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CNN Live Sunday

Interview with Three Early Voters; Kerry Campaigns In Ohio, New Hampshire; Bush Campaigns In Florida

Aired October 31, 2004 - 18:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Here's what's happening right now in the news. Two days until Election Day and both President Bush and Senator Kerry are focusing on battleground states. Now President Bush said he'd be tougher than Kerry in the war on terror, but John Kerry promised to heal the wounds of the country.
Japanese officials say a headless body found in Baghdad is that of Japanese hostage Shose Koda (ph). The group led by terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi threatened to behead him unless Japan pulled its troops out of Iraq, which Japan refused to do.

And a new video shows three U.N. election workers taken hostage in Afghanistan pleading for their lives. A group calling itself the Muslim army claims responsibility. It is demanding the release of prisoners in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay and that U.N. organizations leave the country.

I'm Carol Lin and welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. In our front line segment, a truly inspiring story. We're going to profile a soldier running the Marine Corps marathon for his friend whose injury in Iraq will prevent him from ever running again. Also --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: According to an Internet costume seller, Halloween masks have predicted the outcome in the last six presidential elections. This year the winner so far is president Bush masks although the Kerry mask is still doing well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Politics and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. We're actually going to take you behind the scenes. You're going to get a sneak peek as they prepare for tomorrow's primetime special.

But first we begin with the number two, two men in a tight race for the White House. Two days until voters cast their ballots and two points separating George Bush from John Kerry in the latest CNN poll of polls. It is a mad sprint across the battleground states for both men as they try to capture every undecided voter they can by Tuesday.

Now, John Kerry is rallying voters in Ohio, New Hampshire and Florida today and our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is keeping up with Kerry's hectic pace in Tampa. Candy, what's ahead for John Kerry? CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, this is the time of the year and the time of the campaign cycle when -- where a candidate is going probably tells you more than what he's saying. John Kerry, as you mentioned, started out today in Ohio. He went to church, in fact, he went twice. Kerry, who is a Catholic, first went to a mass and then he went to a predominantly African-American church. Obviously African-Americans very key to a Kerry victory, if there is to be one in Ohio. Here in Florida and in any number of states. Kerry has spent in fact the last five Sundays in predominantly African-American churches.

There was also a Kennedyesque moment by the roadside in between church events. They stopped and threw the football back and forth a couple of times, a trip to a diner. Of course, it was off to New Hampshire. In terms of the words, we are hearing very much what we have heard for some time, that Kerry campaign strategists say they want him to turn now to domestic issues in these final two days. But they know that voters are still very much interested in what really has driven this campaign and that's the war on terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I pledge to you, I know what we need to do in Iraq and I know what we need to do to make the world safe. What we need to do is begin by having a president of the United States who's willing to look the American people in the eye and tell them the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: John Kerry also doing an interview earlier today which will be shown on ABC in which he talked a little bit about terrorism. His campaign, by the way, put out a poll for reporters and other interested parties, noting that in fact the polls that they have taken show that the appearance of bin Laden on a videotape is more harmful to George Bush than to John Kerry.

Now, of course, down here to Tampa. This will be the -- John Kerry's last visit here to this state. He's made plenty, let me tell you. But tomorrow, it's back up north. Carol?

LIN: Candy, so you expect John Kerry to stay on message or do you think there's going to be some last-minute tweaking in the next 48 hours?

CROWLEY: Oh, I think they very much want him to stay on message. There's too little time and the race is too close for uncertainties. They really didn't much like the appearance of this bin Laden videotape. Because there's no way really to kind of measure it and react to it in the amount of time that it had before. Two days isn't enough to undo damage that might be said. We aren't hearing that on the campaign trail anymore, at least directly about the bin Laden video. So basically what they want to do is stay on message. They want to go to swing vote areas in these key states and talk the economy. What they want to do is get into the headlines in swing vote areas without actually making any news, if you know what I mean. No surprises at this point. They just want as steady as she goes in areas where there may still be voters that are swinging things.

LIN: As a former president once said, stay the course. All right. Candy in Tampa with a beautiful skyline behind you, the sun setting.

President Bush is focusing on 47 electoral votes today. That is the combined total in the crucial battleground states of Florida and Ohio and our Dana Bash is traveling with the president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the last Sunday before election day, the president, a Protestant, went to Catholic mass in Miami. Catholics are a crucial voting block, a quarter of voters in Florida and nationwide. The monsignor publicly thanked the president for banning partial birth abortion. Parishioners got a pamphlet, careful not to endorse the president, but makes clear he's in line with the church on stem cell research, abortion, gay marriage and notes his Catholic opponent did not answer the questions.

Later in Coral Gables, some niche campaigning. The president is relying on south Florida's Cuban community to mobilize. But some think Mr. Bush hasn't been tough enough on Fidel Castro, so --

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I strongly believe the people of Cuba should be free from the tyrant.

BASH: With 48 hours to go as he pumps the crowds, standard Kerry attack lines become interactive.

BUSH: He can run from that record --

AUDIENCE: But he can't hide!

BASH: And as he crisscrosses the sunshine state, he's thinking up new variations of audience favorites.

BUSH: And then he entered the flip-flop hall of fame by saying, quote...

BASH: But as much as the Bush team looks to the party faithful these crucial last days to get out the vote, they know he does need some of those elusive swing voters to win. No mention of Osama bin Laden or his tape, but here's his message.

BUSH: Ultimately this election comes down to who do you trust.

BASH: Translation, you know what you've got with me. You can't be sure with John Kerry. And to punctuate his pitch for fence- sitters, a new refrain.

BUSH: Do you believe America should fight the war on terror with all our might and lead with unwavering confidence in our ideals? I ask you to come stand with me.

BASH: Bush aides recognize this push for Florida's 27 electoral votes in becoming more of a necessity because polls show another key battleground prize, Pennsylvania, is looking better and better for John Kerry. Dana Bash, CNN, Gainesville, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Many Americans are skeptical about the presidential election being decided on Tuesday. A number of factors, or even scenarios could come into play. I want to talk about that with NPR's political editor Ken Rudin in Washington. Hi there Ken. Do you think this is going to be decided on Tuesday night?

KEN RUDIN, NPR POLITICAL EDITOR: Oh, please, please. Well, who knows. There are so many potential lawsuits. There are so many SNAFUs. We're looking at possible disruption of votes in Ohio and Florida. We know that all the Democratic and Republican lawyers are camped out, going to earn their hourly pay. So who knows, but two days after trick-or-treat time, we may have trick-or-treat on Tuesday as well.

LIN: If you had to guess, you mentioned Ohio. I mean if you had to guess right now, how many -- obviously I'm referring to 2000, the race -- how many Floridas, if any, do you think there are going to be?

RUDIN: Well, you know, the only difference between 2000 and now is that we did not anticipate what would happen in 2000. We did not anticipate the 36-day legal standoff in Florida. But again, so most secretaries of states, most voting apparatus in the states, they are prepared for what may happen, you know, perhaps disqualification of voters, from false voters, fictitious voters showing up to the polls. I think the election process is certainly more ready for it than they were four years ago, that's for sure.

LIN: Let's take a look at a map of just some of the swing states. By our calculation, we're looking at Florida, Pennsylvania New Hampshire, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, New Mexico. When you break down those electoral votes, have you yourself come up with your own math as to which way these states are going to swing, because of the polls being so close, it's just neck and neck.

RUDIN: Well, I have, but rather than talk about what my predictions are, let me just tell you what happened four years ago. Basically the word, we all know that no Republican has ever been elected without winning Ohio. And some polls show Mr. Bush trailing in Ohio. But you know, until Al Gore in 2000, no candidate had ever lost - no candidate had ever won New York and California and been defeated for the presidency as what happened to Al Gore four years ago. So there are a lot of truisms that we've learned in politics all these years that may be thrown out the window on Tuesday.

LIN: And that every state matters. It's almost funny when you hear that the Bush campaign sent Dick Cheney all the way out to Hawaii with its four electoral votes, but that gives you an idea of what they're anticipating come Tuesday night.

RUDIN: Given the fact that all Al Gore had in 2000, all he had to win was New Hampshire with its four electoral votes or West Virginia with its five electoral votes, I mean he would have been president today. So obviously no state is too small and too insignificant.

LIN: Ken, have you entertained the thought, what if this electoral vote comes down 50/50 for both Bush and Kerry, 269-269? What then?

RUDIN: Well, aside from taking a lot of drugs, I don't know what I would do, actually. No, but actually, there is a scenario, I mean, for example, if all the states that went in 2000 go exactly the same as 2004, however, if Kerry wins New Hampshire and West Virginia, two states that Bush won in 2000, it would go to the 269 electoral votes each and then theoretically it would go to the House of Representatives where each state gets one vote. California with its 55 electoral votes gets one vote. So does Wyoming with its three electoral votes. In that case, if it goes to the House, theoretically the Republicans would win because they control 30 delegations compared to 15 for the Democrats. Then you could have electives (ph) switching sides between now and when the Electoral College meets. So you could have Bush electives (ph) suddenly voting for Kerry or vice versa. There are a lot of scenarios, a lot of Halloween-like scenarios that could certainly happen the next month or so.

