Courts have shaped elections for years, and more than 156 lawsuits tracked by Bloomberg are already impacting the next one. But first, you should know:
- Donald Trump talked economic policy with Bloomberg, and we fact-checked the interview.
- Reparations for Black Americans need to be studied, Kamala Harris said.
- Political consultants are fighting the FCC’s plans to broadly restrict AI-generated robocalls and robotexts.
Lawsuits Already Shaping Presidential Election
An onslaught of court cases filed over the past two years questioned fundamental principles of who can vote, how ballots are cast, which votes count, and how the winner is decided.
Bloomberg identified at least 165 lawsuits filed since 2023 across 37 states that challenge every facet of the presidential contest. More than half of these cases were filed in the seven states where polls show the race is closest between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
Republicans and conservative advocates are more active than Democrats and their allies, filing 55% of cases. The Republican National Committee adopted an aggressive legal strategy, bringing lawsuits or trying to influence other cases. The Democratic National Committee is directly involved in less litigation, but its docket includes some of the highest-stakes fights in Georgia.
Three weeks out from the election, judges continue to hand down decisions. On Tuesday, a Georgia court ruled state officials have a “mandatory” duty to certify election results. And new cases are still being filed, more fuel for an expected firestorm of legal challenges after the November vote.
It’s an ominous turn for the world’s oldest democracy. Judges aren’t supposed to decide who wins the White House. And even when courts don’t play a major role in the outcome, lawsuits can amplify the belief that vote counts can’t be trusted — a perception fueled by conspiracy theories and controversies after Trump refused to concede in 2020.
- “Grafted onto every major election now is litigation,” said Matthew Haverstick, an attorney at Kleinbard LLC in Pennsylvania who has represented state Republicans. “One party or another is going to try to use the courts in advance of an election to set the table its way.” Read More
Also Read: Judge Blocks Georgia Rule to Hand Count 2024 Election Ballots
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Financial reparations for Black Americans need to be studied, Harris said, while touting her own economic agenda as one which would help build up intergenerational wealth in the community.
- The vice president’s comments came during a visit to the Detroit metropolitan area in swing-state Michigan focused on countering the Republican president’s inroads with Black voters — particularly men — that threatens to tip the balance in key battlegrounds with just three weeks until Election Day.
Economic Agenda: Harris used the question to pivot to her own economic agenda, touting measures she said would expand access to financial capital to Black entrepreneurs and steps to help make it easier to aid homebuyers. Read More
Meanwhile, Trump said abortion restrictions in some states are “too tough,” seeking to win over women skeptical about his approach to reproductive health care.
- “It’s going to be redone. They’re going to, you’re going to, you end up with a vote of the people,” Trump said at a Fox News-hosted town hall in Cumming, Ga. on Tuesday. “They’re too tough, too tough. And those are going to be redone because already there’s a movement in those states.”
The Republican nominee didn’t specify which states he was speaking about, but cited Ohio as an example of a GOP-led state that voted to expand abortion rights in a recent ballot measure.
Political Liability: Abortion access — and the federal government’s role in restricting the procedure — has become a major political liability for Trump, who has sought to distance himself from the issue. Read More
More Election Headlines:
- Elon Musk’s $75 Million Gift Cements Role as a Top Trump Donor
- Silicon Valley’s Andreessen, Horowitz Give Millions to Trump PAC
- Biden Says Harris Will ‘Cut Her Own Path’ If She Wins Election
- Adelson Spends $95 Million to Boost Trump in Michigan, Wisconsin
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Fact-Checking Trump’s Remarks on Economic Policy
Donald Trump sat down with Bloomberg Tuesday to outline his vision for using tariffs to influence corporate behavior, the role of the Federal Reserve, and how immigrants affect local economies. Here are Trump’s responses, fact-checked and contextualized:
Trump said new tariffs will “have a massive effect, a positive effect.” Trump said the tariffs his administration imposed on imports brought in “hundreds of billions of dollars just from China alone.”
- But China isn’t paying. Importers are responsible for the duties, and ultimately US businesses and consumers pay through higher costs.
Trump said there was no inflation when he was president.
- The annual rate was 2.5% when he took office, higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, and peaked at 2.9% in 2018 during his term. It was 1.4% when he left office. Trump also also pumped in $3.5 trillion for stimulus checks and other pandemic relief, the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates.
Trump accused Harris of allowing 13,000 murderers in the country after Immigration and Customs Enforcement released enforcement data about people under its supervision. They included 13,099 people who were found guilty of homicide and hundreds of thousands of convicted criminals.
- But those numbers span decades, including during Trump’s administration. Read More
House’s Legislative Counsel to Retire
E. Wade Ballou, Jr. will step down Nov. 3 as the House’s legislative counsel, after serving in the role since 2016, Zach C. Cohen reports. Ballou’s letter of resignation was read by the chamber’s reading clerk during a brief session on Tuesday.
Warren Burke, an attorney in the office, will replace him, Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) announced from the dais.
- The Office of Legislative Counsel is responsible for advising offices on drafting legislation. Burke has worked in the office he will lead since 2016.
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