Today in one sentence: Biden may call Congress in for a special session to pass supplemental disaster funding to address the “broad and devastating impacts” of Hurricane Helene; a Georgia judge struck down the state’s abortion law that effectively banned abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy; Biden expanded his "temporary" asylum restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border, effectively making the strict immigration policy impossible to lift; Trump called for the police to be given “one really violent day” to combat crime; the Justice Department sued Alabama for removing voters from its election rolls too close to the presidential election; and the Republican National Committee is involved in more than 120 lawsuits across 26 states as part of a strategy to preemptively challenge potential losses, undercut the legitimacy of the election, and lay the groundwork to challenge results after the Nov. 5 vote.

1/ Biden may call Congress in for a special session to pass supplemental disaster funding to address the “broad and devastating impacts” of Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm that left at least 128 people dead and hundreds more unaccounted for across six states. Congress left last week for its preelection recess, and the House and Senate aren’t expected to return until Nov. 12 – after Election Day. Biden said it’s his “expectation” to ask for a supplemental funding bill, but that he didn’t have a price tag for it yet, adding “this is a historic storm, its devastating.” He added: “They’ve never seen anything like this before.” Trump, meanwhile, repeatedly lied and politicized the disaster, claiming that Biden was “sleeping” and not responding to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. Trump repeated the claim after being told Kemp had spoken to Biden. Despite claiming that “we’re not talking about politics now,” Trump said he had asked Elon Musk about using Starlink to help restore communication in the region. The Department of Homeland Security, however, has already provided 40 Starlink satellite systems to aid communications and recovery in North Carolina. (Politico / New York Times / USA Today / The Hill / CNN / Associated Press / ABC News / Washington Post / CNBC)

2/ A Georgia judge struck down the state’s abortion law that effectively banned abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Judge Robert McBurney wrote that a review of “of our higher courts’ interpretations of ‘liberty’ demonstrates that liberty in Georgia includes in its meaning, in its protections, and in its bundle of rights the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices.” Abortions are now legally allowed until about 22 weeks of pregnancy. Georgia’s law was passed and signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019, but it didn’t take effect until the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Meanwhile, at least 10 states will have ballot measures on abortion rights this November. Recent polls of the states with abortion rights on the ballot show Republicans support the measures between 28% and 54%. (Associated Press / NBC News / CNN / New York Times / Axios)

3/ Biden expanded his “temporary” asylum restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border, effectively making the strict immigration policy impossible to lift. Illegal crossings are now required to remain below a daily threshold of 1,500 for 28 days – up from seven days – before people who enter the country illegally may request asylum. Under the previous rules, the U.S. could restrict asylum access when the number of people trying to enter the country between the official border crossings hit 2,500 per day. The daily numbers had to average below 1,500 per day for a week in order for the restrictions to be lifted. (CBS News / Associated Press / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post)

4/ Trump called for the police to be given “one really violent day” to combat crime. Annual data released last week by the FBI, however, showed that violent crime decreased 3% and property crime fell 2.6% from 2022 to 2023. Homicides were also down 11.6% – the largest year-to-year decline since national record-keeping began in 1960. Nevertheless, Trump suggested that “one real rough, nasty” hour of law enforcement action would end crime in the U.S. “immediately.” Meanwhile, Trump called for Google to be criminally prosecuted for showing only “bad stories” about him and only “good” ones about Kamala Harris. Trump said that if the Justice Department doesn’t prosecute Google “for this blatant interference of Elections” he would request its prosecution “when I win the election and become President of the United States!” (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / Associated Press / NPR / CNBC)

  • Trump Wants to Lock Up Kamala Harris. “Now He’s now three-for-three in demanding imprisonment of opposing candidates.” (New York Magazine)

  • The Coming Trump Revenge Tour. “Trump has campaigned on a wave of retaliatory criminal prosecutions. It’s not the first time he’s promised to lock up his rivals — but a second term would be different.” (Politico)

  • Trump Is Taking a Dark Turn. “Over the weekend, the former president delivered a series of speeches laced with threats and nearly incomprehensible musings.” (The Atlantic)

5/ The Justice Department sued Alabama for removing voters from its election rolls too close to the presidential election. The National Voter Registration Act requires a “quiet period” before federal elections, which prevents states from removing voters from the rolls less than 90 days before an election. On Aug. 13 – 84 days before Election Day – Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, a Republican, announced an effort to “remove noncitizens registered to vote” in the state, citing 3,251 individuals who had been “issued noncitizen identification numbers by the Department of Homeland Security.” Democrats, meanwhile, sued the Georgia State Election Board overs its newly passed requirement to hand-count ballots cast on Election Day, arguing that it will bring post-election “chaos” and allow “for bad-faith actors to claim that fraud has affected election results.” Three Trump allies on the board approved the new rule earlier this month in a 3-2 vote. (NPR / Axios / NBC News / CNN)

  • From the start of 2023 through August 2024, North Carolina’s State Board of Elections removed 747,000 registrations from its list of voters as part of routine list maintenance. “The majority of those stripped from the rolls were deemed ineligible to be registered because they had moved within the state and did not register their new address, or because they did not participate in the past two federal elections, prompting an inactive status. Other reasons for removal included death, felony convictions, out-of-state moves and personal requests for removal, the board said.” (Democracy Docket / The Hill)

6/ The Republican National Committee is involved in more than 120 lawsuits across 26 states as part of a strategy to preemptively challenge potential losses, undercut the legitimacy of the election, and lay the groundwork to challenge results after the Nov. 5 vote. Meanwhile, more than 90 lawsuits challenging voting rules and other practices have been filed by Republican-aligned groups this year – more than three times the number of lawsuits filed before Election Day in 2020. (Semafor / Reuters / New York Times / Axios)

  • 📅 The WTFJHT Calendar: Now until then.

  • 📺 Oct. 1: CBS vice presidential debate.
    📆 Oct. 6: Last day to register to vote in some states.
    ⛔️ Oct. 14: Indigenous Peoples’ Day – No WTFJHT.
    📺 Oct. 23: [Proposed] Presidential debate.
    🗳️ Nov. 5: Election Day.
    ⚖️ Nov. 26: Trump is sentenced.

  • ✅ Get election ready: Register to vote, update your address, or request an absentee ballot at Vote.org, TurboVote.org, RocktheVote.org, or VoteFromAbroad.org.

  • 📈 Election Polling Tracker

  • Harris +3.0 points (New York Times)
    Harris +2.8 points (538)
    Harris +3.2 points (Nate Silver)
    Harris +3.7 points (The Economist)
    Harris +2.0 points (RealClearPolitics)
    Harris +4.2 points (Election Betting Odds)

  • 🔮 Election Forecast Tracker

  • Harris wins 57 times out of 100. Trump wins 42 times out of 100. (538)
    Harris wins 55 times out of 100. Trump wins 45 times out of 100. (Nate Silver)
    Harris wins 60 times out of 100. Trump wins 40 times out of 100. (The Economist)