LIN: Can you imagine? I know at this point we're all entertaining every possibility. But of course, we're not going to know hopefully until Tuesday night. Thank you.

RUBIN: Here's a perfect example. No team has ever been down 3-0 in the playoffs and gone to win until the Boston Red Sox. I should tell you that, in history, every time the Boston Red Sox have won the World Series in a presidential election, the Democrats have won the presidency.

LIN: Really? Well, you know what...

RUBIN: That hasn't happened since Woodrow Wilson, but still --

LIN: And you know, the Redskins lost to Green Bay and usually what the Redskins --

RUBIN: I think that Ralph Nader wins the presidency. I think that's what it means. I'm confused.

LIN: There would have to be a few lawsuits along the way. Thanks very much Ken, Ken Rubin, NPR.

RUBIN: Thank you.

LIN: Please join CNN for complete coverage on election night. Wolf Blitzer and the entire election team kick off CNN's special election night coverage at 7:00 Eastern live from the Nasdaq headquarters in New York. It's going to be a big night.

All right. The violence is the same, but the target this time is different in Iraq. A hotel bombing turns deadly. The U.S. military says insurgents fired a rocket at a hotel in Tikrit today killing 15 Iraqi civilians. Several other people were wounded. And a stark warning today from Iraq's interim prime minister to insurgents in Fallujah. Ayad Allawi says his patience is wearing thin and chances for a peaceful resolution in Sunni stronghold are all but over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: We have now entered the final phase of attempts to solve the Fallujah without a major military confrontation. I hope we can achieve this. But if we cannot, I have no choice but to secure a military solution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: And we'll take a look at what military solution might be. A warning, another indicator that an all-out assault on Fallujah could be just days away. CNN's Karl Penhaul, who is embedded with the first battalion third Marines shows us how the troops are preparing for what promises to be a tough battle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This one's a drill. These Marine gunners are trying to stay sharp. They know the fight for Fallujah is brewing. Long range artillery is likely to play a major role as U.S. tacticians plan to use all weapons available for a fast, decisive assault. In this desert camp near the rebel stronghold, the question is no longer if, but when the battle will begin.

LT. COL MICHAEL RAMOS, U.S. MARINE CORPS: We don't know exactly when it's coming. We know it's coming soon.

PENHAUL: And as Lieutenant Colonel Ramos and his men study models of Fallujah in a sandbox, they take stock of the challenges.

RAMOS: The Fallujah area is urban. It's got complex terrain. It has difficult avenues of approach. It has very zealous fighters.

PENHAUL: If the order comes, these men will head into the fray aboard light armored vehicles. Down here in the gun turret, this crew has hung a lucky charm picked up during deployment in Japan. They call it their turret god or the god of accurate rounds. Close to his thermal gun sights and even closer to his heart, Lance Corporal Nathan Medinger keeps a photo of his young wife Amber.

LANCE CORPORAL NATHAN MEDINGER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I put it in there so she is always looking at me, I guess, watching over me.

PENHAUL: Tanks are gearing up, too. They may not be ideally suited to close quarters urban warfare. This company's commander says they have been developing new tactics and studying the lessons of Grozny, Chechnya in 1994, when Chechen rebels destroyed a Russian tank column in narrow streets. He doesn't plan a repeat of that scenario in Fallujah.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Our tanks will be the punching card (INAUDIBLE).

PENHAUL: Once the guns are greased and the bullets are counted, Marines have time to turn their minds away from war but it's only momentary. Night is about to fall and with it grows the threat of insurgent mortar attacks. Karl Penhaul, CNN, near Fallujah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And there is a lot of heart in this story out of Iraq. Still to come tonight, we've got one Marine's promise to another.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm all ready for (INAUDIBLE) He'll be there. He'll be there with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: that's because his friend is running for a cause. Up next, two Marines, one marathon, and a remarkable story of inspiration.

Plus, the buckeye battleground. Some say Ohio could decide your next president, 20 electoral votes at stake there. But could pre- election politics turn that state on its head?

And later, behind the scenes at SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, making politics funny.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: They're off. World class athletes and amateurs took off this morning in the Marine Corps marathon outside Washington. Nearly 17,000 runners participated in the 26-mile race which begins and ends at the Iwo Jima statue. The winner was an Ethiopian man and a Marine Corps captain took the women's division and CNN's very own Jenny Cook (ph), an executive producer here, ran in that race and she finished her first marathon. Congratulations to everyone. And we're thinking of you, Jen.

Tonight on the front lines, we're going to take a closer look at one of those runners competing in the annual Marine Corps marathon. Kathleen Koch profiles a soldier racing to honor a wounded friend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Army Major James Carlisle is running the grueling Marine Corps marathon for a comrade who can't. 21-year-old Jay Bresino had trained and served with Carlisle in Iraq until the day last year when the reserve specialist was shot in the back of the head while on patrol in Baghdad.

MAJOR JAMES CARLISLE, U.S. ARMY: He did everything he was asked to do. He did it well to the absolute best of his ability and he suffered some bad luck that day.

KOCH: Bresino is now paralyzed with massive brain injury. His parents protective, ask his face not be shown. Six months ago his father sent out an e-mail asking for someone to join him in the marathon. Carlisle answered.

JOSEPH BRESINO, JAY BRESINO'S FATHER: Major Carlisle is one of the responded. Hey, I'll run (INAUDIBLE) dedicated this marathon (ph) run for Jay.

KOCH: But Bresino was exhausted by the 24-hour job of caring for his son.

BRESINO: There's a lot of sleepless nights, and I couldn't do the training and no sleep and no strength.

KOCH: So Carlisle began training alone, running 10 miles a day and making frequent visits to his inspiration.

CARLISLE: I'm all ready for this marathon. I'm sorry your dad can't make it. But he'll be there. And you'll be there with us.

He's doing much better than the first time I saw him since we've been back. He shows -- uses facial expressions to communicate.

KOCH: Carlisle knows what will keep him going during the 26-mile race.

CARLISLE: Thinking about why I'm doing it, thinking about what it's for, thinking about what it represents.

KOCH: After three hours and 33 minutes, mission accomplished. And a new wish for Bresino who ran cross-country in high school and could be in a wheelchair and more mobile by next year.

BRESINO: My hope for Jay is one that he can join with me and Major Carlisle and his mom to run the marathon. That's our hope.

KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: We've got other news now. But from around the world, Iran's parliament unanimously approved a resolution to continue its uranium enrichment program. Several lawmakers shouted "death to America" after the resolution passed. Iran has always said its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes.

And a power blackout forced Kuwait to stop producing oil at three refineries. That's a setback of 930,000 barrels of oil for the day.

And the World Health Organization calls for a summit on the growing threat of a flu pandemic. Vaccine companies and health officials from around the world will attend. Among the topics, how to get a flu vaccine more quickly.

Two days before Election Day just about everything becomes political.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here's some (INAUDIBLE) Rice Krispy treats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Up next tonight, from brownies of mass destruction to Kerry ketchup, how food has become political fodder on the campaign trail.

And later, California on the ballot. The president isn't the only thing golden state voters are going to decide on Tuesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Happy Halloween, folks. The great pumpkin has a great deal of company in West Virginia. This year volunteers carved nearly 2,800 pumpkins for the annual pumpkin show in Keneva (ph). Now the display gets bigger every year and it's now one of the state's largest tourist attractions. Look at that. How do they do that? Can you say power tools?

Well, the election is so hotly contested, and so polarizing that apparently you can't even cook without making a statement. CNN's Miguel Marquez has that story.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the politics of food. This election year, just add ideology.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are the BMDs, the brownies of mass destruction. Here's some rice spice, some Condoleezza Rice Krispy treats.

MARQUEZ: With no cookie left behind, Democrats in Los Angeles raised almost $10,000 at a bake sale for John Kerry. Every bite made with liberal portions of sugar and butter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have these crumbling Republicans. Watch them crumble with every bite. These are organic.

MARQUEZ: Republicans who may take issue with being called organic have their own politically edible comeback.

PATRICK SPERO, BUSH COUNTRY KETCHUP: Our slogan is making sure Kerry won't ketchup to W.

MARQUEZ: Patrick Spero is selling Bush country ketchup out of his parent's garage. The garage by the way is in Massachusetts, not exactly Bush country. The ketchup means to get to candidate Kerry not through his stomach but through his wife, Heinz ketchup heiress Theresa Heinz Kerry.

SPERO: It's an alternative to Heinz. It's the official ketchup of right thinking Americans. We are a proud, 100 percent partisan conservative condiment.

MARQUEZ: Spero says he has shipped tons of his Republican relish and hopes by Election Day to be sold out. SPERO: My parents are both Bush supporters, but I think more than anything, after November, they just want their garage back.

MARQUEZ: So food is important, but pragmatism and a clean garage wins out over politics. Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: That's funny.

Well, all across the nation, election anticipation has hit a fever pitch. Nearly a fifth may have already voted. Up next, I'm going to talk to three people who - those voters - three of those voters who are going to share their experiences at the early days of the polls.

Plus, harassed in Ohio. Will voter intimidation be a problem at the polls? A Federal court prepares to step in.

