tone and rhetoric, but it never stops their enthusiasm. a big surge in early voting here in virginia. more than 530,000 people cast early ballots. that hasn t tamped down the enthusiasm to come out on election day. check this out. it s snaking all the way down and around the school. i mean, there were 60-some people here almost an hour before the polls opened, chris. so this gives you a real gauge of the enthusiasm here in virginia. it is a crucial battleground state. the race is tightening in virginia. hillary clinton, donald trump have both been in this county trying to win over votes. they re counting on counties like this because this is a swing county. this could go either way. obama narrowly won it in 2012. donald trump counting on it this year because he came here on sunday night in a last-minute appeal, hoping to win some of these folks over, chris. hey, this is what it s all about, brian. we re going to check back with you. let s bring in our all-star political panel. david
running mate s home state stays blue. we have cnn s brian todd live in ashburn, virginia. we just saw senator tim kaine. he s getting out there. how about by you? reporter: chris, a lot of enthusiasm here. people have been lining up since 5:00. it s cold outside. they ve been braving the cold, snaking this line all the way out the door and around the corner. this is where they re checking in here at sanders corner elementary school. patiently waiting their turn to check in here then go vote. here s what we talk about, about the enthusiasm. it s been a long and divisive campaign. no one knows that better than you, chris. as we talk to voters here, not tamping down their enthusiasm. look at this line. it snakes all the way out the door. as we said, these people have been lining up since before 5:00. we got here long before 5:00, and there were people here already. look at this. going all the way out the door here at sanders corner and around the corner. voters yesterday and the day bef