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American Morning
Ohio Senate Race; High-Stakes Race; New Jersey Senate Race; Bush's Final Push; Getting The Count Right; Tennessee Senate Race; Virginia Senate Race
Aired November 07, 2006 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Election Day USA. America votes today. With high stakes on the line, will Republicans keep the pull of Congress or lose it to the Democrats? We're live across the country this morning as the polls open. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning, everybody. It is Tuesday, November 7th. Election Day. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Glad to have you with us.
The speeches, the accusations, the polling, the attack ads are over and this morning, at last, the voters get their turn. It is a crucial election that is a referendum on the presidency of George Bush and the war in Iraq. Even as we speak, the voting is underway in some states. Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Vermont and Virginia all just opened the doors to their precincts. It is not a national election, but the polls tell us Americans will be thinking globally as they vote locally.
So will the balance of power tip in the other direction changing debate and the priorities in Washington over the next two years? Republicans currently control both the House and Senate, of course. And the Senate is the real nail biter today. Nine races, hotly contested. And the magic number for Democrats to gain control there is six seats.
On the other side of the Capitol, in the House, all the seats are in play, of course. And even many Republicans can see the numbers are not on their side today. The magic number for Democrats here, 15 seats. If they reach that mark, they will take control of the House for the first time in 12 years.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Turnout, electronic voting, even the weather is going to make a difference today. We have correspondents covering all of that, as well as the key races across the country this morning. And we've got a little cheat sheet of sorts for you to guide you through the returns and what they're going to mean as they start to come in later today.
So let's begin this morning in Ohio, which is always a battleground and even more so today. Ohio gave President Bush the electoral votes that he needed to win re-election back in 2004. So can he count on Ohio today. Republican incumbent Mike DeWine is in a fight to save his Senate seat against Democrat Sherrod Brown. AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken is in Columbus, Ohio, for us this morning.
Hey, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
The polls haven't opened yet. You probably knew this. There are 11,300 voting precincts in Ohio. Over 7.5 million registered voters. And the secretary of state's office is predicting that a record 54.9 percent are going to be turning out. A record for a midterm election.
Numbers, numbers, numbers. And we're not going to give you the numbers, but we do want to point out that in the race the polls show that Senator Mike DeWine, the Republican incumbent, is losing to his Democratic challenge, Congressman Sherrod Brown. Now this is a race that has gone up and down but DeWine has been pretty much the underdog throughout and the Republicans in the state, in that race, and other races, including five of the 22 congressional districts, Republicans can only hope for an upset and can only hope that their legendary get out the vote effort is going to once again pull victory from the jaws of defeat.
And the Democrats are hoping that they don't do it the other way around. They're hoping that this is going to be a Democratic year in Ohio. The polls open in a little less than a half hour here. As I said, they're expecting a record turnout. Ohio is probably going to become, as it often times is, the bellwether for the nation. How this state goes, including if there is an upset, could be pretty much a mirror of how the rest of the United States goes.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken watching it for us from Columbus, Ohio, this morning.
Thank you, Bob.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Another tight congressional race worth watching today, Buffalo, New York. Republican Tom Reynolds should have been a shoe in, but instead he's in a fight for his political life. He ended up right in the middle of the Mark Foley scandal. The Republican congressman who resigned after sending salacious e-mails to congressional pages. Reynolds is in a tight race with Democratic challenger, businessman Jack Davis. CNN's Deborah Feyerick live from Buffalo with more.
Deb.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, we can tell you that voters are just beginning to trickle in at 6:00 a.m. They were ready to vote. The first voter casting their ballot just now. Political insiders will tell you that this is one of the most intense congressional races in local history. Republican Tom Reynolds was already facing a serious challenge from a 73-year-old Republican turned Democrat Jack Davis. Reynolds did squeeze out a victory two years ago, but that was before the turn in a war and the Foley scandal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK, (voice over): To understand the political face of upstate New York, you have to understand the importance of Republican Tom Reynolds. He has spent his entire adult life in politics. The last eight years as a U.S. congressman. But now the man recently touted as a possible House speaker is fighting for his political life against political novice, millionaire industrialist Jack Davis.
Why the turn? The congressional page scandal is partly to blame.
REP. TOM REYNOLDS, (R) NEW YORK: Looking back, more should have been done.