And later, an election night prediction. Could football forecast the winner?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Welcome back. Here's a quick look at what's happening right "Now in the News."

Fifteen Iraqis were killed and eight wounded when insurgents fired a rocket at a hotel in Tikrit today. Tikrit, of course, where Saddam Hussein was born.

And Yasser Arafat may be feeling better. He read telegrams from well-wishers and ate cereal and drank tea today after three days of being treated for a mystery illness at a Paris hospital.

Meanwhile, reports of Arafat's demise may be premature. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, though, decided to use the occasion to say he will never allow Arafat to be buried in Jerusalem. Palestinians want Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. And, oh, by the way, Arafat has yet to even ask to be buried there.

President Bush is campaigning hard in the Sunshine State today. And with just two days to go, the race is still a nail-biter. The president is running on his record, telling voters he offers leadership and results. He's also arguing that democracy is the only way to fight the war on terror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Free nations do not breed resentments. Free nations do not export terror. Free nations become allies in the war on terror. And by spreading freedom we'll achieve the peace we all want for our children and our grandchildren.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, Democratic rival John Kerry got some major league help on the campaign trail today. In New Hampshire, he received endorsements from the management of the Boston Red Sox. And he hopes the team's win of the World Series is a sign of things to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People have this extraordinary respect and unbelievable sense of admiration for the story of this team of heart and how they came on and came on and came on. And that's exactly what the American people are going to do next Tuesday and every day thereafter, to take back our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Kerry's running mate and the vice president are spending part of their time in Ohio today. It's home to 20 very important electoral votes.

Dick Cheney attacked Kerry at a rally in Swanton, telling supporters the Democrat has turned his back on U.S. troops in an effort to get ahead. He's ending his day with a rally in Hawaii -- four electoral votes in that state.

John Edwards campaigned in Pennsylvania and Ohio today. Edwards joined campaign canvassers knocking on doors in Columbus. A new Ohio newspaper poll shows the two camps tied there 50-50.

Now, on the mend, and on the stump for Kerry, former President Bill Clinton is attempting to work his magic on voters in the Southwest today. He's in Arkansas at this hour with retired General Wesley Clark. Former President Clinton says the race remains close because Americans are hesitant to change leaders when the -- when the country is at war, despite what he calls Bush's domestic and foreign policy failings.

All right. We just noted an interesting trend, too. It's emerging in the showdown states.

Voter registration has skyrocketed since the 2000 election. For example, in Nevada, it's up almost 22 percent. Florida has seen an increase of almost 18 percent. In New Mexico, registration has risen more than 12 percent.

Well, you can bet many of the voters who have already made it to the polls are sure glad they did. Several states allowing early voting have reported lines as long as four hours, though. So was it really worth it? And should states be allowing this?

Three people who took advantage of early voting join me now. Laura Cooley is right here in Atlanta. Jesus Socorro is in Miami. And Rosanne McAlister in Dallas.

Good to have all three of you.

LAURA COOLEY, EARLY VOTER: Hello.

JESUS SOCORRO, EARLY VOTER: Good evening, Carol.

ROSANNE MCALISTER, EARLY VOTER: Thank you.

SOCORRO: Thanks for having me.

LIN: It sounds like by your early conversations you had with CNN that the three of you primarily decided to vote early simply out of convenience. That it really worked out for your schedule and you wanted to get ahead of the curve. Is that pretty much right?

SOCORRO: That's right on my end, Carol. This is Jesus from Miami. And it was really convenient. So just a matter of being practical.

To tell you the truth, you know, you start thinking, well, I can get ill, or I can have some kind of home emergency, or there's business travel. I would say long lines, but the lines were -- was pretty long.

But I do think -- you know, I went and voted ahead of time, but I do think there's a two-prong flaw with that, and that's that you have a spectrum of voters. And the voters on each end of the spectrum in the far right, those guys are going to vote, and they should vote early. They know who they're voting for.

The guys on the left, they know who they're voting for. And the swing voters in the middle, those guys should really wait until the very end.

But you have these trenches of the moderates on both sides. And those guys, there can be an event of such a magnitude that I think can happen where they can be swayed to go to the other side.

And, you know, take the -- the Osama bin Laden tape from Friday. You know, there could be changes there. So I really think that there's an issue there with the people that aren't 100 percent sure who they're voting for.

The second flaw, I think, is the decentralization of our system. And I believe Alexander Kaiser (ph), one of the professors from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government was on earlier, and he talked a little bit -- a little bit about that. And there's somewhat of a flaw there.

You have a lot of inconsistencies. It's like states' rights versus federalism. And I think we need some convergence, something so that we can have a more harmonious voting system, a national commission that takes over this...

LIN: Jesus, I feel like you're going to be running for office some day. I'm going to keep an eye on you.

Let me hear from Laura and Roseanne.

Laura, you decided to vote early. And you're actually talking to your students about the experience. What are you going to tell them?

COOLEY: Well, it's what I've already told them. And hopefully what I've instilled in them is that voting is their right, and it's a right that they should exercise.

Actually, with this election, I've been very anxious. And I felt a sense of urgency that I needed to get my vote recorded. And so I felt better once I knew that I had voted early and nothing was going to stand in my way if something had gone wrong on Tuesday.

LIN: You know, there are widespread allegations that there may be voter fraud, monitors out near the polling places. Did you see any extra security? Did anybody talk to you in any sort of intimidating way to try to influence your decision?

COOLEY: Not at all. I thought Ann Phillips (ph) in Gainesville, Georgia, does a great job with our elections. And we did have a police present that was extremely organized. We were -- by the time we got into the building to vote, we were ready to vote.

LIN: What about you, Roseanne? Did you see any monitoring at the polls, extra security?

MCALISTER: We did have a police officer outside, and then one inside. But it was extremely efficient, very well organized. And from the time I parked my car and voted and got back in my car, it was only about half an hour. It was great.

LIN: What did you learn from the experience?

MCALISTER: Well, it's the importance of voting early. If you -- if you anticipate anything that can come up in your life -- I'm expecting a grand baby in two weeks in Georgia, and my fear was that I would be called out of state and then miss my opportunity to vote. And it's just too important to miss that.

LIN: Jesus, obviously you're voting down there in Miami. You voted down there in Miami, Florida. All eyes on that state, as well as several other swing states. Did you feel any undue pressure, any extra monitoring or security at your polling site?

SOCORRO: Not any additional monitoring when compared to the 2000 election. I really felt it was -- it was actually -- the line was a little bit longer than in the 2000 election. So that's why I don't think we can use the long lines as an excuse to vote early, because I think now it's kind of spread out.

But I didn't see any additional security or anything like that. We've got the new systems in now, the -- with the technology that seems to be working. And hopefully there won't be any pregnant chads or any of those issues like that.

LIN: We'll see what happens.

Let me -- let me see all three of you all at once. I'm asking the director to take the shot, because I want to see by a show of hands how many of you did touch-screen voting, the new electronic voting?

All right, three. Not you -- not you, Rosanne, right?

MCALISTER: I did. Yes, I did, too.

LIN: Oh, you did. I didn't see your hand there. OK.

MCALISTER: Yes, I did.

SOCORRO: But Carol, that's another one of those inconsistencies. I mean, you've got states like Texas, who's doing curbside voting. Georgia and Nevada, they only have electronic -- they have electronic only. And then you have even extreme situations with like Maine and Nebraska with this district system, where the electoral college can actually split their votes. It's just -- I think...

(CROSSTALK)

LIN: Yes. And out in California they had to -- they had to pull back some of the machines because they were uncertain about how they were going to use -- how effective they were going to be on Election Day.

Laura, Rosanne -- let me start with you, Laura. How confident do you feel that your vote through the touch screen is going to be recorded properly?

COOLEY: I believe 100 percent that it will be recorded properly. And I know there's been some discussion about having a receipt. But I do feel like that the way the system was developed, it's developed so that there will be no mistakes.

And I do believe that voting officials all across the United States want a fair, true election. And so I think they'll be working hard. Touch screen, however -- however people cast their ballot, I think all will be sensitive and will want a clean election.

LIN: Rosanne, you feel the same way?

MCALISTER: I do. I agree with Laura. And I -- there were so many people that were offering to help us.

The polling attendant stood on the sidewalk outside and explained everything to us in groups of 10 before we entered the building. And just as much help as you could possibly want.

LIN: Are you -- regardless of the outcome, are you going to feel confident whoever wins on Tuesday, won legitimately? Let me begin with you, Jesus, very quickly.

SOCORRO: I believe so. I think that the -- the frenzy after the 2000 election really led to a lot -- you know, to tighter controls surrounding the whole system, irrespective of the type of system used, whether it be the technological or whatever. I think that there shouldn't be any issues. I think it's going to be a tight election.

LIN: You bet.

SOCORRO: And I think a lot of attorneys are going to be hustling out there to see if it's going to be a slim margin, as you guys have been tracking.

LIN: Laura, Rosanne, you agree?

MCALISTER: I agree.

COOLEY: I agree. And I'll tell you something interesting.

I have several friends that would classify themselves as swing voters. And all three of them have cast their votes in favor of John Kerry. And my hope for this election is that it will be more than just a slight margin for whoever wins the race.

