OnPolitics: Honestly, read this and get some rest

Monday, November 2

Voters cast their vote at the Downtown West early voting location in Knoxville, Tenn., on the first day of early voting in Tennessee on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020.

OnPolitics: Today the focus was on voting

You should try to get some rest tonight because tomorrow is going to be wild. Election Day is almost here.

On Election Day, here is our promise to you: We'll be monitoring polling places nationwide, correcting misinformation, and providing accurate results. USA TODAY editor-in-chief Nicole Carroll explains how in her Backstory column.

Voting and polling, it so happens, dominated the news today. So here are three developments to know as we all prepare for tomorrow.

Biden up in final big election poll

The final 2020 election poll from Quinnipiac University finds Democratic nominee Joe Biden with an 11-point advantage nationally over President Donald Trump among likely voters, 50%-39%.

The survey also found Biden with a 47%-42% lead among likely voters in Florida, a state that would almost ensure a Biden victory if the Democratic candidate is able to flip it.

"Florida, Florida, Florida. There is some confidence that the votes will be counted in time to declare a winner Tuesday night. As the hottest summer in years lingers, both sides sweat out a final tally that, if it goes Biden's way, could make the rest of the vote count all but irrelevant," said Quinnipiac analyst Tim Malloy.

Quinnipiac had more potential bad news for Trump in Ohio, which no Republican has ever won the White House without, finding Biden up 47%-43% among likely voters in the Buckeye State.

The polls were conducted from Oct. 28-Nov. The margin of error nationally was 2.5 percentage points; for Florida it was 2.4 points and for Ohio it was 2.6.

Federal judge strikes down GOP voting lawsuit in Texas

A federal judge said Monday that he will not invalidate almost 127,000 votes cast in drive-thru lanes in Texas' Harris County, ruling that Republican candidates and a GOP activist waited too long to challenge the legality of the innovation in voting.

In dismissing the lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen also said the Republicans lacked the standing to sue because their complaint - that Harris County was breaking the law - alleged a general harm that did not particularly affect them.

But even if standing were not an issue, Hanen said he would not have tossed out drive-thru votes because the plaintiffs waited too long to challenge the legality of the innovation in voting.

Harris County includes Houston, and it is the largest county in Texas by population.

Trump attacks mail-in voting system in Pennsylvania

President Donald Trump, who has threatened legal action against Pennsylvania's plans to count mail-in ballots after Election Day, again attacked the idea during his rally Monday in the Keystone State.

"Make sure your governor doesn't cheat," Trump told supporters during a rally at Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport, referring to Pennsylvania's Democratic governor, Tom Wolf.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, citing voter protections in the state constitution, recently ruled that election officials can count mailed ballots that are received in the three days after Election Day on Tuesday.

Trump blasted the Pennsylvania high court's decision as a "very dangerous situation, and I mean, dangerous physically." His attacks came a day after Trump said he has lawyers poised to take action in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

"As soon as that election's over, we're going in with our lawyers," Trump told reporters before a campaign rally in North Carolina.

Get text updates on election results: Follow along with USA TODAY as we cover the need-to-know moments during the election and update you on results.