The News Roundup — Domestic

WAMU 88.5

Published November 5, 2020 at 2:18 PM CST

People participate in a protest in support of counting all votes as the presidential election in Pennsylvania is still too close to call in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Votes in key battleground states in the 2020 election are still being counted after a historic number of Americans voted by mail due to the coronavirus pandemic. Former Vice President Joe Biden is just a few electoral votes away from the 270-vote threshold necessary to declare victory. President Donald Trump has filed lawsuits in several states attempting to block the counting of some ballots and speed the counting of others.

Down the ballot, Americans made decisions on initiatives about drugs to employment status. Initiatives concerning recreational marijuana passed in states like Arizona. Elsewhere, in California, a measure to ensure workers in gig economies would not be made full employees passed following a $200 million investment by companies like Uber and DoorDash.

All of this happened against the backdrop of the pandemic, which is showing no signs of slowing. Johns Hopkins University reported an estimated 100,000 new cases in the U.S. on Nov. 4, marking the first six-figure day for Americans during in the pandemic.

There’s one big story this week. And we’re bringing you all the top headlines about the election on the News Roundup.