I want there to be a clear winner. And I want all Americans to speak out and vote.

LIN: We definitely want clear answers, and let's hope everybody who can votes by Tuesday. Thank you very much, Laura, Jesus, Rosanne, doing your patriotic duty.

SOCORRO: Thank you, Carol.

COOLEY: Thank you.

MCALISTER: Thank you.

LIN: All right. Tuesday's election already is being argued in the courtroom, if you can believe it. Federal judges are expected to rule tomorrow on how Republicans can challenge voters in Ohio.

At issue in the battleground state, thousands of names on the rolls that the GOP is contesting because political mail sent to the voters' listed addresses could not be delivered. And Democrats contend the Republicans' voter challenges may target minority voters, or cause chaos at polling places. But at least we heard three good stories tonight from those voters.

Meantime, the ongoing court battles, the newly-registered voters, they will all make Ohio a very interesting state to watch on Election Day. CNN's Joe Johns shows us the battle for every vote in the Buckeye State.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The final push in battleground Ohio. The war for votes is door to door and face to face.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I'm Sandy Dunlap (ph), and I'm out walking for President George W. Bush.

JOHNS: Both campaigns have deployed thousands of volunteers to get their voters to the polls. The targets, persuadable and undecided voters, and especially the party faithful.

JEN PALMIERI, KERRY OHIO COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: You have such a limited time. As your time gets more limited, you have to think about where your time is best spent. Well, it's best spent in our base precincts.

JOHNS: The Kerry camp is working from an old fire station. A few miles away, the Bush camp is working the phones from a downtown office building.

DAVE BECKWITH, RNC SPOKESMAN: Everything's ramped up by a factor of three or more. We've got more volunteers, more signs, more contacts, more phone calls, everything is faster and bigger.

JOHNS (on camera): Polls show the race extremely close. And with almost 800,000 new registrations, and requests for absentee ballots up dramatically, it could come down to which side does the best job in the ground game.

(voice-over): By Sunday night, Bush, Kerry, Edwards and Cheney will all have spent some time in the state. Not to mention surrogates on the stump. Democrat Al Sharpton was warning of voter intimidation.

AL SHARPTON (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to have people at every poll to protect the voters. But we can't protect voters that don't come and vote. We can't protect a vote you don't cast.

JOHNS: Republicans say they're worried about fraud because mailings they sent to new registrants came back undeliverable. They said they'll have thousands who could challenge questionable voters at the polls.

MARK WEAVER, OHIO GOP ATTORNEY: Piles and piles and piles of fictitious, fraudulent and erroneous voter registration cards. Someone out there is trying to steal this Ohio election. The Ohio Republican Party feels strongly that we should not stand by and let that happen.

JOHNS: Democrats are training thousands to respond to challenges. Democrats allowed cameras briefly into this training session. There are fears that disagreements over registration could lead to long lines on Tuesday. Many of the voters, like Gina Rizzo (ph) and Karen Fitzsimmons know who they will vote for and hope it will all go smoothly.

KAREN FITZSIMMONS, OHIO VOTER: I'm worried that it's not going to all happen and come together by November 3. I think that there's going to be lawsuits and a lot of attorneys. And that is pretty upsetting. It's sort of like, can we ever have a fair election anymore?

JOHNS: With only hours to go, neither side is taking anything for granted.

Joe Johns, CNN, Columbus, Ohio. (END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, be sure to tune in to CNN tonight at 8:00, because Aaron Brown is anchoring a live election special. All the latest news, polls and analysis tonight at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.

All right. It's their job to look, act and talk like popular politicians, all in hopes of making us laugh. Later tonight, get a behind-the-scenes look with the cast of "Saturday Night Live" as they prepare for an election special of their own.

But up next, ballot on the -- or battle on the ballot. California voters set to decide on 16 controversial and costly propositions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Forget the polls. The Washington Redskins lost their final home game before the election. And the Green Bay Packers actually won. And that could mean a good omen for John Kerry.

In each presidential election since 1936, the result of that Redskins home game has always accurately predicted the White House winner. If the Redskins win, the incumbent party wins. If they lose, if incumbent, start packing your bags.

All right. A number of controversial initiatives crowd the California ballot this year. And among them, one to authorize state funding of embryonic stem cell research. CNN's Donna Tetreault has those details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONNA TETRAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): California's governor isn't up for reelection, but he's spending plenty of time on the campaign trail. And not just with President Bush. He's also campaigning hard for and against a number of controversial ballot measures facing California.

Take Proposition 71. If passed, it would authorize $3 billion in state bond funds for human embryonic stem cell research.

RAPHAEL SONENSHEIN, CALIFORNIA POLITICAL HISTORIAN: When the governor announced that he endorsed this measure, this was taken very ecstatically by the Prop 71 supporters, because he can come in and say, "I'm an economic conservative. I really don't want to spend a whole lot of money, but I endorse this and I think it's responsible." My guess is that will carry it over the top.

TETRAULT: Another proposition swirling among technological advantages is Prop 69. If passed, it would expand the state's DNA database. All of California's convicted felons would have to submit a DNA sample. Beginning in 2009, anyone arrested on suspicion of a felony would be required to do so as well.

Prosecutors in L.A. just last week announced the arrest of Chester Duane Turner, the man they believe could be the most prolific serial killer in L.A. history. Investigators said Turner was implicated through DNA.

CAPT. AL MICHELENA, LOS ANGELES POLICE: You can only imagine, if our database is so much bigger, we're going to do quite well. Because we're doing a better job on crime scenes today than we ever did in the past of gathering potential DNA evidence.

TETRAULT: But opponents say it may violate the privacy rights of suspects who have not been convicted of a crime. Proposition 66 is an amendment to the three strikes law which is aimed at putting away repeat felony offenders for 25 years to life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Proposition 66 fixes the flaw in the law.

TETRAULT: If voters pass 66, a second or third strike offense will have to be a serious or violent offense instead of any felony offense, as the current law states. But Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, backed by four other former governors, is urging people to vote no on 66.

And finally, the big money Props, numbers 68 and 70. Both would increase legal casino gambling in California and raise revenues for the state. But both are failing to gain support according to recent polls.

(on camera): Over $198 million have gone into the 16 propositions on Tuesday's ballot here in California. It's the most money ever raised in the state's history to support and oppose propositions.

Donna Tetreault, for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Stay tuned. Some of the best material for "SNL" comes right from the campaign trail. And we're going to go behind the scenes for a sneak peak at tomorrow's political special.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" has been working hard to make this contentious election season pretty funny. CNN's Alina Cho goes behind the scenes of their election eve special to show us how politics make good comedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Hello. And welcome.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine for a moment you're Bill Clinton. On either side of you, President Bush and John Kerry. It's election eve, and this is "Saturday Night Live."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you guys going to do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get up early, register to vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seth?

CHO: Here, Seth Meyers is Kerry the flip-flopper.

SETH MEYERS, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": With the possession of weapons of mass destruction? Absolutely. Did he possess these weapons? No, he did not.

CHO: Will Forte plays President Bush.

WILL FORTE, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": And we're working hard every day.

CHO: Darrell Hammond has years of practice, even resembles Bill Clinton.

DARRELL HAMMOND, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": When he's about to do the state of the union, though, he does do this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's fine.

HAMMOND: My favorite Clinton is what we call -- we have the steeple. Then we have what I call the descending staircase. It's the voice goes down like this. And we are a better nation than we were before. I swear to god.

CHO: During a recent rehearsal for "SNL's" election eve special, the actors explained why politics makes for good comedy. Especially in an election year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the one time every four years where everybody's paying attention to politics.

CHO (on camera): "Saturday Night Live" has been doing political comedy since the beginning, but at no other time was it more talked about than in 2000 during the disputed presidential election of Bush versus Gore.

HAMMOND: No one had ever seen anything like this before. And you had two vastly different personalities, both of them getting increasingly edgy as the thing got more confusing.

CHO (voice-over): Which brought out the famous words...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Strategery.

CHO: And famous sighs. Gore even watched Hammond's portrayal of him to prepare for debate. Bush in an "SNL" appearance during the 2000 election poked fun at himself.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, now when they asked me to help introduce tonight's special, I felt frankly ambilavent.

CHO: But do these parodies change voters' minds? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think so. Does it strengthen preexisting impressions they have of the candidates? Probably.

CHO: So sit back, and enjoy the show.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Saturday Night Live," NBC's first choice for comedy.

CHO (on camera): But CNN is the first choice for...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For CNN, America's first choice for comedy news.

CHO (voice-over): Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Yes, that's right, that's what we do, news.

That's all the time we have for this hour. But coming up next, "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS." Tonight, Laura Bush and Teresa Heinz Kerry.

At 8:00 Eastern, "CNN PRESENTS," a live election night special anchored by Aaron Brown.

And at 9:00 Eastern, "LARRY KING WEEKEND." Tonight, a live election preview with Bob Kerrey, Marc Racicot, MTV's Gideon Yago and more.

