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The pandemic dominates the final week of the election, the dueling candidate schedules reflect their most likely paths to 270, and what the early vote can and can’t tell us about the election. Then Wisconsin organizer Dakota Hall talks to Tommy about how Democrats can turn out as many young voters as possible.

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Show Notes

Third Wave

• CNN: US reports second-highest day of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began. The highest day was Friday
• WaPo: U.S. hits all-time high in new coronavirus cases, exceeding 80,000 in a day for the first time
• NY Mag: U.S. Sets New Record in Daily COVID-19 Cases, As Third Wave Surges
• Vox: America’s third Covid-19 surge is here. It was predictable — and preventable.
• NY Mag: The Third Wave of the Pandemic Is Here
• LA Times: Coronavirus could worsen in winter, remain major threat through 2021, Fauci says
• Al Jazeera: White House defends Pence campaigning after aide’s COVID-19 test
• NBC News: Meadows says Pence won’t quarantine because he is ‘essential’
• NYT: Trump’s chief of staff defends the White House’s attempt to keep the outbreak in Pence’s circle quiet.
• NYT: Members of Pence’s Inner Circle Test Positive for Coronavirus
• CNN: At least 5 people in Pence’s orbit, including chief of staff Marc Short, are positive for coronavirus
• NY Mag: As Trump Downplays the Third Wave, Another COVID-19 Outbreak Strikes the White House
• CNN: White House chief of staff: ‘We are not going to control the pandemic’ 
• Politico: ‘We’re not going to control the pandemic’: White House chief’s comments undermine Trump’s message
• WaPo: Biden says Meadows’s comments show Trump administration ‘has given up’ on controlling pandemic
• MSNBC: Obama says he ‘literally’ left a ‘pandemic playbook’ for Trump that he didn’t follow
• Vox: Poll: The majority of Trump voters don’t see Covid-19 as an important election issue
• NYT: Trump, in Wisconsin, says the virus is ‘rounding the turn’ while cases climb.
• NYT: At Dueling Rallies, Campaigns Present Starkly Different Visions on Virus
• WaPo: Trump’s closing argument on coronavirus: ‘spikes’ for thee, but not for me

Final Week

• NPR: With Stops In 4 Key States, Biden And Trump Bring Their Closing Arguments To Voters
• WaPo: Trump campaigns in three swing states; Biden in Pennsylvania, Obama to Florida
• WaPo: Biden, Trump sharpen messages with campaign stops in battleground states
• NYT: Why Trump Can’t Take Red Counties in North Carolina for Granted
• WaPo Analysis: Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin still hold the keys to 2020
• NYT: Trump’s Rallies, Red-State Democrats: This Week in the 2020 Race
• Politico: ‘Big day’: Trump traverses the country making closing pitch to voters
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Donald Trump continues Wisconsin push, hoping he can replicate 2016 formula
• NYT: Trump says before coronavirus he never planned on campaigning in Erie, Pa. ‘We had this thing won.’
• NYT: A Biden Landslide? Some Democrats Can’t Help Whispering
• ABC News: Trump heads into final campaign stretch forced to play defense against Biden
• Politico: Tough questions undercut Trump’s reliance on local media coverage
• Politico: Trump top campaign adviser: ‘The president wants to see every Republican reelected’
• WaPo: Trump privately tells donors it would be ‘very tough’ for GOP to hold Senate
• ABC News: Biden campaign eyes Georgia, Texas with 9 days left in campaign
• NYT: Trump’s Rallies, Red-State Democrats: This Week in the 2020 Race
• WSJ: As Biden Eyes Expanded Electoral Map, Memories of 2016 Linger
• AJC: Joe Biden will travel to Georgia on Tuesday in late push to flip state
• NYT: Democrats Gain in Georgia Senate Races as Presidential Race Remains Tied
• Politico: Kamala Harris makes her final case to ‘the ATL’ 
•  NYT: Georgia at a Tipping Point
• Texas Tribune: Kamala Harris to make campaign stop in Texas
• Politico: Biden leads slightly in Texas, poll indicates
• Dallas Morning News: Beto O’Rourke and Julian Castro fume that Biden has neglected Texas, demand ‘crunch time’ investment
• Dallas Morning News: Joe Biden scales back rare Democratic investment in Texas, but dispatches Jill Biden to stoke the embers
• NYT: Democrats Hope 2020 Is the Year They Flip the Texas House
• U.S. Elections Project: 2020 General Election Early Vote Statistics
• WaPo : The U.S. has hit 124% of total 2016 early voting
• The Guardian: Nearly 60 million Americans cast early vote as record-shattering turnout expected
• AP: Eyes turn to Texas as early voting surge surpasses 2016
• Politico: Republicans crash Florida early vote, eating into Democrats’ lead
• Vox: Early voting in 2020 has already exceeded all of 2016’s early votes
• Al Jazeera: Analysis: Don’t be fooled by high early US voting numbers
• CNN-Analysis: Why early vote trends can’t tell you who will win
• NYT: Trump’s Rallies, Red-State Democrats: This Week in the 2020 Race
• WaPo: 5 crucial questions with 10 days to go until Election Day
• Politico: ‘Warning flare’: New swing-state data shows massive Democratic early-vote lead
• NYT: What We Know About the Election From Early Voting
• CNN- Analysis: Early voting numbers are breaking records. Here’s what we don’t know yet
• NPR: When Will Mail-In Ballots Be Counted? See States’ Processing Timelines
• Pew Research Center: Election night marks the end of one phase of campaign 2020 – and the start of another
• NYT: How Quickly Will Your Absentee Vote Be Counted? A State-by-State Timeline
• WaPo: These nine swing states will see the biggest ‘blue shift’ as ballots are counted after the election
• WaPo: The battleground states that might count election results the slowest
• NPR: In Swing States, Officials Struggle To Process Ballots Early Due To Strict Local Laws
• USA Today: Election week? Maybe not: Arizona, Florida and others could give early indication of who is winning
• Politico: How Biden could end 2020 on election night — and why Trump’s path is unlikely