NationalWatch

The Fox News Decision Desk projects Democratic state Attorney General Bob Ferguson will win Washington state’s gubernatorial race, an open race with the retirement of Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who decided not to seek a fourth term.

The state’s top lawyer since 2013, Ferguson ran on a platform of continuity and reform, and has positioned himself as a defender of progressive values in a state known for its Democratic leanings. He is also known for taking on high-profile lawsuits against the Trump administration and corporations. 

He won with 74% of the vote in the August primaries.

Ferguson’s campaign has been marked by his sharp criticism of his opponent, former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, on hot-button issues such as abortion. Ferguson has attacked Reichert for his previous support for a nationwide abortion ban as out of touch with Washington’s values. 

FERGUSON WINS PRIMARY, ADVANCES TO GENERAL ELECTION IN WASHINGTON GUBERNATORIAL RACE

Ferguson’s endorsements include prominent state leaders like Inslee and U.S. Sen. Patty Murray.

Washington hasn’t elected a Republican governor in 40 years.

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Reichert was a congressman from 2005 to 2019, and prior to that was King County sheriff for eight years. He gained national recognition for capturing the “Green River Killer” during his time as sheriff. 

The 2024 race marks the first open gubernatorial election in Washington since 2012, during which time the state’s political landscape has grown more divided, with progressive policies shaping Seattle and surrounding cities, while rural and suburban regions lean more conservative. 

The 2024 race marks the first open gubernatorial election in Washington since 2012. Since then, the state’s political landscape has grown more divided, with progressive policies shaping Seattle and surrounding cities, while rural and suburban regions lean more conservative. 

FERGUSON WINS PRIMARY, ADVANCES TO GENERAL ELECTION IN WASHINGTON GUBERNATORIAL RACE

Ferguson racked up healthy margins in the state’s major population centers of Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia, while losing in the state’s more conservative eastern counties.

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Ferguson was able to capitalize on the popularity of outgoing Gov. Inslee, while also pledging to combat the opioid epidemic and boost law enforcement presence in the state.

With the Senate flipping to the GOP column, it’s unclear how many Republicans they’ll have. But they could have well over 50 votes. But they won’t have 60 yeas to crack a filibuster. 

That could mean a pressure campaign to eliminate the filibuster. 

Here’s the other dynamic: Democrats are holding the seats they need to potentially win the House. 

Democrats have already flipped one key NY seat in their favor. 

POLICE ARREST MAN AT US CAPITOL SMELLING OF FUEL WHO HAD MANIFESTO, FLARE GUN AND BLOW TORCH

With a GOP Senate and the possibility of a Democratic House, we would be on the precipice of history. 

A ‘VERY DIFFERENT SCENARIO’ FOR THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTIONS IN 2024

There has NEVER been a double flip in U.S. history where one body flips in one direction and the other flips in the other. 

With a Republican Senate, there will be a race now for Majority Leader between Thune, Cornyn, and Rick Scott. That leadership vote is scheduled for next Wednesday. 

THE SPEAKER’S LOBBY: GHOSTS OF THE REPUBLIC

And it’s possible that Trump could influence who he wants to lead the GOP in the Senate. 

Also, if Democrats are able to flip the House, the roots of this can be traced back to swapping out Biden for Harris.

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Harris might not win tonight. But had Biden stayed on the ticket, Democrats would have lost 30 seats. Biden bowing out didn’t guarantee that Democrats would win the House. But dropping Biden put the House within striking distance for the Democrats.

Liberal social media commenters and left-wing members of the media slammed Florida voters and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for rejecting an amendment that would have created a constitutional right to abortion, describing its failure as “openly fascist.”

“He’s put everything on it, including, as you said, threats, whatever it takes to try to make sure that that amendment fails using the power of government in a way that is, I would say, openly fascist and very determined,” MSNBC’s Joy Reid said Tuesday evening on air about Florida’s Amendment 4 failing. 

DeSantis signed the Heartbeat Protection Act into law last year, which banned most abortions after six weeks of gestation. This year, Florida residents voted on Amendment 4, the Right to Abortion Initiative, which worked to overturn the ban. 

In Florida, constitutional amendments must get 60% of the vote, not a simple majority, to pass. Amendment 4 received majority support among voters but failed to meet the 60% threshold, which sparked an onslaught of criticism from Democrats, left-wing media outlets and pro-choice advocates. 

DESANTIS CLAIMS VICTORY OVER FLORIDA ABORTION, MARIJUANA AMENDMENTS AS SUPPORTERS CELEBRATE: ‘PRAISE GOD’

“Desantis’ Dirty Tricks Pay Off as Florida Abortion Measure Fails,” a Rolling Stone headline published Tuesday evening declared. And social media users chimed in with expletives aimed at voters who rejected the ballot measure. 

JD VANCE VOWS TRUMP WOULD NOT IMPOSE FEDERAL ABORTION BAN, VETO IT IF COMES ACROSS DESK

Other commenters launched expletives aimed at DeSantis and voters who rejected the amendment. 

“No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion,” the amendment states. 

HARRIS CLAIMS TRUMP ABORTION PLATFORM MAKES ‘NO EXCEPTION,’ MOMENTS AFTER TRUMP SAYS THE OPPOSITE

Republicans and religious leaders in the state have railed against the pro-choice amendment in the months leading up to Election Day, including DeSantis, who said the amendment potentially passing would represent “the end of the pro-life movement.” 

“If you care about building a culture of life in this state or this country, them winning in Florida I think really represents the end of the pro-life movement,” DeSantis said in September during an event at Jesuit High School in Tampa, the Tampa Bay Times reported. 

“If you look at the state of Florida, we do not have a pro-life majority,” DeSantis warned. “We’ve got a big chunk, but we don’t have a majority. If only people that are pro-life oppose it, it very well might pass.”

ABORTION ‘ON THE BALLOT’ IN 10 STATES THIS ELECTION, BUT IT MIGHT NOT MATTER

Catholic leaders in the state had also slammed the amendment as “extremely grave” and urged all “Floridians of goodwill” to vote against it. 

“We urge all Floridians of goodwill to stand against the legalization of late-term abortion and oppose the abortion amendment. In doing so, we will not only protect the weakest, most innocent, and defenseless of human life among us but also countless women throughout the state from the harms of abortion,” the Catholic bishops of Florida said in a statement on Amendment 4.

After its failure to pass, pro-life and religious groups celebrated the news as a massive win for the pro-life movement. 

