With 33 days to Election Day 2020, here's the news that you'll want to know:

(1) last-minute rule change for the presidential debates: moderators can cut mics!

(2) DC voters get ballots for previous residents; one man reported FIVE ballots sent to his address

(3) Senate Democrats write formal request to derail Amy Coney Barrett's SCOTUS confirmation

And on the campaign trail today:

President Trump will attend a campaign event in New Jersey in-person and the Al Smith Dinner virtually. The dinner is a long-time fundraiser for Catholic children's charities in New York City; Joe Biden was also invited.

After his very short train tour, Joe Biden is back in Delaware.

In the next debates, the moderators will be able to cut the mic to candidates.

"The Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) will give future moderators the option to cut candidates’ microphones following complaints about Tuesday’s initial debate, CBS’s Norah O’Donnell reported Wednesday afternoon. The report comes hours after the bipartisan body announced it would implement changes to make the remaining debates less chaotic." (The Hill)

• What's happening: The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates offered up last-minute rule changes for the next two presidential debates. The big one: moderators will have "the option" to cut candidates' mics.

Joe Biden called the Tuesday night presidential debate, the first of three in 2020, a "national embarrassment." Republicans have criticized moderator Chris Wallace for favoring Biden and failing to manage the debate flow.

President Trump and Joe Biden will debate again on October 15 and October 22; the VP debate between Vice President Pence and Kamala Harris is October 7.

• What's at stake: Two things to note --

(1) Both the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign are giving indications they will oppose the rule change. The CPD oversees the debates, but both campaigns must approve the guidelines for the events.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel was blunt in an interview: "I hope the Committee on Presidential Debates does not change the rules to once again protect Joe Biden from answering to the American people."

(2) Although Democrats and the mainstream media will try to turn this into a criticism of President Trump, we think stricter allocation of speaking time will likely only benefit him.

President Trump is the superior debater, and he certainly projected both more energy and more confidence than the relatively quiet, low-key Biden.

And, as this piece in The Federalist notes, though the emphasis here is our own: "Almost all of the most memorable and illuminating presidential debate moments of the past came during candidates using their appropriately allotted speaking time. Whether Michael Dukakis’s technocratic self-destruction, Ronald Reagan’s one-liners against Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale, Bentsen’s deflation of Dan Quayle, or Gerald Ford’s gaffe regarding Soviet domination in Eastern Europe, none of these moments came as interruptions or interjections into the opposing candidate’s approved time to speak."

• What else to know: From the Washington Free Beacon -- in a story that's really not parody -- Case Western Reserve University, which co-hosted the first presidential debate, is now offering "online 'safe spaces' for students to share their post-debate feelings."

DC voters get ballots for previous residents. One man reported FIVE ballots sent to his address.

"The Washington, D.C., Board of Elections (DCBOE) is instructing residents who receive mail-in ballots for previous residents of their apartments or homes to mark the ballots 'return to sender' and put them back in the mail after numerous reports of voters getting such ballots in error." (Fox News)

• What's happening: The District of Columbia (DC) decided to automatically mail ballots to all registered voters for the presidential election ... and you can likely guess the problems that happened next.

Voters have reported receiving ballots for previous residents. One man tweeted (link above) that he had received five ballots to his address.

In response, the DC Board of Elections is asking residents to put the incorrect ballots back in the mail and said they'll update their voter rolls when they learn the address is wrong.

• What's at stake: First, and most important, Americans must be able to vote. Given the concerns about COVID, it's understandable that states are working hard to adapt.

But stories like this update from D.C. shows that President Trump and Republicans have been correct to raise concern about widespread, last-minute voting by mail -- particularly the automatic distribution of ballots.

For Democrats, the mainstream media, and -- increasingly -- large social media companies to dismiss those concerns hurts all Americans.

Experienced lawyer Cleta Mitchell laid out actions that must be taken right now to prevent a logistical "disaster" with widespread mail-in voting. Check out her report now.

Senate Democrats write formal request to derail Amy Coney Barrett's SCOTUS nomination hearing.

"'The timeline for consideration of Judge Barrett’s nomination is incompatible with the Senate’s constitutional role,' Feinstein wrote. 'We again urge you to delay consideration of this nomination until after the presidential inauguration. The Senate and the American public deserve a deliberative, thorough process, and this falls far short.'" (Fox News)

• What's happening: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and the 10 additional Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee -- including Kamala Harris -- signed a letter requesting that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the committee chair, delay Amy Coney Barrett's nomination hearing. The process is scheduled to begin October 12.

• What's at stake: This letter was to be expected, and it's unlikely to change the hearing or confirmation process. A few things to note:

(1) Sen. Feinstein has been under criticism from the left, so she may try to be more proactive in opposing Amy Coney Barrett's nomination. (One story in POLITICO summed it up: "Democrats worry Feinstein can't handle Supreme Court battle.")

But Sen. Feinstein drew negative headlines in 2017 when she criticized Amy Coney Barrett's faith during her earlier confirmation hearing as federal judge. "The dogma lives loudly within you," the Senator said, "and that's a concern."

(2) It seems that Kamala Harris will be involved in the SCOTUS confirmation process.

As we shared in The Vote previously, it had been reported that she may resume her work on the Senate Judiciary Committee temporarily to attend Amy Coney Barrett's hearing.

It's worth remembering that The Federalist described Harris as a "ringleader" in the vicious attacks against now-Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.