Harris sits for NBC interview, Trump in NC

• A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Vice President Harris with a slight national lead over former President Donald Trump.
• Trump is campaigning Tuesday in swing state North Carolina.
• Harris was scheduled to tape interviews with NBC News and Telemundo.

Two weeks until Election Day.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are neck-and-neck in the race for the White House. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday shows Harris with a slim national lead over Trump in an incredibly close election race, while a top Harris advisor says each of the seven battleground states could be decided by a single percentage point.

An exclusive USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll released Monday  puts Harris at 45%, Trump at 44%, a closer race than the poll found in August.

Keep up with the USA TODAY Network’s live coverage of the 2024 election.

Republicans lose bid to revive Georgia ballot hand-count rule ahead of Nov. 5 election

The Georgia Supreme Court rejected an emergency appeal from Republicans to get seven rules, including a requirement for thousands of poll workers to hand count ballots, reinstated in the final weeks before the election.

Sign-up for Your Vote: Text with the USA TODAY elections team.

The decision likely means none of the rules will be in place on Nov. 5 – Election Day.

The ballot hand-count rule was one of seven new rules struck down by trial Judge Thomas A. Cox Jr., who said in an Oct. 16 decision that the Georgia State Election Board lacked authority to pass the rules. The hand-count rule in particular has garnered widespread criticism from election workers and officials, who have warned it could undermine public confidence in the election and set fatigued workers up to miss the state’s Nov. 12 county certification deadline.

Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon called the state high court’s decision “supremely disappointing” in a statement posted on X. “We will press our appeal next year and hope for sanity to prevail.”

– Aysha Bagchi

Obama: Trump’s mismanagement of COVID cost lives

Former President Barack Obama suggested Tuesday that thousands of Americans who died of COVID might still be alive if Donald Trump hadn’t badly mismanaged the deadly pandemic.

Speaking at a campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris in Detroit, Obama said that when he left office in 2017, he handed Trump, his successor, a playbook for how to deal with a pandemic. Trump trashed it, he said.

COVID, which has killed 1.2 million Americans, would have been a crisis regardless of who was president, Obama said. But Canada’s per capita death rate from the virus was 60% lower than the United States’, he said, suggesting that more than 600,000 American deaths could have been prevented.

“That’s people’s grandparents, people’s parents, co-workers, friends,” he said. “Some of those folks might be alive if we had a competent president who actually was paying attention and doing their homework and actually trying to make things better as opposed to telling people go ahead and inject bleach.”

At his own rally Tuesday night in Greensboro, North Carolina, Trump lashed out at Obama, calling him “a real jerk” and a “divider.”

Harris reaffirms support for Biden

Harris continued her defense of Biden in an interview with NBC Tuesday, saying she would not take back her support of the president’s acuity in the wake of his campaign-ending debate performance in June. 

“It was a bad debate. People have bad debates,” Harris told NBC’s Hallie Jackson. 

In his debate with Trump over the summer, Biden struggled with a hoarse voice, at times stumbling over words and appearing to lose his train of thought. The performance fueled widespread backlash, including from Democratic allies, and ultimately led to Biden’s exit from the race. 

Harris, who defended Biden at the time, then became the Democratic presidential nominee. 

Saying she has worked “hours and hours and hours” with Biden as vice president, Harris maintained that the president is “accomplished, experienced and capable in every way.” 

“I speak with not only sincerity but with a real firsthand account of watching him do this work,” she said Tuesday. “I have no reluctance in saying that.” 

– Savannah Kuchar

Sexism not to blame for 2024 election gender gap, Harris says

Kamala Harris rejected the idea that sexism could be a negative factor for her campaign, in an interview with NBC News on Tuesday.

“I will never assume that anyone in our country should elect a leader based on their gender or their race,” the vice president added. “Instead that that leader needs to earn the vote based on substance.” 

Former President Barack Obama during a stop at a Pittsburgh campaign office this month suggested misogyny was to blame for Harris’ slipping support among men, specifically Black men. In a USA TODAY/Suffolk University survey released Monday, Harris held a 17-point lead among women, while Trump had an inverse advantage with men by 16 percentage points. 

Harris told NBC she believes Americans are “absolutely” ready for a woman and a woman of color to be president. But from the campaign trail, she has said little about potentially being this historic first. 

