Transcripts For CNNW Election Day In America 20201103

They have a bigger population, too, they have 41 people. So they were a little bit more conscientious. So, theyre putting the votes in right now. Once they all get in, then were going to hear it. So lets bring in gloria borger, also. Thanks for rolling off anderson to us, to begin this. This is big. Neither of us. For all the experience, forget about Dixville Notch. The idea that we have 100 million votes in, already. Bo borger, with your experience. The encyclopedic memory. No one has ever seen anything like what we are experiencing right now in terms of the activism of our democracy. And i love that we are starting with this ceremony. But, gloria, to you, as we start here with the unofficial start of election day. The first votes cast in the country, midnight. They will be reading them in a few minutes. And when they do, we will give you that whole part of it. What does it mean that weve had more voter activism, already, than you or i have ever seen before . Well, first of all, i think its remarkable. In the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of an economic crisis, in the middle of a country thats been rocked by racerelations issues. That, so Many Americans have decided that they needed to vote. And that, they ought to vote and, maybe, one thing we have learned from this pandemic is that the secretaries of state made it easier for people to vote because they could do it from home. They could do it by absentee ballot. And that, they were home and they decided, you know what, they made my civic duty, actually, easier for me. And these are issues i care about. So, on the one hand, it was more convenient. On the other hand, this is an important moment in American History. And i think there are a lot of people watching this election, who understand that the choices are very stark and very different. That, these are men who are the polar opposites of each other, in many ways. Who see the country in completely different ways. Who talk to the American People in different ways. And i think people were paying attention, and i think they decided they that this was a moment that they had to step up to the plate and do it. And, you know, a lot of people are saying, tomorrow, we should expect or today, i guess we should expect shorter lines. Im not so sure. I think there are an awful lot of people in this country who like to go out and vote on election day. And well have to well have to, you know, see how it how it turns out. But no matter what, people have to believe and this is sort of the important point after what weve been hearing from the president people have to believe that their votes will be counted. And that this is a valid election, and that it has been fair and free. Well, the only reason they have to question that. The only reason to question it is whats coming out of the president s mouth. Exactly. We have no indication of anything else. There is no jump rule that was just instituted in the last few days, or even weeks. Theres been litigation. Weve been following this, all along. Hey, so,let me bring you back in here. What happens if everybody doesnt vote in Dixville Notch at midnight . Why do i have to come at midnight . Im not a railroad worker. Im not coming in. Chris, i think, given its hallowed tradition and the fact that we are covering it live on cable television. Think that pretty much ensures turnout. Look, 65. 7 of people came out and voted for taft over brian excuse me, Theodore Roosevelts successor. Could we get there . You are talking about 150plus million. Hold on. Hold on. I think they put in all the ballots. Hold on. I dont want to miss it. All right. Hes opening up the box. And ill give you a quick answer. We should beat 65 , and with good reason. All right. Hes taking the ballots out, now. Five. Lean year in Dixville Notch. 2010 census had the population of 12. Theyre telling in the control room, only five ballots. Percentage, thats a huge decrease in population. Its over 50 . So, they do primary and general, right . There were there were five votes in the primary, also. So, its consistent, from that race to this. I dont understand what he is saying. Anybody who hears anything that hes saying. I guess hes calling out the names, right . Chris, hes just going through the hes going through the names of the people on the ballot, if im not mistaken. Because i think i just heard the libertarian candidate. So, i think he is just going through it, and then seeing who the vote was for. But im not entirely sure, to be honest. I heard a biden there. 31 to biden . Three went to biden, so far. Mccormick, collins, kelly. Remember, theyre marking them all down. You heard collins there, as in senator collins. Tough race there in maine. I heard biden, again. Thatd be four. Mathematically, impossible for the sitting president to win, at this point. Pictures frozen. Well wait. Sounds back. Here we go. Oh, yeah. Susan collins is maine. This is New Hampshire. This is a different collins. I heard biden, again. Five for biden. If it is all five votes for biden, you better start doing some typing and tell me whens the last time you had a sweep. Thats why i got the computer out, right now. Just to your point, theyre going theyre just going down the ballot. Obviously, the president ial race is at the top. But senator shaheen is up for reelection. Not a contested race but thats what you are hearing those names as they go down the ballot. State rep and that sort of thing. And again, collins is not Susan Collins of maine. This is New Hampshire. We have the results. Here it is. For president , we have five votes for joe biden. For governor, we have four for sumunu and one for feltes. Senators. We have four for shaheen and one for mesner. No, i have the Fastest Internet connection. Remind people. In 2016, clinton won, i think, it was like 42 or Something Like that. And there was one i think for governor johnson. Thats right. 42. And she won New Hampshire by under a percentage point,. 37. Of course, lost the election. New hampshire as a bellweather, Dixville Notch does not have any correlation to outcomes. But it is a quaint way to begin what has become such a complicated process. Imagine if all vote tabulation, everywhere it was going on, was as simple as this. It would take a long time, though, chris. It would take a long time but it would be accurate. Ill tell you that. And who cares how long it takes, if its right . You know, theres one thing you learn as a journalist with any of these breaking events. Being right is everything. Being fast is almost meaningless. Especially, when it comes with any kind of discount effect to accuracy. So, gloria, here you go. 5nothing for biden. Now, we will start the real voting. And it is unusual and he still has nothing on i am working on it. Dixville notch facts. Well, great. I tell you what. While youre telling us that, why is it called notch . Whats the difference between it and the rest of the township . The notch is in between the two mountains. There was a longtime there was a longtime hotel there called the balsams that was bought by les otten but moved to New Hampshire, he has bought the balsams but has not refurbished yet. Fun fact. I vacationed at the balsams with my parents. When is the last time it was a clean sweep . I was busy telling you that information. Glorias going to handle the rest. There were ticket splitters there because there was sununu. Whats your read on that, borger . Whats interesting, i mean, sununus popular. I think that, you know, people who might be republicans might have voted i dont know their affiliation could have voted for joe biden. Gloria, what do you make of the fact that neither the president , nor former vp biden, spent any time in New Hampshire recently . I think that biden probably felt he spent enough time there. I i i dont know you know, it seems to me that its just not a state they spend a lot of time in because you assume its going to go one way. And the electoral vote tally is now high and its not worth their time when you have all these battleground states you got to deal with. And also, dont forget, joe biden wasnt traveling a lot because of covid. Right. And donald trump wasnt going to pick up and spend a lot of time in New Hampshire. So, the last time you had a clean sweep was in 1960, which was the first time that Dixville Notch did this. Not the first time that this little triad of small places did it. However, all nine votes went to president nixon. 1970. Candidate nixon. Kennedy won in 1960. Candidate nixon. Chris. Chris, the last time was 1960. I found it. Thank you. You still win. Its indicative of nothing, by the way. True. Gloria. Gloria did note, by the way. Look. George w. Bush has won this little vote here so its not just a bunch of democrats, just for the record. Again, not indicative of anything. But this is not like, you know, Bernie Sanders and his closest relatives voting. This is people who les otten was a republican. So we should be at least noting the fact that it was a clean sweep for biden because it was 42 for clinton in the past. And, again, four plus two is six. I would argue this. You guys are right but it means a lot because it means we have begun. It started. Thats what it means. We are now after midnight. This is election day. And we have we get excited every election day because its an exercise of democracy that was literally a whisper of a dream when this country was founded. That we would have situations like this. But ive never seen an election with this kind of buyin by the American People, early on, especially, in a time of such division. There were people, like me, by the way, that when the earlyvoting aspects were introduced months ago, i was a seller on the proposition. I was like how many people are going to vote early . Everybodys upset. The president s always saying everythings rigged. He is telling nobody to do it. Probably, wont be a big deal. Boy, was i wrong and thank god for that, gloria. The idea of buyin of 100 Million People, already. Unbelievable. What . Almost 65, 70 of the overall vote from 2016. Yeah. You have had, just with early voting. So let me ask you this, mr. Big brain, what does that suggest in terms of what kind of vote overall turnout we could have . Yes. Okay. So, 1908 is our landmark. Obama, in 2008, was about 63 . The number to look at, i think, is north of 150 million, youre starting to approach around twothirds of the electorate voting which, candidly, ten years ago, five years ago, chris, if you told me that that would happen, i would have been very surprised. You and i went back and forth on your radio show. Debating 2018. 