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“The defeat of Amendment 4 in Florida is a huge victory for the whole state, especially its most vulnerable. Proponents of Amendment 4 used the same playbook they have in other states which relied on fearmongering and disinformation backed by a funding advantage of tens of millions of out-of-state dollars,” Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote, said in a statement. 

“But Floridians rejected the proposal when they learned it would open the floodgates for abortion, at any time, for any reason, funded by taxpayers. We are grateful to Governor Ron DeSantis, who, from the outset, led the effort to cut through the pro-abortion campaign of lies and exposed the ugly truth about Amendment 4.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Sarah McBride, a Delaware state senator, is projected to become the first openly transgender lawmaker elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, according to The Associated Press. 

McBride easily defeated Republican John Whalen III Tuesday in the race for Delaware’s lone House seat. Whalen is a retired construction company owner and former state trooper who ran a shoestring campaign in his first bid for public office.

“Thank you, Delaware! Because of your votes and your values, I am proud to be your next member of Congress,” McBride wrote on X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday night. 

“Delaware has sent the message loud and clear that we must be a country that protects reproductive freedom, that guarantees paid leave and affordable child care for all our families, that ensures that housing and health care are available to everyone and that this is a democracy that is big enough for all of us.”

FOX NEWS PROJECTS JUSTICE VICTORY IN WEST VIRGINIA AS GOP FLIPS SENATE SEAT

McBride has established a national profile as an LGBTQ activist and raised more than $3 million in campaign contributions from around the country. The progressive lawmaker has also taken a firm stance against legislative bans on transgender people in sports. 

McBride achieved national recognition at the 2016 Democratic National Convention as the first openly transgender person to address a major party convention in the U.S.

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McBride became the first-ever transgender state senator in the U.S. after winning election to the Delaware Senate in 2020. The activist-turned-politician, 33, has argued there needs to be more diverse representation in Congress.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The Associated Press and Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

The Democrats are expected to hold onto a highly contested Senate seat in Maryland, an overwhelmingly blue state, in a very competitive and expensive race that drew plenty of national attention.

The Fox News Decision Desk projected on Tuesday that Angela Alsobrooks, the Democrat Senate nominee and Prince George’s County executive, would defeat former two-term Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. 

Alsobrooks is projected to succeed Democrat Sen. Ben Cardin, who is retiring this year after serving nearly two decades in the Senate and nearly six decades as a state and then federal lawmaker.

A former prosecutor and ally of Vice President Kamala Harris, Alsobrooks is expected to make history as Maryland’s first Black senator, in a state where the Black population stands at around a third of the state’s total.

CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2024 ELECTION RESULTS

The race was one of a handful across the country that could decide whether Republicans win back the Senate majority in the 2024 elections.

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With Republicans enjoying a favorable Senate electoral map and Democrats trying to protect their fragile 51-49 Senate majority, Hogan’s late entry into the race in February gave Democrats an unexpected headache in a state previously considered safe territory. Hogan left the governor’s office at the beginning of 2023 with very positive approval and favorable ratings.

Hogan, a high-profile GOP critic of former President Trump – the party’s 2024 presidential nominee – made a concerted effort to highlight his ability to work across partisan lines as he aimed to court independent voters and some disgruntled Democrats in Maryland.

With a competitive contest, both campaigns, the party committees and outside groups shelled out millions of dollars in the race.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Election officials in Milwaukee said Tuesday they will proceed with a recount of more than 30,000 absentee ballots due to tabulation issues, an error expected to delay the reporting of results from a hotly contested battleground state. 

Milwaukee city spokesperson Jeff Fleming told reporters Tuesday officials decided to order the recount for the 31,000 absentee ballots after they discovered issues with 13 tabulator machines.

The machines either lacked their physical seals or were not secured properly by senior election officials, Fleming said. All will be reset and recounted. 

The decision to recount the absentee ballots was made in consultation with Republican and Democratic officials, according to a county spokesperson.

GOP PREPARED FOR PIVOTAL COURT BATTLES THAT COULD DECIDE 2024 ELECTION

Fleming told reporters Tuesday the decision to recount the ballots was made out of “an abundance of caution,” even as he acknowledged the delays the recount will likely create for the state’s broader election results.

Milwaukee is the largest city in Wisconsin, one of seven battleground states considered key to determining the next president. 

Wisconsin is also one of the most competitive states in the 2024 election cycle. 

The Badger State is also one of three Rust Belt states that voted for Trump in 2016 before flipping in 2020 to select Joe Biden. 

Biden won the state narrowly in 2020 by a margin of 20,682 votes. The narrow victory gives the state an extra incentive to be as transparent and careful as possible in its ballot counting and reporting process, Fleming stressed Tuesday.

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“What has to be redone is just what’s happening against the wall at the machines,” Fleming told reporters. “It is gonna extend the time that we will get the totals here. We don’t know how much longer that will be. So, it’s not insignificant.” 

Republicans chastised Milwaukee for the error Tuesday evening, describing it as an “unacceptable example of incompetent election administration in a key swing state.”

Voters “deserve better, and we are unambiguously calling on Milwaukee’s officials to do their jobs and count ballots quickly and effectively,” Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chair Lara Trump said in a statement. 

“Anything less undermines voter confidence.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

As the nation waits for election results, voters weigh in on the issues and whether former president Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris will bring the kind of change they are looking for. Because it appears change is very much what they want.

Economic concerns and worries about the future are major considerations as voters make their choice in this year’s election. 

Preliminary data from the Fox News Voter Analysis, a survey of more than 110,000 voters nationwide provide an early look at the mood of voters as they cast their ballots.   

This year, more voters headed to the polls believing the country was on the wrong track (70%) than in 2020 (60%).  And voters across the country are seeking something different: most want a change in how the country is run, with a quarter (26%) seeking complete and total upheaval. 

LIVE BLOG: AMERICA TO DECIDE THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TODAY

Voters’ frustrations with the Biden administration were readily apparent, as more than 5 in 10 disapprove of the job he is doing.

By contrast, voters had net-positive recollections of Donald Trump’s time in office, with over half approving of the job he did as president. Four years ago, 47% approved of the job Trump had done.

This desire for change is coupled with split views on the role of government. Slightly more than half say the government should be doing more to solve the country’s problems, a modest decline from 2020 (57%). Nearly as many (45%) think the government is doing too many things better left to the private sector. 

Voters say the economy is far and away the top issue facing the country, followed distantly by immigration and abortion. 

