i'ma wade, i'ma wade through the waters tell the tide, "don't move" i'ma riot, i'ma riot through your borders

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2024] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org.] host: good morning. it's monday, november 4, and it's the eve of election day 2024. millions of americans have already voted either by mail or

in person. millions more go to the polls tomorrow. this morning, we'll get your thoughts on the campaign while we show you news articles and video of the candidates and their surrogates. here's how to call. if you support the harris ticket, 202-748-8000. supports of the trump fans ticket, 202-748-8001. if you support neither or undecided, it's 202-748-8002. you can send us a text to 202-748-8003. include your first name and your city and state. and you can also post to social media, facebook.com/cspan and x at @cspanwj. welcome to today's "washington journal." let's start with the front page of the "new york times." in. caller: right. host: so she's asking again, is tightest contest in decades grows tighter at finish. that what his plan is and should a stressed electorate eagerly he not do that? caller: well, even then, ma'am, votes early.

worried about the state of the he was not planning on saying nation's democracy is voting that. with determination with roughly what happened was -- host: he was not planning on 75 million people having cast declaring victory early? ballots in the early voting caller: no, he didn't declare period. victory early. what he did was he got up there in north carolina, nearly 4.5 after it was like the next day million voters had an early in-person record in the state after all the counting and he amid devastation from hurricane said i think we did win. helene. i think i did win. georgia voters also set a record why? because of all of the ridiculous with four million voters casting cheating that was going on. in early ballot in. and just one last thing before pennsylvania, 1.7 million people you cut me off. it's happening again. voted by mail and increasingly ok? it's happening again. we've got -- if you look at the caustic litigation over whose -- host: and u.v. proof of mail ballot to count. cheating, willy? nine states have seen more than caller: look, ma'am, please, and i know you like to be watch the 50% of eligible voters already "post" and the "new york times" vote. and all the -- you quote from and it also says here shift and the newspaper -- host: go ahead with your point. swing states -- it's important caller: my point is pull up the gateway pundits. there's all kinds of proof that talks about how they are cheating now with all of the ballots going to different states. host: got it. and this is stephen on x who

says the two-party system is failing measures. look to your -- americans look to your third party candidate. most americans are surprised they sent more into the third to note that all of these results from within the margin parties. and riddle ss i cannot wait r this to be over. of sampling error meaning mike in north carolina. i live in a rural area and i neither candidate have a definitive lead in any of them. sure do not want this country to let's take a look at vice be california and new york. president harris in michigan, and if harris gets in, we will talking about the war in gaza. not he an american country here she is. anymore. and here is jack. vp harris: and we have seen the former president lacks decencynd anyone supports him proud roots here in michigan -- condones his statement like the [applause] media isak news and a bullet and i want to say this year's been difficult, given the scale should pass through them first. of death and destruction in gaza mimi, please play this clip. we will see if we can find that. and given the civilian casualties and displacement in but here is more from cnn's state of the union. this is anchor dana bash and lebanon. it is devastating. and as president, i will do everything in my power to end senator sutter-man of pennsylvania. the war in gaza. >> how worried are you about [applause]

this being a repeat because he didn't win but it caused a lot to bring home the hostages and of problems. the suffering in gaza, ensure >> i'm not worried about it we israel is secure and ensure the had an absolutely secure election. and now, the it was trotter palestinian people can realize fraud in pennsylvania and there their right to dignity, freedom, was a handful of republicans and security and self-determination. they had their dead moms voting [applause] for trump. and i'd like to remind everybody that they were all caught and they were prosecuted and again, and we continue to work on a dan patrick in texas still owes diplomatic resolution across the me a significant amount of money for the reward that he owes from israel-lebanon border to protect civilians and provide lasting 2020. there was no voter fraud. he tried. and i would just tell him that stability. desperation is the worst and i [applause] and as president, i will work expect he was going to do that. it's not going to be effective tirelessly toward our future with security and dignity for anywhere than it was in 2020. and anyone that platform his lies, that was a very expensive all people. kind of habit as well too. host: that was yesterday. you know, fox had to pay over

and also former president trump $800 million for those kinds of was in macon, georgia, talking lies and all of his supporters. about immigration. they were all dragged into court mr. trump: kamala wants to and they all -- they were like defund us. oh, no, i'm so sorry that i think of that. she said they're not nice lied. remember the kraken? people. and her defense was nobody takes they better not be nice people. her impossibly seriously. they're nice people, they're going to have a lot of problems again, it's the same sad story with living but they're as tough that we had in 2020 and i like as hell but they love our country, equally as much as they to remind everybody that biden love our country so much they just want to be able do their rests his sit by 80% vote and jobs. so ice, and bolder patrol and he's going to try to lie and claim these baseless things, but now, we're going to have a new team leading america and that's sheriff and law enforcement officers and yes, firemen and going to be harris and walz. but it is going to be close. sanitation men and everything -- you are on the a-list, all of host: and here is omari in columbia, maryland, a harris you. supporter. good morning. caller: good morning. i can't vote for donald trump on i will run it tougher. the second round. that's when they were not so this is a guy who bankrupted tough in 1978.

to dismantle every migrant multiple casinos. like yes, the business model is network prating on american soil and if they come back into our people give money. country t an automatic 10 years in jail with no possibility of he added $8 trillion in debt in four years and economists are saying he could add another $7 parole. trillion if he was able to and i am here calling for the implement his policies again. at worse, another $15 trillion. death penalty for any migrant that kills an american citizen he won't tax the rich. how is he not going to tax the or a law enforcement officer. rich? then who's going to get taxed? the middle class and poor [applause] people. and i will immediately ban all and what happens is they have to start making cuts to social sanctuary cities in the united states of america immediately. programs that has an effect on host: and he did mention the the debt that we had. his leadership, can't vote on alien enemies act of 1998. them because of his responsible for covid. if you look at the movie "jaws," -- 1798. with the mayor of the town the purpose of the aliens enemies act allows the president refused to close the beaches to detain, relocate or deport because he didn't want to ruin non-citizens from a country the fourth of july celebration. considered an enemy of the u.s.

that's kind of what donald trump during wartime. has done. congress is in support of john let people go out to the waters. adams passed the aliens enemies he's admitted much to bob act as part of the sedition act woodward, the capitol riot. of 1798 as the u.s. stood on the brink of war with france. as trump supporters like to say it says that the controversial we told the protesters go down group to have laws kur tails the to protest peacefully. well, they went down there and civil liberties by tightening he watched as bedlam ensued for hours and didn't say anything restrictions on foreign born until, you know, a lot of harm americans and limiting speech was already done. critical of the government. on immigration, another analogy i'm going to use is if you view immigration as like a house let's go to your calls. fire. you could be upset at the slow michael in new york. response from the democrats, michael. caller: good morning, c-span. only but who is going to be more i'm a proud enemy of the sexual upset with? the slow response or the person that said don't put out the fire abusing, dipshit donald trump. and let other people put out the blame and don't fix it until i'm in charge. i am a true patriot. that's how he's done. go blue wall to all. on mission immigrant -- haitian host: here is mary in florida. immigrant, dan quayle, his career was done when he trump supporter. hi, mary.

caller: as you know, you are misspelled potato but he's going to show the items that you telling the lie about haitians do with the borders but that's eating cats and dogs. what i'm calling about. i voted for donald trump and i -- crime is exploded and h.i.v. will do it again. cases have exploded. none of these things are true. i did it again. and the haitian migrants have been a subject of threats and violence ever since. host: mary, did we lose you? they've never come out and told caller: yes, i am. people hey, we can't do these can you hear me? host: yes, you dropped out you kind of things we can't threaten said you already voted for people's lives like this. host: all right, amari. donald trump? caller: i did not know that you let's talk to michael from were going to show the items texas. supporting neither. that you did pertaining to the caller: hello? border. >> hi. go ahead, michael. that's the reason i'm calling. caller: ok. with the biden-harris yes, i support neither party administration, all their money because honestly, i do not see went to the ukraine border, but any real significant difference all the illegal aliens came into on the most important issues. our border, over 20 million of them. this minor dispute where the because of the fact that they american people really need is election reform.

want them to vote for the honestly, this has to be something much more than that democrats and there's a problem considering i think -- this already with the voting. seems to me that both parties are captured by special interest so many states have illegal lobbying groups and that's absolutely evil. aliens on their elections and but there needs to be viable other options than what we have now. and that's pretty much what i have to say. it's a sad state. so, thank you. we've not had this problem host: and sean in niagara before donald trump came into county, new york. trump supporter. power. good morning. caller: good morning, mimi. how are you? host: good. caller: yes, i just want to in 2016, in 2020, and now. remind all my fellow americans that seems like the democratic this did not start with border callers are totally following until 2020 when joe biden became the rules for radical tactics which is execute others so they president. everything was secure. don't look human, but i want my the economy, everything was fellow americans to look into it and inform yourself because the secure under donald trump. most important thing is we need when joe biden came in, he to inform ourselves and do our own research because relying on the media now seems to be quickly changed everything, changed everything into law, difficult at best.

opposite of what donald trump you know? believe what you research. did. and it's a sad -- it's a very do your due diligence. do your research. sad country that we're living in now. i have a history major in college and it's just -- everything's just gone crazy as far as i'm concerned. so, i just want my fellow host: let's talk to mike in citizens to be aware and do hubbling on, indiana, supporting their own research. neither. and you know, vote your caller: that's right. hi. picket support trump and i can't conscious, too, ok? support kamala because they're -- just get out there and vote both liars. and use your right to vote because a lot of people the main thing is the reason i sacrificed for that right. thank you. host: and in silver spring, can't understand why maryland, a harris supporter. mark, you're next. caller: good morning. pennsylvania, michigan and stuff i'm really impressed how you get is close. because everybody knows that the all the calls in. i have four points and you can government can do what they want stop me at the 60 or 90 seconds. the four points -- why to vote and if kamala or whatever her for vice president harris. health care. name is, wants to say she

covid, economy, and u.s. world supports fracking, let me tell standing. what do i mean, quickly? you. she can make it miserable. obamacare now covers 40 million and same way in michigan on americans. it saves 40,000 lives for those this. who didn't have access before. -- on this deal with the and vice president harris will automotives. let women decide how to care for she wants to make all america themselves. like california and california, covid and the economy. we don't want it. we don't want them high prices. host: all right, mike. 1.2 million americans have died and this is ray in tucson, in covid in four years. arizona, supporting harris. that's twice the american caller: good morning. military has lost in world war good morning, america. so nice to be with you. ii and world war i combined. i just have a couple of things to say. first thing i want to say is to our republican people out there, it was devastating emotionally, you are who you support. socially and economically. you embrace everything about the person you support. and under trump, fighting covid with mayhem, and under biden, it and that usually makes people

uncomfortable when i hear that. was organization. just one little statement. and the federal reserve in may, he lacks any shred of human recently said u.s. has the decency, humility or caring he is morally bankrupt, world's best post covid breathtakingingly disconn recovery. yes, things are expensive, but smythe, and stunningly ignorant of anything related to governing don't forget. we were devastated. history, geography, human events or world affairs. he is a trader and a ma ligety -- during covid. in our nation and represents a u.s. flood central america with clear and present danger tour democracy and the rule of law. guns. see the economist 2019. and boy, i'm so excited to get and trump is in bed with the gun through right before this election. industry. i hate to tell him, but drug it's the most important election of my life and all of lives. cartels don't have second and just to finish up, you are amendment rights. who you support. host: all right. caller: ok. last point. host: so ray, do you think that u.s. world standing. that's really fair? i mean, do you -- i mean, you're trump will backstab a ukraine, supporting harris. would you say that you are fully destabilize poland and that and europe and that would in line with everything that she destabilize the mideast and stands for? threaten israel. host: all right, mark. everything? rhonda, california, undecided

caller: everything except the voter. hi, rhonda. caller: undecided, yes. border policy for the past i am from california, born and administration. i think that's going to change. raised in the bay area where yeah, i do think that's fair. because we certainly have had kamala harris was once district enough chances to figure out who attorney. i saw her live and in action as we're talking about and who we want to support and i believe a district attorney as i was you really -- you are who you interning to become a probation support. officer. she took over the courtroom. host: wait. let me push back on that for a minute here. because we do have callers that she had everyone entranced, the will say i support former judge, the attorney, and the president trump's policies. prosecution. when she and biden ran on the i support for instance what he did at the border or his first ticket to be become president and vice president, economic policies, his foreign she visited oakland, california, policies, let's say, but i don't like his personality. where she made promises across the board to oakland, caller: i agree, but i think california. since then, two major franchises there should be no distinctions. not only were three, the oakland i think you either all in 100% raiders, the oakland a's and the golden state warriors all left or you're not. oakland, taking revenue out of oakland, california. oakland, california, now has the highest rate of homelessness, i agree with your point. along with san francisco has the but i'll tell you what. highest rate of homelessness. i'm so tired of this tenure of here i am, on the eve to decide

who am i going to vote for? trump? i can't -- his rhetoric is just chaos. i just want to put that out the. too hardcore. host: all right. and we got it. it would be against my ethics to and here's paul in plantation, vote for him. his policy, yeah. some of them are good. but some of them are not. florida. good morning. with kamala harris, she makes caller: good morning. i think your last caller just described himself. promises. what i would like to say is i and where was she for the last four years? like to congratulate the where has she been? no one has seen her. alliance between the i haven't seen her. so again, i'm homegrown here in california. we are suffering here in california. we have a high rate of homelessness. our prices are astronomical. administrative state, the mainstream media. our gas prices are $5.50 a gallon. host: rhonda, when are you planning to decide? you are going to voted, right? caller: you know, i have been watching c-span, cnn, all the major networks. kamala can't answer a question. i'm undecided and i'll be honest with you. and today, she exposed herself. i'll cast my vote, but i will they asked her about proposition

