President Donald Trump has all but outright waged war against the election process, particularly in key battleground states where the race between the candidates is tightening. In a year where more Americans have voted than at any point in history, various groups are contending with how best to protect the process as the president continues to cast doubt.
Among those fighting for the counting to continue is Robin Carnahan, former Democratic Missouri Secretary of State and current member of the National Council on Election Integrity. As the president sends conflicting messages about wanting to stop the count and keep it alive in different states, Carnhan said the president should respect the current process.
"Everybody's got a role in elections. Candidates do the campaigning, and voters do the voting, and election officials do the counting and they announce the results. That's the normal process, and that's what we're going through," she told Cheddar.
The National Council on Election Integrity is made up of former government and political leaders that, according to Carnahan, "want to ensure the legitimacy of our elections." The group has created the 'Count Every Vote' campaign that calls on people to use their power and demand that every vote be tabulated.
With ballots continuing to be tallied after a record-breaking election turnout alongside a record number of mail-in ballots due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea that the vote-by-mail process could be the new norm going forward is one that the former Missouri Secretary of State said is best for the country.
"Folks who've had the convenience of being able to vote-by-mail are going to want to have that going forward," Carnahan said.
While some people hold reservations about the validity of the counting process and whether or not fraud can be committed, Carnahan said counting rooms being monitored by both Republicans and Democrats should provide some comfort about the process not being tainted.
A legislative package to end the government shutdown appears on track. A handful of Senate Democrats joined with Republicans to advance the bill after what's become a deepening disruption of federal programs and services. But hurdles remain. Senators are hopeful they can pass the package as soon as Monday and send it to the House. What’s in and out of the bipartisan deal has drawn criticism and leaves few senators fully satisfied. The legislation includes funding for SNAP food aid and other programs while ensuring backpay for furloughed federal workers. But it fails to fund expiring health care subsidies Democrats have been fighting for, pushing that debate off for a vote next month.
Sabrina Siddiqui, National Politics Reporter at The Wall Street Journal, joins to break down the SNAP funding delays and the human cost of the ongoing shutdown.
Arguments at the Supreme Court have concluded for the day as the justices consider President Donald Trump's sweeping unilateral tariffs in a trillion-dollar test of executive power.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate Wednesday for a second time this year as it seeks to shore up economic growth and hiring even as inflation stays elevated. The move comes amid a fraught time for the central bank, with hiring sluggish and yet inflation stuck above the Fed’s 2% target. Compounding its challenges, the central bank is navigating without much of the economic data it typically relies on from the government. The Fed has signaled it may reduce its key rate again in December but the data drought raises the uncertainty around its next moves. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters that there were “strongly differing views” at the central bank's policy meeting about to proceed going forward.
