Breaking News: The latest on the 2024 presidential race…. See More

What we’re covering
• Final stretch: With four weeks until Election Day, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are racing to make their final pitches to voters as polls show the battle for the White House remains exceedingly tight nationwide and in the critical “Blue Wall” states.

• On the campaign trail: Trump is speaking about the economy at a pair of events today in the pivotal state of Pennsylvania. Harris joined President Joe Biden virtually for a briefing on the administration’s preparations for Hurricane Milton before traveling to Nevada. Harris emphasized that the administration has the proper resources to respond to the storm and will be supporting impacted communities. Vice presidential candidates, Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance, are campaigning in Arizona today.

Storms loom over race: As Florida braces for another major hurricane, the Harris and Trump campaigns have been trading attacks over the response and rhetoric surrounding the storms. In an interview with CNN Wednesday, Harris said it is “unconscionable.” that leaders spread misinformation about the federal response, amid Trump’s false claims.

• What to know to cast your vote: With early voting and by mail already underway in much of the country, read CNN’s voter handbook to see how to vote in your area and read up on the 2024 candidates and their proposals on key issues.

Civil rights groups sue Florida as they seek to push back voter registration deadline amid hurricanes
From CNN’s Devan Cole
Civil rights groups have sued Florida in an effort to reopen the state’s voter registration window, arguing that the October 7 deadline was “sandwiched between two life-threatening obstacles” that forced some residents to choose between seeking safety from the hurricanes and signing up to vote.

Southern states impacted by Hurricane Helene have been facing intense pressure by voting and civil rights groups to give residents more time to register to vote given the devastation wrought by the storm and the widespread disruption already caused by Hurricane Milton, which is expected to make landfall in Florida Wednesday evening.

Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis rebuffed calls earlier this week to extend his state’s deadline, as has Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp, while South Carolina extended its deadline by more than a week to accommodate prospective voters impacted by Helene.

The lawsuit brought Tuesday by the League of Women Voters of Florida and the Florida NAACP against DeSantis and Republican Secretary of State Cord Byrd asks a federal judge to temporarily block the officials from further enforcing the October 7 registration deadline and for them to “reopen Florida’s voter registration deadline for an additional ten days.”

This year, tens of thousands of Florida residents — forced to choose between safety and exercising their fundamental right — have been denied the opportunity to register to vote,” attorneys for the civil rights groups wrote in the 30-page federal lawsuit.

“They will be deprived of that fundamental right because of the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, the threat to safety caused by Hurricane Milton, and the resultant shutdown of all means of voter registration, including government offices, roads, the Internet, and the postal service twice within the last weeks leading up to the voter registration deadline,” they added.

In Georgia, a federal judge is holding a hearing Wednesday over a similar lawsuit brought by civil rights groups over the voter registration deadline in the criticalbattleground state.

Harris campaign has been consumed behind the scenes this week with hurricane fallout
From CNN’s MJ Lee and Priscilla Alvarez
Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has been consumed in recent days by Hurricane Milton, which is barreling towards the western coast of Florida, as it is working to evacuate staff and pause voter outreach across the state while continuing to keep an eye on potential early voting ramifications following Hurricane Helene.

Senior-most Harris campaign officials, including on daily campaign leadership calls led by campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon this week, have been deeply focused on the widespread ramifications of both hurricanes, which devastated regions in the Southeast last month, sources said.

The Harris campaign has paused voter outreach and contact, as is protocol, across Florida as Milton has approached the state, sources said, and has also been scrambling to ensure that any campaign staff in the storm’s path has safely evacuated.

Harris campaign officials are also continuing to monitor and discuss the potential electoral consequences of Helene in a battleground state like North Carolina, with an eye towards ensuring that voters there can cast their ballots despite the deadly storm’s damage to some polling locations and the displacement of many residents.

The campaign has launched a hotline with hundreds of operators who can answer voters’ questions about how to register to vote, or vote in person or by mail – particularly given changes to polling locations in western North Carolina in the aftermath of the storm, officials said.

Publicly, the Harris team positioned the vice president this week to remain front and center in the administration’s response efforts. Over the course of the day Wednesday, Harris beamed into a briefing with President Joe Biden and other senior officials, and later took to the airwaves to stress the severity of Milton and tell people in its path to heed advice from local officials.

With only weeks left campaign has also been mindful of using the storm recovery efforts to continue to draw a contrast between Harris and Donald Trump as leaders. A new digital ad from the campaign this week features former Trump administration officials criticizing the former president’s handling of natural disasters while he was in office.