cast neither trump nor harris 36 and she wouldn't say how she voted but we know how she vote and just vote for all the propositions. i love c-span. thank you for hearing me. host: all right. on tough on crime in california because she's the one that and here was former president helped the shoplifting. trump at a -- an event in nobody gets prosecuted with shoplifting under $1,000. pennsylvania yesterday. >> and i'm just looking here and i'm watching and this has this country is going to be a nothing to do with corruption mess. if she gets electedded and the but it has to do with a little bit of intelligence. democrats are in control in any and i have a piece of it here way. there was a democratic congresswoman told me -- she and i don't have to have one said what the democrats would do there. [laughter] if they got everything, president and congress. but only have over here is the fake news, right? they would abolish the rule of and to get me somebody who have to shoot through the fake news needing 60 senators to vote on a and i don't mind that so much. bill. the opposition party to

negotiate with the other party. i don't mind. i don't mind that. the only way these people are the problem with that is i don't going to negotiate with each other is if they're forced to. look right on television when you have a four-inch piece of so i'm afraid that the democratic party and kamala glass that a howitzer can't go harris had annoying do with the through. host: that was the former power of this nation. president yesterday in it's frightening. pennsylvania. host: all right, paul. and this is ann in huntington, you did mention the power west virginia, trump supporter. measure for reversing criminal hi, ann. caller: oh, hello. my comment, something i never justice reform. here she was yesterday talking about that. thought i have said before but i >> have you submitted your am going to support president ballot? vp harris: i am feeling great. i am looking forward to these trump. we had tariffs and that didn't next 48 hours to continue talk happen before. about voters and talk about the that's insane. and that one thing for me is stakes and talk about the future of our country which i think is disqualifying for kamala harris. bright when we are working with president biden put her in charge of the border. the same spirit of building has she even been there? communities, building collision and building the strength of our that one thing turn med away economy and our country. from her. i haven't heard anything from i have, i actually just filled

out my mail-in ballot. her that would help me support so i have voted. her at all. and how can she possibly fix the >> have you returned ballot to problems we have here or problems around the world? california and how did you vote if we have all this coming in to on prop 36? vp harris: so my ballot is on our cities, we don't need to its way to california and i'm know who is with here. going to trust the system that it will arrive there and i am we don't even know what's going to happen in the future. not going to talk about the vote it's really terrifying what has on that because honestly, it's the sunday before the election happened and i think it might and i don't intend to create an have been something that was kind of not -- i'm not going to endorsement one way or another say preplanned, i don't know. around it. but i think there's been some so, but i did vote. kind of plan from day one and host: and here is "u.s.a. today" it's horrible. it's insane. with this headline. and there's just not enough talk robert f. kennedy jr. said about it. it's absolutely insane. donald trump would seek to and for me, it's disqualifying. remove chloride from water if and i'm a former democrat. elected. here's what the article said. but i'm an independent now. and i just cannot -- i've tried r.k. jr. said on saturday former president trump would seek to to listen to her and see if remove fluoride as one of his there's anything that i could like but i can't find anything, first presidential actions if he that one thing is a disqualifier is re-elected, falsely saying for me. host: all right, ann.

let's talk to shirley in the compound is dangerous. here's the quote on x on january virginia. harris supporter. 20, the trump white house will shirley, are advise all u.s. water systems to remove fluoride from all water. it does not look like we have shirley. he said it is linked to a this is nicholas on faceboowh variety of medical conditions despite studies proving evidence says "this day will be decisive to the contrary. -- and joe in des moines, iowa, for the wholeld and it is somethinican people may not want to hear as they most likely want their elected leader to focus on interior i hope they choose lester mil less lies, freedom and liberty and justice for all. i wish i was a u.s. citizen harris supporter. good morning. caller: good morning. top of the morning to you! and i could vote." host: you too, joe. caller: a couple of things to run by you. nothing was good under donald trump. the u.s. election assistance he just lied and repeated over commission, benjamin havland. we will learn about ensuring the and over to brainwash his cult parity of this year's election members. that's a global tactic. and later would be joined by dan that is a fascist tactic. takashi.

rooney brothers, i am one of we will talk about the flurry of you. do not let trump fool you what election lawsuits we are seeing he did for you and lie to you. before tomorrow's voting and you can't name one thing, can what to expect after. you that he did for you. fooled you twice, shame on you. trump has been debate of everything he's been starters with. his criminal congress missing the did not hold him accountable >> this election night c-span to the rule of law. you all calmen in c-span and you delivers something different. reveal your poorly educated and get an education and grow up! state braces will decide the balance of power in congress. host: john in oil city, no political pundits, no spin, pennsylvania, trump supporter. no commercials, just the good morning, jeff. caller: yeah, there's no doubt candidates, the results come and that donald trump was the very you. best president that we've ever follow c-span beginning at 7:00 had in american history. eastern live tuesday on tv, because look what happened in afghanistan. they pulled right out of there, online, or on the free c-span now app. led to israel the problem that they had over there as well as russia going into the ukraine. the economy was so much better. and i'm from pennsylvania. >> in the book "night of the

when donald trump was president assassins" the author tells the of the united states, there was plenty of jobs and it was story of hitler's 1943 effort to deflated. this administration has done a assassinate three world leaders, terrible job of gas prices, fdr, joseph stalin, and winston inflation. you know, border security. churchill. i can't even imagine the kind of in world war ii these men were planning to meet secretly. terrorism that come across that the nazis wanted to kill them. border. i look at that when people say connecticut-based writer howard you're uneducated because you blum says the initial idea was like donald trump. to tell the tale of operation i disagree. i'm looking at a guy that was long jump. he writes "i wanted to write a very can do. if it wasn't for covid, he was on a pace to do better than any suspenseful, character driven story of men, heroes come and ft. that we've ever had. host: and jeff, have you already villains caught up in a desperate time who needed to voted? or have you voting tomorrow? caller: i'm voting tomorrow and find courage and coming to do their duty for their country and i'm voting for donald trump. fulfill their own sense of i would like to say all three honor." >> author howard bloom with his members of my family are registered republican and we're all ready to vote. book "night ofsins" on i live in pennsylvania and i know they call us the critical state. i don't know anybody that's book notes plus with brian lamb. voting for kamala harris. book notes plus is available on the mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts.

host: and let's go to jim in >> track up-to-the-minute pittsburgh, a harris supporter. results for the national jim? campaign down to the coressional districtel on caller: donald trump had a town c-span.org/results and results by state on the presidential and hall meeting type and a governors races. gentleman asked him why on stay informed on election night january 6 did you not interfere online at c-span.org/results. what was going on and what is >> "washington journal" the reason that you did what you did on january 6? continues. and donald trump said january 6 host: we joined by benjamin was a day of love. now if you think that january 6 hovland, u.s. election was a day of love, you should assistance commission chair. vote for donald trump. welcome to the program. guest: it is great to be here. but if you think that it's not, host: start by telling us about then you should vote for harris. thank you very much. host: so jim, since you're also the election assistance commission program. in pennsylvania, you voted or guest: we are of small federal not? not yet? caller: no, i've already sent my agency prayed by the help america vote act of 2000 two vote in. i initially called on the which was congress's response to independent line and i voted for the florida 2000 election and we republican and democrat and i did vote for harris for a were designed to be independent bipartisan agency. we have four mission areas. multiple number of reasons but i

thought that town hall meeting, we certify voting equipment, we i think that said it all. distribute grants to the states from congress, mostly those have our country was attacked on been around security grants in january 6 and i think donald recent years. trump whether he admits that he we do a survey of how elections start it or not is irrelevant are administered across the because what had happened, he country, how americans engage in watched it on television. the process. do they get registered at the and didn't do anything about it. motor vehicle office or online? and he accused his vice do they vote by mail? president of being a traitor in we even see with the average age so many words. that's ridiculous. the man is not qualified, had of poll workers is. and we serve as a clearinghouse never been qualified. of best practices. host: here's roger in appear each state run selections lean, kansas, trump supporter. differently so we look across the country and identify best practices and share those so election officials do not have to reinvent the wheel and those best practices can benefit caller: there is only one everyone and ultimately better serve voters. host: let's talk about different subject that i really cannot believe we let happen to the last four years and that's practices because elections are run at the local level. letting our borders be open. how different are they across the country? our borders -- i called in guest: it varies state-by-state probably two to three times a

which is why when we talk about year and i voted for kamala is a information around elections we say you should go to your state or local election official vote for open borders. because those dates and i vote for trump and it's closed deadlines matter, polling place borders. that's really the main issue. hours, all of those things very. a lot of things trump says, i what we see that is consistent don't agree on because he's, you is the people who run our elections are professionals who know, he's not a perfect person. follow the laws of their states my mother was the only perfect and there is transparency built into the process. person i know. that is important for people to so, there's my reasons. know. host: aren't there lots of thanks. host: and here's patrick in challenges given how different michigan supporting neither. things are from one locality to another? caller: hi. good morning, everybody. should there be more uniformity? i would like to remind everybody wants to see change that in guest: it is certainly something order to achieve change, changes we can talk about. must be made. and i for one, would like to see there are a lot of benefits we change in our political system get from the decentralized nature of our elections. happen as quickly and i think back to 2020 when the democratically as possible. i also believe that in order to pandemic we were looking at more achieve this, the following four americans than ever voting by mail. things has to happen. u.s. states like oregon and first of all, i believe that everyone has to admit that washington who had spent over a decade transitioning to vote by things aren't going as well as mail and there were so many they should be. lessons learned that we were and that every one of us is able to share with their

responsible. to one degree or another and colleagues across the country who were seeing record amounts it's the problems that we all of mail-in ballot i. face and we have to stop believing that our children will those type of things allow us to be able to fix the problems that we have created. share those experiences but also we also must realize that we to have states pioneered new don't have a lot of time to begin building a better future. innovations. secondly, everybody has to vote. arizona created online registration years ago and now i believe that voting is part of 41 states and the district of our democracy in which the columbia have that. if we were waiting for federal majority rules and i know of registration -- if we were nothing better to get a true waiting for federal legislation ledger of what the majority we would probably still be waiting. wants. host: so patrick -- go ahead it is a great way to expand and see innovation but it certainly with your third point. i was going to ask if you're presents challenges as well. host: i wanted to ask you about voting and who you're supporting because you're on the neither line. caller: i'm supporting the green the level of confidence of americans in this election. party. host: ok. have you already voted or you're this is ap research poll doing that tomorrow? conducted last month in october. caller: no, i have already it says most voters are voted. host: ok. confident elections will be run and what about down ballot? well but more skepticism among i'm just curious about the other trump than harris supporters and like congress and things like here is a graphic of that that. caller: i support the green showing of all voters it is up party as much as i possibly can.

on the ballot, i wrote it down. host: and what if they're not on here at more rather than less. a particular race? what do you do in that case? there is a big difference caller: i tend to even towards between harris supporters and trump supporters. the democratic party because of what you make of those numbers? guest: the one thing we know their idealistic principles, but i don't believe that they're from social sciences is trust necessarily doing the job that they should be. host: and so is it -- is your and election outcomes is tied to if your candidate wins bangor loses. main issue, if you have one, is -- if your candidate wins or it the war in gaza? loses. what's making you support the green party? there are pieces of the process what do you like about their most americans are unfamiliar with. election officials have been doing a good job trying to show candidate? caller: i think that they are more of that process. sincere in saying that they are historically most americans tune in on election night hope there for saving the planet. is a winner called by the media. i think they're sincere that what we know in the elections they want to see peace in the administration space is election world. night results are always unofficial because there are and they're for people, social processes and procedures justice. host: all right. election officials follow to shirley in new york, new york, ensure the accuracy and integrity of our elections. most people have not harris supporter. historically been interested in

caller: good morning. that. i have bored enough family thank you for taking my call. i'm just calling because i have members at thanksgiving, but i can see the difference now where more americans are interested in -- c-span through this whole that process. election. at eac we have created videos to [indiscernible] i mean, nobody try to explain the process. fact checks anything before we see election officials doing calling. behind the ballot tours, whether that is in person at their number one, our laws need to be offices or doing videos to show changed because -- for president people the work that goes into running elections and show people the safeguards in place of the united states and trump that you do not see as a voter. host: you mentioned one of your speaks about himself, you know. he's so worried about going to objectives was certifying jail that all he can do is -- equipment. i want to show you this article from abc news, "elon musk pushes not about the country. not trying to unite us the way false conspiracies about voting machines during swing state town hall." he says "i am a technologist and vice president harris does. i've listened to him yesterday. i know a lot about computers." he wants to talk about his wife. that's ridiculous. he told the crowd during the you know, what he's -- the event. the last thing i would do is message he's trying to send out to the people. trust a computer program because

it is too easy to hack. what you make of those comments and how easy is it to hack the [indiscernible] ku klux klan, voting machines? guest: first, we do not trust don't really know where trump is them. we have systems in place to coming from. he's racist. utilize the technology, utilize he's not trying to build us up. the fact that technology is he's trying to tear us down and better as the mundane process of just to say we're in god's counting millions of ballots, country -- so much i want to say but we have checks in place. i won't say but kamala has my he mentioned the testing certification program. that is a part of it. vote and i have voted already. at eac we have standards and we thank you. host: and this was from have labs that credit that yesterday's cnn state of the equipment and they tested to a union. range of things, whether that is here is cnn anchor with senator security, usability, tim scott, a republican of south accessibility, very rigorous carolina about the claims of testing. then you have at the local level former president trump on election validity. pre-election testing or you make >> will you tell the former sure the equipment is working the way it is supposed to and president not to declare victory then you have postelection testing and audits to ensure it and allow the process to play out so the american can trust works the way it was supposed to.

the final legitimate outcome? essentially you see the vast >> they're looking toward to a majority of americans are going very good day on tuesday night without any question. i'm excited to see that the to be voting on a paper ballot or on a piece of equipment with battleground states are all leaning towards trump. a paper ballot trail. so the good news is we will have a fair election and donald trump then on the back end of the will be our next president. election, you use that equipment i look at the fact that in for the efficiencies. wisconsin when i was in when you think about millions of wisconsin just recently. the voters are heading in our ballots, dozens of races, it is direction and the good news is just an exponential amount two out of three voters want to account when you compare to vote in person in wisconsin even other countries where you see hand counting and there is only though they have mail-in one thing on the ballot. ballots. you just showed a stat a few that is a much more simple process. minutes ago where 400,000 vote we use the equipment for the swing towards republicans and efficiency but then you have checks in place to ensure it is pennsylvania. you think the number of working the way it is supposed to. host: voting machines do not democrats not voting and the number of republicans who have registered and that's before you add on top of that the 300,000 have the ability to be connected to a network, they cannot be connected to wi-fi or bluetooth. jewish voter who is find themselves being polarized away how easy would it be to from the democrat party. cyberattack one of those this is going to be a very good computers and switch all of the votes? election. and we, the people, will make guest: the vast majority do not. that decision.