HEAD HERE FOR FOX NEWS UPDATES ON THE 2024 ELECTION 

Four in 10 voters say inflation was the single most important factor to their vote. 

Voters have dismal evaluations of the economy: two-thirds rated it as fair (40%) or downright poor (23%). Four years ago, in the depths of a coronavirus-induced recession, only 14% said economic conditions were poor. 

In a sign of inflation’s economic toll, roughly three times as many voters feel they were falling behind financially as feel they were getting ahead. Four years ago, roughly the same number said that they were getting ahead, however, the number who said they were falling behind was just 18% in 2020.

Being able to afford food (67%) was the main budgetary concern for more voters than health care (54%), housing (51%), and gas (48%). 

On balance, voters had slightly more favorable views of Harris (48% favorable, 49% unfavorable) as a person than Trump (46% favorable, 52% unfavorable). The same is true at the vice-presidential level: views of Tim Walz (43% favorable, 41% unfavorable) were slightly better than opinions of JD Vance (42% favorable, 46% unfavorable). Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ended his third-party presidential bid and endorsed Trump in August, was less popular than the two running mates (41% favorable, 43% unfavorable). 

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The spotlight is not kind to Biden, whose sharply negative favorability rating (40% favorable, 57% unfavorable) slipped significantly from four years ago (50% favorable, 48% unfavorable). 

2024 FNVA Methodology Statement:

The Fox News Voter Analysis, conducted in partnership with the Associated Press, provides a comprehensive look at voting behavior, opinions, and preferences as America votes. It is based on surveys of the U.S. electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago with voting results from The Associated Press. For the 2024 General Election, the FNVA results are based on a probability sample of registered voters drawn from state voter files, samples of self-identified registered voters from a probability-based national panel, and samples of self-identified registered voters from opt-in online panels. The FNVA survey of the American electorate was conducted in all 50 states, October 28 to November 5, concluding at the end of voting on Election Day.  

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Monday he intends to attend an annual political conference in Puerto Rico the day after Election Day, as potential rivals of the incumbent Democrat mayor also will be in attendance to lobby for support in 2025. 

At his weekly press conference, Adams, who endorsed Vice President Harris for president and was a delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, was asked who he was voting for and if he planned on attending the SOMOS conference. 

“I always look forward to going to SOMOS. I think I’ve missed a couple of years. I’m planning on going, I’m not 100% sure. I would like to go,” Adams said. “It’s a good time to convene with folks in Puerto Rico. So, I have plans on going.”

“But, you know, I got a lot of stuff going on I have to do in the city,” the mayor added a day before the Nov. 5 election. “And if I can get a lot done before next week, then I’ll definitely go. But I’m not going to stay long, no matter what. I made it clear who I endorse, and who I endorse is who I’m voting for. Made that very clear. I was a delegate in Chicago.”

TRUMP DENIES KNOWING COMEDIAN WHO TOLD CRUDE JOKE ABOUT PUERTO RICO: ‘I HAVE NO IDEA WHO HE IS’

Last week, Adams raised eyebrows after repeatedly declining to criticize former President Trump, refusing to say when he last spoke with the Republican nominee or whether he was angling for a pardon should Trump win re-election.

Trump has suggested that the DOJ indicted Adams for criticizing the federal government’s response to the migrant crisis. Trump also mentioned Adams by name at his Madison Square Garden rally, thanking the Democratic mayor for saying Trump should not be comparedto German dilator Adolf Hitler or be called a “fascist.” 

The annual SOMOS conference begins Wednesday in San Juan. Adams attended in 2021 and 2022. He did not go last year. 

Days before the conference was scheduled to start in 2023, the FBI seized Adams’ cell phone in connection to a federal corruption investigation.   

The Justice Department indicted Adams in September on bribery, campaign finance, and conspiracy offenses. 

The indictment accuses Adams of accepting flight upgrades and other luxury travel perks valued at $100,000 along with illegal campaign contributions from a Turkish official and other foreign nationals looking to buy his influence. In exchange, prosecutors say, Adams performed favors benefiting the Turkish government, including pressuring the fire department in 2021 to approve the opening of a consulate that it deemed unsafe.

Adams held a different elected position at the time, Brooklyn borough president, but by then it was clear that he would become mayor.

Adams has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His federal trial will begin next April, a judge ruled Friday, right in the thick of his promised reelection campaign.

ANDREW CUOMO FACES DEMOCRATIC OPPOSITION AS RUMORS GROW THAT HE WILL MOUNT NYC MAYORAL BID: REPORT

The SOMOS conference will provide an opportunity for any of Adams’ potential primary challengers to court support in Puerto Rico ahead of the 2025 mayoral election, City & State New York reported. 

Mayoral hopefuls already held their first candidate forum in the Bronx on the first day of early voting, according to the outlet. New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, city Comptroller Brad Lander, state Sens. Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie, former city Comptroller Scott Stringer and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani were among those at that meeting. 

Rumors suggest former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will mount a mayoral bid. It’s unclear if he’ll attend SOMOS. 

U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho set the mayor’s trial date on Friday, as Adams returned to Manhattan federal court for a hearing on his bid to eliminate a key charge in the indictment that threatens his political future.

Ho said he’s confident the April 21, 2025, date will hold, “assuming nothing unexpected comes up.” At the same time, prosecutors said they still haven’t been able to crack a potentially crucial piece of evidence: Adams’ personal cellphone. According to his indictment, Adams changed his password just before giving the phone to authorities, then claimed he forgot it.

Adams’ lawyers are fighting to throw out a bribery charge, one of five counts against the first-term Democrat.

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They argued the charge doesn’t meet the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently narrowed threshold for the crime and shouldn’t apply to Adams because it involves allegations dating to before he became mayor.

With millions of voters expected to show up to the polls today, the world will be anxiously watching for the election results to start pouring in on Tuesday night.

Here is what you need to know about the 2024 presidential election results.

THESE ‘BELLWETHER’ COUNTIES COULD DETERMINE NEXT PRESIDENT

When do the polls close?

Kentucky (eight electoral votes) will be the first state to close its polls at 6 p.m. Eastern.

For most of the eastern half of the country, voting polls will close between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., while polls on the West Coast will close at 11 p.m. Eastern.

The last states to close will be Hawaii (four electoral votes) and Alaska (three electoral votes), which will close their polls at midnight and 1 a.m. respectively.

When will the 2024 Election Day results be announced?