50 turnout of eligible voters in a midterm. Very high. Very high. Maybe, that was a leading indicator of this. The fact that you have had more votes cast in texas and in arizona, already, than were cast in the entire election in those states is i mean, its a stunning statistic that i dont think you can overlook. The question, of course, is, does turnout on election day, on today, does turnout on that day, in person, match anything close to what weve seen in early vote . There are 46 million early votes cast in 2016. Were obviously up at 95plus million, at this point. How many more votes are there out there . Can we get to 150 million . And then, the bigger question, the one that really matters. Who does that benefit, more . I tend to think it benefits biden . A larger turnout. Because you know the trump people are coming depends where they are. But but we dont know that, yet. I mean, thats the real thing. Gloria . I think the question is what motivates people. And change motivates people. So, if i were guessing it in the early vote, i would guess and you have seen it in a lot of places, in florida it didnt turn out that way, the way that democrats would want it. But when you when you want change and youre mad about the way things are working. And you want a different president , quite frankly, you may be more more motivated to come out and vote. Rather than, you know, say, im really going to vote because its a vote of affirmation for something. Now, it may change, today. Cant believe im saying that. Today, on election day. Because the people who may be more voeftmotivated to come out people who normally vote on election day who dont like what they have seen, perhaps, in the early voting. Who are motivated, perhaps, by the president s rallies, for example. And, who may decide that theyre going to that theyre going to come out today. Whether that can match what weve seen, who knows . But dont forget, its not a popular vote that determines the president. Its the electoral college. And so, you have to look at those votes in the battleground states. Now, i keep telling everybody ignore the noise, focus on poise. Theres going to be a lot unresolved at the end of tonight, unless you have some very big moves with this. Which, you know, less likely than not. What two states, gloria, are you keeping your eyes on . Chris, same question to you after gloria answers. And then, well wrap it up. Gloria . Well, the obviously, look. Were all keeping our eyes on michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania. Tonight, ill keep my eye on florida because if we know a lot about florida, early on, and we have an idea of whos going to win in florida, thats either very, very good for joe biden if he were to win it. Or very good for donald trump, if he were to win it because it gives him more momentum at the in the rest of the map. But if biden were to win florida, then you would know that he would be on his way to the presidency. Yes to hold on a second. Im going to give you last word. And also, remember, give people context, chris, about how important florida is for republican president ial candidates. But we got millsfield in. I told you this. Dixville notch. Theres millsfield, which i think had 22 people. This time, had 21 voting. Complete opposite result. It wasnt a clean sweep but 165 for the president , donald trump. So Dixville Notch. The ceremony, the beginning of the election, 5nothing for biden. He matched the five votes in millsville. Divided country. What do you say . 16 for trump in millsville. What does it mean for republicans . And florida . Florida, first. No president no republican has been elected president in 96 years without winning florida. That is not an accident and this is going to be the case. If donald trump cant win florida, its not determinative. But, boy, does it get a lot harder. The two states i would watch. Im with gloria. Florida, pennsylvania, wisconsin, michigan. But i would, also, add iowa and North Carolina for for a couple reasons. Theyre both very competitive, at the president ial level, right . But they, also, both have really Competitive Senate races. We havent talked about it but the battle for the Senate Majority is going to be a huge story line, later today, and the rest of the week. Will we know senate . I think we will, yes. We might. Without the two georgia races . Well, remember, georgia, if no candidate gets 50 , its a runoff in january. Right. So, we may not. But i think theres at least a 5050 chance we will. And i will tell you, if you see a sweep, if democrats win North Carolina and iowa in the senate. Or if republicans win both, i think thats going to tell us a lot about where its headed. If republicans win both, they may hold the majority. If democrats win both, i think they are going to win the Senate Majority. If its split, chris, we may be waiting until january to see how they pan out. Thats my second state. Florida, for all the reasons you guys laid out beautifully. Arizona, second. My main reason is going to be i like quick outcomes. No matter who wins, i like quick outcomes. Arizona. Youll have to wait because of the time delay but theyre in early voting earlycount vote. And that is a state so they should have their eggs in a row eggs in order. And thats a mustwin for nobody but if biden wins, it really changes the calculus. So i am going to be looking that and florida, early on, just as a predictor of how this night will go. Gloria, chris, thank you for living history, with me. Appreciate it. Drink some coffee. You will need it. No need. Im built for this. We have been waiting years for this. What is better than to see people decide their own fate . Thats what i love about this. The outcomes are going to be what theyre going to be. You dont really control that. You just control your part. And i am so proud of my country. That you had 100 million of you, almost, come out. Pandemic. Ugly, political environment. So little to, kind of, have reason to believe and be filled with optimism and positivity that just sends you on a cloud of this expectation of better. And yet, you did it. You grinded it out and well see how it goes today. Its a huge day. But just what brought us to this moment, to me, is amazing. Now, that is a solid known, and i hope its a source of pride for everybody. But we have so many unknowns. Thats why im saying you have to ignore the noise, focus on poise. Focus on balance and what you know, versus what youre waiting for. What will we know, by the end of the night, tonight . Election night. Which states, which races, therefore, should we be watching most closely . The wizard of odds has good indications. Next. Ustfor what . burke every year youre with us, you get fifty dollars toward your home deductible. Its a policy perk for being a farmers customer. customer do i have to do anything . burke nothing. customer nothing . burke nothing. customer nothing . burke nothing. customer hmm, that is really something. burke you get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. See ya. kid may i have a balloon, too . burke sure. Your parents have maintained a farmers home policy for twelve consecutive months, right . We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum burke start with a quote at 1800farmers. Keeping your oysters busihas you swamped. You need to hire. I need indeed indeed you do. 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Its Dixville Notch, a place called millsfield, and then, hearts location. Not doing it, this year, because of covid. Millsfield did it and Dixville Notch. I gave you the result there, fivenothing. Millsfield, 21 votes, 165 for trump. So, those are the little wows of the beginning of this election in america. Now, the huge wow. The shocking wow and a tremendous source of pride, i hope, for every american man and woman. Nearly, 100 million of us have, already, voted for this election. A million have been cast. Millions more are accepted in these next hours, today. But what a thing . What an accomplishment, in the middle of a pandemic, can you imagine what this country is capable of when activated . Even though, its not like you got a lot of beautiful things going on in your life right now, right . Its not like you are riding on a wave of soaring rhetoric. Its not like someones given you such profound reason to believe that you just cant not vote. Were not in one of those moments. Were divided. Its toxic, literally and figuratively. And yet, 100 million went out to say i want a hand in the fate of my future. Beautiful. Just for that. Now, lets see what happens today. What do we know from what we learned with this 100 million . Glad you asked. The wizard of odds, harry enten, is with me. Thank you very much. So let me ask you what i asked gloria and chris. Who are you watching . I tell you what im watching. I am watching the ten closest states that donald trump won in 2016. You obviously know some of those. You know michigan, pennsylvania, wisconsin, florida, arizona, North Carolina. But beyond that, georgia, ohio, texas, and iowa. All of these states have been fairly competitive. Obviously, the ones towards the top of the list have been most competitive. But i am watching all of these. Joe biden has a legitimate shot to win in all of them so all of these are on the board. When . Lets deal with the when and the what . Lets start with the what. What will we know, tonight . Sure. So, you know, we have spoken about this, over and over and over, again. Record vote by mail, record early vote. And if you look at the six closest states trump won in 2016, you basically see a divide, right . Before election day, absentee ballots, vote by mail, have been preprocessed in places like arizona, florida, North Carolina. And in michigan, some of the big cities started earlier on monday. But then, on or after election day, the rest of michigan, pennsylvania, and wisconsin. So, we will have a much better understanding in the sunbelt, in those six of the six closest states in the sunbelt. Thats where we will have understanding of places like arizona, North Carolina. While, michigan, pennsylvania, and wisconsin, we may have to wait a long while because theres such a difference we believe in vote by mail and the people who vote election day, who they are choosing. So you dont think we find out the winner of pennsylvania, tonight . Its possible. What has to happen for it to be possible . I mean, essentially, one of the candidates has to blow the other one out. And its probably biden who would have to be blowing trump out. Why . Because joe bidens doing much better, certainly, we believe and the democratic registration so far leads us to believe its much more of a democratic vote. And thats going to be counted, probably, later. So even if trump is up after the first votes are counted in pennsylvania, that doesnt necessarily mean very much because theres going to be such a wide partisan split, at least by the numbers weve seen, so far. Is it the case that you will know how many more votes there are to count . So that people can do, you know, some math in their head . So lets say trump is up by x votes, at 10 00 tonight. Wont you know the partner statistic, which is how many votes they need to still count over the succeeding three days . We should have a pretty good idea. Obviously, it