Georgia is one of several Southern states with a history of suppressing the black vote - and critics say tactics to discourage certain groups from voting are still being used today.

Democrats accuse their rivals of purging electoral rolls and introducing strict identification laws, measures they claim disproportionately impact on low-income and minority voters.

But Republican state officials reject allegations of suppression, saying restrictions are needed to prevent voter fraud.

The BBC's Larry Madowo went to Atlanta to ask whether America's image as a beacon of democracy is under threat.

Image source, Fox News

Kayleigh McEnany, Trump's third White House press secretary, has angered journalists by appearing live from the Trump campaign HQ's TV studio.

In an interview on Fox News on Tuesday, the spokeswoman was introduced as “Trump 2020 senior advisor and White House press secretary.” A campaign official later told CNN that McEnany “was appearing in her personal capacity as a private citizen".

Her moonlighting in two different roles sounded alarm bells among government ethicists, who charged that she had probably violated the Hatch Act.

The Hatch Act is a 1939 law that forbids federal employees in the government's executive branch from engaging in overt political activities. One famous violation under the Trump administration was when former Counsellor to the President Kellyanne Conway told CBS viewers to "go buy Ivanka's stuff" in a reference to the fashion line started by Trump's eldest daughter.

The interview irked White House journalists, who have had few interactions with McEnany since she tested positive for Covid-19 on 5 October.

"That's... not the way it works," tweeted radio host Kai Ryssdal.

"So, she's off the clock from the White House and not being paid by the taxpayers?" tweeted another reporter.

And in case you were curious - this is what it looks like when the lights accidentally get shut off at Trump's HQ in Virginia:

This year's US presidential election could come down to results in just a few key states.

But can Joe Biden secure enough votes to seize the presidency? Or will Donald Trump romp home to a second term?

Find out and play along in our interactive game.

Image source, Reuters

There's bad news for New Yorkers hoping to enjoy the holiday period out of state after the excitement of the 2020 White House race: Mayor Bill de Blasio is asking the city's residents not to travel for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

“I hate to say it, but I have to urge all New Yorkers: Do not travel out of state for the holidays," he said on Tuesday. “Realise that by doing that, unfortunately, you could be putting yourself and your family in danger.”

The mayor added that the measures were necessary to avert the "real threat" of a new wave of coronavirus infections.

He also called for air passengers arriving in New York City to be tested for the virus, adding that testing sites would be opened at LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International airports.

The city has seen a spike in cases in a number of neighbourhoods, although cases remain below the numbers seen in many other parts of the US.

Image source, Getty Images

As we reported earlier, Joe Biden's holding two campaign events in Georgia - a state not won by a Democrat in almost three decades.

In his speech in Warm Springs on Tuesday afternoon, he maintained his attack on President Trump's handling of the pandemic: "The president declared [that] he's going to wage war on the virus. Instead he shrugged, swaggered and he surrendered."

"I'm here to tell you we can and we will control this virus," Biden continued. "As president, I will never wave the white flag of surrender."

Speaking in front of a socially-distanced crowd, he called on the audience to imagine "where we'd be today if the president had embraced wearing masks, instead of mocking them. Imagine where we'd be today with a president who practised social distancing, instead of holding super-spreader events".

Biden also repeated previous promises to overcome divisions in the US.

“I’m here in Warm Springs because I want to talk about how we’re going to heal our nation,” he said.

Image source, Reuters

Vice-President Mike Pence is addressing voters in the battleground state of North Carolina.

In a rally at the airport in Greensboro, he railed against Obamacare and described Donald Trump as a “proven job creator”.

He also described Trump’s Democratic rival Joe Biden as a “cheerleader for Communist China” who "actually said that the rise of China was a positive development".

Pence is maintaining a busy campaign schedule despite being exposed to a senior aide who tested positive for Covid-19.

Pence’s aides said he had tested negative for Covid, and had decided to keep travelling after consulting medical experts.

He is scheduled to hold another rally at Wilmington airport later on Tuesday.

The vice-president still found time to tweet in-between appearances, branding Joe Biden "a Trojan Horse for the radical left".

Love him or loathe him, the US president is probably the most powerful person on Earth, and his decisions have far-reaching consequences.

Here are a few of the ways that Donald Trump has changed the world:

Stepping back on climate change: Six months into the job, Trump announced America's withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, which committed nearly 200 countries to keeping global temperature rises well under 2C. The US is the second-biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, and researchers have warned that if Trump is re-elected, it may become impossible to keep global warming in check.

The rise of 'fake news': Although the president definitely didn't invent the term "fake news", it's fair to say he popularised it. Search Google for "fake news" today and you'll get more than 1.1 billion results from all over the world.

'A new Middle East': Last month the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed agreements normalising relations with Israel - a move the US helped broker. The two Gulf states are just the third and fourth Arab nations in the Middle East to recognise Israel since it declared independence in 1948.

