US election live blog: Ginsburg’s historic memorial service

The casket of the late Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is carried into the U.S. Capitol, where it will lie in state in Statuary Hall in Washington, U.S., September 25, 2020. [REUTERS/Mike Segar]

Joe Biden, Kamala Harris pay their respects to Ginsburg. Trump will campaign in Florida, Georgia and Virginia. Early ballot requests are breaking records. Barack Obama will hold a fundraiser with Harris next week. Hello and welcome to Al Jazeera’s continuing coverage of the US elections. This is William Roberts and Steve Chaggaris. 10:30 ET – Ginsburg lying in state in US Capitol The late US Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was honored in a brief ceremony in the US Capitol as she lies in state there, the first woman and the first Jewish person to receive that honor. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi briefly spoke before opera singer Denyce Graves, a favorite of Ginsburg, sang in tribute to the late justice. “Pursuing justice took resilience, persistence, a commitment to never stop,” said Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt, who eulogized Ginsburg today and at the Supreme Court memorial service on Wednesday. “Today we stand in sorrow and tomorrow we the people must carry on Justice Ginsburg’s legacy. Even as our hearts are breaking, we must rise with her strength and move forward.” 09:45 ET – Trump drug benefit promise is not funded President Donald Trump on Thursday made a late-campaign promise to send $200 coupons for prescription drugs to the 33 million Americans that take part in Medicare, but there is a hitch: The $6.6bn needed to fund those coupons have not been allocated. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on healthcare on Thursday in Charlotte [AP Photo/Evan Vucci]Stat News points out it is unclear whether this programme will be implemented considering it is Congress, not the White House, that dictates spending of taxpayer money and the White House has not said where they would come up with the funds for it. In addition, the proposal has not even been worked out, Stat News reported. It is just an idea that is still in the planning stages. The New York Times reported the Trump administration tried to partner with the pharmaceutical industry on a similar $100 coupon card but the industry turned them down. 09:30 ET – Huge demand for mail ballots breaking records Due to the pandemic and new voting rules, more than 28 million mail-in and absentee ballots have been requested across the US to date with another 43 million set to go out automatically, shattering records, according to a CNN survey. After checking in with election offices in 42 states and the District of Columbia, the survey reveals the number of ballots set to be distributed already exceeds the 50 million or so mail ballots cast in 2016. It is worth noting that it is certain every ballot requested so far this year will not be returned. There are 1.3 million more ballot requests from registered Democrats than from Republicans in the battleground states that report data by party registration. However, this is far from a predictor of overall turnout and it also does not indicate whom those registered voters are voting for. 09:15 ET – Obama to raise money with Harris Former President Barack Obama is scheduled to hold two virtual fundraisers with Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris next Friday, reports Bloomberg News. In this February 16, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama walks with California Attorney General Kamala Harris, after arriving at San Francisco International Airport [File: AP Photo/Eric Risberg]While these will be the first fundraisers the two have taken part in, they did record a video last month and Obama held two fundraisers with Biden in June that brought in a reported $11m. One of the Obama-Harris fundraisers will be for small donors. Tickets for the other are selling for $100,000-250,000. 09:00 ET – Ginsburg’s historic honour The coffin of late US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg arrives at the US Capitol this morning where she will lie in state and continue blazing a trail as she did during her career: Ginsburg is the first woman and the first Jewish person to be honoured with such a ceremony in the Capitol. There will be a private ceremony to honour her legacy, open only to invited guests due to the coronavirus. Among those attending are House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris. Read all the updates from yesterday, September 24, here.