depends on some of the counties. Some of them are counting much more slowly. Some of them are just saying we have too much to do. Were not even going to count our mailin votes until wednesday. So, it really does depend, from county to county. Well have some idea, right . But i really do think we need to be patient, patient, patient. Its so much more important to be right than to be fast. Do you think youll know the state of play in any change in the senate . Yeah. I do, in fact, think we may know some of the state the change of the state of the senate. And you know, i am basically looking at these states, right, these are potential democratic pickup opportunities and republican pickup opportunities. Those five democratic seats, arizona, colorado, iowa, maine, and North Carolina. They do preprocess their mailin votes before election day. So, we may, in fact, have a much better idea of whats cooking in the senate than we necessarily do in the presidency. So, there is sort of that split there. Why do i keep reading were not going to know because of georgia . And you need one or both of those senate seats and, by state law, if you dont have 50 , you have a runoff. And it doesnt look like either winner will have 50 . Right. So if it gets to georgia hypothetical, at this point. We havent counted the votes but, you know. Right. If we get to georgia, we may not, in fact, know because georgia has that 50 plus one rule. In order to potentially have that runoff, all the way in january, i will note. But the fact is there are enough seats out there that the democrats could, in fact, get the majority. Or it could be the case republicans hold on and we dont even need to see about georgia. Obviously, we have to wait and see but there is still a lot of unknowns in this election, at this point. Even 12 33 in the east on election day. Just as if this is the first time you are hearing it, you know, georgia has i think louisiana, also, has this but we dont expect that to be a factor. Theyre not in contention, the same way. Georgia has a rule in the state that, if you dont win in the senate race this is not in the president ial race if you dont get 50 plus one in terms of the split, it goes to a special election. And then, you dont find out until january 5th because i think the Senate Runoff is the 3rd . So, we dont find out until the 5th. So this is going to take all the way till next year if we, in fact, have to do these runoffs. And that, essentially, means, you know, the senate may be seated, you know, on january 3rd. And then, well actually have to wait two days to actually find out who has control. So, it could be the case the senate is decided tonight or we have a very good idea whats going on. Or it could be the case that we have to wait all the way until january, which of course is another development in a bizarre Election Year that finally seems to, maybe, be coming to an end or maybe not. One of them is a special election, right . So thats dicey to get 50 because you have five candidates there. Now, senator david perdue, republican. Jon ossoff. Did well in the debate. Perdue. Did you see any change in the polls after he mangled senator harriss name, you know, presumptively, on purpose . What i will say is that race has tightened significantly over the last few months. Its obviously hard to assign things to one particular event. But joe biden closed very strongly in georgia. And if theres one state sort of outside the top six that im watching, its its that one. Obviously, biden went down there. They thought they had a real shot to win at the end and, obviously, if biden does win, hed be the first democrat to win down in the peach state since bill clinton did in 1992. Harry enten, thank you very much. Appreciate it. On our watch, we have some breaking news about the state of play of what votes will count and what wont in texas. Literally, a decision that just happened and what happens next. Lets discuss. 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Scott wiener immediately went to work, making sure families could put food on their tables, defending renters facing eviction, securing unemployment benefits, helping neighborhood businesses survive. Scott wiener will never stop working until california emerges from this crisis. The bay area needs scotts continued leadership in sacramento. Because we know scott is fighting for all of us. Reelect scott wiener for state senate. Breaking news, on our latenight election watch. The texas county at the center of multiple legal changes is reducing the number of polling places, just hours before the polls open. Why . Theyre playing it safe, to preserve as many votes as they can, in the face of pending litigation. Were talking about Harris County. Leans democratic. Home to more people than we have in about 26 other states. Our ed lavandera is live in houston. The seat of Harris County. Ed, i had chris collins, the county clerk, on earlier. We actually discussed how the judge at the districtcourt level, while not putting in an opinion, but saying he wasnt going to change anything. Said, ill tell you what, though, if this was about that drivein voting, tomorrow, i would have said it was not legal. And Chris Hollands, at the time, said, were not playing that. Now, a couple of hours later, a change. What do you know . Let me lets back up a little bit here and just the bottom line is there was a great deal of concern, among tens of thousands of voters here in Harris County, who have used these drivethrough sites to cast their ballots in the threeweek, earlyvoting period. Thats about 127,000 votes. Essentially, all of the legal maneuvering that has gone late into the night, tonight. Those votes will count. If you cast your ballots in those drivethrough locations, you have nothing to worry about, at this point. But, county officials here, in the houston area, had these ten drivethrough locations that were still going to be operating tomorrow, on election day. That Republican Group that was trying to shut these down had appealed the judges ruling, earlier today, to the 5th Circuit Court of appeals. That motion and that ruling came down, just a short while ago. And that was, also, denied. But, in the meantime, since you had Chris Hollands on, earlier tonight, he sent out a series of tweets tonight saying they were essentially, Harris County is going to voluntarily shut down nine out of the ten drivethrough locations here, in Harris County, in his words, out of an abundance of caution. Because there is so much wrangling over exactly how these drivethrough locations have been set up. And essentially, this boils down to, according to texas election code, these drivethrough election polling sites must be in a building or a structure. And this is coming down to the definition of exactly what is a structure. And the judge, today, in houston was very skeptical about whether or not a tent that cars could drive through into, could qualify as a structure. So because of that, out of an abundance of caution, the one site, the one drivethrough site that will be open on tuesday is the site at the toyota center. This is where the Houston Rockets play basketball. So, that is a building. That is a structure. And because of that, they felt confident that they could wi withstand any legal challenges. And Chris Hollands is doing this because he says he cant in good faith, risk their votes not being counted on election day. So essentially, even though the courts have ruled with Harris County, all day long. Essentially, this Republican Group is getting most of what they want. They wanted these sites shut down and thats what theyre getting tonight. But they also wanted those other votes not to count and they didnt get that. But it is interesting, youre right. It had a chilling effect. Just the attempt. Because it wasnt a decision. But just the attempt, part of the trick, at least. Ed lavandera, thanks very much. Lets dive more into the legalities and what is happening in texas, and what it means by extension. We have jessica hughesman. Reporter with propublica. Its great to have you. Thank you very much. Thank you. So you had the court of appeals saying were not going to go with you on this and it was still enough, threat of that litigation, to change the rules for today. Election day, in texas whats your take . You know, i think this is a really tricky move on the part of Chris Hollands who has kind of, overnight, become like one of the more famous household names in the country which is very exciting from an administration perspective. But i think at the end of the day, whats more important is maintaining the votes and making sure that the votes that are cast will count. And so, since we are certainly looking at quite a bit of litigation after this election, i think he made the safest call that he could have. It is unfortunate that those ten polling locations had to be closed down because were still arguing about what a structure is. But but at the end of the day, i think he made the most responsible choice. Why do you think or what do you think is the best argument against having the multiple polling structures . You know what . I dont have one. And and i think that thats thats really part of the problem. Is that the Texas Republicans are doing things that are objectively suppressive. And i think that thats starting to backfire on them. I mean, were watching earthshattering turnout in texas right now. And i was born and raised here, and i have never seen anything like this. And so, i think that theres a lot of voters in this state who are watching the objectivelysuppressive actions from the gop. And going out to vote against those those platforms. And and i think thats going to be a really powerful thing for people to watch on election day, regardless of how it plays out. You think hollands should have rolled the dice, given that the District Court and Circuit Court were with him, so far, and kept them open to maximize the volume . You know, i think that he probably did make the correct choice, given the sort of hesitancy with which the initial judge looked upon those tents as structures. I think that the only rational thing to do was to just make absolutely sure that if somebody was going to come and cast their vote tomorrow, both the county and the voter could be absolutely sure that that vote was going to count. Jessica, thank you very much. Everything is happening, in realtime, here and texas is going to matter. Like you said, maybe, more than ever. Appreciate you very much. Thanks so much. All right. Here we are. Living history, together. Election day has arrived, at long last. The president is still campaigning. His final rally is in grand rapids, michigan. The same place he ended his first president ial campaign, in 2016. No social distancing, no real, widespread masks, because his campaign is, what pandemic . Now, will it work . Lets discuss when our special coverage continues. Is not the same. Its our sharpest ever, and while some other companies would charge more for something new, we dont. Because why be like everyone else . Harrys. Not the same. Locating your parked car with the touch of a button everyone else . Might seem. Excessive. Unless. Getting lost is the whole point. Traffic and air pollution will be even worse after the pandemic. Thats why we support measure rr to keep caltrain running. Which is at risk of shutdown because of the crisis. To keep millions of cars off our roads, to reduce air pollution and fight climate change. And measure rr helps essential workers like me get to work and keep our communities healthy. Relieve traffic. Reduce pollution. Rescue caltrain. [all] yes on measure rr. One of, if not the biggest reason that this election will matter is because we are living in the middle of a crisis. What course we take with this pandemic over the next four months, let alone four years, makes all the difference for our kids, our businesses, and our way of life. So the choice that you make today or made leading up to today will matter because these two men do not have the same take on what to do. The president has shown how serious he takes the virus by showing how seriously he doesnt take it. Cases are only trending in the right direction currently in five states. Everyone else is Holding Steady or climbing. Just follow the colors, okay . The u. S. Just set yet another record for the highest sevenday average of daily new cases, more than 81,000. Its nearly double what it was last month as a pace. And were climbing up to nearly 1,000 deaths per day. And we can forget about the it doesnt really affect anybody or this is just a trickle. 