This is an Epoch Times News Brief presidential election update. From the News Brief desk, Iâm Bill Thomas and hereâs whatâs happening right now.
Americans head to the polls to vote in the most consequential election in recent history, a bomb threat targets polling sites in a critical swing state, and a voter in Texas shows up to vote wearing a very unusual outfit.
We begin in Florida, where earlier today, former President Donald Trump and his wife Melania cast their ballots at a polling site in Palm Beach.
Trump told reporters he believes that immigration is the number one issue in this yearâs presidential race, and he urged Republicans to âstay in lineâ at polling sites across the United States.
Trump also said on the social media platform X that âvoter enthusiasm is through the roof,â and that the âlines are going to be longâ throughout the day.
He also told reporters that âmany more Republicansâ appear to be voting than Democrats, and that heâs hearing that the Republican Party is doing âvery well everywhere,â on Election Day.
Earlier in the day, Trumpâs running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) cast his ballot at a church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and he said that he has a very good feeling about the election.
As we continue, earlier today a number of bomb threats targeted a pair of polling sites in the key swing state of Georgia, and hereâs what we know.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger now says that the threats were not credible, that officials have identified the source, and that the threats came from Russia.
So you know, Fulton County officials say that the bomb threats caused the closure of polling places in Union City, which is located near Atlanta. However, the county stressed that the polling sites, which were located at a community center and an elementary school, were only closed for a short period of time.
Police in the county said that they received âmultiple calls regarding threatsâ at the polling locations; that they investigated the incidents thoroughly; and that âno active threatsâ were discovered.
Raffensberger told reporters that the Russians are up to âmischief,â and that they âdonât want us to have a smooth, fair, and accurate election.â
We move along now to Texas, where one voter decided to cast her ballot wearing a very unique outfit to show her support for Trump.
Christy Munger showed up to vote in Houston wearing a white trash bag, and the 52-year-old said that âthis trash votesâ after she cast her ballot.
So you know, wearing trash bags has recently become popular with some Trump fans after President Joe Biden appeared to call Trump supporters âgarbage,â and also after the former president rode in a garbage truck before one of his latest campaign rallies.
Munger said that the main election issues for her are both inflation and the border policies of the Biden administration, and she added her finances have become so tight that sheâs had to give up her car.
Just time for one more story in this brief election update, and it concerns the final campaign spending numbers for both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Figures released by the Federal Election Committee (FEC) show that Harris raised almost $30 million in the last couple of weeks prior to the election, nearly three times the amount raised by Trump during the same period.
You should know that those numbers were similar throughout the entirety of last month, and that during the last two years, the Harris campaign significantly outraised and outspent the Trump campaign.
However, the committee known as Harris for President was formerly backing Biden, and in a controversial move, the Harris campaign claimed hundreds of millions of dollars that had been previously pledged to Biden when she took over as the official Democratic Party candidate a few months ago.
This has been an Epoch Times News Brief presidential election update. Iâm Bill Thomas and please stay with us for the remainder of the day and into the evening for continuous election coverage.