Read more about Trump’s global impact here

Given the long run-up to this year's vote, some people appear to be fighting election fatigue with comedy - as this sign found by the BBC's Jon Sopel shows:

And it's not the only unusual endorsement, with signs for "Any Functioning Adult 2020" popping up across the country, including this one in Minneapolis:

Image source, Reuters

But leaving the less-than-serious signs aside, there's been a healthy crop of independent candidates for the presidency this year.

The BBC's Rebecca Seales spoke to three of them - a concert pianist and motivational speaker, a Native American IT technician, and a crypto billionaire - to find out what drove them to stand for election.

Former President Barack Obama has been out on the campaign trail for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris - at a drive-in rally in Orlando.

He took aim at President Trump for failing to prevent the coronavirus from spreading in the White House, joking that Trump is "jealous of Covid's media coverage".

Several West Wing staff have caught the virus, as well as close aides of Vice-President Mike Pence - and of course the president, First Lady, and their son Barron.

Obama urged Florida voters to cast their ballots as early as possible, taking advantage of the state's 24-31 October window.

He said the current president "hasn't shown any interest in doing the work or helping anybody but himself and his friends, or treating the presidency as anything more than a reality show that can give him the attention that he craves."

Image source, Reuters

Turning to Biden, he said: "The presidency doesn't change who you are. It reveals who you are. And Joe, time and time again, has shown himself to be a man of principle and character - and he's going to be a great president."

Tweeting about the Obama rally, Trump dismissed it as a "no crowd, fake speech" gathering.

Ricardo Senra
BBC Brasil, Miami

Image source, Reuters

A month ago, Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro angrily said he would not accept “bribes”, after Joe Biden called for an international $20bn offer to control deforestation in the Amazon.

In the countdown to the US election, Brazil's ambassador in Washington took a different view in an exclusive interview with the BBC.

“In fact, we are interested in funds for sustainable development in the Amazon region, where 25 million Brazilians live in poverty,” said Ambassador Nestor Forster.

“Any international help in the area is welcome, as long as it is handled in cooperation and Brazil leads the discussion."

Bolsonaro has faced international criticism over Brazil’s stance on deforestation and environmental protection.

He supports Donald Trump’s re-election, and hopes to deepen economic ties between the US and Brazil.

The Boston Herald has become the latest newspaper to announce its endorsement ahead of next week's election - and is backing President Donald Trump.

In an editorial published on Tuesday, external, the newspaper acknowledged that "Trump hasn’t done himself any favours with his incessant Tweets, revolving door cabinet and mixed messaging on the coronavirus".

But the publication criticised Democratic challenger Joe Biden's economic policies.

Trump is "what America needs right now, decisive action to get us back to pre-pandemic strength — not an unfeasible spending spree in the name of a progressive utopia," the paper said.

Biden leads the newspaper endorsements race - 44 publications back him, compared to six for Trump, according to the American Presidency Project from UC Santa Barbara, external.

There have been some historic changes in this campaign, with USA Today backing Biden last week in the first endorsement in the publication's history.

Image source, Reuters

Joe Biden is campaigning today in Georgia, which has not backed a Democrat in a presidential election since 1992.

He is due to make two stops in the state.

While recent history might not appear to be on his side, Georgia has become an increasing draw for Democrats as turnout grows among black voters and the Atlanta suburbs move away from the Republican party.

“If this was the Georgia of 2008, 2012, I think there’s no way we would have seen a Biden come this late,” Nsé Ufot, chief executive officer of the New Georgia Project, which aims to increase voter registration, told AP.

“It’s a loud signal and acknowledgment of Georgia as a battleground state.”

Biden told reporters on Monday he believes he has a "fighting chance" to take the state.

Image source, AFP

Former prisoners are among those casting early ballots in the battleground state of Florida, after a 150-year ban on voting by people with felony convictions ended.

Yraida Guanipa was among those to vote in the state.

“When I was selecting the president, I was feeling like I'm walking toward my final freedom, or total freedom, after this conviction," the 58-year-old who was released from prison in 2007 after serving nearly 12 years on a drug distribution charge told AFP.

Florida stripped felons of their right to vote in 1868. But in November 2018, Floridians approved a constitutional amendment restoring the rights of those who had completed their sentences. Convicted murderes and sex criminals were not included.

Some 1.4m potential voters were added to the state.

The state later amended the law to say that felons must prove they have paid all fines and fees before they vote.

It is not clear how many people affected by the new legislation have registered to vote this year.

An estimate by US media outlets puts the figure at 31,400.

Jack Goodman
BBC Reality Check

A week to polling day, President Trump posted on Twitter that in “most states” Americans can change their vote: “Go do it”, he wrote.

It’s true that in some states, but not most, you can have your postal vote effectively cancelled after it has been submitted, and order a new one or vote in person instead.

We’ve checked with the US Vote Foundation and the elections website Ballotpedia, and there are fewer than 10 states with this option -including Michigan, Connecticut, Minnesota, New York and Wisconsin.

