Special edition of nbc bay area news. Im janelle wang. Im raj mathai. Democracy is in action and were documenting it every step of the way. This begins our nonstop coverage on this Election Night and were prepared to be here into the wee hours. Here is what is happening right now. The polls remain open until 8 00 p. M. Here in california, but across the country the polls will start closing in about an hour. We dont know which direction things will go tonight, but we do know it could be the highest voter turnout in the history of u. S. President ial elections. Here is a live look now at the white house. The president is inside. Tonight he is watching the results with his family and aides in the residence and oval office. Hes also hosting a party for his closest supporters at the white house, about 250 people on the guest list. Now, earlier today the president stopped by his Campaign Headquarters in virginia. He thanked staffers and reflected on this race. He also said he had not thought about an acceptance or concession speech yet. Joe biden, he began his morning going to church and visiting his childhood home in scranton, pennsylvania. He later made a few quick Campaign Stops in philadelphia. Now, right now voting is underway in all 50 states. We are expecting the first exit poll results from the east coast in about an hour. Lets begin with Nbcs Alice Barr in washington, d. C. Reporter janell and raj, after an unprecedented campaign, at times bitter and bruising, it all comes down to this, and tens of millions of americans having their final say at the polls. At the end of a long and bumpy road, the finish line is in sight and the power to decide is in the hands of voters. It is a relief. Now we just have to wait for the outcome. Reporter with nearly 100 million ballots cast early, final totals are set to smash records. Theres nothing like elections reporter Democrat Joe Biden starting his day with reflection, going to church and visiting his son beaus grave site. President trump thanking Campaign Staff at his headquarters in virginia, saying he hasnt yet thought about an acceptance or a concession speech. Winning is easy, losing is never easy. Not for me it is not. Reporter biden, back in critical battleground pennsylvania, in philadelphia saying voter turnout gives him confidence. Were going to win pennsylvania because of you reporter that after visiting his childhood home in scranton, writing on the wall from this house to the white house with the grace of god. President trump insisting we should know the results tonight, despite several states warning it will take days to tally up all of the votes. You have to have numbers. You cant have these things delayed for many days and maybe weeks. You cant do that. The whole world is waiting. Reporter voters anxious for a resolution. You know, i think it has been really stressful for me, for everybody. I hope that we kind of transition to a better point moving forward. Reporter Election Officials urging patience, calm and faith that every vote will count. Well, joe biden is watching the results come in in delaware tonight, President Trump will be here at the white house, expecting 300 to 400 guests for an event in the east room. The staff says everyone that goes in will have to be covid tested. From the white house, im alice barr. Janell and raj, back to you. Alice, thank you. Here is a roadmap of what we will be doing and when were starting to get results. This shows the poll closing times for each state. The yellow states are all the first to close in the 4 00 p. M. Hour, so less than an hour from now. The orange states close at 5 00 p. M. We will keep a close eye, you probably heard now, florida, georgia, along the east coast into pennsylvania. The green state, the bulk of the country here, those polls close in the 6 00 p. M. Hour. In the dark green, nevada and utah, they close at 7 00. Here on the west coast we close at 8 00 p. M. Along with three other states. Alaska and hawaii close later in the night. This isnt just about the president ial race. Tonight the senate is in play. Right now the republicans have control with 53 gop senators but it could change tonight. 35 of the 100 seats are up for grabs. Keep in mind, keep a look at the gray area here. 35 seats up for grabs, 65 senators are not up for reelection. Now, among the senators in a tight race this evening, South Carolina republican lindsey graham. Janell. Back here at home, raj, Governor Newsom spent part of the election day in the bay area. He visited the wellknown manning in the mission district. Among the topics he was asked about whether he would consider making mailin ballots for every registered voter a permanent part of california elections. His answer, it should be the standard, not only here but nationwide. Nbc bay areas jackie ward is live in San Francisco with more on this hot topic, on both sides of the aisle. Jackie, what are they saying . Reporter well, janell, so far 66 of registered voters in San Francisco have already cast their ballot with the majority of them doing so before today. Thats why Election Officials say these lines have been manageable, if existent at all today. Now the question is whether the mailin ballots millions have already turned in should be a part of every election even after the pandemic. Making voting easier, providing more choice and more opportunity i think is fabulous. Reporter back in may Governor Newsom issued an executive order requiring the state to mail a ballot to every registered voter in california, largely for safety during the pandemic. Today while at a phone bank at mannys in San Francisco, he said the trend of absentee and mailin ballots has already been on the rise in california and covid19 just accelerated the progression. Once the proverbial mind is stretched, it never goes