his avowed plans to attend. The long-term effects of the virus on Trump’s health were not clear — White House doctors have not discussed them with the public. He appeared to be breathing heavily Monday evening after climbing stairs on his return to the White House.

When Benson announced the mass mailing, she was criticized by President Donald Trump, who wrongly stated that she was sending absentee ballots, not applications. The previous record for absent voter ballots cast in a Michigan election was 1.3 million in the 2016 Presidential Election. Already, about 2.3 million absentee ballots have been requested for the fall election, which Benson said puts Michigan on track to receive more than 3 million that are completed. Of the 7.7 million registered voters in Michigan, about 5 million are expected to participate in the upcoming election, officials said in August. About 10,000 absent voter ballots were rejected in Michigan’s Primary Election in August.

The state of Michigan mailed absentee voting applications to all registered Michigan voters in May for this years August and November elections. Filling out a Michigan absent voter ballot for the 2020 General ElectionOnce you receive your absent voter ballot in the mail, it simply needs to be filled out following the written instructions attached and returned before the deadline. Inside of your official Michigan absent voter ballot envelope is a brightly-colored secrecy sleeve containing your ballot. Returning your completed Michigan absent voter ballotCompleted absent voter ballots for the 2020 General Election must be received by your local clerks office by 8 p.m. on November 3. Packaging your absent voter ballot once its completedOnce youve filled out your Michigan absent voter ballot for the 2020 General Election, place it inside of the brightly-colored secrecy sleeve that it was initially presented in.

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)WASHINGTON Tears streamed down Brooke Morelands face as she watched tens of thousands gather on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to decry systemic racism and demand racial justice in the wake of several police killings of Black Americans. Im going to do all that I can to encourage, promote, to mobilize and whats at stake is the future of our nation, our planet. Im going to hold these elected officials that are in office now accountable and Im going to vote in November and hold those same people accountable. That was clear as the Movement for Black Lives also marked its own historic event Friday a virtual Black National Convention that featured several speakers discussing pressing issues such as climate change, economic empowerment and the need for electoral justice. I do think voting and recognizing what an election should be is a way to kind of exercise that muscle.