Election Day results have historically often been announced just hours after the polls close. However, recent elections have required longer waiting periods before all the votes can be tallied, and a winner can be declared.

One reason for this is the prevalence of mail-in absentee voting. Fourteen states legally require that mail-in ballots be counted only after polls close on Election Day.

2024 VOTING: HERE’S WHEN POLLS CLOSE FOR ALL 50 STATES ON ELECTION DAY

The first election results of the night will likely begin being called after 7 p.m. Eastern. Results for some of the critical swing states such as Pennsylvania (19 electoral votes) will likely not be called till much later.

In 2020, news outlets called the election in President Biden’s favor four days after Election Day. In 2016, the race was called in Trump’s favor at 3 a.m. the day after Election Day.

The closer the election, the longer it will take to know the result. Barring an unexpected landslide victory by either candidate, the winner of the 2024 presidential election may not be known until a day or several days after Election Day.

Election results may also be further delayed by legal challenges by either former President Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris.

What are the key states to watch on Election Day?

With 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency, the 2024 presidential election is expected to be extremely close.

There are seven states – Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Wisconsin and Nevada – considered close swing states. Experts will be closely watching these states as they will likely determine who the next president will be.

Here is when polls will close in each of the swing states.

7 p.m. Eastern – Georgia (16 electoral votes) 

7:30 p.m. Eastern – North Carolina (16 electoral votes) 

8 p.m. Eastern – Pennsylvania (except for Cambria County, which will close at 10 p.m. Eastern due to electronic voting system software issues) 

9 p.m. Eastern – Michigan (15 electoral votes), Arizona (11 electoral votes) and Wisconsin (10 electoral votes) 

10 p.m. Eastern – Nevada (six electoral votes) 

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How do I watch the election live?

You can stream Fox News election coverage live online. You can also keep track of the election results on Fox News Digital’s live election blog.

Each of the seven major battleground states has different rules governing how – and when – candidates can request ballot recounts in the event of a close election.

Now, as voters continue to cast their ballots this Election Day, here’s a rundown of the rules each of the seven swing states – Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – use before ordering a recount, and the various types of recount requests candidates can legally submit.

Arizona: Arizona law allows for an automatic recount if the candidate with the most votes leads the closest competitor by half of 1% or less of total votes cast for both contenders. 

Georgia: Georgia law does not require any automatic recounts – however, a recount can be requested by either candidate if the winner’s margin of victory is 0.5% or less. The request must be made within two days of the state’s certification of the results.

Michigan: Michigan law allows candidates to request a recount on the grounds of “suspected fraud or error” within a precinct. The law requires candidates to submit their request – as well as a deposit – for each precinct where they are seeking a recount within six days of the conclusion of the canvassing process.

Nevada: Nevada allows candidates to send a written request for a recount within three business days of its state result certification. Like Michigan, candidates must pay the advance deposit ahead of time to cover any estimated recount costs.

The recount also must begin within five days of the Nevada Secretary of State’s office receiving the request.

SUPREME COURT TEMPORARILY HALTS LOWER COURT RULING ORDERING 1,600 VOTERS BACK ON VIRGINIA VOTER ROLLS

North Carolina: Candidates may submit a written recount request if the margin of victory is “less than or equal to half of 1% of the vote, or fewer than 10,000 votes,” according to the North Carolina General Assembly. The request must be made by noon on the second business day after the county canvas process concludes.

Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania law allows three separate types of recounts: statewide automatic recounts ordered by the secretary of the commonwealth; recounts ordered by a county election board; and recounts that are ordered by the court. 

An automatic recount occurs if a candidate’s margin of victory is no more than 0.5% of total votes cast. In this case, a recount submission must be submitted to the Pennsylvania Secretary of State’s office no later than 5 p.m. on the second Thursday after Election Day.

Any request for a court-ordered recount must be filed by at least three qualified electors within five days of the end of canvassing, according to the Pennsylvania Secretary of State’s office. An advance deposit is also required.

In the case of any fraud, state laws allows relevant parties to have five additional days to continue counting ballots. Read more on Keystone State recounts here.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin law allows candidates to file a sworn recount petition with the state clerk or local officer, stating both the areas they are seeking a recount in and their basis for requesting a recount. Candidates must indicate belief of mistake or fraud.

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The request must be made by 5 p.m. on the third business day after the board of canvassers certifies the election results, according to the Wisconsin State Election Board.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. 

A Pennsylvania judge approved a petition to extend voting hours until 10 p.m. ET after a “malfunction” prevented voters in Cambria County from scanning their ballots.

Election officials emphasized that no one who wishes to cast their ballot will be turned away and that all votes will be counted. Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Whatley urged voters to stay in line and cast their ballots regardless of the delay.

“The Cambria County Board of Election learned early this morning that a software malfunction in the County’s Electronic Voting System has prevented voters from scanning their ballots,” County Solicitor Ron Repak said in a statement. “This should not discourage voters from voting at their precincts.”

“All completed ballots will be accepted, secured, and counted by the Board of Elections. The County Board of Elections has express voting machine [sic] at precinct locations to continue to allow voting electronically, while still allowing hand ballots to be cast,” said Repak.

HEAD HERE FOR FOX NEWS UPDATES ON THE 2024 ELECTION

All votes cast after the original closing time of 8 p.m. ET will be by provisional ballot, the court ordered.

The Pennsylvania Department of State said it was working with local officials to resolve the issue.

HARRIS, TRUMP, HOLD ELECTION EVE DUELING RALLIES IN THE BIGGEST OF THE BATTLEGROUNDS

“The Department of State is in contact with county officials in Cambria County. Voters are continuing to vote by paper ballot, in accordance with normal operations, while the county resolves the issue with in-precinct scanning. We are working with the County to resolve this technical matter and remain committed to ensuring a free, fair, safe, and secure election.”

Prior to the court granting the extension, Whatley had assured voters that the Republican Party’s lawyers were “all over” the issue.

CHECK OUT THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

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“We understand that there are some line delays on the ground,” Whatley wrote on X. “We need you to stay in line. We need you to fill out your ballot in full and deliver it. Our Pennsylvania lawyers are all over this issue and will ensure fairness and accuracy in the process.”

Vice President Harris used her remaining campaign time before Election Day to make a stop in Pennsylvania alongside Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., a member of the progressive “Squad.”

Harris visited Old San Juan Café in Reading with Ocasio-Cortez and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on Monday night. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Penn., and Reading Mayor Eddie Moran also joined.