FEYERICK: Reynolds heads the National Republican Congressional Committee and admitted he knew last spring about inappropriate messages sent to pages from Republican Congressman Mark Foley. Reynolds tried to deflect criticism, passing the buck to Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
REYNOLDS: We have been taught that if you see a circumstance that isn't right, take it to your supervisor.
FEYERICK: After that, his chief of staff, a former Foley staffer, resigned. Whatever the fall-out from the scandal, Davis is hoping his views on the economy and keeping jobs in the beleaguered New York region will end the Reynolds tenure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: Now as head of the RNCC, Reynolds was credited two years ago with quarterbacking Republican victories. But because of his problems here in western New York, a relatively safe Republican district, he had to stay much closer to home to try to convince his own constituents to vote for him.
Miles. Soledad.
M. O'BRIEN: Deb Feyerick in Buffalo, thank you.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. Let's take you to New Jersey now in that seesaw Senate race. Democrat Robert Menendez is facing off against Republican challenger Thomas Kean Jr. Accusations of corruption and dirty politics are at the center of this one. Let's get right to Allan Chernoff. He's live for us in Hoboken, New Jersey, with much more.
Hey Allen, good morning.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Talk about a dirty race. I think the whole state of New Jersey will want to take a shower tonight after this election is all done with. And certainly Senator Menendez has endured brutal attacks. He's scheduled to vote here in about 10 minutes.
He'll be glad to cast that vote, glad to have this whole campaign done with because the Kean campaign has consistently been accusing him of corruption. Claiming that he's under federal investigation. Senator Menendez has struck back, saying that Kean's fund-raising is corrupt and also saying a vote for Tom Kean is a vote for President Bush and for the war in Iraq.
Now Senator Menendez has been leading in the polls by just a few percentage points. It all depends on which poll you like. And the Democrats are certainly hoping that Robert Menendez can hold on to this seat because even the Democrats do concede this is their one seat in the Senate that is vulnerable. The polls are open until 8:00 p.m. tonight.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: And that's where you'll be until after 8:00 p.m. tonight. Allan Chernoff for us this morning.
Thanks, Allan.
President Bush is going to casts his vote today at his home in Crawford, Texas, after a final push to rally his party. But even on the last full day of the campaign, some candidates seemed to keep their distance. Elaine Quijano is traveling with the president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): President Bush delivered the final rallying cry for his party from his home state of Texas, exhorting the faithful to turn out at the polls.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My encouragement to you is to go out and keep dialing and get people to the polls. Send Rick Perry back to the governor's office and the state will be better off for it.
QUIJANO: But falling approval numbers and the unpopularity of the Iraq War created a dilemma for candidates in close races. To be seen or not to be seen with the president. That came to a head Monday in Florida.
Republican Charles Crist, seeing to succeed the president's brother, Jeb Bush, as Florida governor, passed on appearing on the same stage with the president at a rally in the conservative bastian of Pensacola. It's an area of Florida the Crist campaign believes it has secured.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: We have to get out the vote. QUIJANO: Instead, Crist campaigned in Jacksonville with Senator John McCain, a possible 2008 presidential candidate. Senior administration officials downplayed Crist's absence, but Karl Rove was a little more terse in his response.
KARL ROVE, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE ADVISER: Let's see how many people show up in Palm Beach on 24-hours notice versus eight or nine thousand people in Pensacola.
QUIJANO: And Mr. Bush took the snub in stride.
BUSH: And I strongly suggest you vote for Charlie Crist to be governor of the state of Florida.
QUIJANO: As for Election Day, President Bush will cast his ballot from his adopted hometown of Crawford, Texas, before returning to Washington to await the election results.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, traveling with the president in Dallas, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: More Election Day coverage straight ahead, including your first look at the forecast. How might that effect turn-out?
Plus, we'll take you to three battleground states and the key races that could decide which party controls the Senate.
And six years after hanging chads, the issue this time is touch screens. Will your vote count today? And how will we know if an election is tainted by a computer glitch? Or, for that matter, a determined hacker? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Top stories we're looking at.
Baghdad International Airport back open this morning. Security forces had locked it down. Part of a curfew to prevent riots after Saddam Hussein's death sentence was announced.
Wild weather killing one person in Washington state. The man died when pounding rains washed his truck into a river.
