2020 US Election

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 31st October, 2020) Stocks fell on Wall Street as fears continued over the outcome of the national and presidential elections next Tuesday and concerns over uncertainties and chaos affecting the election process.

Stocks tumbled on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average suffering its biggest weekly and monthly loss since March, amid uncertainty over the outcome of the US election and the repeat restrictive measures and lockdowns in Europe.

The Dow, the broadest stock indicator on the New York Stock Exchange, settled at 25,504, down 0.5 percent on the day. For the week, it fell 6.5 percent and for the month, it lost 4.6 percent.

The S&P, a barometer for the top 500 US stocks on the New York Stock Exchange, closed at 3,272, down 1.2 percent on the day. For the week, the S&P fell 5.6 percent and for the month, it lost 2.8 percent, the most since March.

The Nasdaq Composite Index, which lists US tech stock giants such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google, finished the day at 10,912. It slid 2.5 percent on the day. For the week, the Nasdaq fell 5.5 percent.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is preparing the largest operation to safeguard the upcoming presidential and general elections from possible cyber attacks, US media reported.

The DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will organize a 24/7 virtual war room on November 3 so that election officials across the United States can dial in at any time to share notes about suspicious activity and collaborate to respond, the Washington Post reported on Friday.

The DHS will also transmit classified information from intelligence agencies about detected efforts by adversaries to undermine the elections and will advise US states' authorities on how to protect from such attacks, the report said. The operation will last until it is clear who are the winners in most races.

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he still has not decided where he will spend Election Night. "We have not made a determination. We have certain rules and regulations," he said.

Trump accused Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser of imposing serious limitations on mass gatherings under the excuse of fighting the novel coronavirus outbreak. "I think it is crazy. Washington, DC, is shut down," he said.

Trump's campaign initially planned to organize an Election Night party in his hotel in downtown Washington, but his son Eric said earlier on Friday that the US president is considering organizing the party at the White House.

TRUMP SLAMS COURT BALLOT RULING

President Donald Trump in a statement on Friday slammed the US Supreme Court's decision to allow a six-day deadline extension for the receipt of mail-in ballots in the battleground state of North Carolina.

"This decision is crazy and so bad for our country. Can you imagine what will happen during that nine-day period? The election should end on November third," Trump said via Twitter.

On Thursday, the US Supreme Court rejected a second bid from the Republican Party to block the deadline extension for mail-in ballots in North Carolina. The party's first attempt to terminate the six-day deadline extension was struck down by the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Trump's challenger, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, narrowly leads in North Carolina by 0.7 percent, according to the most recent polls.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Friday accused President Donald Trump of sowing chaos and confusion in the election process, but voters are "drowning him out."

On Wednesday, the US Supreme Court rejected the Pennsylvania Republican Party's second attempt to eliminate a three-day deadline extension for the receipt of mail-in ballots in Tuesday's national elections.

"Donald Trump is trying to sow chaos and confusion in the process. The good news is the voters are really drowning him out," Shapiro told CNN. He said more than 2 million Pennsylvania residents had already voted but charged that Trump may try to use delays in the vote-counting to his advantage.

Thousands of requested ballots in the US state of Pennsylvania have never reached the voters who requested them, media reported on Friday.

Pennsylvania's Butler County has received more than 10,000 phone calls from residents inquiring about requested ballots that they did not receive, CNN reported citing the county's Director Aaron Sheasley.

Butler County is making every effort to ensure that the affected residents will be able to vote in the 2020 election, Sheasley said. The county issued a statement noting that some 40,000 ballots have been sent out and 21,300 returned so far, the report said.