Voters cast their ballot from their vehicles as others line up and wait outside the American Airlines Center during early voting Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
By Will Weissert and Paul J. Weber
Texans have already cast more ballots in the presidential election than they did during all of 2016, an unprecedented surge of early voting in a state that was once the country's most reliably Republican, but may now be drifting toward battleground status.
More than 9 million ballots have been cast as of Friday morning in the nation's second most-populous state, exceeding the 8,969,226 cast in 2016, according to an Associated Press tally of early votes from data provided by Texas officials.
Texas is the first state to hit the milestone. This year's numbers were aided by Democratic activists challenging in court for, and winning, the right to extend early voting by one week amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Texas also offers only limited vote-by-mail options when compared to the rest of the country, meaning casting in-person, early ballots is the primary way to vote for people who don't want to line up and do so on Election Day.
Voters in Texas do not register by party affiliation, meaning no one can be sure until the ballots are counted whether one party or the other will benefit from the surge in turnout.
American businesses that rely on Chinese goods are reacting with muted relief after the U.S. and China agreed to pause their exorbitant tariffs on each other’s products for 90 days. Many companies delayed or canceled orders after President Donald Trump last month put a 145% tariff on items made in China. Importers still face relatively high tariffs, however, as well as uncertainty over what will happen in the coming weeks and months. The temporary truce was announced as retailers and their suppliers are looking to finalize their plans and orders for the holiday shopping season. They’re concerned a mad scramble to get goods onto ships will lead to bottlenecks and increased shipping costs.
The Trump administration announced a trade deal with the United Kingdom Thursday in grandiose terms, but with only limited details about what it achieves.
Why not tax the millionaires? That question won't seem to go away as Congress begins drafting a package of tax breaks and spending cuts for President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill."
X, the social media platform owned by Trump adviser Elon Musk, is challenging the constitutionality of a Minnesota ban on using deepfakes to influence elections and harm candidates.