“Well, I’m a clearly a woman,” Harris said Tuesday, laughing. “I don’t need to point that out to anyone.” 

− Savannah Kuchar

Harris ready for Trump to declare victory before all votes are counted

Kamala Harris said her campaign is preparing for the possibility that Donald Trump will declare victory before all votes are counted and a winner is projected.

“We’ve got two weeks to go, and I’m very much grounded in the present in terms of the task at hand,” Harris said Tuesday in an interview with Hallie Jackson of NBC News. “We will deal with election night and the days after, as they come, and we have the resources and the expertise and the focus on that as well.”

Trump refused to concede the 2020 election, which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, and filed multiple unsuccessful lawsuits to overturn the results. He still claims falsely that the election was stolen.

“This is a person, Donald Trump, who tried to undo a free and fair election, who still denies the will of the people, who incited a violent mob to attack the United States Capitol and 140 law enforcement officers were attacked. Some were killed,” Harris said. “This is a serious matter. The American people are, at this point, two weeks out, being presented with a very, very serious decision about what will be the future of our country.”

–Michael Collins

Harris says she does not believe in ‘concessions’ on abortion 

Harris suggested that she would not compromise on protecting abortion rights, in an interview with NBC News Tuesday evening. 

“I don’t think we should be making concessions when we’re talking about a fundamental freedom to make decisions about your own body,” Harris told NBC’s Hallie Jackson. 

When pressed whether she would offer more moderate Republicans, such as Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, an “olive branch” on the issue, Harris said she was “not going to engage in hypotheticals.” 

Reproductive rights have been central to Harris’ campaign, as abortion is likely to be top of mind for many voters in the first presidential election since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The vice president will be in Texas Friday, in a state with some of the country’s most restrictive abortion laws, talking about the “consequences of these bans on women’s lives,” according to her campaign. 

− Savannah Kuchar 

Tulsi Gabbard joins Republican party

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, said she is joining the Republican party, making the announcement during a Trump rally in North Carolina Tuesday evening. 

“It is because of my love for our country and specifically because of the leadership that President Trump has brought to transform the Republican party and bring it back to the party of the people and the party of peace,” Gabbard said on stage alongside Trump. 

Gabbard served in Congress from 2013 to 2021 as a member of the Democratic party and ran in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. In 2022, she announced she would be leaving the party but did not mention at the time plans to join another. 

Gabbard endorsed Trump’s 2024 bid for the White House and is a part of the former president’s transition team.

– Savannah Kuchar

Ex-chief of staff: Trump fits the definition of ‘fascist’

Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is speaking out on his ex-boss Trump – and it’s not very flattering.

In interviews with The New York Times, Kelly said the former president exhibits the tendencies of a fascist, including his threat to possibly use the military against domestic political opponents.

“Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It’s a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy,” Kelly said.

He added: “So certainly, in my experience, those are the kinds of things that he thinks would work better in terms of running America.”

And “So he certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure.”

Over the years, Kelly said that Trump has denigrated wounded warriors and dead soldiers as “losers” and “suckers,” mostly according to reports that relied on anonymous sources.

Going on the record with The New York Times, Kelly said: “In many cases, I would agree with some of his policies … But again, it’s a very dangerous thing to have the wrong person elected to high office.”

Trump has denied Kelly’s criticisms.

“John Kelly, by far the dumbest of my Military people, just picked up the theme of the Radical Left’s lying about Gold Star Families and Soldiers, in his hatred of me,” Trump said in a Truth Social post last month. “He was incapable of doing a good job, it was too much for him, and I couldn’t stand the guy, so I fired him like a ‘dog.'”

– David Jackson

Obama hits ‘older, loonier Donald Trump’

Former President Barack Obama questioned Donald Trump at a Harris campaign rally Tuesday in Madison, Wisconsin, warning that the country can’t afford an “older, loonier Donald Trump.”

“There are questions about his competence. I mean, he’s out there giving two-hour speeches. It’s like Fidel Castro — just keeps on talking. It’s just word salads,” Obama said. The former president, who has been hitting the campaign trail for Harris ahead of Election Day Nov. 5, said he voted early by mail Monday from his hometown of Chicago.