Supporters chanted “Sí, se puede” and “Kamala” as the vice president’s motorcade pulled up to the café. Harris chatted with some diners inside and later ordered cassava, yellow rice and pork, saying, “I’m very hungry” as she noted that she has been too busy campaigning to find time to eat.

Diana de La Rosa, owner of the café, told the Reading Eagle that she was glad the vice president took the time to visit her business.

HARRIS GREETS PENNSYLVANIA FAMILY ON PORCH, SUGGESTS STAGING ‘DOOR KNOCK’

“[Harris] said she was very proud of me, that my restaurant is beautiful, and that she is very proud of women in business,” de La Rosa told the outlet.

While in Reading, Harris also canvassed with supporters, knocking on doors. 

LIBERTY BELLWETHERS: FIVE PENNSYLVANIA COUNTIES TO WATCH ON ELECTION NIGHT

Harris stopped at the café between campaign rallies in Allentown, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

Meanwhile, Trump started his final day campaigning in North Carolina before finishing in Michigan, though he spoke in Reading and Pittsburgh in between. 

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Pennsylvania has the most Electoral College votes of any battleground state, making it the top prize of the campaign. A victory there would clear a path to White House for either candidate.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump declared on Election Day that he has no regrets and “this was the best campaign we ran” after casting his ballot in Palm Beach, Florida. 

“I ran a great campaign. I think it was maybe the best of the three,” Trump said, referring to his victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016 and his loss to President Joe Biden four years later. 

“We did great in the first one. We did much better in the second one, but something happened. And, this was the best, I would say this was the best campaign we ran,” Trump said. 

Trump also told the media that “I’m hearing the same things you are hearing” when asked if he foresees a scenario in which he doesn’t declare victory tonight. 

ELECTION DAY 2024: LIVE UPDATES     

“I’m hearing states where I’m up by a lot, but they won’t have a final number for a long time,” the Republican said.  

“I’m hearing in Pennsylvania they won’t have an answer until two or three days from now. I think it’s an absolute outrage if that is the case, now maybe it will be later [tonight],” he added. 

When asked if he has any speeches ready, Trump says he does not. 

FBI WARNS VOTERS ABOUT FABRICATED VIDEOS AIMED AT ELECTION DAY DECEPTION 

“I did speeches last night. All day long. All night long. At 2:00 in the morning, we left, we did we did a lot of speeches,” Trump said. 

“I’m not a Democrat. I’m able to make a speech on pretty quick notice – if I win, I know what I’m going to say. And I don’t even want to think about the losing part,” Trump told reporters. 

Trump also said “I think we are going to have a very big victory today.” 

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“We have a great country, but we have a country that’s in trouble. That’s in big trouble in many ways. And we have to straighten it out,” he added. 

Republican National Committee co-Chair Lara Trump tells “Fox & Friends” that GOP poll watchers are now being admitted into various facilities in Pennsylvania after initially being turned away. 

RNC Chairman Michael Whatley first wrote on X that “Early this morning we learned that Republican poll watchers in Philadelphia, York, Westmoreland, Allegheny, Lehigh, Cambria, Wyoming and Lackawanna counties were being turned away. 

Trump later said “all of our poll watchers I’m happy to report are in.” 

“We already this morning from the RNC had to do a little work with our attorneys because our poll watchers – if you can believe this, and I’m sure people can – were being prevented from entering in the buildings in eight different counties, some of them around Philadelphia, some of them outside of Pittsburgh, where they prevented our poll watchers, our Republican poll watchers from going in,” she told “Fox & Friends.”  

ELECTION DAY 2024: LIVE UPDATES   

“So we had to act in a moment’s notice and that is why we designed this election integrity operation the way we did to identify problems and strike at a moment’s notice,” she continued. 

REPUBLICANS SUE MILWAUKEE OVER LATE-GAME LIMITS ON POLL WATCHERS 

“And all of our poll watchers I’m happy to report are in, but look it’s a tight state and it’s a must-win state and I think, you know, we have seen so much emphasis put in that state,” Trump said. “We were there twice yesterday, we did two rallies with Donald Trump. Obviously Kamala Harris was there yesterday, but I got to tell you we felt a lot of love from people in Pennsylvania yesterday so we are very optimistic.” 

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Whatley also wrote on X that “We deployed our roving attorneys, engaged with local officials, and can now report that all Republican poll watchers have been let into the building.” 

Tens of millions of Americans are headed to the polls across the country Tuesday, but polling locations will not remain open forever.

Here are the poll closing times for every state in the country.

6 PM EST

Kentucky: Partial poll closure. Some polling locations will remain open.

Indiana: Partial poll closure. Some polling locations will remain open.

HEAD HERE FOR FOX NEWS UPDATES ON THE 2024 ELECTION 

7 PM EST

Alabama: Partial poll closure. Some polling locations will remain open.

Florida: Partial poll closure. Some polling locations will remain open.

Georgia: Polls will fully close.

Kentucky: Polls will fully close.

Indiana: Polls will fully close.

New Hampshire: Partial poll closure. Some polling locations will remain open.

South Carolina: Polls will fully close.

Vermont: Polls will fully close.

Virginia: Polls will fully close.

HARRIS, TRUMP, HOLD ELECTION EVE DUELING RALLIES IN THE BIGGEST OF THE BATTLEGROUNDS

7:30 PM EST

New Hampshire: More partial closures.

North Carolina: Polls will fully close.

Ohio: Polls will fully close.

West Virginia: Polls will fully close.

8 PM EST

Alabama: Polls will fully close.

Connecticut: Polls will fully close.

Delaware: Polls will fully close.

Maine: Polls will fully close.

Florida: Polls will fully close.

Illinois: Polls will fully close.

Kansas: Partial poll closure. Some polling locations will remain open.

Maryland: Polls will fully close.

Massachusetts: Polls will fully close.

Michigan: Partial poll closure. Some polling locations will remain open.

Mississippi: Polls will fully close.

Missouri: Polls will fully close.

New Hampshire: Polls will fully close.

New Jersey: Polls will fully close.

North Dakota: Partial poll closure. Some polling locations will remain open.

Oklahoma: Polls will fully close.

Pennsylvania: Polls will fully close.

Rhode Island: Polls will fully close.

South Dakota: Partial poll closure. Some polling locations will remain open.

Tennessee: Polls will fully close.

Texas: Partial poll closure. Some polling locations will remain open.

Washington, DC: Polls will fully close.