>> i appreciate your optimism. each state run selections that's your job on the eve of differently. the election. but what i'm asking about is there are a few places where the what if he doesn't win? utilize brief connection for and the fact of the matter is sending results but by and large that trump has already spreading you are talking about what would false claims about cheating in be physical access to the equipment. pennsylvania. he has repeatedly predicted a extended physical access, which massive victory even though polls show that the race is very would be difficult. close. he's setting the stage for his what we have seen a lot more of supporters not to believe the results if he loses. an what is relatively speaking do you want him to stop doing lower hanging fruit is the that? information environment. >> i would never tell any we have heard from our intelligence community about candidate on the ballot to talk about what happens if they lose. obviously, you're going to lean actors from foreign adversaries into the victory especially -- trying to influence americans online, putting out false >> i appreciate that, senator, forgive me, but spreading false narratives about how elections are administered or potential rumors -- >> you're running ahead of your candidates. issues that are rising. >> totally. but he's saying about fraud -- we saw it in 2016 and 2020 and you think it's ok tock spread we have seen a lot of it this cycle as well. caller: if you would like -- false rumors about fraud and host: if you would like to join undermind the integrity of the election regardless of what our conversation with benjamin

happens? hovland he is the chair of the >> the liberal media has done a u.s. election assistance commission. better job of spreading democrats (202) 748-8000, misinformation of any candidates i've seen so far. republicans (202) 748-8001, >> oh, come on. and independents (202) 748-8002. start calling now. there is an article on npr.org, we are focused on the -- ballot set on fire in three states is election day approaches. how worried are you about the physical security of those >> giving people the false ballots of people that have already voted? opportunity -- guest: certainly that story and >> well wouldn't you if kamala harris's former chief of staff called her a fascist? those incidents that occurred and donald trump has called him one as well. >> the bottom line is this, are concerning. it is also an outlier, bad dana. we should focus on the issues actors and fairly limited. that the american people are talking about. when you think nearly 80 million host: and we've got a couple of americans have already cast their ballot. posts. those stories, while this is on -- this is janet from cedar hill, texas. unfortunate, and i'm hopeful i vote on thfit day in my county. that person will be held to i'm a supporter of harris and i account, but when you look at voted down ballot for all the work election officials have democrats. we need change in this country done to identify impacted

voters, to reach out to them to and immunity. and this is also a text. help mitigate the impact of one da left until election but that, it tells you about the if the polls are to be believed, planning and preparation that many more for the final outcome, goes into elections. both political parties from so often election administration defite lawyered up to the hear what you do the rest of the max. hopefully things are not as year? close as they seem. and we will by the way, have a the reality is running elections segment later in the program is a huge logistical undertaking about litigation and what that that takes a lot of planning and preparation for all types of could mean for the election. scenarios, whether natural disasters or man-made. i look at one of the things i and michelle in pennsylvania, think about this cycle is the groceries are too high. so i will be voting for donald trump to bring them down. state of north carolina, so much and this is homer, a trump of the southeast was impacted by supporter in florence, hurricanes. massachusetts. good morning. caller: how are you today if thank you for taking my call. places in north carolina that host: you're welcome. never expected to be impacted caller: this election is really were, but all counties in north bad. carolina had early voting up and i'm in massachusetts. running on time and that is a and my vote doesn't count can. testament to the election but i will vote. officials in that state and across the country and the work the way that this primaries or they do preparing to administer our elections. host: speaking of threats of

whatever you want to call, election season, you have people calling donald trump hitler and violence against people, here is his supporters nazis yet they're talking about they want unity. if donald trump wins, which i hope he does, there's going to be riots in the streets across all the cities. somebody's going to try to shoot him. and the democrats are going to try to not certify the election and do whatever they can to stop trump. and as far as what trump has done, how can anybody say there was chaos when he was president? and the reason now, we had no wars when he was president. grocery prices and everything else was down low. the border, although there was people coming across, nothing even close to what's coming across today. and the other thing that i'd like to mention is how the hell do non-citizens be able to be

vote? they have to go to court to kick them off the ballot. people shouldn't -- the ballot shouldn't be received from dead people. people have moved or non-citizens. that's in our constitution. i just don't understand. and this is going to be really, really bad, i believe. thank you. host: here's nate in milwaukee, harris supporter. hi, nate. caller: hi. thank you very much for having me. i was going to point out a couple of issues that i don't think there's been much digging into history on. pointedly, i'll start with inflation. inflation was at 1.4% under obama and then went up to 1.9% under trump. so inflation went up. yes, it spiked under biden, but if anybody tracks, they'll notice that inflation's actually been dropping since 2022 because

that's what we had the pandemic, restarting of the economy, plus the war that putin started. and something that i thought was interesting is that the economists endorsed harris which is not the -- because they saw trump as an unacceptable risk and mr. moscow, well he's supporting trump and getting a promised important position, has said that people will be getting hardships potentially if trump gets elected and he's been saying things that mirror what the president of the argentina did in terms of massive cuts that resulted in the recession argentina is going through right now. msnbc pointed out that the

trouble in argentina and also, trump was that peace president. he was thinking about launching mexico a missile into mexico at one point. plus he's taken money from adel son who was the understanding that he would allow that yahoo! to annex parts of the west bank and that just sounds like a recipe for unfortunately, more suffering. i am a u.s. citizen and one of the 200,000 +people in my state that trump did not have our ballots count as part of his attempt to steal the last election. he had lawsuits and the lawsuits were dismissed as one case without merit in my state.

so the idea that the other people cheating is frankly been disproven for a long, long time. host: all right. and here's brian, an undecided voter in elk river, minnesota. hi, brian. caller: hi, this is just hilarious listening about cheating. watching you guys, misinformation that you're spreading on your show right there. you have the report about the fluoride in the water but you do know that that it was proven in court. so you put up a -- host: what was proven in court, brian? caller: the use of fluoride being hazardous to one's health. host: where did that go to court? can you give me some more information about that? caller: you're the one that's supposed to know all this. so then you tell me. you say a study. was that a pure reviewed study?

host: diane in arkansas, trump supporter. good morning. caller: thank you for taking my call. i'm voting for trump because they're letting in all these immigrants, 22 million and they're giving them free housing, the section eight housing. they get food stamps. they get free medical, you know, medicare doesn't have any money now. and they're putting them all free insurance. people out here in the free world, they're out of touch with us we're suffering out here, you know? and they're putting all these people in and they won't change the -- they want to turn it all democratic. they're wanting to change their ideology, what we were founded on. and they just have not supported

israel. they're just a lot of reasons they put so many regulation on drilling. you have trickled down economy. made everything go up. they flooded the economy with money. they're in the covid. they gave people $4,000 for unemployment and then $400 a week for over two years. and then no taxes on it. i worked through it. and i make $15 an hour and i worked through it. a lot of these people on unemployment never even had a job or they say they cleaned houses or whatever. host: and what did you do, diane, what was your job during covid? caller: i worked at the hospital. i worked the service part of the hospital. host: and you saw a lot of covid patients come through, i would imagine? caller: well, yes, i did, but

during that time, they got $13,000 for every patient that come in the door that they said had covid. they got $30,000 for every covid patient that died. so if you had a heart attack or no matter what kind of illness you had, you had covid. host: all right. and more information from "u.s.a. today" on the fluoride. it says why is fluoride added to drinking water? said adding fluoride to water streams is a safe beneficial and cost-effective public health measure citing studies that it prevents cavities by 25%. it's quoting the president of the american den fall association saying decades of research and practical experience that fluoride is safe and beneficial to oral health. you can, of course, if you're interested in that, find out

more from the american dental association and look at the studies that they're citing. kathy in buffalo, new york, trump supporter. caller: this so-called mega-cult and fake christian. we remember when they asked donald trump do we pray for or givens, he said no, we has no reason to pray for forgiveness. you know, when your preacher lay your hand on donald trump and go to praying, believe me. he think you're praying to him as the god. he dogged the media because the media deals with facts and facts is very controversial to him and his cult. so, you know, they are in this bubble and in that bubble, they don't deal with reality. it's a sad thing when an old, an old man cannot accept losing. but after tuesday, catch the

tears, donald. because it's going down again. host: chuck in louisville, kentucky. you're undecided, chuck? caller: yes. half of the united states is divided where some states, over half, are -- and then an actual state. so does this mean we could accept votes from all over the world on our election? this sounds like a chinese plot -- host: all right. you're talking about ballots coming from overseas from american citizens. so like military or -- caller: so columbia can vote on united states in election. that's crazy. host: no, they cannot vote in

u.s. election. caller: when thigh are they an international state? like new jersey. is an international state? host: willy in texas, trump supporter. good morning, willy. caller: good morning. ok. that guy was the perfect example of what i want to talk about really quickly. every harris supporter that calls today has been calling him names and they have not said one thing about policy. you know, these folks honestly know nothing about donald trump. they probably only just heard of the guy coming through when he was in "the apprentice" but believe me, new yorkers, definitely, you know -- host: clearly, that's not fair. he was president for four years. so you can't say people only know him from "the apprentice." caller: no, ma'am, i'm talking about before that like in 2016 when he comes down the

escalator, they're like holy cow, this is "the apprentice" guy. anyway, you had a clip about dana bash and she was talking to tim scott and asked him that question about can you get donald trump to accept the, you know, the rulings or whatever it was? here's the thing. and donald trump answered it plenty of times and i wish tim consolidate would just listen. the fact is that donald trump said it's cheating if there are all kinds of discrepancies in the voting, in the ballots. he's not going to automatically say ok, well, i guess i lost. no. he's not going to happen like that. he's not mitt romney who just give in. host: let me ask you this. what dana bash was asking about

that says prepping for protests and possible violence. election officials outlined efforts to protect ballot counting. what have you been seeing as far security measures in place to protect not only the balance and the counting of those ballots but the people involved? guest: this has been something we have seen change since 2020. it is partially a spin off from some of that disinformation in the fall narratives about how our elections are administered at the integrity of our elections. those are resulted in threats and harassment of people. what we have seen is so much preparation, so much outreach to local law enforcement. there has historically been some relationship usually. the outreach of tabletop exercises we have seen throughout the country to

prepare for an array of incidents has been impressive. we distribute grant money, the help america vote act security grants. we have seen that used for a number of things. it may go to replace equipment, it may go to cyber security and protection, but we have also city used for physical security, whether that is cameras or swipe card access to particular sensitive areas, but also hardening our physical barriers to facilities, things like bulletproof glass, things like making office space more secure for the election officials there. host: let's talk to callers. we start with matt, independent in maryland. caller: i think the elephant in the room is donald trump, mike johnson, and other republicans have already said they will decide to still the election again, to overturn the election

if vice president harris wins. what are you doing to ensure that we are prepared for that? last time we were not prepared. it came very close. if mike pence, who trump supporters wanted to hang, and trump said let it happen had capitulated, we would be in a very different spot. what are we doing to make sure what they say they are going to do if they lose does not happen again? thank you. guest: thanks for the call. a couple of things it makes me think about. first we have seen more coordination than i have ever seen at the federal level with the variety of our intelligence community partners and law enforcement partners to talk about an array of scenarios that may come up, to prepare for that and support are election officials as they run elections.

the other part i think is important to remember is i mentioned election night results are always unofficial. anyone who says they won or lost tomorrow night, we will not know that for sure. that is because there are safeguards and safety measures in place, there are procedures, whether it is for confirming mail ballots. whether it is for provisional ballots. those are safeguards. that is why it takes time. election officials work through that. they double check the math. that is ultimately when the election is certified. it is important for americans to understand that and understand when you are looking for information about that to go to your state and local election officials as a trusted source. hopefully that helps people understand when there is certain rhetoric out there that they know where to go to get accurate

information. host: we have a question for you from jn san antonio, texas. he says "in 2028 we saw 131% increase in mail-in ballots. the il-in ballot rejection rate went from 2% to 3% in every other election 2.0% -- to .02% in 2020. why was that?" it is essentially the rejection rate of mail-in ballots. guest: i don't know where those numbers come from so i will not speak to those specifically. what i will talk about broadly in 2020 was that we did see a record amount of mail-in ballots. at the same time it was not a new process for americans. in 2016 nearly a quarter of all americans voted by mail, that went up to almost 45% in 2020. this year we will see probably

more mail-in ballots than any year other than 2020 because americans experienced voting that way, because they like it, i vote that way. when you talk about the rejection rates, their number of things that go into that. what we saw in 2020 was in anticipation of a lot of first-time male voters, you saw huge amount of voter education, people talking about the process, there were psa's about making ballots and things like that to get people's attention, to help them know, to read the instructions, to fill out their absentee ballot according to the state instructions. that went a wrong -- that went a long way to reducing the amount of rejection rates. host: let's talk to andre in ohio, republican. caller: good morning. thank you for doing all of this. it is great we are talking about

election security and -- host: you have to meet your tv and talk right into the phone. keep going. caller: we are talking about election security, election doubt or skepticism. i am wondering if, given the last couple of elections where there has been so much misinformation, so many lies, starting from one part of the electorate, which is the national socialist election.