About 11 minutes past the hour now. If you're heading out the door, maybe heading to vote, Chad Myers has some words for you.
Hello, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: About 80 percent of all votes will be cast today on electronic voting machines. How confident should you be that your vote will count? Let's give you a look at what kinds of systems are being used in some key races. Missouri, Talent versus McCaskill. This is as close as it gets. the machines are touch screen but there is a paper trail. They also use an optical scanner to read ballots. In New Jersey, Kean versus Menendez, the machines use an optical scanner to read the ballots. Ohio, DeWine versus Brown, the system includes touch screens, a paper trail, optical scanner. Tennessee, Corker versus Ford, touch screens, optical scanner, paper trail there. And in Virginia, Allen versus Webb, also a touch screen plus and optical scanner.
In Maryland they know all about problems with electronic voting. They learned the hard way with a complete fiasco during primary elections in September. The question is, is the system fixed as voters there weigh in on a very tight Senate race. CNN's Brian Todd joining us from Bowie, Maryland, with more.
Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, that is a big question and voters here are a little bit jittery about that. As you mentioned, a lot of problems with electronic voting a couple of months ago. Here in Maryland and throughout the country, this is a system still working out its kinks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD, (voice over): Touch screen or optical scan. How you vote. How it's counted. A huge issue in this election because of the problems some of these machines have presented in recent cycles. Listen to how one expert compares this equipment to machines that handle much more volume.
KENNETH GROSS, ELECTION LAW ATTORNEY: It still amazes me that the machines are freezing up on Election Day, but I've never gotten more than the exact amount of $20 bills that I've asked for when I put my card in the ATM machine.
TODD: There are a few companies that make electronic voting machines. Experts tell CNN, many of the problems are the result of simple, technical breakdown. But activists also charge that those companies don't adequately secure the machines, making them vulnerable to hackers. And they say there's little oversight on the manufacturing.
CHELLIE PINGREE, COMMON CAUSE: We're already worried about the audibility standards, about our inability to get access to what the proprietary codes are. In a sense, nobody knows and nobody regulates what goes on in these machines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Now most voting machine companies, it is important to point out, still say that their systems are accurate and secure. And experts tell us there is no evidence of any widespread tampering in any of these machines. Most of the electronic votes, they say, will be counted accurately and fairly.
Here in Maryland, a lot of the problems a couple of month ago were human error. Some poll workers forgot to bring electronic access cards to the polling stations. Others forgot to remove cards and computer chips that would have been used to tally the votes more accurately.
An election official here in Maryland says that problem has been addressed. They're going to use electronic voting. They're confident that it will work. We'll see in about 40 minutes, Miles. The polls open here at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time, close at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, let's hope they learned a hard lesson in September. Brian Todd in Bowie, Maryland. Thank you.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Lets get a little deeper into three key Senate races that we are following for you this morning. The race in Missouri, the race in Tennessee and the race in Virginia.
In Missouri, it's a bitter and hotly-contested Senate race there. It's between the Republican, Jim Talent, and the Democratic challenger, Claire McCaskill. The race is incredibly tight. It's practically a dead heat. And the candidates have each spent millions of dollars in their own campaigns.
Tennessee now. It's a very tight race with plenty of mud slinging leading up to Election Day. Republican Bob Corker facing off against the Democrat, Harold Ford, Jr. Jenna McKee is with our affiliate WKRN. She's in Nashville this morning.
Good morning to you, Jenna.
JENNA MCKEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
You know, it may be raining out here in Nashville right now, but something tells me that's not going to put out the flame of this hot U.S. Senate race. It's one of the most heated across the country. Here in Tennessee, it really seems to be overshadowing all of the other races.
In fact, when it comes to the governor's race, well, we've seen little in advertising, very few commercials. A commercial break doesn't go by without seeing the faces of Harold Ford Jr. and Bob Corker. And a lot of the times they're negative. Raising concerns of racism and questioning the character of each candidate.
Now voter turn-out in Davidson County has been very high when it comes to early voting. In fact, we've nearly doubled from the last midterm election. So people are really coming out to the polls.
I don't know if the advertising is paying off or what, but polls are open here from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Opening in about an hour and a half. Of course the policy is, as long as you are in line by 7:00 p.m. tonight, they'll stay open. Whether it's one hour, two hours, three hour, they'll stay here until everyone gets the opportunity to cast their ballot.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Jenna McKee, watching it for us. She's with our affiliate WKRN in Nashville.