back to its original form, meaning i think the expectation will be across this country. Reporter a nationwide ballotbymail law is a move congresswoman jackie spears agrees with, saying she thinks it would make voting more accessible everywhere. I think we have to recognize we are living in the 21st century and we have got to come up with more ways to make it easier to vote. Reporter but the Republican NationalCommittee Woman from california says she has Serious Problems with where the process stands now. She believes the system lacks proper regulations, training of staff and equipment needed to adopt a statewide mailin ballot system. Having a votebymail system that has Effective Security around it and has training and has some years of time for the state to implement it and the state has a zero tolerance policy for people being on the rolls who should not be there, i think that could work. Reporter regardless of party affiliation, every political leader i positive to today said that they hope that this energy that this election has brought continues to resurface every four years. In San Francisco, jackie ward, nbc bay area news. Jackie, thank you. For the last several days weve been reporting about the various businesses around the bay area that are temporarily shutting down or boarding up because of postelection concerns. Thats led to a boom in business for a local Plywood Company called Service Channel. Based in pleasanton, Service Channel has been handling orders for businesses across the country this week. More than 1,000 Companies Put in orders for plywood, about half the number that boarded up during the protest following the killing of george floyd on memorial day. Service channel says these orders are more open ended. The feedback were getting from our customers now is theyre boarding up now with an undetermined date of taking the boards down because they dont know who is going to win, how long it is going to take to declare or how long the unrest could possibly go on for. So how much does this cost to board up . Well, jobs range in price from 1,000 to 30,000, depending on the size and value of the location. Well, weve seen the numbers so far. Record amount of people voted early in this election, but a lot of people still waiting until today or perhaps even tonight to cast their ballots. Nbc bay areas Jodi Hernandez has been visiting different polling sites in the east bay. So far any problems you are seeing or any long lines . Reporter raj, long lines just havent been a thing today. It took me just 15 minutes to vote at my polling place this morning. Now, were here in richmond where people have been steadily coming in, either to drop off their ballots in these ballot boxes here or theyre going inside and voting on the electronic pads there. Again, you can see folks voting as we speak inside. The registrar of voters, assistant registrar of voters tells me so far everything is going smoothly. I am anxious, worried, at the same time excited. Reporter filled with emotion, this san ramon couple took a selfie to remember this election day and their visit to the polls. They say for them it is important to vote in person. It is always fun to come on the date of election and actually look at the lines and the people coming in. Reporter they also waited until election day to cast their ballots because up until today they were undecided. For me personally, i was still divided honestly. So i was still making up my mind and going through the various discussions and the president ial debates and the Vice President debates and still making up my mind. Reporter polling places across the east bay have had a steady flow of voters. While most people have voted to opted to vote early, many like the tradition of going to the polls. Howard williams brought his 9yearold son ben who was disappointed his pick for president wasnt an option. Well, he wasnt on the ballot. Reporter voters say they know a lot is at stake but are hoping people stay calm and peaceful whatever the outcome. I think were all going to wake up tomorrow and not a whole lot is going to change, no matter who wins. I think what we really need to do is get past the division and remember, you know, what unites us and move on from there. Reporter and were back here live. You are looking at the scene here at this polling place in richmond. People are starting to get off work and school, so people are filing in here but, again, no long lines so far. Now, we have heard from a number of concerned voters who dropped off their mailin ballots some days ago and still havent gotten a text message alert from contra costa county. Well, the assistant registrar of voters tells me there is a lag between dropping off your mailin ballot and getting those text messages. Theres a lag in the system. It takes a couple of days. So if you are concerned, your amore than welcome to come in, vote in person. Only one of those votes will count. Reporting live in richmond, im Jodi Hernandez, nbc bay area news. Good info. Thank you. If election day has you stressed out youre not alone. A South Bay Hospital is adding extra staff today because of concern about the fallout from electionrelated stress. Regional Medical Center in san jose says it has extra staff on call because it is estimating it will see a 15 rise in cardiac patients because of the stress from this election. Doctors say heart flutters and palpitations as well as cases of cardiac arrest often rise in times of great stress and regional wants to be ready for the possible influx of patients. You notiknow, people are ner, on edge, a combination of election timing swelas well as dealing with covid pandemic. It is expected that people are under stress. Medical Research Shows that elections along with major sporting events and natural disasters often cause a