1,000 deaths a day is unacceptable with something that could benefit from better planning and more of an attack. Rounding the corner . Only if you want to describe a death spiral. Thats the only kind of rounding thats happening here. His own Covid Task Force coordinator dr. Deborah birx sounds warnings, and in a new internal report today, according to the Washington Post, birx writes, quote, werent ring the most concerning and deadly phase of this pandemic, leading to increasing mortality. Its not about lockdowns. It hasnt been about lockdowns since march or april. Its about an aggressive, balanced approach that is not being implemented. Do you know what thats proof of . Whi why youre hearing from dr. Scott atlas and not dr. Birx. This president goes not with who knows but those who say what he wants. Lets bring in dr. Leana wen. Thank you very much, doc, especially at this time. Appreciate you. Welcome to election day in america. The idea of birx is wrong, things go up and down, but were trending in the right way. Some states are good. Some states arent so good. Thats the way it goes. Many believe that who are going to the polls today. What do you want them to know . Well, i want them to know that its completely wrong, chris, because every metric that we have shows that we are going in exactly the wrong direction here in the u. S. I mean weve added 1 million new cases of coronavirus in the last 14 days, and were going to add a million more in less time than that. We have hospitals in many parts of the country that are already at capacity. There are patients especially in rural hospitals who need a higher level of care who are now having to drive hundreds of miles away for that care, and those hospitals may soon not be taking any patients anymore. I mean this is a really concerning phase of the pandemic that were in, and the last thing that we should be doing is downplaying the virus as the president is. Actually we should be talking about the steps that we all need to be taking in order to prevent lockdowns from happening in the future. The next argument is, look, you cant control this anyway. So the idea that, i need to vote for biden because hell be better than trump, there really is no better because you cant really control it. Its got to work its way through, which is why the lockdowns were such a waste. What do you say to that perspective . Its just not true. We know that there are simple interventions that can save a lot of lives. For example, something as simple as mask wearing. Right now, only about 50 of the country is doing universal mask wearing. If we can get that number to 95 , we will save over 100,000 lives this winter, which is twice the number of people who died from Breast Cancer this last year. So there are targeted measures like that that we can implement. But if we do it too late, then hospitals are going to be overwhelmed. And you can imagine its not just patients with coronavirus. What happens to patients with chest pain who are dying from heart attacks, can no longer get care in an e. R. , when health care workers, there arent enough hospital workers around the country, and patients cannot even call 911 to get paramedics to pick them up. At that point, lockdowns may be inevitable, and we need to prevent our Hospital Systems from that kind of strain. We have a report from the Washington Post that the president plans to hold a 300 to 400guest event at the white house indoors to watch the election returns. You got to give him this much, consistency. He wants people to know he does not believe that covid is a threat and it doesnt matter what the numbers does say. But what does matter, dr. Leana wen, is what the people say. We will know a lot more about that today and tonight. Thank you for joining us and for the straight talk. Thank you, chris. Election day. Can you believe it . I can. This has taken a long time. Weve been watching this for a long time. The president , though, still burning that midnight oil in michigan. Our special live coverage election day in america has begun. Lets get after it next. I didnt know why my body was moving on its own. It turns out i have tardive dyskinesia, a condition that may be related to important medications i take for my bipolar disorder. Tardive dyskinesia can affect different parts of the body. It may also affect people who take medication for depression and schizophrenia. [narrator] in todays trying times, were here to help you manage td. Visit talkabouttd. Com for a doctor discussion guide to prep for your next appointment in person, over the phone, or online. Its a relief to know there are treatments for td. Its our sharpest ever, and while some other companies would charge more for something new, we dont. Because why be like everyone else . Harrys. Not the same. Because why be like keeping your oysters growing while keeping your business growing has you swamped. you need to hire i need indeed indeed you do. The moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a shortlist of quality candidates from a resume data base so you can start hiring right away. Claim your seventyfivedollar credit when you post your first job at indeed. Com promo now every bath fitter bathbath fis installed quickly, safely, and beautifully, with a lifetime warranty. Go from old to new. From worn to wow. The beautiful bath youve always wanted, done right, installed by one expert technician, all in one day. Weve been creating moments like these for 35 years, and were here to help you get started. Book your free virtual or inhome Design Consultation today. The unfair money bail system. He, accused of rape. While he, accused of stealing 5. The stanford rapist could afford bail; got out the same day. The Senior Citizen could not; forced to wait in jail nearly a year. Voting yes on prop 25 ends this failed system, replacing it with one based on public safety. Because the size of your wallet shouldnt determine whether or not youre in jail. Vote yes on prop 25 to end money bail. Welcome to election day in america certainly if youre on the east coast. Im chris cuomo, and were back with continued live coverage here on cnn. This is the big day. If youre on the west coast, ill give you a little cheat on whats been going. Were watching the final steps of this campaign. Biden is done. Trump is holding his final rally in michigan, grand rapids, same place he wrapped up in 2016. And i was making a very direct message about success breeds success. Now, biden ended his campaign in pennsylvania. In fact, he and harris were going around a lot of these different counties that clinton got killed in four years ago. Its an interesting strategy play. Well talk about that more. Now, its certainly as a state going to be one of the most closely watched occasions tonight, and youre not probably probably well discuss this also, but we probably shouldnt know the result in pennsylvania tonight, and well discuss why. As for the president , hes not letting up on pennsylvania as a problem when there is absolutely no proof of that. The Supreme Court took a look at what was happening in pennsylvania, and they took a pass. They allowed ballots there to be counted if they are received up to three days after election day as long as they were stamped as mailed by election day, okay . Legal ballots. But this president is trying to make it sound like its something nefarious. Listen. I think the pennsylvania decision by the Supreme Court is a very dangerous decision. I think its a decision that allows tremendous cheating to go on after the fact. First of all, how . How . How does it allow cheating to go on after the fact . If anything, the reason that you would want to err on the side of letting votes be counted later rather than earlier is that youre going to have more attention to it. Youre going to have more staff that are able to do it because the other counting is done. Theres no preparation. Nobodys early. Nobodys getting a jump. It doesnt make any sense. But more important than the empty suggestion of cheating is the implication of what he sees happening, which is violence in the streets because of what was done in pennsylvania. Thats what he tweeted. This isnt my suggestion. I would never say anything like that. But this president says that the decision in pennsylvania by the state Supreme Court in pennsylvania will induce violence in the streets. No, its not what a Court Decision does because we have seen none. And if it were the decision that had done it, it would have happened. What might induce or incite violence in the streets is exactly what this president is doing on the eve of an election. Something must be done, he said. Something was done. It went through the process of justice in this country. Now, what does it mean . Well, it certainly means that the president is trying to be misleading about election and participation and the legitimacy of this election. And that is a form of really just nondemocratic thinking. Elections shouldnt be violent. A president running for reelection shouldnt be inciting violence. And you know who knows it . His opponent. The power to change this country is in your hands, in your hands. I dont care how hard donald trump tries. Theres nothing, nothing thats going to stop the people of this nation from voting, period. Lets bring in Astead Herndon and ron brownstein. Its nice to be