This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates as more information becomes available.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump sent a pair of tweets, including one that was flagged by Twitter, calling for cutoffs to new votes coming in after Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden tweeted a call for all ballots to be counted.
Trump’s first tweet said, “STOP THE COUNT!”
STOP THE COUNT!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2020
In a second tweet, Trump said, “ANY VOTE THAT CAME IN AFTER ELECTION DAY WILL NOT BE COUNTED!” Twitter has attached a warning label to Trump’s tweet saying the content Trump tweet has been disputed and may be misleading.
ANY VOTE THAT CAME IN AFTER ELECTION DAY WILL NOT BE COUNTED!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2020
Earlier on Thursday, Biden tweeted, “Every vote must be counted.”
Every vote must be counted. pic.twitter.com/kWLGRfeePK
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 5, 2020
In another tweet, also flagged by Twitter, Trump tweeted, “STOP THE FRAUD!”
STOP THE FRAUD!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2020
Biden, in another tweet said, “Be patient, folks. Votes are being counted, and we feel good about where we are.”
Be patient, folks. Votes are being counted, and we feel good about where we are.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 5, 2020
The tweets from both candidates come as Trump holds narrow leads in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia, all of which are key states that could decide the 2020 election.
Trump’s tweet stating votes arriving after election day won’t be counted comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week in favor of allowing two key battleground states, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, to accept mailed ballots for days after Election Day, so long as they are postmarked in time for the election.
Currently, Pennsylvania is allowing mailed ballots for up to three days after the election, provided the ballots are postmarked in time. In the Pennsylvania case, Pennsylvania officials told the court that they had instructed county election officials to segregate ballots arriving after 8 p.m. on Election Day through 5 p.m. three days later.
North Carolina’s legislature originally called for receiving mailed ballots for up to three days after the election, but the state’s board of elections later agreed to receive ballots for an additional six days, allowing for mailed ballots to come in up to nine days after Election Day.
