US election: Over 60 million voters cast their ballots early

Georgia's Secretary of State has blamed "Russian troll farms" for a video circulating on social media which shows a Haitian immigrant who claims to have voted multiple times in the swing state.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's office described the post as "targeted disinformation," adding that it was probably "foreign interference attempting to sow discord and chaos."

The office said it was working with state and federal officials to trace the source of the disinformation.

"In the meantime, we ask Elon Musk and the leadership of other social media platforms to take this down," it said. "Likely it is a production of Russian troll farms."

The video circulated on X, formerly Twitter, claiming that "illegal Haitian immigrants" had voted multiple times in Georgia. 

Voting for noncitizens in the US federal elections is illegal. However, Donald Trump and his allies have argued that a sizable portion of noncitizens could vote.

US basketball star LeBron James of the LA Lakers on Thursday officially endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

Posting to the social media platform X, James, who has 53 million followers, wrote: "What are we even talking about here?? When I think about my kids and my family and how they will grow up, the choice is clear to me. VOTE KAMALA HARRIS!!!"

A video embedded in the post featured a montage of Trump statements encouraging violence — as well as clear references to his recent campaign event at New York's Madison Square Garden — playing over images of immigrants and historical footage of Blacks being beaten during the US civil rights movement as well as that of Blacks being harrassed and beaten at Trump campaign rallies.

The post is one that Harris will no doubt appreciate as she struggles to get men, young men and Black men to vote for her, with surrogates such as former President Barack Obama chiding Black men for not being willing to vote for a woman.

If Europeans were to elect the next US president on November 5, the result would be crystal clear.

In Western Europe, 69% would vote for Harris, in Eastern Europe 46% would.

Trump would only receive the support of 16% of voters in Western Europe and 36% in Eastern Europe, according to a survey by pollsters Novus and Gallup International undertaken in October.

Harris has the highest ratings in Denmark (85%) and Finland (82%) while Trump has the most fans in Europe in Serbia (59%) and Hungary (49%). Both of the latter countries are becoming increasingly autocratic.

But why does Europe prefer Harris? DW asked experts. 

US voters seem to have wholeheartedly embraced early voting, that is according to data compiled by the University of Florida's Election Lab. 

Michael McDonald, a political science professor running the project, said data compiled by his six labs in Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Michigan, North Carolina and Virginia tabulated that more than 62 million US citizens had already cast their votes in 2024 — nearly 40% of all votes in 2020.

Similar percentages have been reported in several swing states, including North Carolina and Georgia, where 45% of registered voters have already cast their ballots in what so far remains a dead heat in the race for the presidency.

Observers suggest strong voter sentiment and changes to early voting rules since 2020 have driven the trend.

"Voters are engaged on both sides of the aisle," said Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger Thursday on CNN. "What we just want to do is make sure we have a fair, honest, and accurate process, and that's what we do."

Speaking of early voters, Michael McDonald says, "Every one of these early voters is somebody that they [the parties] scratch off their lists, and every voter they scratch off their lists, they don't have to contact that person anymore." This allows them to further tailor the allocation of time and money down to the wire.

Observers are clear to note that early voting data, including gender turnout — roughly 55% of women have already voted compared to 45% of men, for instance — is only suggestive and very difficult to interpret. 

In Wisconsin on Thursday, Democrat Kamala Harris lambasted Donald Trump's latest statement that he "wants to protect the women of our country… whether the women like it or not," as "offensive to everybody," but "very offensive to women in terms of not understanding their agency."

Trump's words and Harris' response have again pushed women's reproductive rights back into the headlines in a race in which each candidate continues to fight for the slightest advantages. Reproductive health has been a winning issue for Democrats. 

Harris said Trump's callous remarks show he "does not prioritize the freedom of women and the intelligence of women to make their own decisions about their own lives and bodies."

With just a few days left to campaign, Trump will be in New Mexico and Nevada on Thursday before heading to Arizona for an interview with supporter Tucker Carlson, a former cable news personality. He will be in Virginia on Saturday. 

Harris, who will appear alongside Puerto Rican-American pop megastar Jennifer Lopez in Las Vegas on Thursday, is scheduled to be in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin before Tuesday. Both candidates are expected in North Carolina over the weekend as well.

Latinos make up around 15% of the eligible voters in the US and could play a key role in swing states. DW spoke with Latinos who said they didn't like being grouped as a voting demographic. Watch the report: 

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says he has wished Donald Trump luck in the upcoming US presidential election during a telephone conversation on Thursday.

"I wished him the best of luck for next Tuesday," Orban, who is among Trump's most vocal European supporters, wrote on social media platform X. "Only five days to go. Fingers crossed."

Trump and Orban share much political ground, most notably in their anti-immigration stance and opposition to the arming of Ukraine in its defense against Russia.

A long-time Trump supporter, Orban has previously quipped that he would "open several bottles of champagne" if the populist leader is returned to power.

A Philadelphia court has started hearing the case of the city's prosecutor seeking to shut down Elon Musk's $1 million-a-day sweepstakes in key battleground states.

The giveaways come from Musk's America PAC political organization, which seeks to bolster Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

Musk lawyers filed a motion late Wednesday seeking to move the case to federal court, saying it involved a federal election issue.

However, state judge Angelo Foglietta continued to hear the case at City Hall.

But Musk was not in the courtroom as the hearing got underway. He could face a fine if Foglietta holds him in contempt of court.

The sweepstakes are set to run through Election Day, open to registered voters in battleground states who sign a petition pledging support for free speech and gun rights.

Election law experts have raised questions about whether the draw violates a federal law that prevents an individual from paying others to vote, or to register to vote. 

 

US states bar an estimated total of 4.6 million people from voting because of prior convictions. Each state has its own law on who stays "locked out" of the process when their fellow citizens head to the polls.

In states such as California and Minnesota, only currently incarcerated people are not allowed to vote. People who have completed their sentences may return to the polls.

Virginia is the state with the strictest regulations. Anybody with a felony conviction is generally barred from voting. People who have completed their sentences and paid related fines can submit a request to the governor, currently Republican Glenn Youngkin, who decides on a case-by-case basis whose voting rights will be reinstated.

Read DW's analysis.

From sexism, to agism and racism, DW's factchecking team looks at what narratives and claims have been spread about Kamala Harris and Donald Trump ahead of the US presidential election in this video:  

Immigration remains a hot topic ahead of the US presidential election. During his campaign, Trump has blamed the Joe Biden administration for record migration numbers. Is that really the case? Watch DW's report: 

French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noel Barrot expressed hope for a peaceful US presidential election next week.

"This is an extremely important election and I hope it can take place in peaceful conditions, which does not appear to me to be entirely guaranteed," he told broadcaster BFM TV in an interview, adding that any violence could potentially have a global impact.  

US officials in key battleground states are bracing for misinformation, conspiracy theories, threats and possible violence. 

Barrot said France would cooperate with the winner, whether it was Trump of Harris. 

Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is attending a hurricane relief benefit event with media personality Tucker Carlson in Arizona.

He is also set to hold a campaign rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico, before heading to Henderson, Nevada, for a second rally. 

Trump is likely to emphasize immigration and border security.

Arizona is a must-win for both campaigns, so Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris will also try and shore up support in the battleground state and later campaign in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada. 

She will be aiming to woo crucial Latino voters. The latest New York Times/Siena poll showed Harris with 52% of support among Hispanic voters to Trump's 42%.

Pop singer Jennifer Lopez will bring her star power to the stage for Harris in Las Vegas.