Harris and Trump in close race

There are three days left Election day. Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are making their final pitches to voters this closing weekend.

Trump will be in the Sun Belt with stops in North Carolina and Virginia on Saturday afternoon. He will then return to North Carolina for an evening rally.

Meanwhile, Harris will also make stops in the south. The vice president has planned a rally in Atlanta this afternoon, followed by an event later in Charlotte.

Stay up to date with USA TODAY Network’s live coverage from the campaign trail.

Women outnumbered men in early voting by nearly 10 percentage points — a trend Kamala Harris campaign and the democrats see as a reason for optimism.

But Republican candidate of Donald Trump the campaign insists it is not worried, arguing that the gap is simply the result of male Democratic voters staying home so far.

Four days before Election Day, 53 percent of early voters nationwide on Friday were women and 44 percent were men. according to TargetSmarta democracy-aligned firm that tracks early voting data.

The margin is about the same as the 2020 election won by Joe Biden, when the gap at the same point in early voting was also rounded to 53%-44%. But Democrats are optimistic because women — who polls show Harris over Donald Trump by a sizable margin — have maintained their 9-point lead, even as Republican voters have made up a larger share of the primary vote this year.

“Democratic women, in particular, seem to be only angrier. Even though the Republican vote share is increasing, you still see these gender gaps persisting,” said Tom Bonier, CEO of TargetSmart.

–Joey Garrison

Here’s how candidates are doing in swing states, polls

With just three days until Election Day, the race is still slim in a the number of key swing states which could determine the winner.

In Pennsylvania, an exclusive survey of USA TODAY/Suffolk University found that the Democrat Kamala Harris and republican Donald Trump they are tied at 49%.

The two are also locked in Michigan at 47 percent each, respectively another exclusive poll from USA TODAY/Suffolk.

A survey conducted by UMass Lowell/YouGov released this week shows Trump with a narrow margin of error in North Carolina.

— Sam Woodward

A star-studded Saturday for Harris in North Carolina, Georgia

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has a busy Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, two key battleground states, where he will campaign at star-studded rallies.

In Atlanta, the VP will be joined by director Spike Lee and singer Victoria Monét and performances by rappers 2 Chainz, Big Tigger, Monica and Pastor Troy.

In Charlotte, actress and campaign surrogate Kerry Washington Jon Bon Jovi, Khalid, Brittney Spencer and The War and Treaty will provide remarks and perform.

— Sam Woodward

Waltz on canvas with actress Eva Longoria Saturday

The Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Walz will campaign with the actress Eva Longoria Saturday morning in Las Vegas, Nevadaa key state to win next week to secure a win.

Longoria, a Democratic political player, has also been on the campaign trail for the Harris-Walz ticket and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.

— Sam Woodward

As Election Day approaches, protecting against misinformation is more vital than ever.

In the coming days and weeks, election officials across the country will count millions of ballots and declare winners and losers. This means your social media feed will likely be full of baseless claims of fraud – many of which we’ve seen before. Some common narratives:

The election was stolen because of voter fraud
Non-citizens vote in large numbers
Votes have been added/subtracted due to car “hacking”.
The change in vote totals proves that cheating took place
Partisan election officials distorted the number of votes
There were more votes than registered voters

USA TODAY has debunked dozens of such claims in recent election cycles. Here’s a rundown of what those narratives are missing, so you’re ready when they pop up again. Read more here.

A Pennsylvania court ordered The Erie County Board of Elections on Friday to provide new absentee ballots to nearly 20,000 voters who did not receive them and to remain open for a longer work schedule until Election Day to receive them.

Common Pleas Court Judge David Ridge ordered the remediation after holding a hearing Thursday about problems with the election office and its vendorElectionIQ, had in the delivery of ballots through the US Postal Service.

The number of ballots missing in just a county of the key fighting state is potentially significant. Former President Donald Trump won the state by about 40,000 votes in 2016, and President Joe Biden won it by about 80,000 votes in 2020.

–Bart Jansen

Harris will be in Atlanta Saturday afternoon for a Get Out the Vote campaign rally. She is traveling near Charlotte for a similar event in the evening.

– Savannah Kuchar

Trump will make a stop in Gastonia, NC, for a lunchtime rally. The former president then heads to Salem, Virginia, a few hours north of the Tar Heel State border.

For Saturday night, Trump returns to North Carolina, this time for a rally in Greensboro.

– Savannah Kuchar