they always plan to question elections. that is one of their first plays in their book. host: who are the national socialists? caller: i am talking about the national socialist mind that dominate the republican party these days. host: so what is your question about election security? caller: exactly. exactly. host: let's talk to dan in atlanta. line for democrats. caller: i want to start at the beginning. this whole segment, let's get this straight. it was based on a lie. and you hear me? host: yes. go ahead.

what was based on a lie? caller: this whole thing was based on a lie. what they're talking about the voting machines, fox news had to pay out millions. can we get this? there was never voter fraud. i live in georgia. the only fraud was in cherokee county where they went in and trumps people tampered with the voting machines. we have another republican here in one of the counties who voted nine times. all of the election mess was done by republicans. they changed the voting laws based on a lie. this is crazy. let's call this what this is, this is nonsense. this is not a debate. this is all based on a lie. host: any comment, benjamin?

guest: certainly there is a lot of misleading information about elections. one of the things that has stayed the same election after election is the work election officials do to run our elections, the safeguards in place every election. that is throughout the process and it is important for people to understand that and see that. one of the things i say a lot about election administration is when you look at it, it is not about politics, it is about good governance and customer service comment is about serving the voters and making sure they are able to participate in the process. to me that is a good way to measure anything that comes up around elections. is this helping people participate? is this helping them be involved? certainly that can be a good line to look at. host: lance in fort lauderdale

wants to know how do you restore the ballots burned up in the ballot box fires? guest: that is a great question. election officials do a lot of preparation, there is a lot of work that goes into it. depending upon the state of votes. in one of those instances there was a fire suppressant there so those ballots were largely saved. they might not be able to be scanned. there was some damage to them. states have a process called ballot duplication, which is set out in law and very specific and usually involves bipartisan teams and they meticulously copy over ballots onto a new ballot that can be scanned that has been documented and all of the information is retained. there is a lot of documentation in election and ministration. those are the easier ones. the ones that are significantly

damaged, there still may be indication on the envelope of who that boater was. from what i have seen, several hundred of those have been identified. election offices do outreach through email or the phone. sometimes it may be setting another vote or a ballot and certainly making announcements to say ballot drop boxes are checked regularly. if you dropped off between 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 a.m. on this date, please contact us. there is other tracking that occurs to see who has requested or received a ballot. there are number of ways for election officials to identify and reach out to voters. the bottom line is election officials are committed to ensuring americans are able to participate in the process and they do that work to make sure that they can. host: don in indiana, republican

line, you are on with benjamin hovland. caller: hello. i just had a comment. we would not have had this problem if donald trump would learn to control himself and act like a gentleman. if you stop and look at the past over the years, you would notice we have never had this problem until he started politics and started with the lies. someone needs to fact check that guy but he is never fact checked. i do not understand why. i am a republican but the guy is not going to get my vote. host: diane from new jersey says we used to know the results on election night. there is not a significant increase in population. it is all handled locally. what has changed? guest: that is a great thing to raise. nothing has changed as far as the actual counting of the votes.

election night results have always been unofficial in election officials have always gone through their process. election night calls are a product of the media and that is the media making a decision and doing the math, taking the preliminary results in making an assessment. certainly the campaigns have done similar math you often see someone concede. if we do not have that concession and we are dependent on the election officials process, those certification deadlines, there is something called the canvas certification process. that is where election officials review all the information that has happened throughout the election. they do that accounting. you also have different deadlines for starting the processing of mail-in ballots were some states have a postmark deadline where others have a received by election day standard.

if you are in a postmark state where the ballot just has to be postmarked by election day, there are number of days after that that you can come in. i mentioned provisional ballots. all of those are safeguards to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the ultimate results. election officials do all that to produce the canvas and certification process so they have all of that accounting and they present that. here is the evidence in this election. we have accounted for all of the ballots. here are some issues that popped up because things do come up. we've explained that and we have identified it. here we are the people cast provisional ballots there eligible, here are the ones that are ineligible. all that is documented and that is what is certified. host: a lot of it depends on how close the election is. there is not enough outstanding balance to change the results,

they essentially call it for that state. guest: yes. you can at some point make that assumption but when margins are very close, people are cautious. host: baltimore, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. i had a question or a comment. i cannot imagine with all of the eyes waiting for cheating on this election, how anyone would get away with it. i would think that trying to influence an election would take a lot of people and a lot of planning. to me, it seems as though if in the end anyone accuses anyone of cheating, it would be their fault. i do not know. you're sitting right in front of the store, how did you let it get robbed. i wonder how difficult is i wonder how difficult it is to

influence an election, especially a national one. maybe estate one might be easier -- a state one might be easier. guest: good question. we see limited instances of voter fraud. we know it is exceedingly rare. where you tend to see it the most often is in very small local races. but it is still exceedingly rare. part of that is what would be involved. there are certainly laws in place. they are felonies. i think it is the scope and scale of statewide elections. think about all the polling we are seeing. there has been a lot of talk about that. all of it is plus or minus 3%. you are talking about a conspiracy to commit hundreds of thousands of felonies. and that can be thwarted by the rain?

realistically, the scope and scale coupled with the protections in place makes it extremely unlikely. we have certainly never seen anything in recent history where you have widespread fraud. again, throughout the process, you have safeguards and safety measures. you have bipartisan teams. so many election offices, you ve to have a republican and democrats wiping together into the tabulation room. the likelihood you would be able to do that and do that in an undetected way is extremely minimal. host: let's talk about noncitizen voting. we know it is against the law. it is a felony. how are noncitizens even allowed to register? is that possible in some localities? guest: this is exceedingly rare. it does happen.

usually where you see the registration occur is a mistake by someone. most commonly, and that is still very rare, someone is given inaccurate information by maybe somebody doing voter registration or we have seen instances at motor vehicle offices where somebody checks the box. host: it was a mistake? guest: it got processed anyway. host: they say, do you want to register to vote while you are here? and the person is like, if that is allowed, i will do it. guest: there are mistakes that get made, but it is exceedingly rare. the number of people that actually end up voting is also exceedingly rare. the penalties for that are severe. i mentioned it is a felony. what is likely to happen in that scenario, there has been an

incident reported in the news this cycle about a student in michigan. while the legal process has to take place, if that was intentional and the facts as reported are true, that person is likely to do jail time and then be deported. that is a big risk for a single vote when you are talking about the scope. we will have 160 million americans cast a ballot this election. host: catherine in new jersey, independent line, good morning. caller: thanks so much for taking my call. i just want you to know c-span is the network i will be tuned into exclusively tomorrow night, so thank you so much. i just have a word of encouragement for benjamin. i am a politically undeclared christian. so much of what i am seeing right now is ballot boxes being burned and just the protocols in

place for security just breaks my heart. i cannot believe this is the united states of america. i feel like at times, it is more the actions of a militant country. all of that to say, so much of this is motivated by fear. when i read my bible, it says 365 times that we are not to fear. i want to encourage those standing on their values today. and i want to thank benjamin. he probably does not get a lot of that. and just let him know i have been so burdened to pray for the poll workers and the safety of poll workers. i am so grateful for those who give up their time. i think of the mom and the daughter in georgia and what they went through in 2020. let us all stand together and pray for these individuals and say thank you. their job is not an easy one. that is all i want to say today.

thank you. guest: i appreciate that thank you. there are a couple of things really important to remember. there have been unfortunate incidents. those are outliers, the exception not the rule. 80 million americans have already voted. i was in michigan late last week. they were running early voting for the first time in presidential. there was great turnout. people were happy to be participating. that is by and large what you see. there are incidents worth highlighting, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that nearly 160 million americans will make their voice heard, and they should be proud to do that. that is an awesome thing. i appreciate the bragg to thank your poll workers. we forget so often that elections are run at the local level. that is both the official running elections but also the

poll workers. those people in the polling place who are your neighbors, people from your community who are taking time out of their lives to serve that day, to serve their community, serve our democracy. they will help you through the process, give you the sticker, and thank you for coming out. it is also great to thank them and to know that while this election is here, if you are interested in being part of that, what other thing can you just step into for a day? we created a website with information about being a poll worker pray for anyone who wants to be part of the process, they should reach out to their local official. sign up and be part of it. help administer our elections. see the safeguards and safety measures i have been talking about. it is a great experience. i have done it a number of

times. i encourage people to do that. but i also encourage people to think there poll worker tomorrow. host: ending on a positive note. that is benjamin hovland, commission chair at the u.s. election assistance commission. thanks for coming in. coming up, we will be joined by dan tokaji, dean of the university of wisconsin law school and research center. we will talk about the flurry of election lawsuits we are seeing before tomorrow's voting and what to expect after. we will be right back. ♪ >> discover the heartbeat of democracy with c-span's voices 2024 as we engage voters ahead of election day asking, why is

it important to vote? >> the reason i think we are to vote is because we think our voices are never heard. i think it is important for us to vote considering what is going on in the world today. >> it is our only opportunity to express individually how we feel about the issues that are important to us. >> even though they say every election is an important election, this one in particular , i think you exercise your right to vote. if you see how this country is going in the wrong direction, then you should get out and vote. do not base it on personality. base it on policy, things that will help your life. >> because elsewhere in the world people's votes do not

count. here, you can definitely make a change. >> i am voting this year because i care about my woman's rights, i care about my rights as a black woman, and i am also in the military. i care about how i am getting deployed, where i am going and the reasons why. i feel like that is a good reason to fight and you should fight, too. >> be part of the conversation. >> this fall, as part of our comprehensive campaign 2024 coverage, c-span broadcasts more than 80 debates featuring candidates for the senate, house, and governors races thanks to partnerships across the country. these organizations have also allowed c-span to archive these debates on our website.

you can watch them anytime on demand by visiting c-span.org. c-span thanks our partners for their dedication to the democratic process and commitment to public service. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. >> ♪ >> attention, middle and high school students across america. it is time to make your voice heard. c-span's studentcam documentary contest 2025 is here. this is your chance to create a documentary that can inspire change, raise awareness, make an impact. your documentary should answer this year's question. what issue is most important to you or your community? whether you are passionate about politics, the environment, or community stories, studentcam inshore platform to share your message with the world. with $100,000 in prizes, including a grand prize of $5,000, this is your opportunity

not only to make an impact but also be rewarded for your creatity and hard work. enter yourssions today. the deadline is january 20, 2025. >> c-span now is a free mobile app featuring your unfiltered view of what is happening in washington. keep up with the biggest events with livestreams of floor proceedings and hearings from the u.s. congress, white house events, the courts, campaigns, and more from the world of politics. all at your fingertips. you can also stay current with the latest episodes of "washington journal" and find scheduling information for c-span's television networks and c-span radio, plus compelling podcasts. scan the qr code to download it for free today or visit our website.

c-span now, your front row seat to washington anytime, anywhere. >> "washington journal" continues. host: welcome back to "washington journal." we are joined by dan tokaji, he is the dean and professor of law at the university wisconsin law school. we are talking about campaign 2024 litigation. welcome to the program. guest: thank you for having me. host: can you talk about the scale of litigation we are seen for this campaign cycle? guest: we have seen a lot of litigation this campaign cycle. we always see a lot of litigation in a year divisible by four. there do seem to be more cases this time around than has been typically the case. the republican party and their allies have been focusing more

on election integrity. the democratic party and their allies more on voting access. i was doing some searching over the weekend and found dozens of cases brought just in the past few weeks by both sides on all sorts of issues from absentee ballots to voting by military and overseas personnel, to voter registration, list maintenance, voting purges, and election certification. certainly, a lot of litigation this cycle. host: give us an example of what we are seeing. for example, voting from military people overseas, that has always been the case. what kind of litigation would there be around that? guest: there was a lawsuit brought in michigan over this issue by the michigan republican

party against that state's democratic secretary of state, a former election law professor, having to do with spouses and dependents, at least some of the spouses and dependents, of overseas military personnel and whether they were entitled to vote through the means provided ordinarily for military overseas. voters, even if they had never lived in the state of michigan before. that is an example. we have certainly seen a lot of litigation over absentee ballots . for example, in georgia, the fulton county republican party brought a case challenging the use of election offices as return sites for absentee ballots. on the democratic side, most of the cases have to do with

access. for example, cases regarding the ability to return ballots or have them counted even if they are not dated or otherwise fully compliant in the law. we have seen the naked ballots issue which arose a few years ago which is not nearly as exciting as it sounds. it has to do with ballots returned without the security envelope. the current state of play is those do not get counted but people who mistakenly cast them can vote a provisional ballot which ought to be counted on or after election day. host: are these lawsuits just in the battleground states? guest: certainly not. one of the most important cases brought is in mississippi which is on no one's list of

battleground states. this was or is a case where the fifth circuit in a very conservative panel issued a decision a few days ago saying absentee ballots in that state which are received after election day should not be counted even if they were postmarked on or before election day. that is an reputation of federal law. it only applies in mississippi. if affirmed, it could have play in other states which allow absentee ballots to be counted if they are received after election day, so long as they were postmarked on or before election day. host: how have campaigns been preparing for this? is this something they do since

