KELLY: IT IS TWO DAYS AFTER ELECTION DAY AND THERE STILL NO WINNER IN THE ELECTION RACE.
LARA: MILLIONS OF BALLOTS ARE BEING COUNTED AND A HANDFUL OF KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES, TO DECIDE WHICH CANDIDATE SECURES A PRESIDENCY.
OUR HALEY HARRISON IS FOLLOWING EVERY DEVELOPMENT IN THIS CLIFF HANGER ELECTION HALEY?
HALEY: JOE BIDEN REMAINS CLOSEST TO THE 270 ELECTORAL VOTES NEEDED TO WIN THE PRESIDENCY, AT 253.
IF BIDEN TAKES ARIZONA, AS THE ASSOCIATED PRESS HAS CALLED, THAT PUTS THE DEMOCRAT AT 264.
SEVERAL STATES CONTINUE COUNTING, THAT INCLUDES NORTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, AND NEVADA.
WE ARE ALSO CLOSELY WATCHING PENNSYLVANIA WHERE THERE ARE 20 ELECTORAL VOTES UP FOR GRABS.
THEY COULD ANNOUNCE RESULTS AS SOON AS TONIGHT.
BIDEN SPOKE THIS AFTERNOON FROM WILMINGTON LOOK -- WILMINGTON, DELAWARE.
>> DEMOCRACY IS MESS AND REQUIRES PATIENTS AS WELL, BUT THAT HAS BEEN REWARDED NOW FOR MORE THAN 240 YEARS.
THIS SYSTEM OF GOVERNANCE THAT HAS BEEN THE ENVY OF THE WORLD, WE CONTINUE TO FEEL VERY GOOD ABOUT WHERE THINGS STAND.
WE HAVE NO DOUBT THAT WHEN THE CAT IS FINISHED, SENATOR HARRIS AND I WILL BE DECLARED TO THE WINNERS.
I ASK EVERYONE TO STAY CALM, FOR ALL PEOPLE TO STAY CALM.
THE PROCESS IS WORKING, THE COUNT IS BEING COMPLETED AND WE WILL KNOW VERY SOON.
HALEY: WHILE PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS BEEN TWEETING HE HAS NOT SPOKEN ON CAMERA SINCE EARLY WEDNEDAY MORNING.
THE PRESIDENT IS ALSO PURSING HIS LEGAL OPTIONS, TO STOP THE VOTE COUNT.
JUDGES IN GEORGIA AND MICHIGAN QUICKLY DISMISSED TRUMP CAMPAIGN LAWSUITS.
LARA: TODAY PRESIDENT TRUMP AGAIN IS CALLING FOR SOME OF THE VOTE COUNTING TO STOP.
KELLY: HE’S ALSO FILING LAWSUITS TO CHALLENGE THE VOTE COUNTING PROCESS.
BUT A TOP REPUBLICAN FROM MISSOURI IS SAYING ALL THE VOTES SHOULD BE COUNTED.
KMBC 9’S MICHEAL MAHONEY HAS MORE.
MICHAEL: THIS IS COMING FROM MISSOURI SENATOR ROY BLUNT.
HE IS NUMBER FOUR IN THE GOP LEADERSHIP SO WHAT HE SAYS CARRIES WEIGHT.
AND BLUNT THINKS TRUMP HAS THE RIGHT TO RAISE QUESTIONS, AND ADD TO THIS -- >> EVERY BALLOT CAST, IN ACCORDANCE WITH STATE LAW, NEEDS TO BE COUNTED.
THE ELECTION IS NOT OVER UNTIL IT IS COUNTED.
MICHAEL: BLUNT HAS SOME BACKGROUND IN THIS.
HE WAS THE MISSOURI SECRETARY OF STATE FOR 8 YEARS IN THE 1980’S AND 90’S.
SUPERVISING ELECTIONS.
THE LAWS ABOUT VOTING AND HOW VOTES ARE PROCESSED VARIES FROM STATE TO STATE.
>> IF SOMEBODY SHOWS UP IN OR STATE AT 8:00 ON ELECTION DAY AND SAYS, ’I WANT TO VOTE, IT’S STILL ELECTION DAY’, EVEN THOUGH THE POLLS CLOSE AT 7, THEY DON’T GET TO VOTE.
MICHAEL: TODAY, THE PRESIDENT TWEETED OUT, IN ALL CAPS, ’STOP THE COUNT’.
AND ’STOP THE FRAUD’.
THAT WAS FLAGGED BY TWITTER FOR POSSIBILITY BEING MISLEADING.
BLUNT SAYS THE PRESIDENT’S CAMPAIGN HAS THE RIGHT TO RAISE QUESTIONS.