And I'm going to be back at 10:00 Eastern tonight because I'm going to be talking with the Bush and Kerry campaigns about the run-up to Tuesday. The hour's headlines when I come back, and then "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

Aired October 31, 2004 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. Here's what's happening right now in the news. Two days until Election Day and both President Bush and Senator Kerry are focusing on battleground states. Now President Bush said he'd be tougher than Kerry in the war on terror, but John Kerry promised to heal the wounds of the country.
Japanese officials say a headless body found in Baghdad is that of Japanese hostage Shose Koda (ph). The group led by terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi threatened to behead him unless Japan pulled its troops out of Iraq, which Japan refused to do.

And a new video shows three U.N. election workers taken hostage in Afghanistan pleading for their lives. A group calling itself the Muslim army claims responsibility. It is demanding the release of prisoners in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay and that U.N. organizations leave the country.

I'm Carol Lin and welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY. In our front line segment, a truly inspiring story. We're going to profile a soldier running the Marine Corps marathon for his friend whose injury in Iraq will prevent him from ever running again. Also --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: According to an Internet costume seller, Halloween masks have predicted the outcome in the last six presidential elections. This year the winner so far is president Bush masks although the Kerry mask is still doing well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Politics and SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. We're actually going to take you behind the scenes. You're going to get a sneak peek as they prepare for tomorrow's primetime special.

But first we begin with the number two, two men in a tight race for the White House. Two days until voters cast their ballots and two points separating George Bush from John Kerry in the latest CNN poll of polls. It is a mad sprint across the battleground states for both men as they try to capture every undecided voter they can by Tuesday.

Now, John Kerry is rallying voters in Ohio, New Hampshire and Florida today and our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is keeping up with Kerry's hectic pace in Tampa. Candy, what's ahead for John Kerry? CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, this is the time of the year and the time of the campaign cycle when -- where a candidate is going probably tells you more than what he's saying. John Kerry, as you mentioned, started out today in Ohio. He went to church, in fact, he went twice. Kerry, who is a Catholic, first went to a mass and then he went to a predominantly African-American church. Obviously African-Americans very key to a Kerry victory, if there is to be one in Ohio. Here in Florida and in any number of states. Kerry has spent in fact the last five Sundays in predominantly African-American churches.

There was also a Kennedyesque moment by the roadside in between church events. They stopped and threw the football back and forth a couple of times, a trip to a diner. Of course, it was off to New Hampshire. In terms of the words, we are hearing very much what we have heard for some time, that Kerry campaign strategists say they want him to turn now to domestic issues in these final two days. But they know that voters are still very much interested in what really has driven this campaign and that's the war on terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I pledge to you, I know what we need to do in Iraq and I know what we need to do to make the world safe. What we need to do is begin by having a president of the United States who's willing to look the American people in the eye and tell them the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROWLEY: John Kerry also doing an interview earlier today which will be shown on ABC in which he talked a little bit about terrorism. His campaign, by the way, put out a poll for reporters and other interested parties, noting that in fact the polls that they have taken show that the appearance of bin Laden on a videotape is more harmful to George Bush than to John Kerry.

Now, of course, down here to Tampa. This will be the -- John Kerry's last visit here to this state. He's made plenty, let me tell you. But tomorrow, it's back up north. Carol?

LIN: Candy, so you expect John Kerry to stay on message or do you think there's going to be some last-minute tweaking in the next 48 hours?

CROWLEY: Oh, I think they very much want him to stay on message. There's too little time and the race is too close for uncertainties. They really didn't much like the appearance of this bin Laden videotape. Because there's no way really to kind of measure it and react to it in the amount of time that it had before. Two days isn't enough to undo damage that might be said. We aren't hearing that on the campaign trail anymore, at least directly about the bin Laden video. So basically what they want to do is stay on message. They want to go to swing vote areas in these key states and talk the economy. What they want to do is get into the headlines in swing vote areas without actually making any news, if you know what I mean. No surprises at this point. They just want as steady as she goes in areas where there may still be voters that are swinging things.

LIN: As a former president once said, stay the course. All right. Candy in Tampa with a beautiful skyline behind you, the sun setting.

President Bush is focusing on 47 electoral votes today. That is the combined total in the crucial battleground states of Florida and Ohio and our Dana Bash is traveling with the president.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the last Sunday before election day, the president, a Protestant, went to Catholic mass in Miami. Catholics are a crucial voting block, a quarter of voters in Florida and nationwide. The monsignor publicly thanked the president for banning partial birth abortion. Parishioners got a pamphlet, careful not to endorse the president, but makes clear he's in line with the church on stem cell research, abortion, gay marriage and notes his Catholic opponent did not answer the questions.

Later in Coral Gables, some niche campaigning. The president is relying on south Florida's Cuban community to mobilize. But some think Mr. Bush hasn't been tough enough on Fidel Castro, so --

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I strongly believe the people of Cuba should be free from the tyrant.

BASH: With 48 hours to go as he pumps the crowds, standard Kerry attack lines become interactive.

BUSH: He can run from that record --

AUDIENCE: But he can't hide!

BASH: And as he crisscrosses the sunshine state, he's thinking up new variations of audience favorites.

BUSH: And then he entered the flip-flop hall of fame by saying, quote...

BASH: But as much as the Bush team looks to the party faithful these crucial last days to get out the vote, they know he does need some of those elusive swing voters to win. No mention of Osama bin Laden or his tape, but here's his message.

BUSH: Ultimately this election comes down to who do you trust.

BASH: Translation, you know what you've got with me. You can't be sure with John Kerry. And to punctuate his pitch for fence- sitters, a new refrain.

BUSH: Do you believe America should fight the war on terror with all our might and lead with unwavering confidence in our ideals? I ask you to come stand with me.

BASH: Bush aides recognize this push for Florida's 27 electoral votes in becoming more of a necessity because polls show another key battleground prize, Pennsylvania, is looking better and better for John Kerry. Dana Bash, CNN, Gainesville, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Many Americans are skeptical about the presidential election being decided on Tuesday. A number of factors, or even scenarios could come into play. I want to talk about that with NPR's political editor Ken Rudin in Washington. Hi there Ken. Do you think this is going to be decided on Tuesday night?

KEN RUDIN, NPR POLITICAL EDITOR: Oh, please, please. Well, who knows. There are so many potential lawsuits. There are so many SNAFUs. We're looking at possible disruption of votes in Ohio and Florida. We know that all the Democratic and Republican lawyers are camped out, going to earn their hourly pay. So who knows, but two days after trick-or-treat time, we may have trick-or-treat on Tuesday as well.

LIN: If you had to guess, you mentioned Ohio. I mean if you had to guess right now, how many -- obviously I'm referring to 2000, the race -- how many Floridas, if any, do you think there are going to be?

RUDIN: Well, you know, the only difference between 2000 and now is that we did not anticipate what would happen in 2000. We did not anticipate the 36-day legal standoff in Florida. But again, so most secretaries of states, most voting apparatus in the states, they are prepared for what may happen, you know, perhaps disqualification of voters, from false voters, fictitious voters showing up to the polls. I think the election process is certainly more ready for it than they were four years ago, that's for sure.

LIN: Let's take a look at a map of just some of the swing states. By our calculation, we're looking at Florida, Pennsylvania New Hampshire, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, New Mexico. When you break down those electoral votes, have you yourself come up with your own math as to which way these states are going to swing, because of the polls being so close, it's just neck and neck.

RUDIN: Well, I have, but rather than talk about what my predictions are, let me just tell you what happened four years ago. Basically the word, we all know that no Republican has ever been elected without winning Ohio. And some polls show Mr. Bush trailing in Ohio. But you know, until Al Gore in 2000, no candidate had ever lost - no candidate had ever won New York and California and been defeated for the presidency as what happened to Al Gore four years ago. So there are a lot of truisms that we've learned in politics all these years that may be thrown out the window on Tuesday.

LIN: And that every state matters. It's almost funny when you hear that the Bush campaign sent Dick Cheney all the way out to Hawaii with its four electoral votes, but that gives you an idea of what they're anticipating come Tuesday night.

RUDIN: Given the fact that all Al Gore had in 2000, all he had to win was New Hampshire with its four electoral votes or West Virginia with its five electoral votes, I mean he would have been president today. So obviously no state is too small and too insignificant.

LIN: Ken, have you entertained the thought, what if this electoral vote comes down 50/50 for both Bush and Kerry, 269-269? What then?

RUDIN: Well, aside from taking a lot of drugs, I don't know what I would do, actually. No, but actually, there is a scenario, I mean, for example, if all the states that went in 2000 go exactly the same as 2004, however, if Kerry wins New Hampshire and West Virginia, two states that Bush won in 2000, it would go to the 269 electoral votes each and then theoretically it would go to the House of Representatives where each state gets one vote. California with its 55 electoral votes gets one vote. So does Wyoming with its three electoral votes. In that case, if it goes to the House, theoretically the Republicans would win because they control 30 delegations compared to 15 for the Democrats. Then you could have electives (ph) switching sides between now and when the Electoral College meets. So you could have Bush electives (ph) suddenly voting for Kerry or vice versa. There are a lot of scenarios, a lot of Halloween-like scenarios that could certainly happen the next month or so.