jump in the number of cardiac patients. Doctors say if you feel any symptoms dont hesitate to go to the hospital. Up next here at 3 00 p. M. As we begin our election coverage this evening, showing up with shifts, in shifts with security guards. How Community Groups are providing a sense of security at polling places including this one in san jose. Reporter im steven stock at San Mateo Countys registrar of voters where theyve been voting by mail for a long time. They have it down pat, but theyre seeing record numbers of people voting this year. We will follow throughout the evening to tell you how it is going. Im chief meteorologist jeff ranieri. I will have the latest look at the weather if you still have to drop off that ballot over the next couple of hours, and details on a much colder storm that could bring 30degree temperatures. I will explain coming up in about five minutes. Voters arent the only ones headed to the poll today. Poll watchers are also out in force across the nation including in the south bay. Some are republicans, others are democrats, many are just concerned citizens and they all want to make sure this is a fair election. Nbc bay areas Damon Trujillo is live at the mexican Heritage Plaza to explain. This is a busy day for those folks, damian . Reporter it is. It has been a steady flow of voters here at the mexican Heritage Plaza in san jose. Right now it is about 20 minutes, halfhour wait before you can go in to cast your vote. There are people here trying to provide a sense of security like the brown beret. Theyre supposed to be here any minute now, making sure people feel safe to cast their vote. So you can put your address reporter regardless of their political beliefs, all of these people have one thing in common. They decided to wait until election day to vote. Even though it is the last minute, for somebody that procrastinates. Reporter you procrastinated . I procrastinated. Reporter others say they needed the time to study the entire ballot. She also felt it was important to bring her girls to the polls. I do never time. I bring my kids. She is the next one in the line, so, yeah, it is a good experience for them. Reporter as people lined up to vote, gordon kept a watchful eye. He is a poll watcher with the group surge, making sure no one is intimidated in this predominantly minority community. Yes, we are just here to encourage people to vote, to celebrate democracy in action and to make sure that voters rights are upheld. Reporter uniformed security guards are common at the plaza, but on this day advocates say they too are here to protect voters. We are worried that people would feel a sense of fear, a sense of like having to not show up to the polls. You know, theres been talk in the community about potentially maybe some people come in counterprotest or showing up to try to like deter people from voting. Reporter we found no visible security at other polling places and no reports of any issues. At the mexican Heritage Plaza, watchers say they will be here until the polls close just to make sure. And right now things are running smoothly, no major problems to report at this polling site. Live in east san jose, im damian trujillo, nbc bay area news. An important job. Thank you, damian. The most important thing to get right in every election, of course, is the actual vote. It is critical that every vote is counted and counted accurately. This year because of covid safety concerns, more people than ever voted early with mailin ballots. Our Senior Investigative reporter steven stock is live behind the scenes at the Registrars Office in San Mateo County to give us an early look at how they are counting. Stephen, it is go time. Reporter it is go time. I want to show you quickly, you can see the line of cars, of people that are actually driving in and voting by car. They voted by mail and theyre dropping their ballot in the box. This line has been steady all afternoon, while others, this gentleman here and others, are going in to vote in person. This is all at the San Mateo County registrar of elections. Theyve been actually voting by mail for five elections now. This is the first president ial election that theyve been holding votebymail exclusively. Of course, you can go to the vote center and vote in person like they are here. It will be busy all day. But there are no long lines, you heard Jodi Hernandez. Part of that is because so many voted by mail, voted at home. I talked to the secretary of state around noon today. Out of 22 million rej strergist voters here in california bring the way, a record 11. 8, over half, have voted by mail. Over 98 of the ballots have already been counted. We will be following this throughout the evening. We will get behind the scenes. We are going to see the ballots that have been cast today dropped right at that deck. They will go in through those sliding glass doors. They will open the ballots. They will look, they will compare signatures and they will start counting. We will have access to all of that exclusively behind the scenes all evening. For now im Stephen Stock reporting live in San Mateo County. Stephen, we will see you throughout the night. We are getting reports from precincts around the country, so far a mixed bag. Long lines in some locations. We also have court cases, as expected, and some other issues. Lets bring in chris chmura who is here with us to watch for potential trouble spots. We dont know what to expect, chris. We dont. We can tell you over the past few weeks democrats and republicans have been fighting it out in court in places like minnesota, pennsylvania as well as texas most recently. Were on the look out for more cases potentially today and tonight. We have reports of long lines to vote in many spots in the heartland as well as the deep south. In