Notable Quote of the Day

“Should any [election law] cases make their way to the Supreme Court, it’s not clear how the justices would rule — especially without knowing the precise nature of the dispute. In the few disputes related to voting and Covid-19 that the court has ruled on to date, it has delivered a mixed bag of outcomes.  

In one illustration of the court’s unpredictability, last month it rejected an effort by Republicans opposing eased vote-by-mail rules in Rhode Island that were supported by state officials. The month before, it blocked a court ruling that would have imposed similar eased rules in Alabama.

In both cases, and in several other similar ones, the court has shown more of a reluctance to second-guess state officials than support for any particular voting rules.”

– Tucker Higgins, CNBC​​​​​

Election Updates

• More than 2 million absentee ballots have been requested in Michigan, beating the previous all-time record eight weeks before the general election. Ohio also received 1 million requests, hitting that benchmark a month faster than it had in 2016.  

• Joe Biden and Donald Trump are both traveling to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to commemorate September 11 at the Flight 93 National Memorial on Friday. Their appearances will take place at separate times.

• Biden is also attending a ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City in the morning. He also temporarily pulled his television ads for the day, which has become a precedent for presidential campaigns since 2004.

• CNN announced it is hosting a town hall in Scranton, Pennsylvania with Biden on September 17.  

• Trump is still expected to campaign in Nevada over the weekend. He originally planned to hold rallies at airport hangars in Reno and Las Vegas, but the events were canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions.

• An appellate court judge in Pennsylvania ruled that Howie Hawkins could appear on the ballot after Democrats challenged his paperwork. Hawkins’ running mate, Angela Nicole Walker, will not appear on the ballot.

• The Ohio Supreme Court upheld a decision to bar Kanye West from the ballot because of issues with his nominating petition.

Flashback: September 11, 2016

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both visited Ground Zero in New York City to commemorate September 11.