Election

Indy 100 - Political speeches are ramping up as the US prepares for the election on 5 November, with a host of different styles and tactics being used. Studies have shown that as the literacy rates in a county decline, voter participation also tends to decrease, and therefore understanding readability is crucial for candidates and voters alike. This means that the readability and how well political messages are communicated and received are key.

New research from Originality.ai has analysed both Donald Trump's and Kamala Harris' level of reading age – and Trump's reading age may, or may not, shock you.Results revealed that the majority of Trump's speeches in 2024 fell between a 5th and 6th-grade reading level. His more recent speeches reached as high as 8th grade level.

Meanwhile, Harris scored between 6th and 9th grade scores, with several of her speeches reflecting a higher complexity, especially during the start of her campaign. This higher readability would likely mean longer sentences and more advanced vocabulary, which would require a higher reading comprehension from the audience.

 Study Finds -  More than 60% of Americans in a new poll say that their mental health has either been slightly, moderately, or significantly impacted by November’s election. In fact, 46% say they have feelings of anxiety, 37% are stressed out, and 31% are experiencing fear when it comes to the 2024 presidential race. Election anxiety is impacting younger Americans in particular, the survey by Forbes Health found. Specifically, Gen Z (66%), millennials (64%), and Gen X (63%) were most likely to say that the election has had at least a slight negative impact on their mental health, compared to 56% of baby boomers.

Mother Jones -The GOP has reportedly recruited a 200,000-strong "army" of pro-Trump poll watchers who will swarm polling sites on Election Day, new reporting shows. And on Monday, Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC debuted a so-called "Election Integrity Community" on X, where misinformation about voter fraud is already running rampant.  

ABC News- Half the country sees former President Donald Trump as a fascist, amplifying concerns raised in recent days by Vice President Kamala Harris and past members of Trump's own administration. Far fewer in a new ABC News/Ipsos poll level the same charge against Harris. Nearly two-thirds also say Trump often departs from the truth, again more than say so about Harris. But Harris gets more criticism than Trump for pandering for votes by promoting policies she doesn't intend to carry out -- underscoring challenges for both candidates as the fur flies in their increasingly heated presidential race.

Responding to one of the more incendiary salvos, 49% of registered voters in the national survey say Trump is a fascist, defined as "a political extremist who seeks to act as a dictator, disregards individual rights and threatens or uses force against their opponents." Fewer than half as many, 22%, see Harris as a fascist by this definition.

WhoWhatWhy -  Without ever providing any proof, Donald Trump and his sycophants have long claimed that noncitizens are voting in great numbers. Congressional Republicans even proposed passing a law that would outlaw this practice… even though it is already a felony. Well, after the Georgia Secretary of State’s office released the results of a comprehensive voter roll audit, who is laughing now???

We are. That’s because that audit found that only 20 voter registrations out of 8.2 million belonged to noncitizens (which comes out to one every 420,000). Come to think of it, that doesn’t seem like that much of a problem.

Axios - Trump's enormous effort to attract persuadable young male voters is running into a major problem: They don't vote. Harris maintains a huge lead — 55-38% — among young men who say they will definitely vote. Among men who are unsure if they'll cast a ballot, Trump leads 37-26%. MORE

NPR - The FBI has issued a warning to state and local officials that extremists with election grievances could turn violent in the weeks to come. People in the swing state of Georgia are on edge. The FBI bulletin emphasizes that concerns such as alleged election fraud and anger toward perceived political opponents could trigger the most likely threats of extremist violence. Polling places and campaign events may be potential targets.

Georgia election official Gabe Sterling says election officials are better prepared than in 2020 and they have done lots of training and implemented new security measures, Sam Gringlas of NPR’s member station WABE tells Up First. Sterling says they still need to be on guard for situations that could arise, especially since the U.S. is still stewing in misinformation.