mississippi and in florida, a hand full of reports here in california, specifically around the sacramento area. Due to glitches, the hours for some North Carolina polling places have recently been extended. Similar situation with technical problems in georgia which led Election Officials there to extend polling place hours in a couple of different places. Now, as far as protests are concerned, people in illinois saw the National Guard deploying there for the possibility of protests on either side, whoever wins. Weve seen businesses boarding up, yes, here in the bay area, potentially dealing with protests here as well as other parts of the state. Weve seen there are businesses boarded up in beverly hills, also in chicago and in washington, d. C. , including a fence actually going up around the white house. We will be watching all of this and more tonight. Were going to focus on state and local races as well as the ballot measures when we start streaming live online and our sister channel cozi. Raj. Okay. Chris will be a big part of what were doing tonight. Our nonstop livestream begins at 8 00 p. M. As soon as the polls close here in california. Gar mon thomas is leading the online coverage. We will have the leans, the latest results as soon as they come in, plus our reporters and expert analysis of this historic night. Join us live online on roku, apple tv or on cozi tv beginning at 8 00. A Beautiful Day to head to the polls. We have lots of sunshine and blue skies. Lets get a check of the forecast with jeff ranieri. Yes, weather definitely cooperating across the bay area. If you have to head off to drop off your ballot over the next couple of hours, we have beautiful weather for you. You might need a light jacket in a few spots. So i want to start with an hourbyhour look at the forecast across the bay area, beginning with the inland valleys and staying with 70s through the next hour. Then we drop to the 60s at 6 00 p. M. And down to 50s at 8 00. Mostly clear skies. By the bay it will be cooler over the next few hours, 60s as we move through the 4 00 hour and by 6 00 p. M. We are down to 59. Already in the 50s at the coastline, and well stay with those chilly 50s all the way through tonight with some areas of fog building. So definitely near the coast you have to have that jacket if you are headed out over the next hour or two. Now, this sets us up tomorrow with patchy fog near the bay and also the coast. We will stay with widespread 50s throughout the bay area, putting the south bay at 50 degrees. Over to the east bay we will begin tomorrow with 51, and the north bay at 50. Daytime highs tomorrow, dont adjust a whole lot at all. This will set us up with a Beautiful Day. Right here through santa rosa, 77 degrees. Over to oakland, 73. Livermore, 79. Palo alto, 74. At the coastline well stay with our 60s from sf to half moon bay, and down to san jose at 76 degrees. I want to spend sometime in my extended forecast because we are still projecting this much colder storm to move in. San francisco, dropping to 59 on friday. Shower chances increasing as well, 60 chance of spotty showers on friday. 65 chance on saturday. We will hold on to the spotty shower chance on sunday. Total trace amounts to. 015 of an inch. Look at the drop of temperatures in the inland valleys, from 79 tomorrow to 59 on friday with those chances of showers over that friday, saturday and sunday period. Now, look at those morning lows. By sunday morning, down to 37 degrees. Thats going to be the coldest air of the season as a lot of the 30s would be right up there through the north bay and really much of the bay area dropping down to the 40s. So, raj and janell, some bitterly cold air for bay area standards coming our way this weekend. It could put a foot of snow across the highest elevations of the sierra. It is the direction we need to see things turn in, so a little bit of good news on that front. Great news, especially on this Election Night. Thank you, jeff. Yes. Up next, a big change to a popular park on the peninsula. Why Foothills Park in palo alto is about to become a lot more open. Now to a followup on the peninsula, Foothills Park in palo alto soon will be open to everyone. Counsel members made the change last night in hopes of settling a lawsuit from the naacp and aclu. For 55 years the park banned nonpalo alto residents from visiting the preserve. Now anyone will be able to visit as soon as middecember. However, because of the pandemic you will have to make a reservation. Okay. Two words, free food. We will tell you about the freebies and discounts you can get if you vote. Thats next. Janellee, sometimes it is the free things in life. I love free thing. If you voted at krispy kreme you get a free glazed doughnut. Even if you dont have your sticker thats okay because it is technically illegal to offer something in exchange for a vote. Subway is offering discounts because this happens to be National Sandwich day. We will be eating and drinking a lot. Up next, we will send it over to lester holt who will lead our national coverage. We will be checking in twice an hour through the night with the local results. Stay with nbcbayarea. Com for complete coverage. Test. Test test. Tonight, a historic Election Night in america. The first polls beginning to close and voters giving us the first clues in what could be the most consequential election in generations. Donald trump and joe biden, the fight to the finish in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic. The president today visiting Campaign Headquarters. His final message to his supporters in a tough reelection battle. Biden at the grave of his son, beau. Then lastminute campaigning in his allimportant home state pennsylvania. Tonight the path to 270. The key states to watch. Our team in all of the critical tt