Thanks, Jenna.
MCKEE: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: One of the most tightly contested races of the midterm election, of course, is in Virginia. What was supposed to be a cake walk for Virginia's incumbent Republican Senator George Allen has sort of become a knockdown, drag-out battle with his Democratic challenger Jim Webb. CNN's Ed Henry has the latest for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It's a battle so ugly that about the only thing Republican George Allen and Democrat Jim Webb can probably agree on is this -- thankfully it's almost over.
JIM WEBB, (D) VIRGINIA SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm going to go vote and I'm going to go thank the people on my staff and then I'm going to go have a beer.
HENRY: Beer and solicitations were flowing as Senator Allen stumped for votes at a tailgate party for the Washington Redskins. The team his father once coached.
SEN. GEORGE ALLEN, (R) VIRGINIA: Can I have your vote?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will vote for you. You can have it (ph).
ALLEN: Thank you.
HENRY: This race was supposed to be just an easy score for Allen. A stepping stone to a run for the White House in 2008.
MARK ROZELL, GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY: And that was what everybody thought was going to happen this year. But then some events intruded.
HENRY: Self-inflicted wounds sparking charges of racism.
ALLEN: Let's give a welcome to macaca (ph) here.
HENRY: Allen has fired back that his opponent is sexist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: James Webb accused women of the Naval Academy of being promiscuous.
HENRY: Democrats privately admit Webb is not a particularly good campaigner but is riding a wave of anti-incumbent anger.
WEBB: When someone who has voted with President Bush 97 percent of the time, it is a referendum on what this administration has done. HENRY: A former Republican who served as Navy secretary under President Reagan, Webb is a Vietnam vet who wears the combat boots of his son currently serving in Iraq. His final push included a swing through rural Virginia, trying to copy the playbook of centrist Democrats like Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, Virginia's last two governors.
WES HORNING, WEBB SUPPORTER: It's conversation with folks. The general consensus I'm hearing is, we do need a new direction with the war in Iraq. Something different.
HENRY: Allen has gotten the message.
ALLEN: So now I am concerned their progress this year has been insufficient and I think progress needs to be improved.
HENRY: And the incumbent is banking on heavy conservative turn- out, fueled by a proposed state ban of same-sex marriage on the Virginia ballot.
KIM WILLIAMS, ALLEN SUPPORTER: And he just represents the values that -- moral values that we have as a family and I have as an individual.
HENRY: Both sides are bringing out the big guns in the final hours. George Allen winning the coveted endorsement of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, while Jim Webb has former President Bill Clinton stumping for him.
Ed Henry, CNN, Richmond, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Straight ahead this morning, a look at the top stories.
Plus, we're "Minding Your Business." The makers of the Palm Pilot running into some serious legal trouble. Could it effect your e-mails? Andy will take a look straight ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Here's a look at some of the stories we're following for you this morning.
Israeli troops pulling out of a town in Gaza after six days of deadly fighting. It's part of a crackdown on Palestinian militants launching rockets into Israel.
And in Nicaragua, the votes are in and it appears that the former leftist revolutionary leader, Daniel Ortega, will win the presidency. The Bush administration strongly opposed Ortega's candidacy. You'll remember back in the 1980, he led the rebels against the Nicaraguan government which was supported by the United States.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: On Wall Street, they're watching the election, of course. Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" to tell us what they're looking for there.
ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
Yes, it didn't seem to hold back any buyers of stock yesterday if there were any worries on wall Street. A snap back rally. The Dow Jones Industrials rising nearly 120 points to 12,105. Erasing the losses of last week.
Lower natural gas prices and a number of buyout deals boosting stocks. There was a trucking company and then there was the parent company of Outback Steakhouse that was bought out by Bain Capital, one of the big private equity firms. And then there was the Four Seasons. The luxury hotel company that was bought by the controlling shareholder and Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia and a company called Cascade, which is Bill Gates' private investment company.
M. O'BRIEN: That's quite a mix of people.
SERWER: That is. A combustible mix perhaps.