2020? has a been preparing for this or is this something that happens -- have they been preparing for this or is this something that happens right before? guest: i do not have information on exactly what the campaigns and parties are doing. i suppose i can engage in some informed speculation. after the last presidential election, i am sure the parties both looked at what happened in court, what was successful, what was not successful, and started doing some planning. i am sure that has ramped up considerably and there are a lot of lawyers on both sides within the parties and campaigns as well as in other groups about litigation. i suppose one of the things i am noticing this time around, i am sure it has happened before, but i think it is more conspicuous. to see some cases filed close to election day -- you see some

cases filed close to election day which are not so much hoping to get an injunction or other court order before election day but might be thought of as placeholders. you might think of them as placeholder lawsuits. bringing a lawsuit raising an issue regarding whether certain ballots, for example, should be counted and hoping perhaps if it winds up being close, especially in one of the swing states, it might be activated so it could become a vehicle for postelection litigation, possibly over the presidential race or in some down ballot race that winds up being close. host: i wanted to play a short portion of former president trump accusing democrats of conspiring to steal the election at a rally in allentown, pennsylvania, from last tuesday. after that, we will hear from vice president harrison an

interview with nbc last month about how her campaign is preparing to handle challenges. [video clip] >> we have set an all-time record in early voting by the way. if you have a mail-in ballot, get that ballot in please immediately. because they have already started . in lancaster, they have cheated. we caught them with 2600 votes. we caught them cold, 2600 votes. think of this, think of this. and every vote was written by the same person. i wonder how that happened. it must be a coincidence! >> last election, the former president declared victory before all the votes were counted. what is your plan if he does that again in two weeks? >> we have two weeks to go and i am very much grounded in the present in terms of the task at hand.

we will deal with election night and the days after as they come. we have the resources and expertise and the focus on that as well. >> you have teams ready to go? are you thinking about that is a possibility? >> of course. this is a person, donald trump, who tried to undo a free and fair election, who still denies the will of the people, who incited a violent mob to attack the u.s. capitol and 140 law enforcement officers were attacked, and some were killed. this is a serious matter. the american people are being presented with a very, very serious decision about what will be the future of our country. host: professor, first about former president trump's allegations of voter fraud in lancaster? guest: yeah. well, i have not seen any

evidence to support those claims. i am not sure exactly what he is referring to. one of the principles we should keep in mind, and that includes those of us who hold ourselves out as election lawyers, is to be careful about making any claims or supporting any claims until we have seen the evidence. that is really important. people can stand up and make all sorts of claims, whether it is about voter suppression or voter fraud or something else. they can stand before a podium and make all sorts of claims. but if you are going to go to court and try to prove those claims, it is not just enough that you assert it. you have to come up with evidence to support your claims. if the trump campaign or anyone else believes there is evidence of illegal votes, they can certainly come as they did last

time, go into court, if they have credible evidence to support their claims and try to support those allegations and try to have those votes rejected. the trump campaign did this, and their allies did this, four years ago. those lawsuits were by and large not successful, in part because they failed to come up with the evidence to support those claims. i think it is important for all of us to recognize that it is very easy to say things in the public forum, in the court of public opinion, and sometimes you can persuade people. but in a court of law, you need evidence. judges who are appointed by democrats and republicans alike recognized that in 2020, granted those claims where there was evidence to prove violations and rejected those where there was not. i expect the same thing to happen again from judges across

the ideological spectrum in this year's election. host: we will take your call for dan tokaji on election lawsuits. democrats, 202-748-8000. republicans, 202-748-8001. independents, 202-748-8002. i want to ask you about the case in virginia. the supreme court has already weighed in on that. can you explain the case and what the decision was? guest: this was a case involving so-called purge or removal from the registration rolls of approximately 1600 voters on the grounds they were not citizens. there is a federal law commonly known as motor voter. there was a lawsuit brought by

the virginia coalition for immigrant's rights to challenge this purge of voters on the grounds that it violated the national voter registration act's limitations on maintenance programs within 90 days of an election. a lower court issued an injunction preventing this removal or purge from taking place. the supreme court stayed at injunction -- that injunction. the supreme court did not explain its ruling, but most attribute that action by the supreme court to the dr. named after a case from many years ago out of arizona. that case has come to stand for the proposition federal courts generally should not issue injunctions or court orders that

change the state of play in a state close to an election. that is what has happened in this case. a relatively small number of votes in the state of virginia at stake, around 1600. that was one of the relatively few actions the supreme court has taken the cycle. host: the headline says supreme court allows virginia's purge of suspected noncitizens. are they noncitizens or not? guest: i am not sure if we know for sure. host: is that part of the case that we do not know for sure? guest: it certainly could be. it is hard to tell exactly what the basis for the ruling was because they do not often explain it. whether they were or were not citizens, plaintiffs claim at least some were not. virginia maintains they are.

as i have said, allegations and defenses have to be proven by evidence. we have not had a full hearing, we have not had a full opportunity for a trial or anything like that in this case. host: virginia is not considered a battleground state. but could other states based on this decision start purging suspected noncitizens from their voter rolls? guest: it is possible they could. it is possible a state court could issue an injunction or ruling on this question. i think the concern about this decision is that it opens the door to states for violating this prohibition that the act imposes on systemic maintenance programs within 90 days of an election, making it very difficult to get an injunction from a federal court to stop that from happening. host: vicky in wisconsin, democrat, good morning. caller: i am calling to thank

you, this guest, and your previous guest on the talks on election security. i am a single issue voter and i find real assurance hearing about the efforts put forth on the national, state, and local areas to assure voter security. i just wanted to thank you. host: what is your one issue? caller: my one issue is donald trump. host: christopher, maryland, republican, good morning. caller: yes, good morning. i hear washington journal every day and i listen to the democrats and the vitriolic language insulting donald trump. election interference has been evident in many of the last elections.

but donald trump is a true patriot. kamala harris has many questions. host: getting back to our topic of litigation, what question do you have for dan tokaji? caller: yes. who are making the decisions on this? what party affiliation do they have? and how does that affect their ruling? guest: great question. typically in the united states, election officials, at least the state chief election officials, are affiliated with one party or another. the chief election official in georgia is a republican. the chief election official in michigan is a democrat. those chief election officials are typically elected in

partisan elections. some people, including me, think that is not an ideal system because you have effectively somebody who is a player for one of the teams being elected to the office. but that is the norm in the united states as opposed to most other countries. judges are sometimes elected in our state court system. in the federal court system, they are appointed by the president subject to confirmation by the united states senate. federal judges are technically nonpartisan. they are not affiliated with the parties. of course, they were nominated by one party or the other's president. host: let's talk to david in longmont, colorado, independent. caller: yes. my wife and i have been here for about a year and a half. my child just got married about

three month ago, my youngest child. both of my girls live here and they are married. we are heading back to florida. we are going to take about five days. but we are not going to be able to vote in florida. i'm going to go out today and try to find out if i can get ballots and vote here in colorado. i lived from 2000 to 2010 here and voted here. because of my restaurant, i moved back to florida and opened a couple more restaurants and voted there. i am in a dilemma. i do not know if i can vote here. the last time i voted, i voted in titusville. -- host: are you registered in florida and colorado? caller: i believe i'm registered only in florida right now. but, but i voted, say, 10 years

ago here, a couple of different times, probably four times over 10 years. i'm like stuck in the middle. i clearly want to vote for trump. but you know, i need to vote for trump here in colorado, where we might have a prayer. in florida, we are going to win hands down. host: ok. professor, what do you think? guest: i'm not going to give the color legal advice on tv, especially not being admitted to the bar in colorado or florida. what i would say is that, you know, in most states you have to be registered before the election, sometimes as long as 30 days before the election in order to vote in that election. you vote in the state that you were a citizen in.

that's the law. host: kathleen, dayton, ohio, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. c-span is a treasure, a national treasure. i watched the vp debate with my grandsons. we were in longmont, colorado. i was in dayton, ohio. we watched the debate. during the debate my 12-year-old grandson sits upright in shock and says -- i cannot believe that vance just said that the way to deal with the gun issue is to make windows thicker at schools. he was appalled and in shock. my other grandson, five minutes later, 10 years old, set up straight and said -- could anyone explain to me how an individual -- he literally said this, how an individual with 34

felony counts is running for president. i want to ask the professor to try to explain to anyone, any of us, why an individual is able to run for the presidency with 34 felony counts. i want to encourage voters -- i went to two trump rallies for four hours each. i had a blast. debates, conversations, anything -- everything was civil. we can talk with one of the -- with one another, thank you. guest: nothing in the constitution prevents someone from running for president because they have been convicted of a crime, including a felony. there is a provision of the constitution, a part of the 14th amendment enacted after the civil war that prohibits someone from serving in federal offices. most people think that includes president if they have engaged in insurrection. some of your viewers may recall

that the state of colorado and its supreme court excluded president trump from the ballot on the grounds that he had engaged in insurrection. but the u.s. supreme court in the trump versus anderson case reversed that decision, concluding that the state of colorado, including its supreme court was without the power to exclude the president trump on the grounds that he had engaged in insurrection. and was therefore ineligible to be president. so, president trump will be on the ballot in all of the states and we don't have a determination from any court on whether or not he in fact engaged in insurrection. if he did, most people believe that he would be constitutionally ineligible to's serve. there is no effect -- no law adjudicating the question. it's effectively out of the power of any court to exclude

him from the ballot on that. host: regarding felons having the bauer -- power to vote? that's a state issue? guest: correct. it's state-by-state but in general the eligibility to vote or how you can register and vote absentee, whether there is in person early voting, those are determined on a state-by-state basis. host: on the republican line, beth, good morning. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. i'm a huge fan of the show. i encourage everyone to listen to it. i think it is so important for folks to hear both sides of the aisle, frankly, particularly in such divisive times. my question is around the statement that the trump administration didn't present any evidence.

i'm an attorney and i had heard -- i researched this and i'm not sure if you did, professor, that a lot of the cases, actually all of them that the trump administration had submitted alleging voter fraud had been dismissed not on the merits, but on a procedural basis. frankly, i could not find any case that went forward to hear the evidence. host: and you are talking about 2020? caller: correct. guest: that's a good point. there were a lot of cases where for procedural reasons like lack of standing, i think that there were 73 cases that trump or his allies brought in the last election cycle -- many in which they were dismissed on jurisdictional or procedural grounds without reaching the merits, but there were a number of those cases in which trump or

his allies were allowed to present evidence. in two of those cases, courts found that he had introduced sufficient evidence to prove his claims, but in most of them, courts determine he had not. host: and and the ones where they did find evidence of fraud, was it enough to change the results of the election? guest: it was not. they were relatively minor errors, i can't remember exactly what they were, but not significant issues in terms of the number of voters affected and certainly not enough to affect the result in any state. host: ben, independent line, florida, good morning. caller: is the fact that he hasn't been sentenced on the charges in new york, does that matter as far as his ability to

run? my second question was -- i had thought that when the governor of virginia entered into the -- well, his right to purge the roles of people that were noncitizens, the facts were that they had written down themselves that they were not citizens and that anyone in error could appeal that particular thing. and then a federal judge in the states rights purge their own roles. are you -- am i right in -- right or wrong in that? guest: at one point the state maintained that all of these people, 1600 people or so had indicated that they were not citizens.

it's possible they became citizens or some of them became citizens at a later point. it is for that reason that the state had decided to purge them. the question in the case however is if it violated a provision of systematic list maintenance programs, basically the removal of voters within 90 days of a federal election. host: does that answer your question? caller: yes, but could you touch on his ability to run? caller: great question. it wouldn't matter if he had been sentenced then. even if he had already been sentenced on those 34 felony counts, required to serve time in prison, that wouldn't make him ineligible to run or serve as president under our constitution. guest: barbara in eastpoint,

michigan, good morning. caller: the first time i voted for president was for president kennedy. all i had to do was take my electric bill to the polling station, show it, and i voted. it's so outlandishly complicated now. not just complicated, but everybody, it's disturbing to think about, how far we've come, can't trust anybody or anything. my second thing is -- i have been watching c-span and watching the news and i am really, really disturbed about how many respected, prominent republicans have come out who have worked for him up close and personal and think he is a danger. what else do we need to know other than that?

you know? it's just become such a -- i don't know. and anxiety. host: all right, barbara. professor tokaji? guest: i won't comment on barbara's anxiety about this coming race. i think a lot of people are feeling anxious. i understood the first part of her comment to be referring to the fact that in some case -- some states, requirements for voting and having one's vote counted have become more strict. that's certainly true. according to one report in 2028, nine state enacted -- nine state active laws made voting restrictive. on the other hand, a number of states have moved in the opposite direction and in one way or another liberalized their laws making it easier to vote. 19 states had gone in that direction. it's been a minute and as you

might expect, you have generally seen states where republicans hold a majority in the legislature, making the laws more strict with democrats making them more lenient. host: do you think i will have an impact on the number of ballots counted or the amount of litigation we might see after the election? guest: whenever states change their voting laws, as they have in every cycle in the 20 years i've been following these elections closely, you see litigation and that's inevitably the case. are they likely to affect the result? my short answer to that is no. if we are in a bush versus gore situation, 2000, where the candidates are separated by just hundreds of votes, sure, any small change in election rules

could conceivably affect the result. it's not likely in an election where the candidates are separated by tens of thousands of votes that these changes are going to be significant enough to affect the result. if it's close enough in key states, anything could matter. host: cid is a republican in silver spring, maryland. caller: earlier you mentioned that trump could be -- was guilty of insurrection. from my understanding, none of the indictments have the word insurrection in them. the 1500 people arrested in connection with january, none of them were charged with insurrection. so, i hope, i hope someone could correct that.