Obama, joined at the rally by Harris’ running mate Tim Walz, mocked Trump for a campaign town hall last week that turned into a music concert, of sorts, as Trump stood on the stage for 39 minutes while some of his favorite songs played over the venue’s sound system.

“He decided, no I’m not going to answer questions anymore. Let’s just play music for half an hour,” Obama said. “So, he’s standing there, and he’s swaying to ‘Ave Maria,’ and ‘YMCA.’”

He added: “Can you imagine if Tim did that, or Kamala did that, or I did that? Now our playlist would be better. But you would say to yourself, this is odd behavior. He calls himself the ‘father of IVF.’ I have no idea what that means. You don’t either.”

−Joey Garrison 

Eminem introduces Obama at Harris rally in Detroit

Rapper and Detroit native Eminem took the stage Tuesday to briefly address the Michigan crowd and introduce former President Barack Obama. 

Eminem, who has not formally endorsed a presidential candidate in previous elections, said he wants people to feel free to express opinions without being “worried about retribution.” 

“I think Vice President Harris supports a future for this country where these freedoms and many others will be protected and upheld,” Eminem said, before turning over the stage to Obama. 

– Savannah Kuchar 

Biden mocks Trump’s ‘concept’ of a plan to replace Obamacare

President Joe Biden poked fun at Donald Trump on Tuesday for claiming he has “concepts” of a plan to replace Obamacare.

Biden, speaking in Concord, New Hampshire, touted his administration’s work to lower the cost of prescriptions drugs, such as insulin. At one point, he noted sarcastically that “my predecessor, the distinguished former president” has threatened to repeal the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, a landmark health care law in effect for nearly 15 years. Trump doesn’t actually have a plan to replace the law, Biden said, he has just a “concept of a plan.”

“He has no concept of anything,” Biden said. “No plan.”

Biden’s dig is rooted in comments Trump made during a debate with Kamala Harris in September. Trump said he has “concepts” of a plan to replace the health care law but offered no details.

–Michael Collins

Vance makes joke about Harris ‘trying to steal’ election at rally

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, appeared in Arizona Tuesday, addressing a crowd of supporters from behind a wooden lectern with a “Trump Vance” campaign sign taped to the front. 

While making his pitch encouraging residents to get out and vote, the tape seemingly gave way and the sign fell off. And Vance quickly pointed fingers. 

“Kamala Harris put that sign up, ladies and gentlemen,” Vance joked. “She’s already trying to steal the 2024 election.” The Ohio senator quickly resumed giving the end of his speech. 

Donald Trump for years has made false claims of fraud about the 2020 election, and the former president and his running mate have often refused to say Trump lost the election to President Joe Biden.

– Savannah Kuchar 

Tim Walz accuses Elon Musk of helping Donald Trump ‘buy an election’

Walz accused Trump of lacking “the stamina” to serve a second presidency, continuing the Harris campaign’s line of attack questioning Trump’s fitness for the job.

“It takes stamina to run for president. It takes stamina to be president. Donald Trump does not have stamina,” Walz say at the campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin.

Walz also took a jab at billionaire businessman Elon Musk, who Walz referred to as Trump’s “running-mate.”

“Elon is on that stage, jumping around,,” Walz said. “That guy is literally the richest man in the world spending millions of dollars to help Donald Trump buy an election.”

Musk promised on Saturday to give away $1 million each day until November’s election to someone who signs his online petition, with the first prize awarded at a PAC event supporting Republican Donald Trump.

– Joey Garrison, Reuters

Walz mocks Trump’s McDonald’s appearance: ‘Ronald wears less make-up’

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz mocked Donald Trump’s appearance at the drive-thru line of a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania earlier this week, calling it a “cruel” stunt to Americans whose livelihoods depend on working at the fast-food chain.

“He went to a McDonalds and dressed up as a drive-thru worker. They found him an apron his size and put it on him,” Walz said at campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin, where he was joined by former President Barack Obama.

“Look, there’s something not just nuts, but cruel about feeling better using people’s livelihood as a political prop,” he said. “His agenda lets big corporations not pay people overtime and diminishes those very works who he was cosplaying at.”

Walz then quipped: “Being at McDonalds, he looked much more like Ronald McDonald than the clown that he actually is,” Walz said. “And Ronald wears less makeup.”