CHECK OUT THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

8:30 PM EST

Arkansas: Polls will fully close.

9 PM EST

Arizona: Polls will fully close.

Colorado: Polls will fully close.

Iowa: Polls will fully close.

Kansas: Polls will fully close.

Louisiana: Polls will fully close.

Michigan: Polls will fully close.

Minnesota: Polls will fully close.

Nebraska: Polls will fully close.

New Mexico: Polls will fully close.

New York: Polls will fully close.

North Dakota: Polls will fully close.

South Dakota: Polls will fully close.

Texas: Polls will fully close.

Wisconsin: Polls will fully close.

Wyoming: Polls will fully close.

10 PM EST:

Idaho: Partial poll closure. Some polling locations will remain open.

Montana: Polls will fully close.

Nevada: Polls will fully close.

Oregon: Partial poll closure. Some polling locations will remain open.

Utah: Polls will fully close.

NOVEMBER SURPRISE: DISMAL JOBS REPORT HANDS TRUMP INSTANT AMMUNITION TO FIRE AT HARRIS

11 PM EST:

California: Polls will fully close.

Idaho: Polls will fully close.

Oregon: Polls will fully close.

Washington: Polls will fully close.

12 AM EST:

Alaska: Partial poll closure. Some polling locations will remain open.

Hawaii: Polls will fully close.

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1 AM EST:

Alaska: Polls will fully close.

Nine competitive Senate races will likely determine which party controls the upper chamber of Congress. 

Democrats are fighting to retain their narrow 51-49 majority in the Senate. Democrats are defending 23 seats, including three held by independents who caucus with them. That’s compared with just 11 seats that Republicans hope to keep in their column, according to the Associated Press. 

The Senate races in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are considered Toss-Ups, according to the latest Fox News Power Rankings. The Montana and Nebraska races for Senate are considered leaning Republican, while the Senate contests in Arizona, Maryland and Nevada lean Democrat on Election Day. 

Michigan

In Michigan, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat, and Republican candidate Mike Rogers are facing off for a chance to replace Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Democrat who is concluding her 24-year Senate career. 

It could be the best chance Republicans have had in decades of winning a Senate seat in Michigan. The last time a Republican secured election to the upper chamber was in 1994, when Spencer Abraham defeated Democrat Bob Carr by 10 points. Abraham later lost to Stabenow in 2000. 

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Rogers was elected to Congress in 2000 and represented Michigan’s 8th District until 2014. The once chair of the House Intelligence Committee, the Republican served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and later worked as a special agent in the FBI. 

Slotkin, who currently represents Michigan’s 7th District, has worked for the CIA and the U.S. Department of Defense and served three tours in Iraq. Both campaigns have focused on concerns over Chinese influence and highlighted their security experience in the Middle East and domestically. 

Ohio

In Ohio, Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown faces a challenge from Republican Bernie Moreno in what’s projected to be the most expensive race outside the presidential contest, according to the Marion Star, given the outcome could determine which party controls the upper chamber of Congress. 

Former President Trump endorsed Moreno earlier this year in the Senate Republican primary. 

Moreno briefly ran for Senate in 2022 to replace retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman, but JD Vance, now Trump’s vice presidential running mate, won the nomination and later the general election. 

Trump carried Ohio by eight points in both the 2016 and 2020 elections. 

Pennsylvania 

In Pennsylvania, considered a pivotal battleground in the presidential race, incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is up against Republican challenger Dave McCormick. 

McCormick, a West Point graduate who served in Iraq in the 82nd Airborne Division and later as the CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund, took the stage ahead of Trump at the Republican presidential nominee’s last rally in the state Monday night. McCormick told a Pittsburgh crowd that his opponent, Casey, was a “career politician” with more than 30 years in office, before also attacking Vice President Harris. 

McCormick previously ran an unsuccessful primary bid for Senate in 2022, losing the nomination to Dr. Mehmet Oz. Oz was defeated by Democrat John Fetterman.

Casey, whose father served as governor for two terms, is one of the most recognized politicians in the state. He is seeking a fourth term in the Senate and has been successful in six statewide elections since 1996.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s hotly contested Senate race pits two-term Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin against Republican Eric Hovde, a millionaire businessman backed by Trump who poured millions of his own money into the contest.

While Baldwin’s voting record is liberal, she emphasized bipartisanship throughout the campaign. Baldwin became the first statewide Democratic candidate to win an endorsement from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, the state’s largest farm organization, in more than 20 years.

Her first television ad noted that her buy-American bill was signed into law by Trump. In July, she touted Senate committee approval of a bill she co-authored with Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, that seeks to ensure that taxpayer-funded inventions are manufactured in the United States.

JD VANCE TELLS NC CROWD HARRIS CAN’T DEAL WITH CHINA, RUSSIA IF SHE ‘RUNS’ FROM ‘FRIENDLY AMERICAN MEDIA’

Hovde has portrayed Baldwin as an out-of-touch liberal career politician who didn’t do enough to combat inflation, illegal immigration and crime. He has stressed that Baldwin has been in elected office since 1987, including the past 12 years in the Senate and 14 in the House before that. 

Hovde’s wealth, primarily his management of Utah-based Sunwest Bank and ownership of a $7 million Laguna Beach, California, estate, has been a key line of attack from Baldwin, who has tried to cast him as an outsider who doesn’t represent Wisconsin values.

Montana 

Three-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana faces perhaps his toughest election challenge yet on Tuesday, with control of the Senate on the line in a state that’s veered sharply rightward since the 68-year-old grain farmer’s first election.

Republicans have pinned their hopes on Tim Sheehy, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and founder of an aerial firefighting company. Sheehy, 38, had early backing from party leaders, including Trump, clearing the political newcomer’s path to win the June primary.

This is the first time Tester’s name appears on the same ballot as Trump, who won Montana by wide margins in 2016 and 2020.

A Sheehy victory would seal Republican Party dominance across the five-state Northern Plains region: Tester entered office as one of six Democratic senators in the largely rural swath of American heartland that also includes Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. He’s now the only one.

The lawmaker also is the sole remaining Democrat to hold statewide office in Montana.

Nebraska 

Two-term Republican Sen. Deb Fischer faces her strongest re-election challenge yet Tuesday as she takes Dan Osborn, a former labor union boss who eschewed both major political parties to run as an independent while painting himself as a working class champion.

The state GOP, whose leadership is loyal to Trump, endorsed primary challengers to all five of the Republicans who represent Nebraska in Congress, including Fischer.

