2020 U.S. ELECTION: What you need to know right now

[October 15, 2020]  (Reuters) - -Democratic leaders urge Joe Biden supporters to vote early and in huge numbers amid concerns that nothing short of a decisive win for the Democratic candidate will stave off a move by President Donald Trump to contest the result of the Nov. 3 election.

-With less than three weeks to go until the election showdown, Reuters/Ipsos polling shows Trump cannot rely on last-minute deciders to save him. Only 8% remain undecided, less than half the number of undecided voters in 2016, who handed him his shock victory.

-Trump and Biden will field questions from voters during dueling primetime town halls in lieu of their second presidential debate, which was cancelled after Trump refused to participate in a virtual event.

-Biden and his party smash records after raising $383 million in September for his presidential bid, giving him a financial edge in the final stages of the race for the White House.

-The California Republican party insists it will keep collecting ballots voters deliver to party-provided drop boxes, saying it is legal to do so even after the state top election official demanded the removal of the unauthorized boxes. And in North Carolina a judge rules that absentee ballots must have witness signatures, in a boost for Republicans seeking tougher rules on mail-in voting.

President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in their first 2020 presidential campaign debate held on the campus of the Cleveland Clinic at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., September 29, 2020. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

BY THE NUMBERS

Trump and Biden are locked in a statistical tie in the battleground state of Florida. Nationally 51% of likely voters support the Democratic challenger while 41% plan to vote for the Republican incumbent, a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll shows.

(Reporting by Gayle Issa; Editing by Frances Kerry)

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