M. O'BRIEN: You might say.
S. O'BRIEN: There's a good back story on that one for sure.
SERWER: It's interesting. I called up Michael Larson, who runs Cascade, and asked him if he had any details. And he said, not really, but maybe you should start staying at Four Seasons more often. And I said, yes, if you lower the rates, I'll be happy to do that.
M. O'BRIEN: And maybe so. It's to real (ph) deal for you.
SERWER: Futures are higher this morning.
Also another story to tell you about making business news this morning. Remember the patent troll, NTP, that company out of Virginia that sued Blackberry and Research In Motion, the company that owns Blackberry, successfully getting over $600 million out of that company. Well, they're at it again. This time suing Palm, which makes the Trio phone and PDA device and e-mail device. And again they're saying that this company has patents of theirs and they're not going to rest until they get some ka ching out of Palm. And, you know, there must be something to this. We make fun of this company, but Blackberry wouldn't have paid them $600 million if there wasn't something to this litigation.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, they got a lot of bad PR too, I mean, which is worth a lot of dough for Blackberry. People were running around thinking their Blackberry's were going to be shut off any minute.
SERWER: Right. And Trio has, you know, significant market share. I have a Trio. And so here we go again. They're going to say, we'll have to shut it down unless you pay up. M. O'BRIEN: When I grow up, I want to be a patent. I think it sounds like a really good job.
SERWER: I don't think you could pull that off.
M. O'BRIEN: Probably not.
SERWER: I don't think you could.
M. O'BRIEN: No.
What you got next?
SERWER: We're going to be talking about Microsoft. They're going to start streaming TV through the xBox. Just another "it's all coming together" story.
S. O'BRIEN: Huh. Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: The last 20 feet they're always talking about, right?
SERWER: Yes. That's it.
M. O'BRIEN: That's what it's all about.
All right, thank you, Andy.
SERWER: Thanks, Miles.
S. O'BRIEN: The stories we're following this morning.
It is Election Day, of course, 2006 and we're watching out for anything fishy going on at polling places.
Plus, a state of emergency to tell you about. Deadly floods out west. A look today at the damage and the forecast as well. Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Election Day 2006. We hope you're making plans to vote today. There's a lot at stake. Will you change the balance of power of Washington? We're live all across the country watching all the races. And we'll tell you how the election may very well be a referendum on the Iraq War.
And will your vote count? A look at whether touch screens are tainted with glitches. All that and more ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning to you. It is Tuesday, November 7th. I'm Miles O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien. We are nearing the finish line of sorts with a feisty campaign season. Today America votes in a midterm election that, of course, could change the way that Washington does business. It could also shape the final two years of George Bush's presidency.
Now right now voting is already underway in North Carolina, in Ohio and West Virginia. They just opened the doors at precincts there. And that's on top of eight states where polls opened about 30 minutes ago.
And so today may be the most important midterm elections in recent times. Control of the Senate and the House are at stake. The war in Iraq, the economy, the national security and scandals will all be on Americans' minds as they enter the voting booth.
CNN's Brianna Keilar has more for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: The Democrats want this election to be the Iraq election.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Some analysts say American discontent with the war could kick the balance of power in Congress.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty clear that Democrats are going to make significant gains in both the House and the Senate. And the remaing question is, how significant?
KEILAR: Democrats need to pick up 15 seats in the House to win the majority.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe that at the end of the day, we are almost certainly going to be looking at a Democratic House of Representatives.
KEILAR: The Senate is a more difficult task for Democrats. Both parties are eyeing several hotly-contested races. Montana, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, all currently Republican-held Senate seats, are facing strong Democratic challengers. Democratic senators in New Jersey and Maryland are feeling the heat from Republican opponents.
Democrats need to net six seats for a Senate majority. But analysts say if they miss that mark, even a few additional seats could create a Senate that's less supportive of the Iraq war.
SCHNEIDER: I think voters know that if they vote for the Democrats, they are voting to make a statement loud and clear to President Bush, we want a different policy, we want a different approach.
KEILAR (on camera): The GOP has focused it final campaign hours on building momentum. Telling its base and undecided voters that any rumors of the party's demise in Congress have been greatly exaggerated.
Brianna Keilar, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: So how will we know if the voting today is fair and accurate? The Justice Department is deploying an army of election observers to try and make sure. Eight hundred and fifty observers heading to polling sites in two dozen states. They're making sure minority voters have equal access to ballots and that poll workers guide rather than confuse voters, especially where new electronic voting machines are in use today.