AND THEY ARE FILING LAWSUITS.
HE ALSO PRAISED TRUMP’S CAMPAIGN FOR ENERGIZING SO MANY VOTERS THAT TURN-OUT RECORDS ARE BEING SET IN MANY PLACES.
AND HE SAYS THOSE VOTES, ON BOTH >> A LESSON THAT AMERICA BELIEVES IN DEMOCRACY.
AND WE KNOW HOW TO VOTE.
AND WE KNOW HOW TO COUNT THE BALLOTS THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE COUNTED.
MICHAEL: BLUNT DIDN’T SAY IT, BUT HE HINTED THAT HE’S EXPECTING DEMOCRAT BIDEN TO WIN THE WHITE HOUSE.
AS ONE OF THE TOP SENATE REPUBLICANS, MISSOURI’S ROY BLUNT, DISAGREES WITH THE PRESIDENT.
BLUNT WANTS THEM TO KEEP COUNTING THE BALLOTS.
KELLY: PRESIDENT TRUMP CARET KANSAS AND MISSOURI EASILY, HE WON BY 16 POINTS IN BOTH STATES.
LARA: NEW AT FOUR, WE KNOW A MISSOURI POLL WORKER WHO TESTED POSITIVE FOR COVID-19 DAYS BEFORE THE ELECTION HAS DIED.
THE ELECTION JUDGE SUPERVISOR WAS WORKING IN ST CHARLES COUNTY.
OFFICALS THERE SAY THAT PERSON RECEIVED A POSITIVE COVID-19 TEST ON OCTOBER 30 AND WAS ADVISED TO QUARANTINE FOR 14 DAYS, BUT FAILED TO FOLLOW THAT ADVICE.
WE KNOW THE ELECTION JUDGE WAS WORKING ON TUEDAY.
THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT IS IN THE PROCESS OF CONTACT TRACING KELLY: THIS AFTERNOON, WE WANT TO GIVE YOU ANOTHER WARNING TO BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT YOU SHARE ONLINE.
CYBER SECURITY EXPERTS SAY THEY’RE SEEING AN INCREASE IN MISINFORMATION AND DISINFORMATION SPREAD ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
TWITTER AND FACEBOOK HAVE STEPPED IN TO STOP FALSE POSTS ONLINE.
BUT, EXPERTS HERE IN MISSOURI, SAY YOU SHOULD REMAIN ON GUARD.
>> WE ENCOURAGE PEOPLE NOT TO AMPLIFY MISINFORMATION OR REPOST ANY INFORMATION WHERE THEY DO NOT THE’S -- KNOW THE SOURCE.
KELLY: A NATIONAL AGENCY WATCHING CYBERSECURITY SAYS THERE IS NO EDIT -- EVIDENCE ANY ADVERSARY INTERFERED.
LARA: THE 117 CONGRESS WILL HAVE A RECORD NUMBER OF NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN.
SHARICE DAVIDS IS HEADING BACK TO -- IN 2018 SHE WAS THE FIRST NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN ELECTED TO CONGRESS.
SHE WILL BE JOINED BY DEMOCRAT DEB HAALAND AND REPUBLICAN YVETTE HERRELL WHO BOTH REPRESENT NEW MEXICO.
THERE HAVE BEEN 4 NATIVE AMERICANS IN THE U.S. SENATE AND A HANDFUL OF INDIGENOUS U.S.
REPRESENTATIVES.
ALL WERE MEN UNTIL DAVIDS WAS ELECTED.
KELLY: THE ELECTION HAS LEFT VOTERS EMOTIONALLY ON EDGE, AND CRISIS HOTLINE OPERATORS ARE SEEING THE RESULT.
THE CRISIS TEXT LINE HAS SEEN AN UPTICK THIS WEEK WITH PEOPLE SUFFERING FROM ELECTION STRESS.
ON TUESDAY, ELECTION NIGHT, THEY ARE OVERALL TEXT VOLUME WAS UP 18% COMPARED TO MONDAY NIGHT.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS STRUGGLING TEXT HOME TO 741-741 TO CONNECT WITH A CRISIS COUNSELOR.
AND REMEMBER SOMEONE IS ALWAYS THERE AT THE SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE AS WELL.
CALL 800 273 8255.
LARA: AS VOTES CONTINUE TO BE COUNTED AND RESULTS COME IN, YOU CAN KEEP UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LATEST INFO SURROUNDING THE RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE.
IT’S ALL AT YOUR FINGERTIPS WITH THE KMBC 9 NEWS APP.
OR GO TO KMBC.COM AND CLICK ON THE COMMITMENT 2020 TAB.
ABC NEWS WILL ALSO AIR A ONE-HOUR SPECIAL ON THE ELEC