that would not be a reason to, to not allow him to run. guest: and to be clear, i didn't say that he had engaged in insurrection. i said the colorado supreme court had determined that president trump had engaged in insurrection. you know, there are of course indictments, including the federal case brought in washington, d.c., having to do with his actions leading up to the last presidential election. that case is still pending. if, if his point is that president trump has not been found by any decision that is now in effect to have engaged in insurrection, that is correct. host: as far as the status of the january 6 case, you said it's pending until after the election. are we going to see anything

between the election and inauguration day on that case? guest: we could. i couldn't tell you for sure what's going to happen in that case between now and the election. if president trump is elected, i'm sure he will order that case to be dismissed. host: but before, if trump wins on election day before being inaugurated, is there a chance that something could happen in the case? guest: there could be. but i'm sure the case would not go to trial before his inauguration. host: bill, ohio, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. yeah, my question is to the guest. it's -- under the 14th amendment , since trump was involved in an insurrection, in order for him to be able to serve, it would take two thirds of the house and

two thirds of the senate in order to allow him to be seated as president? guest: oh, yeah. that's a provision of the 14th amendment saying that if someone has engaged in insurrection, a super majority of both houses of congress, as you are referring to, can remove that disability, allowing that person to serve federal office, including the office, presumably, president. as i mentioned a moment ago, there is no binding decision from any court concluding that he has engaged in insurrection . because of the u.s. supreme court reversal of the co-op -- colorado decision that he was ineligible.

there is no binding -- binding decision from any court finding that president trump engaged in insurrection, meaning that effectively the issue cannot and will not be litigated. host: falls church, virginia, independent line, mike, you are next. caller: wondering about the voter registration purge in virginia. the local news organizations looked into it and found that 1200 of those were citizens, many of them immigrant citizens who became citizens more than six years ago and it was because of a dmv clerical error, probably, that this happened. the heritage foundation has looked into voting fraud in virginia over the last 15 years and hasn't found a single noncitizen voting in virginia. most in florida, because of mistakes by citizens who are not eligible to vote.

this particularly puts a chill on immigrants who don't want to get into voting where there is mandated voting in many countries, like in australia. in america we worry about noncitizens voting ever voting, and they know the consequence of breaking the law, they will lose their green card, be deported. noncitizen voting very rarely happens. so. host: any comments? guest: just that i appreciate the information and yes, it's generally the case that noncitizens actually voting in an election is quite uncommon. and it is a crime and can be prosecuted if someone who is not eligible to vote intentionally does vote. host: richard is in fort myers, florida, republican, richard.

caller: as far as using a plurality of votes, it's really half plus one when you are talking about 10,000. in the 76 election between ford and carter, i went through the entire list in the new york times. ohio swung the vote. if you went down precinct by precinct, city by city in ohio and 76, you found one city with a 10,000 vote plurality. the reality is, it's 5001 votes. that changed the entire election for carter. so, when you say 10,000 was a massive change, it's really not. it's half of that plus one and ohio proved it and it might prove it again. host: any information on that, professor? ok, one more question for you from mark, why can politician

pacs and campaigns be sued for misleading or downright lying to the public? guest: because of the first amendment that protects freedom of speech and generally speaking false information is protected. the main exception is for defamation. if you knowingly or recklessly make a false statement that is injurious to someone's reputation, you could be held civilly or criminally liable for defamation. but in general, the supreme court has held that false statements are protected by the first amendment. host: all right, dan tokaji, thank you so much for joining us today. guest: thank you. host: up next, more of your phone calls. after the break this monday morning, one day before election day. you can start calling in now.

the numbers are on your screen. if you support harris-walz, (202) 748-8000. if you support trump-pence, -- trump vance, (202) 748-8001. if you're undecided, it's (202) 748-8002. we'll take your calls after the break. ♪ >> take the c-span now mobile video app with you on election night so that you won't miss a moment. catch live updates from the presidential race and stay on top of key state races that could shift the balance of congress. no pundits, no spin, no ads. just the candidates, the results, and you. stay informed. download our free c-span mobile video app today. >> the house will be in order.

>> this year c-span celebrates 45 years of covering congress like no other. since 1979 we have been your primary source for capitol hill, providing balanced, unfiltered views on government, taking you to where the policy is debated and decided with the support of america's cable companies. c-span, 45 years and counting, powered by cable. >> nonfiction book lovers, c-span has a number of podcasts for you. listen to best-selling nonfiction authors and interviewers on the afterwards podcast. on q&a, here wide-ranging conversations with the authors who are making things happen and others. hour-long long conversations that regularly feature nonfiction books and a wide variety of topics. the about books con -- podcast takes you behind-the-scenes of the industry with updates,

interviews, and bestseller lists. find all of the podcasts by downloading the free c-span now app, and wherever you get your podcast, c-span.org/podcast. >> "washington journal" continues. host: and we're back and we'll be taking your calls shortly on campaign 2020 four, your thoughts, how you are feeling about it, have you already voted, what is your plan for voting. for your schedule, later today i want to make sure that you have these events on your calendar. right after this program, 10 a.m. eastern, former president donald trump will speak to supporters in raleigh, north carolina. live coverage of that starts right after this program, 10 a.m. eastern. at 12:30 we will have vice presidential nominee tim walz delivering remarks and lacrosse, wisconsin, for a final get out the vote rally there.

we will see live coverage of that at 12:30 p.m. eastern. a little bit after 4:00, four: 10:00 p.m., kamala harris will speak to supporters in allentown , pennsylvania, right after 4:00. at 5 p.m. today, senator jd vance will speak to supporters in atlanta, georgia, starting again at 5 p.m. that's all here on c-span and they are on our app at c-span now and c-span.org. with that, we will go straight to the phones. tina, california, harris supporter, good morning. caller: please forgive my somewhat weak voice, i'm in the hospital right now watching your program. it's giving me some hope. i wanted to comment on the power

that local pub -- local public relations firms have over information and that the public doesn't largely realize how much public relations firms inform the flow of information to news networks, local news, particularly now that they are so closely owned. there are only a handful of major globally owned public relations firms. they have very, very little regulation and can pretty much say whatever they want to their clients. host: how do you think those firms have been impacting the election? caller: i think heavily. they put out a narrative that kamala harris is not speaking to

terms or didn't go to the border when she did go to the border. they allow for stupid terms like borders are, which has nothing to do with anything. it's her doing a very productive thing. in central america, she got billions of dollars in jobs for people to remain in central america and not have to come here and be able to deal with their very, very violent life due to our poor foreign policy. they have been able to sort of stay. they can have some kind of dignity without having to travel the huge route to the united states. and yet we don't, we, we don't

know this because political public relations firms are spinning this other narrative that simply isn't true. host: moving on to laurie, pennsylvania, trump supporter, good morning. caller: i wanted to say that the hate on trump and maga has to stop. harris is in the minority, by the way, not the majority. the fake news has led you all astray. other countries are rooting for us, for trump, because they know. biden led america to doom. harris recently clearly stated that she wouldn't change anything going forward. we are in the great awakening, biblical times, trump ushering

in the golden age. if you are a harris forwarder, that doesn't see all this put in front of you for four years, you have had this time to figure it out. lastly, tomorrow is extremely important. i hope that we will not see the massive voter fraud like in 2020. proof, i understand, the proof that i understand, the 2020 fraud, the proof will be reflected in the supreme court bronson case, which i understand is to surface very soon. i wish i had gotten through earlier with your guest, dan. that would have been a great question to give to him. so, all i can say is vote trump. host: when you said that other countries are voting for trump, who are you referring to? what other countries? caller: well, because you can see, all the truth sites for four years now have shown massive footage, videos,

information on the uncensored truth sites, where i get all my information. host: what are truth sites? caller: well, starting with social media, like telegram, truth social, x, sites like rumble, bit shoot, rs bn, oann, newsmax. host: all right. rocky, tennessee, undecided boater, good morning. caller: good morning, ma'am. i've got to make a point. in the 2020 election, they had 50 million people who voted. my question is, and i'm undecided on a lot of things. that was about 150 million people that voted. i heard one of your guests say 260 million people voted in this

country. i would like to know -- my question is -- how many people live in america, legal and illegal, some say 340 million, and then i will say this and get off of here, there is probably hundreds of millions of children under the age of 18 that can't vote. i just don't think nobody trusts nobody anymore. because of the numbers. add up the numbers and they don't add up right. it makes people wonder if you want to vote or don't vote. i will get off there. could you find out, how many people is legal to vote and people what's not able to vote and come out on those votes? i just like to know that. host: harris supporter, north carolina. caller, are you there in north

carolina? caller: yes, good morning. sorry, i'm here. i have a problem with all these people, these trump disorder -- trump supporters, when he's decided that he's going to take away all the freedoms from the women? they got to realize that they got children and those children are going to have children. we will be dead and gone and we do not want our kids to live up under these circumstances he's putting down. things like where if you don't win, it's not human for a president. they need to be thinking about how he's going to give those records to vladimir putin. he's worried about pollutant, not the united states people. to take away my democracy? that's what he means when he tells them that they don't have to vote anymore. they are going to take away my democracy? i don't think so.

god would not allow these things to happen that he's trying to do . 2025, he needs to be gone. people need to do research and find out what he's talking about. he's talking about taking freedom away from other people. not from the rich, not from the people following him, like jim jones. that's not nothing but that -- that's nothing but a cult. host: ron, michigan, trump supporter. caller: kamala harris always says that she's for everyone and trump is for himself? i wanted to go through some facts about who he has personally spoke to in who she hasn't. she never spoke to the victims of family members of the soldiers that were killed in afghanistan. he has. she never spoke to the victims of the family members of the women and children that were raped and murdered by the

illegal immigrants. trump has. she doesn't -- he only campaigns and swing states and democratic strongholds. trump spoke in new york, virginia, which are strong. she's not for everyone when it comes to the women in sports who only want to compete against other women. he is. when it comes to parents who want parental consent for minor children to have a sex change, she doesn't believe -- she doesn't talk to them. lastly, about abortion, she doesn't, she's not for men. she's only four abortion is an exception. and she only talks about the mother in the abortion. last i knew, there were two people involved in that. the other one is the baby and she never speaks about the baby. so, i don't know who she is when

she says she speaks for everyone, donald trump is the one who speaks for everyone. host: since you are in michigan, have you already voted or do you plan to vote tomorrow? caller: typically it's day of, but because of the democratic tricks i voted early and i voted for donald trump. host: edward, new jersey, harris supporter, good morning. caller: things that the gop voted against, they voted against helping veterans, they voted against senior dental plans. they voted against daycare subsidies, calling it a marxist plot. the fact that these legislators could have passed legislation at any time discussing gas and eggs rebates for everybody, they didn't do that, they stayed in their alternate reality nonsense . the other day i heard somebody say that -- a trump supporter saying i could see through harris. i see through her, too, i see

through her to the competent people using facts and figures that will help people. lastly, on the immigrant thing, all you americans that are haters out there, it's ridiculous. your guy is like -- where is your food coming from? when you go to a hotel, who's cleaning it? who's repairing your roofs? for every one of these potential people that you say murdered somebody, there's 10,000 other people that have been helped by immigrants, the work that they do. when you go to the doctor, you are not seeing peterson, you are seeing mattel. -- patel. it's unfortunate about the gaza situation, but we need to vote for the democrats this time. we can't let it stand in the way of good policy and people willing to do the job for all of america. host: we had a collar asking about the number of people eligible to vote.

the bipartisan policy center has this, roughly 240 4 million americans will be eligible to vote in 2024. the 2020 election saw record turnout, 66.6 percent of eligible voters. if we see turn out that high again, more than 162 million ballots will be cast by november. as you know, we are at about 80 million at this point that have already voted. we will hear from lewis, california. trump supporter,. caller: good morning. i want to say good morning to america. to be honest with you, i'm a republican and i'm sorry, the ideas and what they stand for when ronald reagan was president, it's way different from today's. to be quite honest with you. i'm still kind of 50:50 as to

what i'm going to do. i would rather vote for mickey mouse than donald trump. donald trump does not stick to rally -- not stick to policy at his rallies. he focuses a lot on the size of his rallies. when he talks about the american people, he doesn't talk about the future. he talks more about, for some reason still -- i'm not sure if he's traumatized by what happened in the 2020 election, but he should focus more on the difference between him and vance. vance talks like a politician. the debate that he had with tim walz, that was a true debate, like before. they had their differences, but at the same time they had their agreements and it was more of what it was before. today what i see is a lot of bias. unfortunately with trump, he is unhinged and a tyrant, the way that he speaks. he speaks of other people outside of his party, he refers

to them in a negative way. we have to remember, children are listening to these debates. what he's teaching them, he's teaching these children that he has no respect for nobody outside of anyone who believes in him. like the previous caller spoke, immigrants, a lot of these immigrants, maybe one in 10,000, maybe one in the hundred thousand, yes, they might be people who should not be here because of their past history, but i believe it was, that this is a nation built by immigrants, people from all over the world. he's got to remember that. host: carol, fortuna, california, harris supporter. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i am, i have already voted. first time i ever voted by mail. i am a harris supporter.