sharing history with you. Here we are on election day at least on the east coast. Were a couple hours early for the west coast, but well give them a cheat. Mills field went 165 for trump. The other place, whats it called . Harts location. They didnt do it this year because of covid. We got that out of the way. Now its about how things look today. Astead, lets start with where trump was on monday and where theyll end today. Of michigan, all these multiple stops, whats the theory of their closing case . The trump theory of the case is to bring back that midwestern coalition that we saw in 2016. Now, the polling tells us that michigan, wisconsin, even places like pennsylvania are harder for him than it was in 2016. But hes still trying to play those same kind of cards, right . So michigan has been the place where he has tried to say that hes tried to link back to joe biden and trade deals. Hes trying to link back of kind of a fear of a rising progressive tide. But we havent seen it play out in the same way. I was in detroit. I was in lansing, michigan, a couple days ago for the president s rally. And the thing that you feel there thats different than four years ago is a kind of attention pay by the Democratic Party to that part of the country. You have to remember that the clinton campaign, for its own faults, did not invest in those places, did not actually kind of see those places as a part that was necessary for that strategy. That has been night and day for the Biden Campaign. They have looked very, very clearly at those places. And also in 2018, theyve gotten good encouragement. You have the governors race. You have the statehouse race. You have the actual statewide races to say that democrats have a path back to victory thats through kind of persuasion of those suburban counties. And thats what bidens relying on tomorrow. So, ron, pick up on astead in terms of do you agree with the analysis of whats happening in the midwest. Then fold that into why biden and harris are in so many counties that clinton got clobbered in in pennsylvania. First of all, where the president is is very revealing. The county that grand rapids in, hes n 2016 by 10,000 votes roughly. As astead was alluding to, in 2018, it snapped back. Gretchen whitmer won that county as part of a general pullback from the president across the upper midwest both in suburban white collar neighborhoods like oakland county, michigan, which is one to watch tomorrow, where whitmer doubled clintons margin, but also in a lot of blue collar places. The blue collar places are what are particularly interesting about the ending of the biden schedule, chris, you could say almost any democratic nominee running against donald trump with all the prove kags he creates, would improve on clintons margins in a lot of big suburbs and metro areas. What biden is doing throughout is focused on trying to sand down those trump margins in trump country, in blue collar places. He was in beaver county, pennsylvania, today. Clinton lost it by 20 points. Kamala harris was in luzerne today that clinton lost by 20 points. You dont usually see candidates the day before the election in a place that they lose by 20 points. Usually theyre waving a flag in the place where they know their popular. But a big theory in the Biden Campaign is that his unique value is sanding down, reducing, diminishing those trump margins in those blue collar places. You add that up with whats happening inside the metros, and it makes a very rust combination for the president in those rust belt states. Astead, what do you think about trumps play in pennsylvania, which is to say its not legitimate, that what the state Supreme Court was dangerous. Its going to incite violence. Is that his way of basically just doing the best he can to upset any result that doesnt go in his favor . Look, its telling that the Trump Campaign and the president himself is not going about this to say, oh, im going to win more votes. Oh, im going to convince more people of my message. But that i am going to try to rig the rules of the game. Im going to try to shift the idea that the most the person who gets the most votes in those states is going to be the winner. I think thats what democrats are scared about and thats what republicans are playing into, particularably in pennsylvania. Now, we have to know that pennsylvania will only be a Tipping Point state if all those places before that goes in the president s favor. In North Carolina, in florida, if georgia, in arizona go in bidens favor, then pennsylvania becomes less important. Right. What we see here, though, is Donald Trumps campaign placing a bet on these Tipping Point states to not say that were going to convince more people to vote, but to say that we are going to try to try to shift the kind of basic idea of democracy in these places, and that, i think, is a kind of fundamental question that were going to have to ask ourselves if it gets to that point. Is it that every ballot counts either in mail or in person or absentee or the like, or were going to let the Trump Campaign get away with the idea that something after the election day doesnt count when we know that thats what happens every election day. Ballots are certified after the thats how he won arizona and michigan. Yeah. He won it days and weeks after some populist he turned out to be, ron. So he doesnt want peoples votes to count. He wants lawyers and judges to decide the election for them. Thats some populist right there. And military ballots. Yeah, military ballots also. That come in after election day. To this point, Everybody Needs should have a proper humility about the polls after 2016. And even if you believe the polls, biden is still short of being safely ahead in states that add up to 270. But having said that, you know, biden is in a very strong position in all of the 20 states that Hillary Clinton won, and hes also in a strong position in michigan and wisconsin. They are in a different category than the other battleground states. And what that means, chris, is that if he wins all 20 clinton states, michigan, and wisconsin, trump has to win Everything Else that both sides are contesting. He has to win pennsylvania and North Carolina and florida and ohio. But he could. And arizona and georgia and texas. He could. Yeah. But im just saying to make the point that he could, but he has to run the table. He is operating on a very narrow ledge. And, yes, he can make it work, but that is a lot of dominoes that have to fall in his direction. I mean, you know well, theres no reason to prognosticate, but this president could definitely win this election. Now, lets talk about why in terms of looking beyond this huge headline that i am so proud of just as an american. Having 100 Million People just about come out and vote early. I have to be honest. When we were talking about early voting, astead, i talked to ron about this a couple times but never with you. I didnt think people were going to do it. Its hard. Nobody trusts, you know. Its like, what am i even doing this early for . I dont want to vote at all, and now im going to vote early . You know, and the pandemic. Yeah, it was scaring some people, but then he was saying not to do it. 100 Million People saying i want a hand in my own fate. I think its beautiful. Now, do you believe that there are as many votes there cant be another 100 million votes. Wed have 200 million votes in the election. But how many votes do you think you have today at the top side, astead . What would be a boffo turnout . I mean i think that we are likely to see a turnout that we havent seen in modern times, right . So when we get past the kind of 160, 180 point, i think that is something thats unique. I think what republicans are betting on, right, is that they are going to have a better inperson election day turnout than democrats have, right, who have been voting early, who have been voting by mail. But i think thats still a very risky strategy. What we know from polling, for example, is that older black voters prefer to vote by mail. So in places like florida and places like pennsylvania that have not had early voting before this year, were actually expecting a democratic turnout in some of those places. So that speaks to the kind of narrowness of the trump strategy. Certainly he can win. Certainly were expecting republicans to come out on election day specifically because of the way the president has kind of said has kind of cast doubt on mailin balloting specifically. But what we do know also is that there are also going to be democratic constituencies that do that as well, and that is going to make the path even more narrow for the president. Right. And thats frankly what we have at this point, is kind of one set of strategies that allows donald trump to win and a kind of multiple paths for joe biden that does not make it impossible. It just makes it more narrow. Thats one more path than he had in 2016, and he wound up winning. Ron, youve never covered one like this before, brother. I call ron the professor because he seems to know everything. But weve never had this kind of early vote turnout where youd be dealing at a discount on election day and what that looks like in terms of who votes early and then who shows up today. Whats your best reckoning . Yeah, right. If 160 Million People vote, it will be the highest turnout since before women had the right to vote in a president ial election. So to me, i mean i think the key question about the turnout is the underlying geographic divide that trump has deepened. I mean he really has exiled the Republican Party from the big metros in america, not only on the coast and the upper midwest, but now we are seeing it through the sun belt whether its atlanta, houston, dallas or phoenix. The big Population Centers, i think, are going to vote against him in historic numbers. He lost 87 of the 100 largest counties in america. I think hes going to lose over 90, and its going to be more closer to 20 million votes. I think voters in those places look at the way he talks about race, about women, the violence that he has promoted and they say im not part of this coalition anymore. To me, the question is are there enough votes in small town and Rural America to keep up with the kind of surge in turnout we have already seen in places like houston and dallas and austin. And that is going to be, i think, the critical question because win or lose, i think trump is going to be weaker inside of the big Population Centers driving the economy. For example, i think the counties he wins are probably going to account for only about 30 of the total gdp. His path is massive turnout, small town, rural, white, blue collar america. And are there enough voters out there to keep pace to what is going to be, i think, some historic levels of democratic turnout and margins. Again, not only in Northern Virginia and new jersey and california where weve seen it before, but atlanta and gwinnett and cobb and houston and