Most states will allow you to vote in person if you’ve been sent a postal vote but haven’t returned it. Some of these ballots have to be counted last to make sure no one votes twice.

The president tweeted that “can I change my vote?” was a trending term on Google following his last debate. Search interest has indeed spiked recently, but it also rose around this time ahead of the 2016 election.

Does this signal, as the president claimed, that people were changing their minds in favour of Trump? It’s impossible to tell.

Image source, Reuters

Trump's re-election staff are sharing a video of Democrat Joe Biden mentioning running mate Kamala Harris's "wife" hitting the campaign trail.

It's probably a simple blunder - Biden was talking about Harris's husband, Doug Emhoff.

But in other ways, it points to Emhoff's unique position. If voters send Biden and Harris to the White House, he will become its first male political spouse, the first "second gentleman".

And so while Americans may be used to First and Second Ladies - highly qualified in their own right - becoming full-time political spouses, it will be a major change to see this role played by a man.

Read more about the man himself here

Iran says it would welcome a US return to the historic 2015 nuclear deal after the election, as long as Washington provides “guarantees” that it won’t pull out again, AFP reports.

The 2015 deal gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for scaling down its nuclear programme.

The Trump administration pulled out of the agreement in 2018, and imposed sanctions that battered Iran's economy.

"It makes no difference to us which president in America decides to return" to the deal. "We would welcome such a decision by any president," Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei told reporters.

But he warned that Washington “should be ready to be held responsible for the damages it has caused the people of Iran during the time it withdrew" and "to provide other guarantees" that it won't do the same thing again.

Trump’s rival, Joe Biden, says the president's "maximum pressure" approach to Iran has failed. He is prepared to rejoin another international accord with Tehran.

Read more about Biden’s stance on this and other foreign policy issues here

Image source, Reuters

Republican Senator Ted Cruz has said he does not believe attacks on Joe Biden's son, Hunter, will bear fruit at the ballot box.

"I don't think it moves a single voter," he told Axios.

The senator, who was reviewing last Thursday's presidential debate, added that "one of [Joe] Biden's best points was when he said, 'All of these attacks back and forth about my family and his family, they don't matter. What matters is your family.'"

What are Trump's claims?

Trump has repeatedly accused Joe Biden of wrongdoing in regards to Ukraine and China while he was vice-president, which he denies.

The issue resurfaced last week following a New York Post article about an alleged email, in which an adviser from a Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, apparently thanked Biden's son, Hunter, for inviting him to meet his father.

Asked about the allegations, Joe Biden told a reporter it was a "smear campaign". No criminal activity has been proven, and no evidence has emerged that Biden did anything to intentionally benefit his son.

Claims of influence-peddling are common in Washington DC and Mr Trump's children have also been accused of conflicts of interest in lucrative business deals overseas. They, too, deny wrongdoing.

James Clayton
North America technology reporter

Image source, Reuters

Wednesday promises to be another stressful day for Facebook, Google and Twitter.

Their chief executives will be grilled by senators about whether social media companies abuse their power.

For Republicans, this is the opportunity they've been waiting for.

Two weeks ago, Twitter prevented people posting links to a critical New York Post investigation into Joe Biden. It then apologised for failing to explain its reasoning before ditching a rule it had used to justify the action.

For many Republicans, this was the final straw - incontrovertible evidence that social media is biased against conservatives. The accusation is that Silicon Valley is at its core liberal, and a bad arbiter of what's acceptable on its platforms.

In this case, Republicans like Senator Ted Cruz believed Twitter would have acted differently if the story had been about President Donald Trump.

But are social media platforms really biased?

Read the full story here

Image source, Reuters

The Biden campaign have put out a pair of political adverts that will run in 16 key battleground states until 3 November.

In one, the former vice-president repeats his campaign theme, "battling for the soul of the country" and urges voters to look at their vote as a decision over choosing decency or indecency, unity or division, sense or chaos.

The second features his wife, Jill, retelling Biden's personal story of family tragedy and promising that he understands the tragedy American families suffer through today.

Voters living in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin can expect to see these reels cover the airwaves for the next seven days.

A staggering $11bn has been spent on political campaigning in 2020, but the effectiveness of such blitzes is questionable. One 2019 paper from the American Political Science Review concluded that "the best estimate of the effects of campaign contact and advertising on Americans’ candidates choices in general elections is zero.”

But Biden has money to burn - at last count in early October, he had about $430m still on hand - so what else is there to do but spend?

Reality Check

Image source, Reuters

With more than 225,000 deaths in the US since the pandemic began, coronavirus - and President Trump's handling of the crisis - have become key issues in the election campaign.

There have been a lot of statements from both candidates, but how true are they?

From Trump's claim that the US has "one of the lowest mortality rates" (false) to Biden's assertion that spikes are being seen "in red states" (also not true), find out more here.