i just have one thing to say. if he was so great, why doesn't he -- why wasn't he reelected in 2020? he inherited the previous administration's playbook during covid and that epidemic. they had a plan. they gave it to the president who was elected in 2016 and he did not follow it. that is why we are at where we are today. as far as, you know, i know of dairy farmers that would love to hire many of the people, young people, too, to work in the industry of agriculture and in

the dairy industry. they have to, the only people that applied for these jobs, and i listened to a lady in nevada, a farmer in nevada who said the same thing, they are, they are the only people who will work in that industry. let's respect that. when we come at thanksgiving, when we give thanks at our table , thank all of these people that worked so hard to put food in our markets. it's just really sad. it's sad, at this point. he was good on the premise, but he wasn't really a good businessman. otherwise, he wouldn't have had so many bankruptcies. host: this is from the associated press about fluorides, fluoride in drinking

water, posing enough risk to merit new epa action. a federal judge ordered the epa to further regulate fluoride in drinking water because high levels could pose a risk to the intellectual development of children. the judge ordered the epa to take steps to lower the risk, but didn't say what the measures should be. it says that last month, a federal agency determined with moderate confidence that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower iq in kids. the national toxicology program based at the conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water. this is patrick. alabama, trump supporter, good morning. caller: that top looks good, matches your hair. the immigrants, it's not the

immigrants, it's that word, illegal. america needs to put the word illegal in front of it when they are talking about it. anyway, i want to solve an unsolved mystery. go back to trump of 2016. look at the promises that he made. look at the four years he was in there. look at what he did. when somebody makes you a promise and keeps it, you vote for them. ronald reagan, he nailed it. he said we were one generation away from losing this country. looking at the lawlessness going on, they called people good and good people. but to the media zombies, they have no clue what's going on. the world economic forum, they've invested a lot of time and money in one speaker, that was obama. she wasn't elected, she was selected by obama. do you all know why they got tim

walz? he's a communist. and another thing, congressman blevins, he's proved it. it was an inside job. host: all right, patrick. this is on axios. fencing erected at the white house harris residence ahead of election day. the article says this, security fencing is going up around the white house, the u.s. capitol, and the vice president's residence in d.c. as authorities brace for possible unrest on or after election day. it says that these security precautions are the latest indication that the government views the culmination of the election as a potential powder keg. some businesses have boarded up. last week, the secret service said they were working closely with federal, state, local partners in d.c., palm beach

county, florida, and to ensure heightened levels of safety and security on election day. that is according to the secret service. eight foot high metal fences are going up around the white house and the naval observatory grounds, the vice presidential residence, and in the palm beach county convention center in florida, where former president trump will hold an election night party. the d.c. police department on sunday announced road closures, no parking zones, and other security measures around howard university this week, where the harris watch party will take place. karen, ohio, undecided voter, good morning. caller: good morning, thank you. i wanted to express my opinion on the voting itself. i would like this country to go back to true absentee voting. i'm old enough to remember that the only people that voted

absentee were our military or americans who were traveling out of the country. i think that some of these changes, like the drop boxes, the early voting at all of this, it's really convoluted and its confused people. it would be great to have a national holiday, voting from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. i don't like all of this, you know, voting by mail, people not having to have a reason. if you are able to get to the voting place, you should vote in person. if not, they should have buses for the disabled and so on. to do what we have done and just, you know, take voting and slice it up in so many different ways, it's really watering the process down, in my humble opinion. thank you. host: all right, karen.

a few more events for your schedule in addition to the ones i mentioned earlier. at 6 p.m., former president trump will be speaking in pittsburgh with one day left before election day. that's at 6 p.m.. at 11 p.m., vice president harris will be delivering her closing message to voters with a final stop in philadelphia. that is at 11 p.m. eastern with our live coverage. over on c-span two, at 10:30 a.m. this morning, vice presidential nominee jd vance speaks to those supporters in la crosse, wisconsin. at 2 p.m. on c-span two, former president trump will be speaking to supporters in reading, pennsylvania. then at 1030 p.m. tonight, former president trump will be in grand rapids, michigan. that will be his final campaign rally before election day. again, those are on c-span two.

all of that will be on the app, c-span now, and our website, c-span.org. you can also visit our website if you missed any previous rallies or campaign events. you will be able to see them there. leonard, massachusetts, trump supporter, good morning. caller: good morning. i know the people, when roe v. wade was overturned, they blamed trump. basically, it wasn't trump. it was the democratic party. because when the senate was democratic, towards the end of his term, they changed the rules. instead of being 60 votes to nominate a person to be on the supreme court, they changed it to the majority, to 51. that was -- that was read.

when he was the president of the senate. therefore, when obama nominated his choice, when the one person was passed on, mcconnell had the right, like democrats as well, to hold off until the election or whenever. and then when the republicans got the senate, they had the 51 votes. then trump got in. therefore, he nominated three different people and therefore put them on the supreme court. whereas if you had 60 people, without the thing being changed, there would have been a different story. you would not have had to have -- not have had to have eight or nine republicans go along with the person, or democrats, whichever party was in -- was

holding the senate. so, in that case i believe it was basically the democrats that changed it. the news media said that was going to hurt the situation for any party. host: all right, leonard. matt, maryland, harris supporter. caller: good morning, good morning. i ended up voting for harrison balls. here's how i came to that decision. i focused on the main issue of these two candidates. harris, it's the woman's right to choose, yes, i support that. i believe that if you are pro-life, you should respect the life that's already a life that is on earth. the life that is already alive. just as much as you respect the life that's in the womb. and then, the focus on trump,

the issue that he's running on, the illegals that he said are here, ok, let's look at this 21 million illegal number. according to the last trump administration report, it's a fact that he deported 945,000 illegals, people, they said. they didn't say illegal, they said people. then if you assume that the 930 5000, it's a class of people that was intercepted at the border. remember all the people intercepted trying to come across the border in a caravan? if half of that 930 5000 is people intercepted at the border in return, it's safe to assume that during the entire four

years that trump was in office, he only deported 2%. 2% of that 21 million illegal immigrants. 2% in four years? one million immigrants? that should be a number that is easy to find. you should be able to find these immigrants. expecting to deport half or even a quarter? 2%? do i want to give the, the white house to someone who is convicted of crime? all for 2% deportation? until you hit that 21 million number, that's not, it's not a true number. it's a made up number. it's a made up crisis. host: all right, matt. here is carol, west virginia, undecided voter. caller: good morning.

host: morning. caller: i find that it's a really tough decision. because neither candidate is flawless, in my opinion. we have one that just won't answer any questions. is not pushed on any type of questions. and then we have another one that talks and talks and talks. i just, i can't figure out, basically, which, which flawed candidate to go with. we have one that wants, that talks about deporting illegals. ok. i want to know how we are going to do that. because i think that in order to do that, we would need some type of, if we are going to allow them, the illegals, to come across the border, then we need

to put them in a register and have them register so that we know who they are and where they are at in the country. then we have another candidate talking about abortions. i'm, ok, it's a woman's choice, but where was the woman's choice during covid, please don't cut me off, please don't cut me off, when women was being forced to take a vaccine that we knew nothing about and they didn't know whether it would affect them if they were to get pregnant. and then the candidate she chose for her running mate, if you look it up, there was issues with, with botched abortions and those babies were left to die. host: caroline, you brought up a couple of things. what's going to be your deciding factor?

and when are you planning to decide? are you going to decide tomorrow? caller: no, what i'm going to do today is take the bills of the past year and i'm going to see, i'm going to compare them to the bills that i had, because i keep a database in my laptop, where i can do that, i'm going to see what it costs me under trump, per month or per year, and what it costs me under the past four years. it's what i'm -- basically, the economics of it. host: you got to do all four years to all four years? a month or year to four years? caller: no, i'm going to do the end of the month. i'm going to take one month. because i live on a budget. what i'm going to do is i'm

going to take one month from when trump was in office and one month under harris biden or biden harris. what i'm going to do is all of that time, do that. if i had more money in my pocket under trump? then i will vote trump. if i had more money left over, i will vote harris. host: all right, carol. middleton, wisconsin, trump supporter. caller: i would like to preface this conversation with saying that i'm a recent trump supporter. i want to say that i'm a single father of two beautiful women, i have a four-year-old granddaughter. for many years, we have been told to think globally and act locally. i want to speak directly to women and ask them to widen the aperture and look at the world we live in today. if you are a woman who lives in

ukraine or russia, where you lost her husband, your father, your son to a pointless war, are you better off than you were four years ago? if you live in gaza, where you cannot feed your child, are you better off than you were four years ago? if you are a single mother living in the northern suburb of atlanta where you have to buy a gun because you feel like your government doesn't protect you, are you better off than you were four years ago? if you lost a child defense know, are you better off than you were four years ago? -- fentanyl, are you better off than you were four years ago? i agree with clinton, abortion should be safe, legal, and rare. i would also implore women to think about the world we are living in. afghanistan, as a woman you cannot be heard, seen, or even spoken to. this world is not better off now than it was four years ago for the women of the world. i want people to think about

that. host: have you already voted or are you voting tomorrow? caller: i'm going to vote tomorrow. host: all right. james, virginia, harris supporter, good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead, james. caller: caller: yes, i want people to understand that before trump came down that elevator, we never had a big problem with voting. now suddenly we have all these problems. they have to listen to what his niece and nephew set about him. his nephew has a child that's handicapped. has problems. when trump's father left that money to take care of him, they put trump over him as a guardian. his father went to him and said his son needed more money to take care of him and trump said he don't even know you, let him die. that's the type of person that

trump is. number one, he's a felon, he's a rapist. i'm just surprised at the american people, that they would want a guy like that to lead the country. he's filed for bankruptcy i don't know how many times. when he was running for president in 2015, he said that he was going to build a wall and close the border and mexico was going to pay for it. that didn't happen. i mean, the man, every time he, every time his mouth moves, he's lying. host: all right, james. undecided voter in oklahoma city, oklahoma. caller: good morning, everyone. the reason i'm on the fence, partially, being in oklahoma, kind of a wash with the trumpism

and voting. i kind of lean independent, because i understand that corporate america really runs most of what we are experiencing, including inflation. i tend to stay with that space of information. i have heard some republicans give the resources where they get their information from and i'm thinking, all of those are right-leaning type media outlets. you are not digging deeper into the issues. for example, the guy talking about the courts and the supreme court, the democrats had to change the number of votes needed to get a person on the court because republicans were blocking all the court nominations and the federal courts were backlogged by three years. so, he changed the rule to get the court system out and then when they got their chance, they

applied to the supreme court, completely not comparable to a lower court. part of it is not understanding the deeper deal. jd vance is the kind of person i run away from at the car lot. at the car lot, you see that guy coming, you run away. as far as inflation, 70% of your extra prices, if you look at the value of the companies, their values are up about that 70%. it is the companies. presidents do not set prices. trump spent about as much. record stock market, record profits. farmers making the same amount of money. you have six companies running the meat industry. you have about eight companies running all the food industries. when you look at the different

brands, you are not choosing for companies. the same companies are controlling all of the foods you are buying, so they can set those prices with the push of a button. and you are choosing between fruit loops and wheaties, it is the same company ripping you off. i will probably vote for the person who says they will go after price gouging. that would be harris. host: karen in las vegas, trump supporter, go ahead. caller: you asked what countries support trump for president. this is a big one. this is israel. everyone has got to know that. israel needs to get trump in there if we are going to save the middle east. i am jewish and i am voting trump. host: let's talk to richard in boston, harris supporter. caller: thank you.

in terms of policy and stuff, the transcending differences, you know, feelings of antagonism, discrimination, and selflessness, selfishness arise from the tendency to obstruct empathy and understanding. [indiscernible] does not exist in such an ego driven mindset. i am trying to say it is too easy for the human heart to succumb to evil when one is tempted by power, prestige, or personal profit, strongly

attached to status or position, seeking fame and fortune. it is a struggle with our own self-centeredness. no matter the fine sounding words a person may say, if they have lost their faith and are motivated by self-serving ends, they will find it impossible to remain in a harmonious community. host: all right. here is jack, undecided in ohio. caller: i am not quite decided because both parties i think are evil and are both committed to war. robert f. kennedy at the rally for trump pointed out exactly that.

the speech harris gave at the democratic convention was written by neocon warmongers. it shows the democrats are, like the republicans, the uniparty for war, wall street, the party for the military-industrial complex. and the fact that if you are looking for some truth sites, the only one i have seen is globalresearch.ca. it has people within the government and the cia who could not be interviewed by any other media because they have come out from the cold and become whistleblowers pointing out the cia controls the media. operation mockingbird, cia

operation mockingbird, controls the media. anything we are getting concerning foreign-policy, there is no difference between the republicans and democrats. the a.m. radio stations are controlled by 1500 right-wing radio stations, controlled by right-wing billionaires who have the same party of mccarthyism and smearing russia, smearing china, smearing cuba. host: one more call, john, missouri, trump supporter. caller: i just want to let you know i am a union man. i voted democrat my entire life. i have seen things flip up from democrat to republican. i do not see how anybody, our lives were so much better with

trump. the last time i voted democrat, i tell you what, trump made this country better. as soon as biden got in, we have seen how bad it got. so, i am voting trump. i am a union man. i am going to vote trump. i do not see why it is that hard for anybody to understand that things were better four years ago. gas was cheaper, food was cheaper. lives were easier. that is all i wanted to say. thank you. host: that is all the time we have got for this show. we will be back again tomorrow morning at 7:00 eastern. thanks to everyone who called in and is watching. we are going to take you to the rally with former president trump speaking to supporters. this is live coverage. >> ♪ feel like the whole wide

world is raining down on you brought to you courtesy of the red, white, and blue oh, oh, the red, white, and blue oh, oh, oh, of my red, white, and blue ♪ ♪ >> we are live today in raleigh, north carolina, where former president donald trump is set to begin a campaign rally. the republican nominee will be delivering remarks shortly. we will have that for you live on c-span. you can also watch on the c-span now app or at our website, c-span.org.

guest: we were created by the help america vote act of 2002 which was the congress response to the florida election. we were designed to be an independent bipartisan agency. we test and certify voting equipment. we distribute grants to the states from congress. mostly around security grants in recent years. we do a survey of how elections are administered across the country, how americans engage in the process. do they get registered at a motor vehicle office or online, do they vote by mail, early, in-person election day?