“Kamala actually worked at McDonald’s and did that job,” Walz added. Trump without evidence has accused Harris of lying about working part-time at a McDonald to help pay for expenses during college. The fast food giant has not responded to inquiries about Trump’s accusations.

– Joey Garrison 

Donald Trump cancels virtual event with RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard

Trump may have mocked Harris for staying off the campaign trail Tuesday, but he canceled an event of his own as well.

The Republican candidate was set to do a “virtual town hall” on health issues with two prominent endorsers, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, but the campaign canceled the event because of scheduling changes.

Trump and Harris have repeatedly traded jabs in recent weeks about calling off events. Trump – who noted this morning that Harris is off the trail today, although she is sitting for a pair of television interviews – has said that he has as much energy these days as he has ever had.

Trump hosted an Hispanic roundtable this morning in Doral, Fla., and holds a rally tonight in Greensboro, North Carolina.

– David Jackson  

Judge orders seizure of Rudy Giuliani’s property, but not World Series rings

Rudy Giuliani – or at least his son Andrew – gets to keep his three World Series rings. For now.

U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman ordered Giuliani on Tuesday to surrender his property to settle a $145 million civil judgment for defaming two Georgia election workers after the 2020 election by saying they stuffed ballot boxes.

The belongings at stake include a luxury New York apartment on Madison Avenue and a $2 million claim for legal fees against Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee.

Liman ruled that seizing the property would make it easier for election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss to sell them. Giuliani had asked to delay trying to collect the legal fees from Trump until Nov. 6 to avoid influencing the election with “inaccurate” claims sparking a “media frenzy,” a proposal Liman rejected.

The judge said the ownership of the former New York mayor’s World Series rings will be determined separately, after his son Andrew Giuliani claimed he was given the rings in 2018.

– Bart Jansen

Donald Trump to appear on Joe Rogan podcast

Donald Trump is set to appear on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” one of the most popular podcasts in America. Trump will sit Friday for the interview, which comes after the former president has appeared on other podcasts such as Theo Von’s “This Past Weekend.”

Kamala Harris has also made her fair share of podcast appearances, including an interview on “Call Her Daddy” that focused on abortion access and other reproductive rights debates.

– David Jackson and Marina Pitofsky

When will the election results be announced?

It is not clear exactly when the election results will be announced, as the timing depends on a variety of factors. Each state handles its elections differently, ranging from weeks-long early voting to strict voter ID laws.

But you can anticipate delays.

Some key swing states that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are vying for, like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, aren’t permitted to start processing absentee and mail-in ballots until Election Day, which is expected to slow down the count.

– Sudiksha Kochi and Sam Woodward

The power of third-party candidates:Here’s how they could play a pivotal role on Election Day

Eminem to introduce Obama at Detroit rally 

Slim Shady is hitting the campaign trail. 

Eminem is set to introduce former President Barack Obama during a rally in Detroit on Tuesday, according to multiple reports. The rapper, who grew up in Detroit, has long criticized Donald Trump, even releasing a freestyle rap mocking the former president in 2017. 

A slate of musicians have backed Harris’ White House bid, from Billie Eilish and Taylor Swift to Bruce Springsteen. Beyoncé gave Harris her blessing to use her song, “Freedom” as an unofficial campaign anthem. 

– Marina Pitofsky 

Trump chats up Hispanic supporters – and bashes Harris  

Donald Trump used a roundtable event focused on Hispanic voters Tuesday to praise an important voting bloc and remind people that he is on the campaign trail today – unlike Harris.

“Who the hell takes off when you have 14 days left?” Trump said during the event in Doral, Fla.

Harris does have two media interviews on Tuesday, with NBC and Telemundo, as well as her vice presidential duties. “She will receive briefings and conduct internal meetings with staff,” her schedule says.

Meanwhile, the Doral event featured Hispanic supporters who praised Trump – and vice-versa.

“It’s an incredible community,” Trump said.

– David Jackson

Is Election Day a federal holiday? 

Election Day is not a federal holiday. 

But some states do observe Election Day as a holiday. State offices will be closed on Nov 5. in Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia. 

Twenty-four states, plus the District of Columbia, offer paid time off to vote. Some states offer time off for voting but with no pay, including Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts and Wisconsin. 