LIN: Can you imagine? I know at this point we're all entertaining every possibility. But of course, we're not going to know hopefully until Tuesday night. Thank you.

RUBIN: Here's a perfect example. No team has ever been down 3-0 in the playoffs and gone to win until the Boston Red Sox. I should tell you that, in history, every time the Boston Red Sox have won the World Series in a presidential election, the Democrats have won the presidency.

LIN: Really? Well, you know what...

RUBIN: That hasn't happened since Woodrow Wilson, but still --

LIN: And you know, the Redskins lost to Green Bay and usually what the Redskins --

RUBIN: I think that Ralph Nader wins the presidency. I think that's what it means. I'm confused.

LIN: There would have to be a few lawsuits along the way. Thanks very much Ken, Ken Rubin, NPR.

RUBIN: Thank you.

LIN: Please join CNN for complete coverage on election night. Wolf Blitzer and the entire election team kick off CNN's special election night coverage at 7:00 Eastern live from the Nasdaq headquarters in New York. It's going to be a big night.

All right. The violence is the same, but the target this time is different in Iraq. A hotel bombing turns deadly. The U.S. military says insurgents fired a rocket at a hotel in Tikrit today killing 15 Iraqi civilians. Several other people were wounded. And a stark warning today from Iraq's interim prime minister to insurgents in Fallujah. Ayad Allawi says his patience is wearing thin and chances for a peaceful resolution in Sunni stronghold are all but over.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER: We have now entered the final phase of attempts to solve the Fallujah without a major military confrontation. I hope we can achieve this. But if we cannot, I have no choice but to secure a military solution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: And we'll take a look at what military solution might be. A warning, another indicator that an all-out assault on Fallujah could be just days away. CNN's Karl Penhaul, who is embedded with the first battalion third Marines shows us how the troops are preparing for what promises to be a tough battle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This one's a drill. These Marine gunners are trying to stay sharp. They know the fight for Fallujah is brewing. Long range artillery is likely to play a major role as U.S. tacticians plan to use all weapons available for a fast, decisive assault. In this desert camp near the rebel stronghold, the question is no longer if, but when the battle will begin.

LT. COL MICHAEL RAMOS, U.S. MARINE CORPS: We don't know exactly when it's coming. We know it's coming soon.

PENHAUL: And as Lieutenant Colonel Ramos and his men study models of Fallujah in a sandbox, they take stock of the challenges.

RAMOS: The Fallujah area is urban. It's got complex terrain. It has difficult avenues of approach. It has very zealous fighters.

PENHAUL: If the order comes, these men will head into the fray aboard light armored vehicles. Down here in the gun turret, this crew has hung a lucky charm picked up during deployment in Japan. They call it their turret god or the god of accurate rounds. Close to his thermal gun sights and even closer to his heart, Lance Corporal Nathan Medinger keeps a photo of his young wife Amber.

LANCE CORPORAL NATHAN MEDINGER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I put it in there so she is always looking at me, I guess, watching over me.

PENHAUL: Tanks are gearing up, too. They may not be ideally suited to close quarters urban warfare. This company's commander says they have been developing new tactics and studying the lessons of Grozny, Chechnya in 1994, when Chechen rebels destroyed a Russian tank column in narrow streets. He doesn't plan a repeat of that scenario in Fallujah.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Our tanks will be the punching card (INAUDIBLE).

PENHAUL: Once the guns are greased and the bullets are counted, Marines have time to turn their minds away from war but it's only momentary. Night is about to fall and with it grows the threat of insurgent mortar attacks. Karl Penhaul, CNN, near Fallujah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And there is a lot of heart in this story out of Iraq. Still to come tonight, we've got one Marine's promise to another.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm all ready for (INAUDIBLE) He'll be there. He'll be there with us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: that's because his friend is running for a cause. Up next, two Marines, one marathon, and a remarkable story of inspiration.

Plus, the buckeye battleground. Some say Ohio could decide your next president, 20 electoral votes at stake there. But could pre- election politics turn that state on its head?

And later, behind the scenes at SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, making politics funny.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: They're off. World class athletes and amateurs took off this morning in the Marine Corps marathon outside Washington. Nearly 17,000 runners participated in the 26-mile race which begins and ends at the Iwo Jima statue. The winner was an Ethiopian man and a Marine Corps captain took the women's division and CNN's very own Jenny Cook (ph), an executive producer here, ran in that race and she finished her first marathon. Congratulations to everyone. And we're thinking of you, Jen.

Tonight on the front lines, we're going to take a closer look at one of those runners competing in the annual Marine Corps marathon. Kathleen Koch profiles a soldier racing to honor a wounded friend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Army Major James Carlisle is running the grueling Marine Corps marathon for a comrade who can't. 21-year-old Jay Bresino had trained and served with Carlisle in Iraq until the day last year when the reserve specialist was shot in the back of the head while on patrol in Baghdad.

MAJOR JAMES CARLISLE, U.S. ARMY: He did everything he was asked to do. He did it well to the absolute best of his ability and he suffered some bad luck that day.

KOCH: Bresino is now paralyzed with massive brain injury. His parents protective, ask his face not be shown. Six months ago his father sent out an e-mail asking for someone to join him in the marathon. Carlisle answered.

JOSEPH BRESINO, JAY BRESINO'S FATHER: Major Carlisle is one of the responded. Hey, I'll run (INAUDIBLE) dedicated this marathon (ph) run for Jay.

KOCH: But Bresino was exhausted by the 24-hour job of caring for his son.

BRESINO: There's a lot of sleepless nights, and I couldn't do the training and no sleep and no strength.

KOCH: So Carlisle began training alone, running 10 miles a day and making frequent visits to his inspiration.

CARLISLE: I'm all ready for this marathon. I'm sorry your dad can't make it. But he'll be there. And you'll be there with us.

He's doing much better than the first time I saw him since we've been back. He shows -- uses facial expressions to communicate.

KOCH: Carlisle knows what will keep him going during the 26-mile race.

CARLISLE: Thinking about why I'm doing it, thinking about what it's for, thinking about what it represents.

KOCH: After three hours and 33 minutes, mission accomplished. And a new wish for Bresino who ran cross-country in high school and could be in a wheelchair and more mobile by next year.

BRESINO: My hope for Jay is one that he can join with me and Major Carlisle and his mom to run the marathon. That's our hope.

KOCH: Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: We've got other news now. But from around the world, Iran's parliament unanimously approved a resolution to continue its uranium enrichment program. Several lawmakers shouted "death to America" after the resolution passed. Iran has always said its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes.

And a power blackout forced Kuwait to stop producing oil at three refineries. That's a setback of 930,000 barrels of oil for the day.

And the World Health Organization calls for a summit on the growing threat of a flu pandemic. Vaccine companies and health officials from around the world will attend. Among the topics, how to get a flu vaccine more quickly.

Two days before Election Day just about everything becomes political.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here's some (INAUDIBLE) Rice Krispy treats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Up next tonight, from brownies of mass destruction to Kerry ketchup, how food has become political fodder on the campaign trail.

And later, California on the ballot. The president isn't the only thing golden state voters are going to decide on Tuesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Happy Halloween, folks. The great pumpkin has a great deal of company in West Virginia. This year volunteers carved nearly 2,800 pumpkins for the annual pumpkin show in Keneva (ph). Now the display gets bigger every year and it's now one of the state's largest tourist attractions. Look at that. How do they do that? Can you say power tools?

Well, the election is so hotly contested, and so polarizing that apparently you can't even cook without making a statement. CNN's Miguel Marquez has that story.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the politics of food. This election year, just add ideology.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are the BMDs, the brownies of mass destruction. Here's some rice spice, some Condoleezza Rice Krispy treats.

MARQUEZ: With no cookie left behind, Democrats in Los Angeles raised almost $10,000 at a bake sale for John Kerry. Every bite made with liberal portions of sugar and butter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have these crumbling Republicans. Watch them crumble with every bite. These are organic.

MARQUEZ: Republicans who may take issue with being called organic have their own politically edible comeback.

PATRICK SPERO, BUSH COUNTRY KETCHUP: Our slogan is making sure Kerry won't ketchup to W.

MARQUEZ: Patrick Spero is selling Bush country ketchup out of his parent's garage. The garage by the way is in Massachusetts, not exactly Bush country. The ketchup means to get to candidate Kerry not through his stomach but through his wife, Heinz ketchup heiress Theresa Heinz Kerry.

SPERO: It's an alternative to Heinz. It's the official ketchup of right thinking Americans. We are a proud, 100 percent partisan conservative condiment.

MARQUEZ: Spero says he has shipped tons of his Republican relish and hopes by Election Day to be sold out. SPERO: My parents are both Bush supporters, but I think more than anything, after November, they just want their garage back.

MARQUEZ: So food is important, but pragmatism and a clean garage wins out over politics. Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: That's funny.

Well, all across the nation, election anticipation has hit a fever pitch. Nearly a fifth may have already voted. Up next, I'm going to talk to three people who - those voters - three of those voters who are going to share their experiences at the early days of the polls.

Plus, harassed in Ohio. Will voter intimidation be a problem at the polls? A Federal court prepares to step in.