You know the old saying, whatever can go wrong will go wrong. Let's apply Murphy's Law to Election Day and throw Ali Velshi into the mix. He'll tell us what may or may not lie ahead and possible problems -- Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, polls just opened in some places and we already have reports of problems. Not specifically from this morning, but from the fact that we have had reports from a number of states about robo calling.
Now, that's not an election problem. That's just calls that the political parties are making to people, automated phone calls.
Now, the GOP has already acknowledged making them in some states and has said that they are going to stop doing that. But what we do have is problems in Virginia, where calls have been going out to voters who have saying that -- they're told that their provisional ballots weren't correctly filled out or their absentee ballots weren't correctly filled out.
The only problem is the people getting those phone calls didn't ask for absentee ballots and didn't fill them out. So there's some sort of misleading activity going on. The Board of Electors in Virginia has issued a statement saying that voters are not going to be contacted by the -- by the secretary of state or by the vote of electors -- the Board of Electors. All communication with them will be done in writing. So people should disregard those kind of phone calls.
What you should look out for today are different rules in different states about identification that's required, and what is being recommended is that you take I.D. If you've got it, government- issued photo I.D. is the best, but next to that, a voter registration card or utility bill.
We are keeping an eye on, as you said, the areas the Department of Justice is focusing on and other areas around the country that are known to be hotspots or political hotspots. And we'll be bringing you that information as the show continues -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Ali Velshi, thank you very much -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Happening in America this morning, in New York, a possible break in the case of the death of actress Adrienne Shelly. A construction worker is now under arrest. He's charged with her murder.
Shelly -- she was seen in the movie "Trust" -- was found hanging in her Greenwich Village apartment. A construction worker now under arrest. His name is Diego Pilko (ph). He was one of the last people seen going into her apartment.
In Washington State, at least one man is dead after heavy rains flooded areas around Seattle, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency there. A 20-year-old man died when floods swept his pickup truck into a river.
In southern California, firefighters expect to contain windswept wildfires today that forced the evacuation of two schools. The fires in Rialto, which is about 60 miles east of L.A., have burned more than 600 acres so far.
The historic warship Intrepid being kind of a big old stick in the mud. Renovations now on hold while the curators try to figure out a way to free the floating museum from Hudson River stilts that's built up around the hull over the last 24 years. Now, tugboats were able to move the 27,000-ton giant only about 15 feet on Monday.
Aviation officials are looking into how one small plane ended up on top of another in Los Alamos, New Mexico. It happened while both planes were trying to land. Two people reportedly had minor injuries. Take a look at those pictures. Crazy. But that's it, the minor injuries pretty much the bulk of it.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow. Couple of Bonanzas, detailed Bonanzas. I used to have one of those.
S. O'BRIEN: How'd they land on top of each other?
M. O'BRIEN: Not on purpose. I'll tell you that.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: I don't know.
S. O'BRIEN: That I know.
M. O'BRIEN: Stuff happens, unfortunately.
Coming up, some signs of progress in those planned negotiations with North Korea. There's one sticking point that may have the U.S. at odds with one of its allies.
Plus, last-minute campaigning and a last-minute snub. The flap over one Republican's decision to avoid President Bush.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Welcome back. An Election Day look at the grid. Some of the feed we're looking at. Not all election news.
Let's tell you, first of all, incoming 14. That's the camera on top of our building here at Time Warner Center, and that's the Intrepid. I told you yesterday that there wouldn't be an Intrepid in that spot today. I was wrong.
There was a little bit of mud, got caught up in the propellers. And the Intrepid is sitting where she has sat for 24 years despite a lot of pomp and ceremony there on the deck. They couldn't move it out of the mud. They are going to wait for another high tide that may come in December to do it, but it's not going to be as high a tide as we had yesterday.
NASA TV, I don't know what they're feeding right this moment. Something to do with the sun. But I wanted to tell you about the shuttle.
There's some scheduling issues of the shuttle. They want to make sure they launch it in time so the shuttle isn't in space when we shift from 2006 to 2007. It seems the onboard computers on the space shuttle would not be able to talk properly with the ground computers if in fact they went over new year's and into the new year.