– Olivia Munson 

Trump campaign selling t-shirts off McDonald’s visit

After creating a viral moment on Sunday by sporting an apron and working as a fry cooker at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, the former president’s campaign is now selling “MAGADonald’s” t-shirts.

“I have a McGift for you!” the campaign’s online gift shop says above a t-shirt featuring a photo of Trump leaning out a drive-thru window.

The visit was called a stunt by some critics, but it was part of a larger effort by the Trump campaign to undermine Vice President Kamala Harris and her appeals to working-class and middle-class voters, specifically how she emphasized working at the $225 billion fast food chain in college.

— Phillip Bailey

Springsteen, Obama to headline concerts for Harris in Atlanta, Philly

With two weeks left until Election Day on Nov. 5, Kamala Harris is getting a boost from “The Boss.”

Music icon Bruce Springsteen will headline a series of concerts for Harris during the homestretch of the campaign, beginning with concerts Thursday in Atlanta and Monday in Philadelphia, the Harris campaign confirmed. 

Springsteen, a longtime Democratic activist, will be joined by former President Barack Obama at both shows, with Harris scheduled to attend the Atlanta concert.

The Harris campaign is billing the concert series, dubbed “When we vote, we win,” as part of its get-out-the-vote strategy amid the early-voting period before the Nov. 5 election. Additional concerts are set to be announced in the coming days.

– Joey Garrison

Top Harris adviser says every battleground could come down to 1 point or less

Top Harris campaign adviser David Plouffe said the seven battlegrounds that will decide the election could each be decided by less than 1 percentage point and suggested Trump is likely to top his past performances in the popular vote.

“Historically, it would be unusual to have seven states come down to a point or less,” Plouffe said on CNN. “But I think at this point, you have to assume that’s a distinct possibility.”

Harris and Trump are running neck and neck in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada. President Joe Biden won each except North Carolina in 2020.

Trump finished with 46.1% in the popular vote in the 2016 election he won over Hillary Clinton. He received 46.8% of the national vote in his Electoral College loss against Biden in 2020.

Plouffe, who was Barack Obama’s campaign manager in 2008, acknowledged Trump could reach a higher bar nationally this year.

“Democrats wish Donald Trump wouldn’t get more than 46% of the vote,” Plouffe told CNN, adding that in the battleground states, “that’s not reality. He’s going to get up to 48% in all of these states. And so we just have to make sure we’re hitting our win number, which depending on the state, could be 50, could be 49.5.”

− Joey Garrison

Harris will talk abortion rights in Texas on Friday

Vice President Harris will travel on Friday to Texas, home to some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country, to talk about the “consequences of these bans on women’s lives,” according to her campaign.

Harris will appear with Rep. Colin Allred, who’s challenging Republican Sen. Ted Cruz.

One of Harris’ top surrogates on reproductive freedom has been Texas resident Amanda Zurawski, who almost died of sepsis after being denied an abortion and who led a lawsuit against Texas’ abortion bans.

−Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

More:Harris leads Trump 2-1 among the earliest voters, many driven by abortion access

Republican former officials call for probe of Elon Musk’s $1 million petition prizes

Former Republican lawmakers, Justice Department officials and advisors have asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate whether it’s illegal for billionaire Elon Musk to be handing out $1 million cash prizes to swing state voters if they sign his political organization’s petition.

The letter, sent Monday to Garland, argues that the prizes established by Musk as part of his effort to help elect former President Donald Trump, violate laws make it illegal to pay people for registering to vote.

“We are aware of nothing like this in modern political history,” says the letter, which was signed by 11 former Republican officials.

− Josh Meyer

More:Former GOP officials ask DOJ to probe Elon Musk $1 million giveaways to pro-Trump voters

What are Kamala Harris’ religious views?

Harris identifies as a Baptist − a major Protestant Christian denomination. She told the Associated Press in 2020 that she attends services at the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco.

But her religious background is quite mixed. Her father is a Christian while her mother was a Hindu. Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish.

− Sudiksha Kochi

More:Voters Guide 2024: Where Harris and Trump stand on key issues

Harris targets Latino men with small biz boot camps and a pledge to hire more police

Vice President Kamala Harris released a new slate of proposals on Tuesday aimed at helping Latino men get ahead economically.

