Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/722928
ByHopeYen The Associated Press WASHINGTON Twomonths before Election Day, early voting kicks off next week in North Carolina, the first in a run of key states where minority voters and young adults who cast ballots in advance could give one of the White House contend- ers a decisive advantage. For Donald Trump, it's a major test of whether his re- cent outreach to non-white groups is translating into votes. In the increasingly diverse battleground states of North Carolina, Colo- rado, Florida, Nevada, Ar- izona and Georgia — all must-win states for Trump, except Colorado — it's mi- norities in particular who can tip the scales. Early voters are expected to make up between 50 to 75 percent or more of all bal- lots in the six states, based on 2012 figures. That's com- pared to a national average of 35 percent, up from 22 percent in 2004, according to election data compiled by The Associated Press. Mail-in ballots are popu- lar among older, white Re- publicans, and party offi- cials are betting they can bank plenty of their votes. But in several swing states, Hispanics, blacks and first- time voters typically have been more likely than whites to cast ballots early — and cast them for Demo- crats. Therein lies the chal- lenge for team Trump. Says Marlon Marshall, Hillary Clinton's director of state campaigns and po- litical engagement: "We can't say this will be locked up with early voting, but it can absolutely make a huge difference." "Every early voter we get is one less person we need to mobilize on Election Day," he says. The Trump campaign says it is taking early vot- ing very seriously — with 133 field offices and plans to add 24 more. The campaign is also leaning heavily on the Republican National Committee to identify reli- able white Republican vot- ers in battlegrounds to mail in absentee ballots and keep his numbers up. Trump also has vaguely urged supporters to volun- teer as "election observers" to root out what he says is Democratic voter fraud. He made that assertion after courts rejected a voter ID law in several states, includ- ing North Carolina, citing a risk of disenfranchising the poor, minorities or young people who were less likely to have acceptable IDs — and who are more likely to vote Democratic. The Republicans' get- out-the-vote effort is still significantly behind Clin- ton's, which, by contrast, is more than double the size of Trump's and rivals Barack Obama's massive 2012 op- eration. "A campaign with a su- perior voting operation can make a difference, and right now Donald Trump has shown little sign of organization," said Ryan Williams, a former senior staffer to Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. He pointed to Trump's hire just last week of a national field director. At this point in 2012, Williams said, the Romney campaign had a fully staffed field team working intensely with the national party to help iden- tify likely voters, organize turnout events, register vot- ers and knock on doors. National Republican of- ficials say they now have 1,000 paid staffers and 5,000-plus trained orga- nizers and other volun- teers in 11 states assigned to help mobilize voters for both Trump and down-bal- lot GOP candidates. Heavy focus will be on boosting absentee mail-in balloting in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio and Iowa, using the party's own massive data analytics program. The Clinton campaign has more than 250 field of- fices in nine states com- pared to Trump's 133 na- tionwide, though Trump adviser Karen Giorno says his number will in- crease, especially in Flor- ida. The Clinton team de- clined to reveal personnel details, but the 2012 mobi- lization involved thousands of paid staffers — including 500 in Florida alone — and 50,000-some trained orga- nizers and other volunteers, according to Jen O'Malley Dillon, Obama's top field di- rector in 2012 and now a se- nior adviser to the Demo- cratic National Committee. Republican officials stress that a main goal in 2016 will be to avoid deep early vote deficits, explain- ing that most Republicans are "habitual" Election Day voters In all, 37 states and the District of Columbia will al- low voters to cast ballots by mail or at polling sites be- fore Nov. 8. In mid to late October, a host of states launch in-person early vot- ing, favored by non-whites and young adults who largely back Democrats. The most ardent support- ers tend to vote first, and a key test will come in the re- maining weeks. In Obama's historic 2008 race, he ran up such big early voting advantages in four battlegrounds — Col- orado, Florida, Iowa and North Carolina — that his rival, John McCain, couldn't catch up, despite winning the Election Day vote in those states, according to AP. POLITICS Early voting: Trump chances may hinge on non-whites By Michael Biesecker and Eric Tucker The Associated Press WASHINGTON Hillary Clin- ton told the FBI she relied on her staff not to send emails containing classified information to the private email server she relied on as secretary of state, adding that she was unclear about a classification marking on official government docu- ments. The revelation came Fri- day as the FBI, in a rare step, published scores of pages summarizing inter- views with Clinton and her top aides from the recently closed criminal investiga- tion into her use of a pri- vate email server in the basement her Chappaqua, New York, home. The Democratic presi- dential nominee told the FBI she never sought or asked permission to use a private server or email ad- dress during her tenure as the nation's top diplomat from 2009 to 2013. A prior review by the State Depart- ment's internal watchdog concluded the practice vio- lated several polices for the safekeeping and preserva- tion of federal records. The latest revelations highlight competing lia- bilities for Clinton. Either she made a conscious ef- fort to prevent a full pub- lic accounting of her tenure at State or she was noncha- lant about decisions with national security conse- quences and risks. The first scenario plays into Repub- lican arguments and voter concerns about her trust- worthiness and transpar- ency, while the second casts doubt on her pitch as hyper- competent, detail-driven executive. Clinton campaign spokesman Brian Fallon said Friday the campaign was pleased the FBI had re- leased the documents. "While her use of a single email account was clearly a mistake and she has taken responsibility for it, these materials make clear why the Justice Department be- lieved there was no basis to move forward with this case," Fallon said. The campaign of GOP presidential nominee Don- ald Trump countered that the FBI documents show Clinton can't be trusted to serveascommanderinchief. "Hillary Clinton is ap- plying for a job that begins each day with a top secret intelligence briefing, and the notes from her FBI in- terview reinforce her tre- mendously bad judgment and dishonesty," Trump spokesman Jason Miller said. Clinton has repeatedly said her use of private email was allowed. But over a 3½- hour interview in July, she told investigators she "did not explicitly request per- mission to use a private server or email address," the FBI wrote. They said no one at the State Department raised concerns during her tenure, and Clinton said ev- eryone with whom she ex- changed emails knew she was using a private email address. The documents also in- clude technical details about how the private server was set up. It is the first disclosure of details provided by Bryan Pagliano, the technology staffer who set up and maintained Clin- ton's IT infrastructure. Pa- gliano secured an immunity agreement from the Justice Department after previ- ously refusing to testify be- fore Congress, invoking his constitutional right against self-incrimination. Large portions of the FBI documents were censored. The FBI cited exemptions protecting national secu- rity and investigative tech- niques. Previous govern- ment reviews of the 55,000 pages of emails Clinton re- turned to the State Depart- ment found that about 110 contained classified infor- mation. SCANDAL FBI publishes notes on Hillary Clinton's use of private email server MATTYORK—THEASSOCIATEDPRESSFILE A cyclist rides past a sign directing voters to a primary election voting station in Phoenix. | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2016 4 B