travis and maricopa and so forth. Thats going to be the interesting part of the analysis. Again, you dont have a republican in almost 100 years winning the presidency without florida. So the president is ending here with his recent kind of, you know, his famous end of ymca. I got to say, astead, all these people are digging this song, and i wonder if they are aware of who is singing this song. The provenance. And what this song was about. The provenance of this song. Well said, ron brownstein. Its just so ironic to hear President Trump and theyre kayleigh mcenany, you know, doing a little dance to ymca. The idea of the most benign reading of this songs lyrics about inner city needs and desperate people doing whatever they can and believing in themselves and working in a situation where he says systematic inequality doesnt even exist. Help me with the irony here, astead. Listen, i did a story last year about the Different Campaign playlists between the candidates, and one of the most, like, provocative parts of that was the president s. I mean you talk about the Village People. You talk about pavarotti. You talk about the kind of the voices you hear. I mean youll hear fortunate son by credence there. Thats a song specifically about he wont even let him use it. He wont even let him use it anymore because he says, youre the guy i was writing it about. Exactly. But im saying that is still something that you would for a while hear at the president s rallies, and i think that from what we know from that, its just the kind of jam playlist thats completely removed from the kind of meaning and the spirit of those song lyrics. And frankly i think that thats indicative of a larger theme within the Trump Campaign, which is that you have a kind of specific relationship between the president and completely oblivious from the kind of larger question of this and the kind of larger implications that frankly might be a reckoning tomorrow. Listen, again, we all grew up with the song. We all loved it. I grew up in queens. This was like our anthem . I grew up in queens. You know what im talking about. No man does it all by himself. Put your pride on the shelf. Just go to the ymca. Im sure they can help you. They have everything you need. You can get yourself clean. You can have a good meal. You can do whatever you feel. I was once in your shoes. I was down and out with the blues. I felt no man cared if i were ali alive. This was about systemic inequality and people who were relegated to less. And this is what the song is at the trump place where he says this problem doesnt exist . And it may have it was even more specifically about kind of, you know, Gay Liberation in the 70s. Yes. That specifically. And it ends up in grand rapids, kind of a heartland of christian conservatism. Look, irony is way past dead with donald trump and his playlist and many other aspects. You know, the way in which his personal life clashes against kind of all the values that his most religiously devout supporters claim to uphold. I was giving him a break on the gay thing, ron. I was giving him a break. I was talking about it at its most benign. Its election day in america. All the truths are finally, you know, coming you know, one last point on that. Ive been thinking about this. The incredible, like, all the tough that taylor swift has done for biden. The springsteen ad that hes narrated. Hes never done anything like that. John legend, lady gaga, brad pitt. I mean the number of contributions that biden has had from small donors, like blue america is leaving everything on the field. I mean there is no institution, it feels like, in kind of blue america that is not all in on this election. And if, in fact, it is not enough, it is going to be quite a moment, you know, in kind of all of the Population Centers of the country about what america really is and what america really wants because the you know, if you go from like brad pitt and Bruce Springsteen to the 500 former Republican National Security Officials and the two dozen former republican elected officials and the staff for romney and bush and mccain and cindy mccain and the fbi head for reagan and the cia head for w. Bush, it is an extraordinary outpouring. Listen, weve got to go. Astead, ill give you the last word. And if that is not enough, i think its going to be an amazing moment of looking in the mirror for america. Astead. Im just saying quickly as a newspaper reporter, we have to write multiple sides of whats going to happen on Election Night. And one of the things that you ask democrats right now is what if joe biden loses, and that question to them is unfathomable. It would spark a soul searching that is not comparable to what we seen saw in 2016. They could not think about the prospect of a loss, and i think that speaks to rons point. We will see because you know what . Everybody he identified as somebody who could be an influencer, in trumps america, they go like this. The elites and the insiders. Yeah. To hell with all of them. Well see. This will be a very important day. It will last a few days, and it will be talked about for decades. Astead herndon, ron brownstein, brothers, thank you for sharing history with me. Appreciate you for it. See you later. 270. 270, 270, 270. Its the only number that matters. You will hear about 100 different numbers and data points between now and anybody is seriously talking about 270. But its all that matters, and thats why im saying youve got to ignore the noise as much as you can and remember your poise. Stay open. Stay balanced. Stay ready and curious. We will map out the possible paths. Its not going to be like spaghetti strings with a hurricane, but just which way it could go and why different states matter and timing as well, okay . Lets get after it next. Were helping change the future of Heart Failure. Understanding how to talk to your doctor about Treatment Options is key. Today, we are redefining how we do things. We find new ways of speaking, so youre never out of touch. Its seeing someones face that comforts us, no matter where. When those around us know us, they can show us just how much they care. The first steps of checking in, the smallest moments can end up being everything. Theres resources that can inform us, and that spark can make a difference. When we use it to improve things, then that change can last within us. When we understand whats possible, we wont settle for less. The best thing we can be is striving to be at our best. Managing Heart Failure starts now with understanding. Call today or go online to understandhf. Com for a free hf handbook. Its our sharpest ever, and while some other companies would charge more for something new, we dont. Because why be like everyone else . Harrys. Not the same. My job is to help new homeowners who have turned into their parents. Im having a big lunch and then just a snack for dinner. So were using a speakerphone in the store. Is that a good idea . One of the ways i do that is to get them out of the home. Youre looking for a grout brush, this is garth, did he ask for your help . No, no. No. We all see it. We all see it. He has blue hair. Okay. Blue. Progressive cant protect you from becoming your parents, but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. Keep it coming. You dont know him. In the final hours of the 2020 race, both the president and joe biden barnstormed one state in particular pennsylvania. Why . 20 electoral votes. It made the race for trump in 2016. He won by 44,000 votes. The state could make or break the path to 270. Again, the president flipped it. It went from blue to red. It was part of the wall. No more. Where do things stand now . Phil mattingly is at the magic wall. Phil. Chris, finally, mercifully, this map is going to start to fill in over the course of the next 24 hours. Little bit of red here, little bit of blue there. This map and what people are looking for going into this map largely reflects back in 2016. Its not the same race and not the same candidate on the democratic side. So many differences about it. But the map, the goals, particularly for the Trump Campaign, are the same, and that focuses on one state in particular. Youve seen it in the spending. Youve seen it in the travel. That is the state of pennsylvania. Heres where things stand in pennsylvania at the moment. Pull up the cnn polls, and you see joe biden has opened up a lead in pennsylvania. Its actually been pretty steady throughout the course of the campaign, 50 to 44 when you average the polling together right now. However, the Trump Campaign believes that they have momentum right now. Why does that matter . Well, take a look at what happens if joe biden wins pennsylvania and then goes on to win michigan and wisconsin. All he needs to do is restore the blue wall, and hes back over 270 electoral votes. So lets dig in a little bit about what happened in 2016 that allowed President Trump to burst through that blue wall. Flip back to the 2016 map. Pull up the state of pennsylvania. Heres what you need to watch for. It wasnt in 2016 like some other blue wall states that Hillary Clinton didnt get big vote in the urban areas and in some of the surrounding suburbs as well. In the philadelphia area, Hillary Clinton did great by all accounts. In allegheny county, the home of pittsburgh, Hillary Clinton did great by all accounts. If joe biden can match those numbers or a little bitter, democrats would probably be happy. The clinton campaigns issue and where the Trump Campaign stunned the world was here, western pennsylvania, was here in northeastern pennsylvania. When you looked at the margins not in these huge counties but in smaller counties, you go up here into warren county, this is a tiny county, President Trump netting only 12,444 votes. 