With 46 days to Election Day 2020, here's the news that you'll want to know:

(1) new poll: 54% of voters will vote before Election Day

(2) Senator slams Pennsylvania court's decision to accept ballots up to three days after the election

(3) Democrats "on edge" as Biden preps for first presidential debate

New report as early voting starts today: 54% of voters will vote before Election Day.

"Overall, 39% of registered voters say they will vote by mail, well above the 21% who say they normally do so, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research [...] Fifty-four percent of voters say they will vote before polls open on Election Day. In 2016, roughly 42% of voters did so." (ABC News)

• What's happening: A new poll reports that 54% of voters will vote before Election Day this year, either by mail or in-person at an early voting location.

Early voting for the 2020 election started today in Minnesota, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming. Media coverage has focused on long lines in Virginia.

• What's at stake: Every day is Election Day, from now until November!

(1) It seems that voters are deciding -- and voting -- in this presidential election earlier than ever. That's why President Trump wanted to move up the presidential debate schedule, but the debate commission and Biden campaign demurred.

(2) Some voters casting ballots today told reporters they wanted to vote in-person due to their concerns with mail-in ballots.

Among the stories this summer: almost 3,000 voters in Georgia say they never received absentee ballots they requested for an August run-off election and 1,666 mail-in ballots were discovered weeks after a New Jersey July primary election.

Senator slams Pennsylvania court decision to accept ballots up to three days after Election Day.

"Pennsylvania GOP senator Pat Toomey blasted the decision in a statement: 'Once again, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has decided that laws have no meaning. The current state election statute, which was signed by Governor Wolf less than a year ago, is clear that mail-in ballots must be received by 8:00 PM on Election Day in order to be counted.'" (National Review)

• What's happening: Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania slammed the state court decision to accept ballots for three days after the election.

The decision, announced yesterday, could put thousands more ballots into play in the 2020 election.

The key facts from the court decision, as reported by The Philadelphia Inquirer:

-- Normally, the mail-in ballot deadline is 8PM on Election Day.

-- Today the court ruled that the NEW mail-in ballot deadline is 5PM on Friday, November 6. That's three days after Election Day, November 3.

-- Ballots must have a November 3 postmark OR "no proof they were sent afterward" OR have a missing or illegible postmark.

• What's at stake: First, this decision was widely seen as a plus for Joe Biden, so it's not surprising to see a Republican Senator find it concerning.

Pennsylvania is a must-win state for President Trump's campaign. And it has a narrow margin of victory: he won by just over 44,000 votes in 2016.

But second, and more important, Sen. Toomey spells out the real stakes in the second half of his statement: "Today’s blatantly political decision to violate the law irresponsibly heightens the risk that our state will experience a lengthy, disputed, and controversial outcome in what is expected to be an extremely close presidential race."

The 2000 election is forever linked with the recount challenge in Florida. This year, the country faces the possibility of delayed results and legal challenges -- and now Pennsylvania may have placed itself in the middle of it.

Democrats "on edge" as Biden preps for first debate.

"Even those closest to Biden acknowledge that it takes him awhile to get warmed up and the early statements are never his best. 'He has a tendency to wrap up very well, but he’s one of those people who takes some time to get there,' said one close Biden ally. 'He’s just not a guy who performs well in those initial moments. I think that’s something that makes us all a little nervous.'" (The Hill)

• What's happening: Another day, another story about how Democrats are concerned with Joe Biden as their party's candidate. This time, The Hill has an overview of Biden's prep for the September 29 debate against President Trump.

• What's at stake: The presidential debates will be as close to normal as campaigning has been in 2020.

It's widely expected that President Trump will win.

But Biden may damage his campaign if he's unable to keep up with the President's pace or struggles to answer questions without a teleprompter, which he appears to have relied on during much of the campaign this summer.

That would reinforce one of the Trump campaign's key criticisms: that Biden isn't up to the work of president and that his Administration would really be run by Kamala Harris, his VP pick, and the far left progressives.