we even see the average age of poll workers. we serve as a clearinghouse of best practices. because each state runs elections different week, we look across the country, identify best practices, and share those so election officials do not have to reinvent the wheel and best practices can benefit everyone and better serve voters. host: let's talk about the different practices because elections are run at the local level. how different are they across the country? guest: it really does vary state by state. we say that you should go to your state and local officials. all of those things vary. what we see is consistent is the people who run our elections are professional. they follow the laws of their state. there is transparency built into the process. that is important for people to know. host: but are there not lots of

challenges given how different things are from one state to another? should there be more uniformity? guest: it is certainly something we can talk about. there are a lot of benefits we get from the decentralized nature of our elections. i think back to 2021 in the pandemic we were looking at more americans than ever voting by mail. oregon and washington who spent a full decade transitioning to vote by mail had so many lessons learned they were able to share with colleagues across the country. those types of things allow us to share those experiences but also to have states pioneer new innovations. arizona created online registration years ago and now 31 states and the district of columbia have that. if we were waiting for federal legislation, we would probably still be waiting.

it is a great way to expand and see innovation in the field but it certainly presents challenges as well. host: i want to ask about the level of confidence of americans in this election. the pew research poll was conducted last month, in october, it says most voters are confident elections will be run well but more skepticism among trump than harris supporters. here is a graph showing it is up here at more rather than less, at least that is good, but there's a big difference between harris and trump supporters. what do you make of those numbers? guest: one thing we know from social scientists is unfortunately trust in election outcomes is often tied to whether candidate wins or loses, so there is that element. there are a lot of pieces of the

election process most americans are unfamiliar with. election officials have been doing a good job the last several years trying to show more of that process. i think historically, most americans would tune in on election night, hope there was a winner called by the media. what we know is election night results are always unofficial because there are processes and procedures election officials followed to ensure the accuracy and integrity of our elections. most people have not been historically interested in that. i know that i have bored enough family members at thanksgiving dinner. i know more americans are interested in that. we have created videos to explain the process. we see officials doing behind the ballot tours whether that is in-person at their offices were doing videos to show people the

work because into running elections and the safeguards in place that you do not see just as a voter. host: you mentioned one of your objectives was certifying equipment. i want to show you this article from abc news. elon musk pushes false conspiracies about voting machines during a town hall. musk told the crowd during the event the last thing i would do is trust a computer program because it is too easy to hack. what do you make of those comments, and how easy is it to hack the voting machines? guest: first, we do not trust them. we have systems in place to utilize the technology, utilize the fact that technology is better as the mundane process of counting millions of bal lots.

we have both standards that the voting systems are built to and we accredited labs that test the equipment to a range of things whether it is usability, accessibility, very rigorous testing. at the local level, you have pre-election testing where you make should the equipment is working the way it is supposed to. then you have postelection testing and/or audits to ensure it worked the way it was supposed to. you see the vast majority of americans, over 95% of americans are going to be voting on a paper ballot or piece of equipment with a paper ballot audit trail. on the back end of the election, you use that equipment for the efficiencies. when you think about millions about scum and dozens of races, it is an exponential amount to

count. in other countries it is a more simple process paid we use the equipment for the efficiency, but then you have checks in place to ensure it is working the way it is supposed to. host: these voting machines are not connected to a network, they cannot be connected to wi-fi, they cannot be connected to bluetooth. how easy would it be to cyberattack one of those computers and switch all of the votes? guest: the vast majority do not. each state runs elections differently. there are a few places where they utilize a brief connection. by and large, you are talking about what would be physical access to the equipment. extended physical access would be difficult. what have seen a lot more of and what is relatively speaking for

adversaries will hanging fruit is the information environment. we have heard from our intelligence community about actors from foreign adversaries trying to influence americans online putting out false narratives about how elections are administered or potential issues that arise. we saw it in 2016, 2020, and we have seen a lot already this cycle as well. host: if you would like to join our conversation with benjamin hovland, you can do so. democrats, republicans, and independents. you can start calling in now. there is an article on npr.org. ballots set on fire in three states as election day approaches. how worried are you about the physical security of the ballots

of people who have already voted? guest: a couple things. the incidents that have occurred are concerning. it is also an outlier with bad actors and fairly limited. nearly 80 million americans have already cast their ballot. those stories, while unfortunate, and i am certainly hopeful that person will be held to account, but when you look at the work election officials have done to identify impacted voters, to reach out to them, to help mitigate the impact of that, it tells you about the planning and preparation that goes into elections. so often, election administrators say, what do you do the rest of the year or in the off years? the reality is running elections is a huge logistical undertaking. it takes a lot of planning and preparation for all types of scenarios whether natural disasters or man-made.

one of the things i think about this cycle is so much of the southeast was impacted by hurricanes. places in north carolina that never would have expected to be impacted by hurricanes were. but all counties in north carolina had early voting up and running on time. that is a testament to the election officials in the state and across the country and the work they do preparing to administer our elections. host: speaking of threats of violence against people, here is the front page of the usa today that says repping for protests and possible violence, officials outline efforts to protect ballot counting. what have you been seeing around the country as far as security measures to protect not only the ballots in the counting of the ballots but the people involved? guest: this has been something we have seen change since 2020.

it is partially a spinoff from some of the disinformation and false narratives about how our elections are administered and the integrity of our elections. those have resulted in threats and harassment of people. what we have seen is so much preparation, so much outreach to local law enforcement. there has historically been some relationship usually. but the outreach and tabletop exercises we have seen throughout the country to prepare for an array of incidents has been impressive. we distribute grant money, the help america vote act security grants. we have seen that used for a number of things. it is very flexible. it may go to replace equipment, it may go to cyber security and protection, but we have also seen it used for physical security, whether that is cameras or swipe card access to particularly sensitive areas,

but also hardening our physical barriers to facilities, things like bulletproof glass, things like making office space more secure for the election officials who work there. host: let's talk to callers. we start with matt, independent in maryland. good morning. caller: i think the elephant in the room is donald trump, mike johnson, and other republicans have already said they will try to steal the election again, to overturn the election if vice president harris wins. what are you doing to ensure that we are prepared for that? last time, we were not prepared. it came very close. if mike pence, who trump supporters wanted to hang, and trump said let it happen, had capitulated, we would be in a very different spot. what are we doing to make sure

what they say they are going to do if they lose does not happen again? thank you. guest: thanks for the call. a couple of things it makes me think about. first, we have seen more coordination than i have ever seen at the federal level with the variety of our intelligence community partners and law enforcement partners to talk it's about an array of scenarios that may come up, to prepare for that, to support our election officials as they run elections. the other part i think is important to remember is i mentioned earlier election night results are always unofficial. anyone who says they won or lost tomorrow night, we will not know that for sure. that is because there are safeguards and safety measures in place. there are procedures, whether it is for confirming mail ballots. whether it is for provisional ballots.

those are safeguards built in. that is why it takes time. election officials work through that. they double check the math. that is ultimately when the election is certified. it is important for americans to understand that and understand when you are looking for information about that to go to your state and local election officials as the trusted source. hopefully, that helps people understand when there is certain rhetoric out there that they know where to go to get accurate information. host: we have a question for you from john in san antonio, texas. he says we saw in 2020 and increase in mail-in ballots. the mail-in ballot rejection rate went from 2% to 3% in every other election to .02% in 2020.

why was that? it is essentially the rejection rate of mail-in ballots. guest: i don't know where those numbers come from so i will not speak to those specifically. what i will talk about broadly in 2020 was that we did see a record amount of mail-in ballots. but at the same time, it was not a new process for americans. in 2016, nearly a quarter of all americans voted by mail. that went up to almost 45% in 2020. this year, we will see probably more mail-in ballots than any year other than 2020 because americans experienced voting that way, because they like it, i vote that way. but when you talk about the rejection rates, there are a number of things that go into that. what we saw in 2020 was an anticipation of a lot of first-time male voters, you saw a huge amount of voter education, people talking about the process, there were psa's

about naked ballots and things like that to get people's attention, to help them know, to read the instructions, to fill out their absentee ballot according to the state instructions. that went a long way to reducing the amount of rejection rates. host: let's talk to andre in ohio, republican. caller: good morning. thank you for doing all of this. it is great we are talking about election security and -- host: you have to mute your tv and talk right into the phone. we heard you. keep going. caller: we are talking about election security, election doubt or skepticism.

i am wondering if, given the last couple of elections where there has been so much misinformation, so many lies, starting from one part of the electorate, which is the national socialist election. they always plan to question elections. that is one of their first plays in their book. host: who are the national socialists? who are you talking about? caller: i am talking about the national socialist mind that dominate the republican party these days. host: so, what is your question about election security? caller: exactly. exactly.

host: ok. let's talk to dan in atlanta. line for democrats. caller: i want to start at the beginning. this whole segment, let's get this straight. it was based on a lie. can you hear me? host: yes. go ahead. what was based on a lie? caller: this whole thing was based on a lie. what they're talking about the voting machines, fox news had to pay out $787 million. can we get this? there was never voter fraud. i live in georgia. the only fraud was in cherokee county where they went in and trump's people tampered with the voting machines.

we have another republican here in one of the counties who voted nine times. all of the election mess was done by republicans. they changed the georgia voting laws based on a lie. this is crazy. let's call this what this is, this is a lie, this is nonsense. this is not an intellectual debate. this is all based on a lie. host: any comment, benjamin? guest: certainly there is a lot of misleading information about elections. one of the things that has stayed the same election after election is the work election officials do to run our elections, the safeguards in place every election. that is throughout the process and it is important for people to understand that and see that. one of the things i say a lot

about election administration is , when you look at it, it is not about politics, it is about good governance and customer service . it is about serving the voters and making sure they are able to participate in the process. to me, that is a good way to measure anything that comes up around elections. is this helping people participate? is this helping them be involved? certainly that can be a good line to look at. host: lance in fort lauderdale wants to know, how do you restore the ballots burned up in the ballot box fires? guest: that is a great question. election officials do a lot of preparation, there is a lot of work that goes into it. depending upon the state of votes. in one of those instances, there was a fire suppressant there so those ballots were largely saved. but they might not be able to be

scanned if there was some damage to them. most states have a process called ballot duplication, which is set out in law and very specific and usually involves bipartisan teams and they meticulously copy over ballots onto a new ballot that can be scanned that has been documented and all of the information is retained. there is a lot of documentation in election administration. those are the easier ones. the ones that are significantly damaged, there still may be indication on the envelope of who that voter was. from what i have seen, several hundred of those have been identified. election offices do outreach ideally through email or the phone. sometimes, it may be sending the voter another ballot. and certainly making announcements to say ballot drop

boxes are checked regularly. if you dropped off between 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 a.m. on this date, please contact us. there is other tracking that occurs to see who has requested or received a ballot. there are a number of ways for election officials to identify and reach out to voters. the bottom line is election officials are committed to ensuring americans are able to participate in the process and they do that work to make sure that they can. host: don in indiana, republican line, you are on with benjamin hovland. caller: hello. guest: good morning. caller: i just had a comment. we would not have had this problem if donald trump would learn to control himself and act like a gentleman. if you stop and look at the past over the years, you would notice we have never had this problem until he started politics and started with the lies. someone needs to fact check that guy but he is never fact checked. i do not understand why.

i am a republican but the guy is not going to get my vote. thank you. host: diane from new jersey says we used to know the results on election night. there is not a significant increase in population. it is all handled locally. what has changed? guest: that is a great thing to raise. nothing has changed as far as the actual counting of the votes. election night results have always been unofficial in -- and election officials have always gone through their process. election night calls are a product of the media and that is the media making a decision and doing the math, taking the preliminary results and making an assessment that an election can be called. certainly, if the campaigns have

done similar math, you often see someone concede. if we do not have that concession and we are dependent on the election officials process, those certification deadlines, there is something called the canvas certification process. that is where election officials review all the information that has happened throughout the election. they do that accounting. you also have different deadlines for starting the processing of mail-in ballots or some states have a postmark deadline where others have a received by election day standard. if you are in a postmark state where the ballot just has to be postmarked by election day, there are a number of days after that that you can come in. i mentioned provisional ballots. all of those are safeguards to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the ultimate results. election officials do all that to produce the canvas and certification process so they have all of that accounting and they present that. they say, here is the evidence

in this election. we have accounted for all of the ballots. here are some issues that popped up because things do come up. but we've explained that and we have identified it. here were the people who cast provisional ballots that were eligible, here are the ones that are ineligible. all that is documented and that is what is certified. host: a lot of it depends on how close the election is. if there's not enough outstanding ballots to change the results, they essentially call it for that state. guest: yes. you can at some point make that assumption but when margins are very close, people are cautious. host: baltimore, democrat, good morning. caller: good morning. i had a question or a comment. i cannot imagine with all of the eyes waiting for cheating on this election, how anyone would get away with it.

i would think that trying to influence an election would take a lot of people and a lot of planning. to me, it seems as though if in the end anyone accuses anyone of cheating, it would be their fault. i do not know. you're sitting right in front of the store, how did you let it get robbed? i wonder how difficult is it to influence an election, especially a national one? maybe a state one might be easier. guest: great question. it would be extremely difficult at scale. we see very limited instances of voter fraud. we know that it is exceedingly rare. where you tend to see it the most often is in very small races, local races. but it is still exceedingly rare. part of that is what would be

involved. there are certainly laws in place. they are felonies. i think it is the scope and scale of statewide elections. think about all the polling we are seeing. there has been a lot of talk about that. all of it is plus or minus 3%. you are talking about a conspiracy to commit hundreds of thousands of felonies. and that can be thwarted by the rain? realistically, the scope and scale coupled with the protections in place makes it extremely unlikely. we have certainly never seen anything in recent history where you have w