2012, mitt romney was polling 10,000 here. You could basically go through the map in western pennsylvania and in county after county after county throughout the west, donald trump was running up margins republicans didnt even think were possible. That is what his Campaign Says hes going to do again, not beast past margins but beat the 2016 margins. That includes in a place like westmoreland county. Look at the margin there, 116,000 votes to 59,000 votes. They think theyre going to do better this time around. To be frank, they need to do better this time around. That is where the Biden Campaign thinks they can come in. They expect to do well in philadelphia. They and to do well in pittsburgh. Where they think bidens strength is holding down margins. Hes from scranton. Go down one county here into Luzerne County. This was a county president obama won back in 2012. Look at what donald trump did in 20 16. Now, the Biden Campaign, who has sent joe biden to Luzerne County doesnt necessarily expect to flip it back to blue but they want to shrink those margins in trump counties where he ran up the types of margins that no one has seen before. You shrink those numbers and run up your totals not just in philadelphia but into the collar counties and out. Do the same thing in allegheny county, maybe spread it out a little bit. All of a sudden, not unlike what happened in 2018 in the midterms republicans think pennsylvania is very much in play. Thank you, phil mattingly. They could be right. Look, thats why you have the election. The polls are done. The only poll that matters now are the votes that came in early, the votes that will be counted after this election that made it by election, and what you do today. We are in store for hours and days, maybe even weeks ahead. Ignore the noise. Remember your poise. No election is decided today. So lets go through what today really holds and what well be waiting for. Were just getting started. Next. The first fdaapproved medication of its kind, tremfya® can help adults with moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis uncover clearer skin that can last. Most patients who saw 90 clearer skin at 28 weeks stayed clearer through 48 weeks. In another study, the majority of tremfya® patients saw 90 clearer skin at 3 years. Serious allergic reactions may occur. Tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. Tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. Tremfya®. Uncover clearer skin that can last. 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Side effects may include allergic reactions, injection site pain, headache, eyebrow, eyelid drooping, and eyelid swelling. Tell your doctor about your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, and medications including botulinum toxins as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. So, give that just saw a puppy look. And whatever that look is. Look like you. With fewer lines. See results at botoxcosmetic. Com were not supposed to editorialize but i cant not say this. I am so proud as an american that nearly 100 million of us have voted already left, right, reasonable, all of you. Whatever your reasons, you came out, and you had a hand your own fate. Weve never seen anything like it, and i think its a beautiful expression of our democracy. Where it leads us, all right, lets get after that right now. 18 states and d. C. Are already over 50 turnout. Keep in mind we have we havent topped 60 as a nation in terms of participation since the 60s. Now, ive always found that very embarrassing, and you hear all the time from our veterans, hey, you want to thank me . Vote. Well, this time youre actually fulfilling your thanks to them in that way. Lets discuss what this means. We have Jennifer Granholm and scott jennings. Thank you for sharing history. The best to you and your families. Thank you for all youve done in helping the country through our reporting get to this point. Jennifer granholm, governor, do you think that your vote is in and today is all about trump and whether he can meet or beat what has been put in already . Well, are you talking about you mean do i think bidens vote is in and that the early vote is your vote. Yeah. And today is now about whether trump can meet or beat. Yeah. I mean i think that in a way, although i will say that i think theres a lot of just people out there who procrastinate. And so whether theyre democrats or republicans, i think democrats are still going to show up tomorrow. I was talking to my son, who is 22 years old, and he was saying, you know, hes a total political junkie, but hes also a procrastina procrastinator. He says, mom, people my age, were going to go to the polls. Im taking my buddy tomorrow. Hes never voted, but thats just us. So who knows, chris . But to your point about the number, im just over here grinning because it makes me feel so proud of america as well. And i think that honestly, you know, i looked at the last gallup poll, for example, where they had people say whether theyre satisfied or unsatisfied with the direction of the country. 80 of americans have been unsatisfied with the direction of the country. So i think what youre seeing is the people are taking the wheel. The people have decided they dont want any more of this. They want this country to go in a different direction. Well, youve got republican early voters too, especially in florida. Of course. Theyve been seeing a robust of course. A question i have about how to handle tonight as the president , if the president is going to have four more years, does he really want to start with controversy on Election Night . I mean doesnt it behoove him as well to let this process play out because its what hes going to inherit in his second term . I mean he doesnt want to have to deal with one more thing coming right into his second term, does he . Well, i mean i had to chuckle at your question. Does donald trump want to have another day of controversy . I mean weve had a day of controversy every day since he took office. Im not quite certain that one more day is really going to change the trajectory of what will be regarded as the most controversial presidency weve ever had. I mean, look, i think whats going to happen tonight is were going to know some states and were not going to know others. And whether those states add up to 270 or not, i dont know yet. Like you, chris, i think what is the most refreshing thing about this, i feel better about this election day ive been at this for 20 years. I feel better about this election day than i have any one because of the durability of american institutions. A lot of folks wrang their hands over the last four years and were saying were never going to make it to the next election because of this guy. Well, here we are. Everybodys voting and everybodys going to get their say. Someones going to win and someones going to lose. But no one will be able to say the American People, as jennifer just said, didnt let their full voice be heard. Except for the president , scott. Whatever donald trump does tonight isnt going to change that. But what hes saying about, hey, this is going to incite violence with the Supreme Court in pennsylvania did. Theres so many chances for fraud. We both know if you want to worry and, again, weve been through this many times. Proving the case of widespread fraud in any election in American History is a very slim proposition. About you if you were going to mess, youd mess early. People arent ready. You dont have the same scaled resources. You could get ahead of the game. You could literally get a jump on it. You count after election day, you have all eyes on you. You have all the apparatus in check. For the president to suggest otherwise, i justdont see the percentage for him. Well, i actually think this is the greatest argument for not having federalized elections. The fate of our elections are in the hands of the hardworking county clerks and secretaries of state in all these states, and its not centralized. And so the point youre making is what if the head of our government, our entire government, were to try to mess with the outcome of an election. He is. Because of the decentralized nature of our voting and the way we count the votes, that thats a good thing. So some people have actually suggested lately that we need a federalized election system. Thats wrong. These local officials know what theyre doing and they need to be allowed to do what they do. By the way, it doesnt matter what trump or biden says tonight. They do what they do according to their local and state laws anyway. Right. Im just saying, jennifer, its just a weird brand of populism that the president is saying that he doesnt want votes to count and he wants judges and lawyers to decide the election in pennsylvania. Yeah. Its just a weird swing. Its a its the sign of somebody who is afraid hes going to lose, so hes going to go hes going to really attack the election itself. But i feel like i have to check myself because im agreeing so much with scott. I think, you know, this demonstrates and well see what happens tomorrow. But the volume of votes and these local elected officials working and toiling to make sure theyre all counted and the fact that this year more than any other year, despite the volume, everybody has a barcode. I mean this is all checked. You cant double vote. Its all assigned to you. You can track your vote. You know i mean it just this fraud issue kind of completely eviscerates in light of how many systems are in place right now to make sure that this is done right. So its and the other point is that even up to tonight, less than half a percent of votes have been discarded. So im you know, i think this is a real exciting moment for expansion of voting now that we have this vote by mail and people have become hopefully are getting used to it. The clerks are getting used to it, and maybe it will be a sign that voting will actually be made easier in the future. Ill tell you what. You know why im voting tomorrow . Because i dont trust anything else. And i think there are a lot of voters like me. I want to be there in person. I want to look at this guy or this woman who is going to be looking through that stupid book and find my name, you know, if i get lucky so i dont is there to fill out another provisional ballot because of this great system we have. But it would be interesting to see today and again you cant have complaints with turnout. Thats why im giving the frown to the president about questioning whats happening in pennsylvania. Its been reviewed. The Supreme Court reviewed it in the state. It was held in abeyance. Well see what happens afterwards if theyre going to take up it as a theory. Let it lie, man. Let the people have their say. Let me ask you something else, scott. Help me understand the draw of the trump crowd to the song ymca from the Village People. You know, truthfully i dont know. Every campaign has their own even pence was almost dancing to it tonight. He was hand dancing. Yeah. I dont even know if hes allowed to do that in his church, but he was hand dancing. What is that supposed to like why this song . I dont know. Every campaign ive been part of putting together playlists for campaigns before, and we had our own playlist in the bush cheney years and in the romney years as well. Was ymca in there . I will say the trump playlist is among the most eclectic but also, you know, danceworthy playlists out there. I assume it has something to do with the hes got pavarotti. Hes also got the theme to the titanic. Im okay with having eclectic musical tastes. Im just saying, jennifer, when you have a campaign that is based on the cornerstone that theres no such thing as systemic inequality, and youve got the Village People seeing about a young mans battle to be himself and to be gay and be open and how hard it is for people in the inner city and what the ymc can provide, for trump to be dancing to it is a little bit of an irony sandwich, no . I dont think theyre reading too much into the lyrics of any of those songss. I was just saying they also have the theme to the titanic on there too. Im just saying i think theyre like trumps playlist is what it is. Hes got