And later, an election night prediction. Could football forecast the winner?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Welcome back. Here's a quick look at what's happening right "Now in the News."

Fifteen Iraqis were killed and eight wounded when insurgents fired a rocket at a hotel in Tikrit today. Tikrit, of course, where Saddam Hussein was born.

And Yasser Arafat may be feeling better. He read telegrams from well-wishers and ate cereal and drank tea today after three days of being treated for a mystery illness at a Paris hospital.

Meanwhile, reports of Arafat's demise may be premature. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, though, decided to use the occasion to say he will never allow Arafat to be buried in Jerusalem. Palestinians want Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. And, oh, by the way, Arafat has yet to even ask to be buried there.

President Bush is campaigning hard in the Sunshine State today. And with just two days to go, the race is still a nail-biter. The president is running on his record, telling voters he offers leadership and results. He's also arguing that democracy is the only way to fight the war on terror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Free nations do not breed resentments. Free nations do not export terror. Free nations become allies in the war on terror. And by spreading freedom we'll achieve the peace we all want for our children and our grandchildren.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, Democratic rival John Kerry got some major league help on the campaign trail today. In New Hampshire, he received endorsements from the management of the Boston Red Sox. And he hopes the team's win of the World Series is a sign of things to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People have this extraordinary respect and unbelievable sense of admiration for the story of this team of heart and how they came on and came on and came on. And that's exactly what the American people are going to do next Tuesday and every day thereafter, to take back our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Kerry's running mate and the vice president are spending part of their time in Ohio today. It's home to 20 very important electoral votes.

Dick Cheney attacked Kerry at a rally in Swanton, telling supporters the Democrat has turned his back on U.S. troops in an effort to get ahead. He's ending his day with a rally in Hawaii -- four electoral votes in that state.

John Edwards campaigned in Pennsylvania and Ohio today. Edwards joined campaign canvassers knocking on doors in Columbus. A new Ohio newspaper poll shows the two camps tied there 50-50.

Now, on the mend, and on the stump for Kerry, former President Bill Clinton is attempting to work his magic on voters in the Southwest today. He's in Arkansas at this hour with retired General Wesley Clark. Former President Clinton says the race remains close because Americans are hesitant to change leaders when the -- when the country is at war, despite what he calls Bush's domestic and foreign policy failings.

All right. We just noted an interesting trend, too. It's emerging in the showdown states.

Voter registration has skyrocketed since the 2000 election. For example, in Nevada, it's up almost 22 percent. Florida has seen an increase of almost 18 percent. In New Mexico, registration has risen more than 12 percent.

Well, you can bet many of the voters who have already made it to the polls are sure glad they did. Several states allowing early voting have reported lines as long as four hours, though. So was it really worth it? And should states be allowing this?

Three people who took advantage of early voting join me now. Laura Cooley is right here in Atlanta. Jesus Socorro is in Miami. And Rosanne McAlister in Dallas.

Good to have all three of you.

LAURA COOLEY, EARLY VOTER: Hello.

JESUS SOCORRO, EARLY VOTER: Good evening, Carol.

ROSANNE MCALISTER, EARLY VOTER: Thank you.

SOCORRO: Thanks for having me.

LIN: It sounds like by your early conversations you had with CNN that the three of you primarily decided to vote early simply out of convenience. That it really worked out for your schedule and you wanted to get ahead of the curve. Is that pretty much right?

SOCORRO: That's right on my end, Carol. This is Jesus from Miami. And it was really convenient. So just a matter of being practical.

To tell you the truth, you know, you start thinking, well, I can get ill, or I can have some kind of home emergency, or there's business travel. I would say long lines, but the lines were -- was pretty long.

But I do think -- you know, I went and voted ahead of time, but I do think there's a two-prong flaw with that, and that's that you have a spectrum of voters. And the voters on each end of the spectrum in the far right, those guys are going to vote, and they should vote early. They know who they're voting for.

The guys on the left, they know who they're voting for. And the swing voters in the middle, those guys should really wait until the very end.

But you have these trenches of the moderates on both sides. And those guys, there can be an event of such a magnitude that I think can happen where they can be swayed to go to the other side.

And, you know, take the -- the Osama bin Laden tape from Friday. You know, there could be changes there. So I really think that there's an issue there with the people that aren't 100 percent sure who they're voting for.

The second flaw, I think, is the decentralization of our system. And I believe Alexander Kaiser (ph), one of the professors from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government was on earlier, and he talked a little bit -- a little bit about that. And there's somewhat of a flaw there.

You have a lot of inconsistencies. It's like states' rights versus federalism. And I think we need some convergence, something so that we can have a more harmonious voting system, a national commission that takes over this...

LIN: Jesus, I feel like you're going to be running for office some day. I'm going to keep an eye on you.

Let me hear from Laura and Roseanne.

Laura, you decided to vote early. And you're actually talking to your students about the experience. What are you going to tell them?

COOLEY: Well, it's what I've already told them. And hopefully what I've instilled in them is that voting is their right, and it's a right that they should exercise.

Actually, with this election, I've been very anxious. And I felt a sense of urgency that I needed to get my vote recorded. And so I felt better once I knew that I had voted early and nothing was going to stand in my way if something had gone wrong on Tuesday.

LIN: You know, there are widespread allegations that there may be voter fraud, monitors out near the polling places. Did you see any extra security? Did anybody talk to you in any sort of intimidating way to try to influence your decision?

COOLEY: Not at all. I thought Ann Phillips (ph) in Gainesville, Georgia, does a great job with our elections. And we did have a police present that was extremely organized. We were -- by the time we got into the building to vote, we were ready to vote.

LIN: What about you, Roseanne? Did you see any monitoring at the polls, extra security?

MCALISTER: We did have a police officer outside, and then one inside. But it was extremely efficient, very well organized. And from the time I parked my car and voted and got back in my car, it was only about half an hour. It was great.

LIN: What did you learn from the experience?

MCALISTER: Well, it's the importance of voting early. If you -- if you anticipate anything that can come up in your life -- I'm expecting a grand baby in two weeks in Georgia, and my fear was that I would be called out of state and then miss my opportunity to vote. And it's just too important to miss that.

LIN: Jesus, obviously you're voting down there in Miami. You voted down there in Miami, Florida. All eyes on that state, as well as several other swing states. Did you feel any undue pressure, any extra monitoring or security at your polling site?

SOCORRO: Not any additional monitoring when compared to the 2000 election. I really felt it was -- it was actually -- the line was a little bit longer than in the 2000 election. So that's why I don't think we can use the long lines as an excuse to vote early, because I think now it's kind of spread out.

But I didn't see any additional security or anything like that. We've got the new systems in now, the -- with the technology that seems to be working. And hopefully there won't be any pregnant chads or any of those issues like that.

LIN: We'll see what happens.

Let me -- let me see all three of you all at once. I'm asking the director to take the shot, because I want to see by a show of hands how many of you did touch-screen voting, the new electronic voting?

All right, three. Not you -- not you, Rosanne, right?

MCALISTER: I did. Yes, I did, too.

LIN: Oh, you did. I didn't see your hand there. OK.

MCALISTER: Yes, I did.

SOCORRO: But Carol, that's another one of those inconsistencies. I mean, you've got states like Texas, who's doing curbside voting. Georgia and Nevada, they only have electronic -- they have electronic only. And then you have even extreme situations with like Maine and Nebraska with this district system, where the electoral college can actually split their votes. It's just -- I think...

(CROSSTALK)

LIN: Yes. And out in California they had to -- they had to pull back some of the machines because they were uncertain about how they were going to use -- how effective they were going to be on Election Day.

Laura, Rosanne -- let me start with you, Laura. How confident do you feel that your vote through the touch screen is going to be recorded properly?

COOLEY: I believe 100 percent that it will be recorded properly. And I know there's been some discussion about having a receipt. But I do feel like that the way the system was developed, it's developed so that there will be no mistakes.

And I do believe that voting officials all across the United States want a fair, true election. And so I think they'll be working hard. Touch screen, however -- however people cast their ballot, I think all will be sensitive and will want a clean election.

LIN: Rosanne, you feel the same way?

MCALISTER: I do. I agree with Laura. And I -- there were so many people that were offering to help us.

The polling attendant stood on the sidewalk outside and explained everything to us in groups of 10 before we entered the building. And just as much help as you could possibly want.

LIN: Are you -- regardless of the outcome, are you going to feel confident whoever wins on Tuesday, won legitimately? Let me begin with you, Jesus, very quickly.

SOCORRO: I believe so. I think that the -- the frenzy after the 2000 election really led to a lot -- you know, to tighter controls surrounding the whole system, irrespective of the type of system used, whether it be the technological or whatever. I think that there shouldn't be any issues. I think it's going to be a tight election.

LIN: You bet.

SOCORRO: And I think a lot of attorneys are going to be hustling out there to see if it's going to be a slim margin, as you guys have been tracking.

LIN: Laura, Rosanne, you agree?

MCALISTER: I agree.

COOLEY: I agree. And I'll tell you something interesting.

I have several friends that would classify themselves as swing voters. And all three of them have cast their votes in favor of John Kerry. And my hope for this election is that it will be more than just a slight margin for whoever wins the race.