Fischer held a recent news conference to showcase the backing of several state Republicans, including popular former Gov. Dave Heineman. She also leaned into her support for Trump, despite having called for him to leave the 2016 race in response to the notorious “Access Hollywood” tape.

Trump has endorsed Fischer for re-election, which she has touted in her campaign ads.

Osborn, a 20-year industrial mechanic and veteran of the Navy and Nebraska Army National Guard, successfully led a 2021 strike at the Kellogg’s cereal plant in Omaha to gain higher wages for roughly 1,400 workers following a year in which the company saw soaring revenue.

Osborn has leaned into that background in centering his platform on what he says is a need for equitable economic policies. In his political ads, he’s contrasted his own story with Fischer’s, accusing her of enriching herself while in office as average families struggle financially.

Arizona

Well-known former television news anchor and staunch Trump ally Kari Lake is competing against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, an Iraq War veteran, in Tuesday’s election for U.S. Senate in a state with a recent history of extremely close elections.

The winner of the Senate race will replace Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party two years ago. 

Lake made national headlines with her 2022 campaign for Arizona governor. She has never acknowledged losing that race and called herself the “lawful governor” in her 2023 book, according to the Associated Press. She continued her unsuccessful fight in court to overturn it even after beginning her Senate campaign, and, as recently as last week refused to admit defeat in a contentious CNN interview.

Lake has focused on border security in her Senate campaign. 

Gallego, who enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and fought in Iraq in 2005 in a unit that sustained heavy casualties, has relentlessly attacked Lake’s support for a state law dating to the Civil War that outlawed abortions under nearly all circumstances. Lake has tacked to the middle on the abortion issue. 

Maryland 

Larry Hogan, a popular Republican who won two terms as governor, is the most competitive candidate for the GOP in years in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin. Still, he is facing an uphill battle against Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, the county executive of Prince George’s County, who could make history as the state’s first Black U.S. senator in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1.

The stakes are unusually high for a Maryland race that includes a Republican who won significant Democratic support in his 2014 and 2018 gubernatorial victories. Hogan is only the second Republican in Maryland history to be re-elected governor.

Abortion has been a major issue in a campaign taking place at the same time that voters in Maryland and eight other states will be considering a constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in 2022.

Alsobrooks has prioritized abortion rights in her campaign, saying one of her first actions as a senator would be to sponsor legislation to codify Roe into federal law. Hogan also says he would co-sponsor such legislation, but Alsobrooks is quick to point to a Hogan veto when he was governor of a bill in Maryland to expand abortion access in 2022.

Nevada

In a presidential swing state, Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen – a former computer programmer and synagogue president – is facing a challenge from Republican Sam Brown, a retired Army captain whose face is still scarred from injuries he suffered in Afghanistan. 

The first-term Rosen has outspent Brown by more than 3-1 in the contest, positioning herself as a nonideological senator who delivers for her home state on issues like broadband internet access and a high-speed rail connection with Southern California. 

Brown, who was awarded the Purple Heart, has campaigned on his biography and the state’s cost-of-living crisis, particularly acute in working-class Nevada. He’s had trouble gaining traction, though a last-minute infusion of GOP money in late October came as Republicans, cheered by strong turnout for their party in early voting, hoped Brown could upend expectations in the race.

Trump endorsed Brown in the state’s primary. 

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Brown in 2008 was grievously wounded by an improvised explosive device during a Taliban ambush of his unit in southern Afghanistan. He left the army in 2011 after 30 surgeries and years of recovery, founding a business to help veterans get medical care. Brown’s face remains seriously scarred and has become central to his campaign ads.

 The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Republican Party is determined not to be outmanned in the courts regarding the 2024 elections, with GOP leaders leaning heavily on a new, litigation-focused “election integrity” effort launched earlier this year in a bid to avoid many of the same pitfalls as 2020.

The two-pronged effort seeks to improve the GOP ground game across the country, both by recruiting and training poll observers and by adding more transparency to the voting process, senior Republican Party officials told Fox News Digital in an interview.

To date, they have recruited some 230,000 volunteers across the country, RNC officials said, including 5,000 lawyers concentrated primarily in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

On the eve of Election Day, it is the lawyers whose talents could be especially useful in the days and weeks to come. 

SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS PENNSYLVANIA PROVISIONAL BALLOT RULING, IN A MAJOR LOSS FOR GOP

That is because the second half of the election integrity push focuses on litigation. Some of the lawsuits are aimed at ensuring “poll worker parity” and access for Republican observers at many election sites across the country, senior party officials told Fox News Digital.

However, they have also filed dozens of lawsuits aimed at cracking down on voter identification laws, tightening citizenship verification standards and adding new requirements for mail-in ballots and provisional ballots accepted by various states. 

The Republican Party has been especially aggressive in filing these pre-election lawsuits, which officials describe as helping “set the rules of the road in key swing states.”

As of this writing, party officials said they have filed more than 130 lawsuits—the vast majority of the roughly 200 election-related lawsuits in the 2024 election.

While the flurry of GOP-led lawsuits have dominated headlines in the final race to Election Day—primarily in the seven swing states considered to hold outsize importance in determining the next president— Republican Party officials pointed to courtroom victories won as early as this summer as some of their biggest achievements.

One example was the RNC’s successful lawsuit against the city of Detroit in August. 

The RNC had sued to add more Republican election inspectors to the city’s 300-plus voting precincts, citing a “7.5-to-one” ratio of Democrat inspectors to Republican inspectors. Republicans successfully argued that the disparity ran afoul of state law, which requires “an equal number, as nearly as possible” of election officials from both major political parties. More Republican observers were added as a result. 

A more recent win occurred last week in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where a judge sided with the GOP’s request to extend early voting deadlines from Tuesday, Nov. 5, to Friday, Nov. 8.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES BATTLES: LEGAL CHALLENGES THAT COULD IMPACT THE VOTE BEFORE ELECTION DAY BEGINS

Republican officials have touted success in achieving more transparency in state elections. 

“We really view this as making America’s elections run in a transparent and trustworthy way. And that’s a net positive for everyone in this country, regardless of Republican or Democrat [party affiliation],” a senior RNC official told Fox News Digital in an interview.

Still, on the eve of Election Day, it remains to be seen whether these efforts will have accomplished their stated goal of establishing more trust in U.S. elections.

That is because the concept of “election security” not only requires certain safeguards to be placed around the voter registration and ballot-casting process, but also that the voters themselves then trust the results of the vote as legitimate.