the pavarotti not pavarotti. Hes got opera singers. Hes got a whole array of things. I just think its the music that he likes. I think hes not thinking at all because the symbolism is really too go ahead, scott. Let me do a little third shift punditry. It reflects that the president is putting together a Broad Coalition of supporters. Finally. His playlist is reflective of the Broad Coalition. I like it. I think youre going to see that manifest itself on election day. There you go. Hey, do you want, scott well see about those coalitions. Do you want the president to play it cool tonight . This controversy about declare or not declare, do you see any need to push the process . No, i dont. And i mean, look, it doesnt really matter whether he declares victory or not. Its actually irrelevant legally to the process. Right. Good point. I think it would make him look dumb if you declaired victory and then it turns out six hours later you didnt win or 12 hours or 24 hours later. So, yeah, i dont think it would be appropriate for anybody to go out and declare victory in an individual state when you dont have a majority of the votes counted. Jennifer, last word to you. Joe biden going out tonight and declaring victory after Dixville Notch. Its ridiculous. Candidates are done having their say. Its the voters turn to have our say. Its true, especially when millsville came in and he lost 165. You always have to watch the next one. Heres what we know for sure. Jennifer, you, scott, and i, we have never seen the kind of activism on the part of the American People that weve seen already going into this. So thank you for living history with me. We dont always agree. Sometimes i push too much. But i think the process is a good one for this audience, and i appreciate you both being a part of it. Take care. Jennifer granholm and scott jennings. All right. No one knows what lies ahead. I certainly dont. I dont even have a good feel for this race because even though i have the radio show every day and i get to talk to dozens of states, i havent been out on the hustings, and this is just a weird time in this country. I dont know that, you know, a registration advantage really is going to play through with the early votes. A lot of people who back this president believe they do have something to fight for, and they do see it as change. They still see him as change. So lets bring in Chris Cillizza for some insight on what to watch tonight, not just now but just hours away. This is it, baby. Game on, next. Ok, just keep coloring there. And sweetie can you just be. Gentle with the pens. Okey. Okey. I know. Gentle. Gentle new projects means new project managers. You need to hire. I need indeed. Indeed you do. The moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database so you can start hiring right away. Claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed. Com home. I had this hundred thousand dollar student debt. Two hundred and twentyfive thousand dollars in debt. Ah, sofi literally changed my life. It was the easiest application process. Sofi made it so theres no tradeoff between my dreams and paying student loans. Student loans dont have to take over for the rest of your life. Thank you for allowing me to get my money right. Thank you for allowing me to get my money right. Whosgovernor gavin newsom. The governor says prop 15 is, fair, phasedin, and long overdue reform, that will exempt Small Businesses and Residential Property owners. Join governor newsom. Vote yes on 15. Hey while the guys arentcatch listening. We need your help. Your platforms are toxic to women who lead. We are targeted with ugly and violent language, with threats of sexual assault, coordinated bots attack women for political gain. We have asked facebook to do better, our freedom, our democracy is at risk. We are fighting back, and were asking you to join us. Weve got your back, do you have ours . You know, lean in. Whos supkamala harris. 5 . Harris says, a Corporate Tax loophole has allowed billions to be drained from our Public Schools and local communities. No more. Im proud to support prop 15. Vote yes. Schools and communities first is responsible for the content of this ad. Always true. But it is today and tonight. An election, like no other, will bring an Election Night, like no other. Weve never seen this kind of participation in an early vote. Weve never seen this kind of toxic division, amidst a major crisis. Were literally living a pandemic. So, what do you watch . What do you focus on when the results start . And, of course, as my daughter bella loves to say, you have to ignore the noise and focus on your poise. Stay balanced. Stay in control and filter whats coming in because a lot of it wont mean what it suggests. What do you say, sir . All right. So, i want to start, chris, with a race that im pretty sure most people arent watching. But remember, were looking like you said were looking for the signal in that noise, right . Were looking for the signal that actually tells us something and thats why i want to go to indianas 5th congressional district. A republican named susan brooks is retiring. So, why are we talking about it . Well, its a really, really close race. Its not just that, though, chris. Remember, polls close at all different times, throughout the country. In indiana and kentucky but, indiana, in this case, they close very early. Were going to see that race. If that moves, good for House Democrats and good for joe biden. North carolinas number two. I mentioned it earlier in the show but i want to come back to it because this is a double whammy. Remember, donald trump won North Carolina. The data suggests that its basically a tossup. Almost, an exact tie, at this point, between trump and biden. And there is a hugely Important Senate race there. Thom tillis, incumbent, running behind former state senator named Cal Cunningham. Had some personal controversy in the last month. Doesnt appear to have affected his poll numbers. If Cal Cunningham wins, big deal. Lets keep going. And the earlyvote count, right . Yes, and a quick vote count, which is important, as you say. Go ahead. Florida. Florida. Im not going to spend a huge amount of time on this because anybody who knows anything about politics knows floridas important. Im going to say it again because its that important. No republican has been elected president of the united states, in 96 years, without carrying florida. Thats a heck of a lot more than a coincidence and its true in this election, too. If donald trump does not win florida, you can get there. You can get him the 270 electoral votes in the rest of the country but, man, does it require a lot of heavy lifting in places where hes not polling all that well. He needs this state, again, because some of the state is in the central time zone, its a 9 00 p. M. Close. But it is one to keep an eye on. They do earlyvote count, also. Who knows how fast they count . Im always weary after after the year 2000. Okay. Lets keep going. Iowa. Another one, like North Carolina, that i dont think that many people understand why its a big deal for two reasons. Yes, very close president ial race. This is a state donald trump won relatively easily four years ago, chris. But it is a state that is competitive. I still expect donald trump to win it but the issue may be his margin because if his margin is small, then i think you may see joni ernst, who won overwhelmingly, she was one of the most highprofile senators to win that year on that side. Thats the race, right there, circle it. If democrats win that race, i think they retake the Senate Majority. They need three seats if biden wins. Four if trump gets reelected. If they win iowa, i think that suggests theyre going to win it. Im going to end on a gigantic state, mostly in the central time zone, little bit in the Mountain Time zone there in el paso, texas. Look. Democrats have, since i started covering elections, democrats have been telling me that texas is moving their way. And im not as young as i once was, chris, so its been a while. Two decades, ive heard this. Is this the year . Is this the year that joe biden can change the map . We have seen texas be republican since 1976. Jimmy carter is the last democratic president ial nominee to carry texas. Can joe biden be the next one . Important, chris, i started on a house race. I want to end on house races. In texas, democrats have huge pickup opportunities in the house, which is a remarkable thing. We could be looking at somewhere between 5 and 15 democrat net pickup in the house. You add that to the majority they already have, if they retake the senate, if they retake the white house, obviously, those are big ifs, it will be the first time they have complete control since 2008, 2009 really, when joe biden was Vice President of the united states. Thats where i am looking, at least at the start. That was a brilliant list of the five things to look at. Especially, how you broke down texas and indiana. Im wondering, though, by looking at that district in indiana, did you pick it because it looks like a hand puppet . Yes, absolutely. The shape of the district looks like a hand puppet. Yeah. Sure. I can do the barking dog. Barking dog. Little bit. If you look at it. Yeah, little bit. Sure. Also, looks like a dinosaur head but i had never really gone through that. Another animal without ears. Thank you and i appreciate you listening to johnny cash earlier. Very strong. All right. Thank you very much for watching. History is being made. We are living it together. Cnn will be here for you and with you, all day long. Poppy harlow, jim sciutto, continue our special, live coverage, of election day in america. Lets get after it. Next. Heart failure causes nearly two hospitalizations every minute. Understanding how to talk to your doctor about Treatment Options is key. Today, we are redefining how we do things. We find new ways of speaking, so youre never out of touch. Its seeing someones face that comforts us, no matter where. When those around us know us, they can show us just how much they care. The first steps of checking in, the smallest moments can end up being everything. 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Have you voted, yet, america . Im jim sciutto. Were so glad you are with us. Hi, everyone. Im poppy harlow. And it finally is here. Election day is upon us. The day millions of americans will make their voices heard, if you have not already. Joining the nearly 100 Million People who have already cast their ballots, the race is like no other, at a time like no other. A worsening pandemic is shaping how we are all voting, and impacting who many are voting for. Both candidates, wrapping up their final and starkly different closing arguments, just moments ago. We have to win. Dont do that to our country. Our country has too much unbelievable potential, actually. Massively, increasing your regulations, shutting down your economy, theyre going to close down your factories