I want there to be a clear winner. And I want all Americans to speak out and vote.

LIN: We definitely want clear answers, and let's hope everybody who can votes by Tuesday. Thank you very much, Laura, Jesus, Rosanne, doing your patriotic duty.

SOCORRO: Thank you, Carol.

COOLEY: Thank you.

MCALISTER: Thank you.

LIN: All right. Tuesday's election already is being argued in the courtroom, if you can believe it. Federal judges are expected to rule tomorrow on how Republicans can challenge voters in Ohio.

At issue in the battleground state, thousands of names on the rolls that the GOP is contesting because political mail sent to the voters' listed addresses could not be delivered. And Democrats contend the Republicans' voter challenges may target minority voters, or cause chaos at polling places. But at least we heard three good stories tonight from those voters.

Meantime, the ongoing court battles, the newly-registered voters, they will all make Ohio a very interesting state to watch on Election Day. CNN's Joe Johns shows us the battle for every vote in the Buckeye State.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The final push in battleground Ohio. The war for votes is door to door and face to face.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I'm Sandy Dunlap (ph), and I'm out walking for President George W. Bush.

JOHNS: Both campaigns have deployed thousands of volunteers to get their voters to the polls. The targets, persuadable and undecided voters, and especially the party faithful.

JEN PALMIERI, KERRY OHIO COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: You have such a limited time. As your time gets more limited, you have to think about where your time is best spent. Well, it's best spent in our base precincts.

JOHNS: The Kerry camp is working from an old fire station. A few miles away, the Bush camp is working the phones from a downtown office building.

DAVE BECKWITH, RNC SPOKESMAN: Everything's ramped up by a factor of three or more. We've got more volunteers, more signs, more contacts, more phone calls, everything is faster and bigger.

JOHNS (on camera): Polls show the race extremely close. And with almost 800,000 new registrations, and requests for absentee ballots up dramatically, it could come down to which side does the best job in the ground game.

(voice-over): By Sunday night, Bush, Kerry, Edwards and Cheney will all have spent some time in the state. Not to mention surrogates on the stump. Democrat Al Sharpton was warning of voter intimidation.

AL SHARPTON (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to have people at every poll to protect the voters. But we can't protect voters that don't come and vote. We can't protect a vote you don't cast.

JOHNS: Republicans say they're worried about fraud because mailings they sent to new registrants came back undeliverable. They said they'll have thousands who could challenge questionable voters at the polls.

MARK WEAVER, OHIO GOP ATTORNEY: Piles and piles and piles of fictitious, fraudulent and erroneous voter registration cards. Someone out there is trying to steal this Ohio election. The Ohio Republican Party feels strongly that we should not stand by and let that happen.

JOHNS: Democrats are training thousands to respond to challenges. Democrats allowed cameras briefly into this training session. There are fears that disagreements over registration could lead to long lines on Tuesday. Many of the voters, like Gina Rizzo (ph) and Karen Fitzsimmons know who they will vote for and hope it will all go smoothly.

KAREN FITZSIMMONS, OHIO VOTER: I'm worried that it's not going to all happen and come together by November 3. I think that there's going to be lawsuits and a lot of attorneys. And that is pretty upsetting. It's sort of like, can we ever have a fair election anymore?

JOHNS: With only hours to go, neither side is taking anything for granted.

Joe Johns, CNN, Columbus, Ohio. (END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, be sure to tune in to CNN tonight at 8:00, because Aaron Brown is anchoring a live election special. All the latest news, polls and analysis tonight at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.

All right. It's their job to look, act and talk like popular politicians, all in hopes of making us laugh. Later tonight, get a behind-the-scenes look with the cast of "Saturday Night Live" as they prepare for an election special of their own.

But up next, ballot on the -- or battle on the ballot. California voters set to decide on 16 controversial and costly propositions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Forget the polls. The Washington Redskins lost their final home game before the election. And the Green Bay Packers actually won. And that could mean a good omen for John Kerry.

In each presidential election since 1936, the result of that Redskins home game has always accurately predicted the White House winner. If the Redskins win, the incumbent party wins. If they lose, if incumbent, start packing your bags.

All right. A number of controversial initiatives crowd the California ballot this year. And among them, one to authorize state funding of embryonic stem cell research. CNN's Donna Tetreault has those details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONNA TETRAULT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): California's governor isn't up for reelection, but he's spending plenty of time on the campaign trail. And not just with President Bush. He's also campaigning hard for and against a number of controversial ballot measures facing California.

Take Proposition 71. If passed, it would authorize $3 billion in state bond funds for human embryonic stem cell research.

RAPHAEL SONENSHEIN, CALIFORNIA POLITICAL HISTORIAN: When the governor announced that he endorsed this measure, this was taken very ecstatically by the Prop 71 supporters, because he can come in and say, "I'm an economic conservative. I really don't want to spend a whole lot of money, but I endorse this and I think it's responsible." My guess is that will carry it over the top.

TETRAULT: Another proposition swirling among technological advantages is Prop 69. If passed, it would expand the state's DNA database. All of California's convicted felons would have to submit a DNA sample. Beginning in 2009, anyone arrested on suspicion of a felony would be required to do so as well.

Prosecutors in L.A. just last week announced the arrest of Chester Duane Turner, the man they believe could be the most prolific serial killer in L.A. history. Investigators said Turner was implicated through DNA.

CAPT. AL MICHELENA, LOS ANGELES POLICE: You can only imagine, if our database is so much bigger, we're going to do quite well. Because we're doing a better job on crime scenes today than we ever did in the past of gathering potential DNA evidence.

TETRAULT: But opponents say it may violate the privacy rights of suspects who have not been convicted of a crime. Proposition 66 is an amendment to the three strikes law which is aimed at putting away repeat felony offenders for 25 years to life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Proposition 66 fixes the flaw in the law.

TETRAULT: If voters pass 66, a second or third strike offense will have to be a serious or violent offense instead of any felony offense, as the current law states. But Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, backed by four other former governors, is urging people to vote no on 66.

And finally, the big money Props, numbers 68 and 70. Both would increase legal casino gambling in California and raise revenues for the state. But both are failing to gain support according to recent polls.

(on camera): Over $198 million have gone into the 16 propositions on Tuesday's ballot here in California. It's the most money ever raised in the state's history to support and oppose propositions.

Donna Tetreault, for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Stay tuned. Some of the best material for "SNL" comes right from the campaign trail. And we're going to go behind the scenes for a sneak peak at tomorrow's political special.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" has been working hard to make this contentious election season pretty funny. CNN's Alina Cho goes behind the scenes of their election eve special to show us how politics make good comedy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Hello. And welcome.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine for a moment you're Bill Clinton. On either side of you, President Bush and John Kerry. It's election eve, and this is "Saturday Night Live."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you guys going to do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get up early, register to vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seth?

CHO: Here, Seth Meyers is Kerry the flip-flopper.

SETH MEYERS, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": With the possession of weapons of mass destruction? Absolutely. Did he possess these weapons? No, he did not.

CHO: Will Forte plays President Bush.

WILL FORTE, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": And we're working hard every day.

CHO: Darrell Hammond has years of practice, even resembles Bill Clinton.

DARRELL HAMMOND, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": When he's about to do the state of the union, though, he does do this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's fine.

HAMMOND: My favorite Clinton is what we call -- we have the steeple. Then we have what I call the descending staircase. It's the voice goes down like this. And we are a better nation than we were before. I swear to god.

CHO: During a recent rehearsal for "SNL's" election eve special, the actors explained why politics makes for good comedy. Especially in an election year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the one time every four years where everybody's paying attention to politics.

CHO (on camera): "Saturday Night Live" has been doing political comedy since the beginning, but at no other time was it more talked about than in 2000 during the disputed presidential election of Bush versus Gore.

HAMMOND: No one had ever seen anything like this before. And you had two vastly different personalities, both of them getting increasingly edgy as the thing got more confusing.

CHO (voice-over): Which brought out the famous words...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Strategery.

CHO: And famous sighs. Gore even watched Hammond's portrayal of him to prepare for debate. Bush in an "SNL" appearance during the 2000 election poked fun at himself.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, now when they asked me to help introduce tonight's special, I felt frankly ambilavent.

CHO: But do these parodies change voters' minds? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think so. Does it strengthen preexisting impressions they have of the candidates? Probably.

CHO: So sit back, and enjoy the show.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "Saturday Night Live," NBC's first choice for comedy.

CHO (on camera): But CNN is the first choice for...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For CNN, America's first choice for comedy news.

CHO (voice-over): Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Yes, that's right, that's what we do, news.

That's all the time we have for this hour. But coming up next, "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS." Tonight, Laura Bush and Teresa Heinz Kerry.

At 8:00 Eastern, "CNN PRESENTS," a live election night special anchored by Aaron Brown.

And at 9:00 Eastern, "LARRY KING WEEKEND." Tonight, a live election preview with Bob Kerrey, Marc Racicot, MTV's Gideon Yago and more.

And I'm going to be back at 10:00 Eastern tonight because I'm going to be talking with the Bush and Kerry campaigns about the run-up to Tuesday. The hour's headlines when I come back, and then "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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