Let's look at incoming 20. There's Deb Feyerick. She's getting ready for her live shot there in Buffalo. We've been looking at the Tom Reynolds race there. Close congressional race that we're watching for you.
Voters in Columbus, Ohio, up there on APTN. We have got reporters all over the country for you today.
Incoming 17, another polling site. Not sure where that is right now.
And, of course, incoming 301, the president. The president will make his way back to Washington today after voting in Crawford, Texas -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: The war in Iraq is one of the major issues, if not the issue, that's facing American voters. Meanwhile, the Iraqi people have some definite opinions on who they would like to see win.
CNN's national correspondent, John Roberts, has more for us from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Iraqis don't have a vote in the midterm elections, but everyone we talked to on the streets of Baghdad has an opinion and an interest in what happens today.
Awan Fraya (ph), a Sunni, says he prefers the Democrats because President Bush destroyed Iraq, and all the sectarian violence that we see now is because of Bush.
On the other hand, this Christian man thinks it would be better if President Bush retains his power. "At least we know him," he says.
Regardless of whether Congress is in Republican or Democratic hands, there's one thing that most Iraqis seem to want.
Listen to Ahmed Abdul Wahab, a Sunni.
AHMED ABDUL WAHAB, SUNNI, IRAQI CITIZEN (through translator): What we care about is to see the security and stability in the country, and to see the occupiers leave the country.
ROBERTS: U.S. troops in the field are reluctant to publicly talk politics or discuss the overall strategy for Iraq. But it's clear from this chat I had with Captain Jake Wamsley that they are thinking about it.
(on camera): Does there need to be a change?
CAPT. JAKE WAMSLEY, 166 ARMORED BATTALION: Well, you know, at my level, I think we're doing the best that we possibly can.
ROBERTS (voice over): That's what you hear from most of the soldiers I've ridden with over the past two weeks when you put the camera on them. Privately, they do believe in what they are doing on the unit level, but they are also frustrated by the Iraqi government's lack of political will to deal with the Shiite militias driving much of the sectarian violence and the creeping effort to bring the Iraqi army and police up to operational standards. And they wonder how much time they have before sectarian violence tips into all-out civil war.
COL. JIM PASQUARETTE, U.S. ARMY: The back-and-forth spiraling downward sectarian issue, if it gets very decentralized where it's families on families and there's no way to kind of take -- look at pressure points on how you influence it, that would be disturbing.
ROBERTS: After three and a half years, ordinary Iraqis are tired of the violence, the daily march of death, the barricades and blast walls. They are desperate for a normal life.
And for Ali Rahim, a Shiite, that means change a half a world away.
ALI RAHIM, SHIITE, IRAQI CITIZEN (through translator): If the Democrats win, then the American forces will withdraw from Iraq, because the Democrats believe they have had a great loss in Iraq and they see it as a second Vietnam.
ROBERTS (on camera): Whether Republican or Democrat, Sunni, Shiite, or Kurd, the ultimate goal is for U.S. forces to one day leave Iraq. The open questions, how and when will that happen, and what kind of country will they leave behind?
John Roberts, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Weather always an important factor on Election Day. Chad Myers is here to tell you we've got red states, blue states, now we have yellow, orange and green states, too -- right?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Here's a look at some of the stories we are following for you right now on Election Day 2006.
The impact of the Mark Foley page scandal. Suddenly, the race for his old seat is red hot. And as polls close across the country today, control of the Senate could come down to a last stand in the Old West. We're going to take you to the Montana race straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Here's a look now at story that CNN correspondents around the world are covering today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paula Newton in London, where a man who confessed to trying to build a dirty bomb will find out if he faces life in prison. Darren Barot (ph) admits he tried to hit financial targets in the United States like the New York Stock Exchange and the Citigroup building using a conventional bomb that would be laced with radioactive material. Authorities here say he was stockpiling smoke detectors that do contain a very small amount of radioactive material.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Ben Wedeman in Jerusalem.
Israeli forces have pulled out of the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun a week after they went in. It was the largest Israeli operation in Gaza in months intended to stop the firing of crude, locally-made missiles into Israel. More than 50 Palestinians, at least half of them militants, were killed during the week of fighting, which also left one Israeli soldier dead.