A fresh AP-NORC poll found that Democrats are far more likely than their Republican counterparts to express confidence in the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. 

The poll found that while 71% of registered Democratic voters said they have “a great deal” of confidence in the national election outcome, just one-third of their Republican counterparts, or 24%, reported the same. 

SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS PENNSYLVANIA PROVISIONAL BALLOT RULING, IN A MAJOR LOSS FOR GOP

Looking ahead

While some of these lawsuits could be used by the RNC as a pretext to challenge the outcome of certain states after Election Day, legal experts said it is unclear what impact any of these legal challenges could have in contesting the results — even if the outcome in certain states is just as close as expected in a neck-and-neck election. 

Courts are highly disinclined to take up cases after Election Day, Andrew McCarthy, a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, told Fox News in an interview. 

“We want to have the game be fair, in the sense that there’s bright lines way before you ever get to Election Day,” McCarthy said. “So everybody has their eyes open about what the rules are.”

“It’s really hard to get a court to involve itself after an election has taken place and where they’re in a position of potentially changing the outcome of the election,” he added.

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That is especially true of the nation’s top court, Trey Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor and member of Congress, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

“I think the Supreme Court is very wary of being drawn into overtly political fights,” he said. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Officials in battleground states say lawyers are ready on this Election Day to pursue legal action against any counties who try to disrupt or delay the vote certification process. 

The warnings come after a few counties in Arizona, Pennsylvania and New Mexico initially did not certify results or did so with incomplete tallies following the 2022 midterm elections, according to Politico. 

“If you don’t certify an election at the county level, or certify a canvas, you’re going to get indicted,” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told Politico. “We’ve sent, on top of that, some what I would call sternly-worded letters out to folks to let them know.” 

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson also said that lawyers have prepared draft legal filings in order to sue any county that tries to avoid certifying this year’s results. 

LIVE UPDATES: AMERICA TO DECIDE THE NEXT PRESIDENT TODAY 

“We’ve got great attorneys that we’re working with at the attorney general’s office, who are prepared as well, who were there in 2020 and ready to go,” Benson told Politico. “It’s more about just making sure we’re able to rapidly respond and are prepared to ensure that the law is followed.” 

During the last presidential election, former President Trump urged two members of Michigan’s Wayne County Board of Canvassers not to certify the results, according to a report from The Detroit News. 

LEGAL CHALLENGES THAT COULD IMPACT THE VOTE BEFORE ELECTION DAY BEGINS 

In September, during an event hosted by the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research, Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for the Georgia secretary of state’s office, said, “There are those who think they can magically hold up everything by one county… That is not going to happen, and the courts won’t allow for that,” according to Politico. 

“With the system we have in place, with the lawyers we have in place, we have game-planned a lot of this out,” he reportedly added. 

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State election officials tell Politico that local officials are duty-bound to certify results and the task is not optional. 

Now that Election Day is finally here, there are a few counties that experts are closely watching as their results could indicate who the next president will be.

Known as “bellwether counties,” these swing counties have, with some exceptions, consistently sided with the winning candidate for decades.

Matthew Bergbower, a political science professor at Indiana State University, described a bellwether county as a “microcosm of the nation” in terms of political preferences.

Though his county, Vigo County in Indiana, deviated by voting for Donald Trump in 2020, it has chosen the winning candidate in every election since 1952.

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Clallam County in Washington state stands out as the only county to have voted for the winning presidential candidate in every election since 1980. The people of Clallam County are proud of their history as the “last bellwether county” in America.

This year, the county looks just as divided as ever.

Pam Blakeman, chair of the Clallam County Republicans, told Fox News Digital that she thinks the election “will be close in our County, but I see it swinging towards Trump.”

She bases this on good Republican turnout and a ground game that she said “is the most active I have ever seen.”

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However, Ben Anderstone, a progressive Washington-based political consultant, told Fox News Digital that “a Trump win in Clallam County would be a bit of a surprise at this point.”

“This year, it looks likely that Clallam County will be to the nation’s left,” he said. “In our August primary, Clallam County was very Democratic, about 57% to 43%. Lower-turnout voters in Clallam County are much more Republican, so we expect the presidential election will be a lot tighter. Still, our model suggests Clallam will only tighten to 53%-47% Democratic or so.”

Like Clallam County, the presidential election could easily go either direction. Yet with GOP nominee former President Trump and Democrat nominee Vice President Harris facing razor-thin margins, three counties – Bucks, Erie and Northampton in Pennsylvania – stand out as particularly important.

Pennsylvania, which has 19 electoral votes, is the largest swing state and thus the biggest target for both Trump and Harris. During this election cycle, Trump and Harris have had a significant presence in the state and in these three counties.

On the final day before election day, Trump campaigned in both eastern and western Pennsylvania and Harris devoted the entire day to stops across the state. Vice presidential candidates Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have similarly been making stops in Pennsylvania throughout the campaign.

“Both campaigns see the path to the White House running through Pennsylvania,” said Berwood Yost, the director of the national survey group the Center for Opinion Research. Similarly, he said the path to victory in Pennsylvania runs through Bucks, Erie and Northampton counties.

Bucks is a primarily suburban county just north of Philadelphia. Erie, which is situated in far northwestern Pennsylvania on Lake Erie, is primarily rural and significantly smaller in terms of population. Finally, Northampton in eastern Pennsylvania is suburban and home to Lehigh University, a private research college.

According to Yost, all three mirror many of the key demographics, such as racial composition, educational attainment and population density, that make Pennsylvania so competitive.

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President Biden won Pennsylvania by a narrow 1.17 percent margin in 2020. The margins in Bucks (4.37), Erie (1.03) and Northampton (0.72) were similarly close.

Yost said that like the rest of the country, people in these counties are “generally dissatisfied” with the economy and want to see some kind of change, something that is a positive indicator for Trump. However, he said “the closest to the closeness of the race makes it seem that they haven’t been able to take advantage of that.”

“I think part of the reason the race is so close is that that message has not been consistently articulated by the top of the ticket,” he said. “Those distractions have raised some concerns among some voters.”

Yost said the race will come down to what independents and traditional Republicans who are not enthusiastic about Trump decide at the ballot box.

“That to me is really going to be the inflection point of this election,” he said. “If they’re wobbly, and they think it’s the economy, that’s a plus for Trump. If they go into the voting booth, and they think about something else, that’s a negative for the Trump campaign.”  

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.