Harris said she’d push for legislation allowing construction workers and apprentices to write off tools and other equipment on their taxes, which her campaign estimates would affect 2 million people.

The vice president said he would fund “high-quality bilingual education and English language acquisition programs” and increase the number of college and career counselors in lower income schools, while funding small business boot camps for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Buried in the plan are promises to “end the shortage of police officers” by hiring 100,000 more nationwide.

– Francesca Chambers

Election Day is Nov. 5. Sign up for USA TODAY’s On Politics newsletter for breaking news and exclusive analysis.

The campaign is stressful – but no gummies for Harris

Presidential elections are stressful, but Vice President Kamala Harris says she’s not using one potential wellness technique to temper anxiety during her presidential campaign: marijuana edibles.

The topic arose at a town hall-style exchange between Harris and journalist Maria Shriver on Monday in Royal Oak, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit.

“Everybody I talk to says you know, ‘I have to turn off the news − I can’t read anything, I’m meditating, I’m doing yoga. I’m so anxious… I’m eating gummies.’ All kinds of things. What are you doing?” Shriver asked, appearing to refer to cannabis gummies.

Laughing, Harris replied: “Not eating gummies.”

− Karissa Waddick and Darren Samuelsohn

More:Kamala Harris talks election stress: I’m ‘not eating gummies’

Vulgarities and football: Trump claims the dude vote

Donald Trump, who is leading in the polls with male voters, over the weekend referenced a golfing legend’s manhood, peppered his speeches with curse words and attended an NFL game to ensure he holds onto that key constituency.

It’s a strategy that involves doubling down on exciting the Republican presidential nominee’s most ardent supporters and emphasizing turnout among low propensity male voters with a hyper-masculine style, one his critics call a corrosive version of masculinity.

Meanwhile, he is barely nodding at − and may be alienating − the suburban women swing voters once considered key campaign targets.

− Zac Anderson

More:Crude talk and the NFL: Trump doubles down on his lead with male voters

How many days until Election Day?

There are 14 more days until Election Day, which is Nov. 5.

Many states have already started in-person early voting or in-person absentee early voting. Numerous national and state polls show that the 2024 race is very tight with both candidates essentially neck and neck. 

The Harris and Trump campaign have been pushing out more events and interviews in the final two-week stretch. 

− Sudiksha Kochi

Trump’s ‘mass deportation’ promise

If he returns to the White House, Donald Trump has vowed to launch a “mass deportation” of at least 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization.

He made a similar promise during his first administration. It didn’t pan out after he hit logistical and legal obstacles. Next time, experts say, things may be different.

A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll found 45% of respondents support Trump’s mass deportation proposal and 49% oppose it, with 4% undecided. The poll of 1,000 likely voters, taken by landline and cellphone Oct. 14 to 18, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

A second, more experienced Trump administration will know “how to effectively use an enormous bureaucracy to their advantage,” said César García Hernández, an Ohio State University law professor and author of “Migrating to Prison: America’s Obsession with Locking Up Immigrants.”

− Lauren Villagran, Bart Jansen and Aysha Bagchi

More:Donald Trump has promised a ‘mass deportation.’ It would cost billions.

Where do Kamala Harris and Donald Trump stand in the polls?

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are neck-and-neck in presidential race polling. In Real Clear Politics’ average of 2024 surveys, Harris leads Trump by just 0.9 percentage points.

It’s even closer in some of the crucial swing states, such as Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania. For example, Trump leads Harris by 0.2 percentage points in the polling average of Wisconsin surveys.

– Marina Pitofsky

There’s a lot of misinformation out there. Our Checking the Facts newsletter delivers you transparent, researched analysis of the latest news every weekday.

When can you vote for president?

There are several ways you can vote in the general election. Depending on where you live, you can vote early either by mail or in person. You can also wait to go to a polling location on Nov. 5, which is Election Day, to cast your ballot. 

USA TODAY has a breakdown of when early voting has started or will begin in the states. The first state in the country to begin voting was Alabama, which sent around absentee ballots on Sept. 11. Alabama does not have an option for in-person early voting.

Seven states are expected to open up options for in-person early voting or in-person absentee early voting on Monday, including Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, South Carolina and Texas.

– Sudiksha Kochi and Fernando Cervantes Jr.