Israeli officials say their forces seized large amounts of weaponry and ammunition. But even as the pullback went ahead, the violence continued. So far today, Israeli strikes have left at least four Palestinians dead, including two civilians.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOHN JIE-AE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sohn Jie-ae in Seoul.
Visiting U.S. undersecretaries of state met with their South Korean counterparts to coordinate strategy ahead of the six-party talks aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, which could be held later this year. Although Seoul officials said the Seoul talks were productive, there are no signs that South Korea would join Washington's calls for tough sanctions against North Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Aneesh Raman in Baghdad.
Two days after Saddam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity, was sentenced to death by hanging, he is in court again. This time, facing the second trial of the Iraqi high tribunal. That for the Anfal campaign that left, prosecutors say, at least 182,000 people dead, many by chemical weapons.
Saddam entered the court in his trademark suit, Koran in hand. He has been quiet thus far. This trial, though, could go on until mid next year. It comes amid a suggestion yesterday by the chief prosecutor that the appellate process of Saddam's guilty verdict and death sentence could be done by mid January.
That means if the court upholds the verdict and sentence, Saddam could be hanged by early next year. Court officials have said the second trial and others to come will simply go on with Saddam being tried in absentia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: For more on these or any of our top stories, log on to our Web site at CNN.com.
M. O'BRIEN: The state of Montana may be well known for cowboys, but it is an unlikely place for a political shootout that could tip the balance of power in Washington. And yes, that is what is happening today in Big Sky Country.
AMERICAN MORNING Chris Lawrence is there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As polls close in battleground states across the country, control of the Senate could come down to a last stand in the Old West.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, did you see where Jon Tester called cutting taxes ridiculous?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Old Tester even voted for higher taxes on my pickup.
LAWRENCE: Instead of a gunfight at high noon, it's attack ads 24/7. They paint Democrat Jon Tester as a high taxer, Republican Conrad Burns an incumbent who sold out to lobbyists.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We like having a senator we can count on. We gave Conrad's campaigns $546,000. LAWRENCE: Montana is a land of windmills and wheat fields. Fewer than a million people live here. But just five days before the election, the president himself came calling.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Democrats are going to tax whoever they can find. And we are not going to let them, because we are going to put Conrad Burns back in the United States Senate.
LAWRENCE: Burns accused Tester of raising taxes on 16,000 small businesses. But that's not really true. Tester voted to freeze the tax rate at 3 percent, rather than allow an economic trigger to kick in which would have phased out the tax all together. But that would have cost Montana schools millions of dollars in funding.
SEN. CONRAD BURNS (R), MONTANA: I don't think that there's very many tax bills that he's not liked. He's voted on a lot of them.
LAWRENCE: Tester reminds voters that Burns took $150,000 in donations from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
JON TESTER (D), SENATE CANDIDATE: And that's the different. You are helping your K Street lobbyists. I help the middle class.
LAWRENCE: What he doesn't mention, Burns gave away that money after the scandal broke.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Billings, Montana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: And a look at our top stories straight ahead. And we are "Minding Your Business".
Think TV and video games turn your kids' brains to mush? Then you're probably not going to like Microsoft's plans for combining the two.
Andy will explain straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BUSINESS REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Welcome to Election Day. Americans already heading to the polls, casting votes that could swing the balance of power in Washington. We are live all across America right now on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning to you, Tuesday, November 7th.
I'm Miles O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Thanks for being with us. The speeches, the accusations, the polling, the attack ads all over this morning. And this morning, voters finally getting their turn.
It's a crucial election, of course, that is a referendum on the presidency of George Bush and also the war in Iraq. And as we speak, voting is under way in nearly half of the 50 U.S. states from Delaware to Tennessee and the District of Columbia. Fourteen more states just opened their doors as well.
Not a national election, but the polls tell us that Americans will be thinking globally even as they vote locally. So, will the balance of power tip before the night's over?
Republicans currently control both the Senate and the House. And the Senate today is the real nail-biter. Republicans could lose control if Democrats are able to pick up six seats.
On the other side of the Capitol, in the House, all the seats are in play, of course. And the magic number here for Democrats is 15. If they reach that mark, they're going to take control of the House. The first time in 12 years that will have happened -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Turnout, to scandal, electronic voting all making a difference today.
CNN correspondents are fanned out coast to coast covering all of that and the key races to watch.
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