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Democratic Senator Bill Nelson Requests Extended Early Voting in Florida; New York Marathon Cancelled; Rep. Paul Ryan Campaigns in Virginia; President Obama to Speak in Wisconsin

Aired November 03, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It's the top of the hour. Welcome back. You're in the CNN newsroom. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The final push is on with the clock ticking and the race for the White House in a dead heat. The presidential candidates are launching one last battleground blitz. President Obama is campaigning in Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Virginia today, while Mitt Romney is focusing on New Hampshire, Iowa, and Colorado.

Millions of Americans have already cast their ballots and some voters are taking advantage of early voting today. Take a look at the huge lines right here, long lines in Plantation, Florida. The wait there has been up to three hours in some places. Barack Obama heads towards Election Day with the lead among early voters in some key states. But it's not as big as the one he had over John McCain four years ago.

So, of all the swing states, Ohio could be the most important. No one had won the presidency without the Buckeye State since 1960, and a brand new CNN/ORC poll shows the candidates there are in a statistical dead heat. Fifty percent of likely voters favor President Obama while 47 percent support Mitt Romney. An NBC/"Wall Street Journal"/Marist poll shows a wider gap with Obama leading by six points.

It's a very tight race in Florida as well. An NBC/"Wall Street Journal"/Marist poll shows Obama leading by just two points, but a mason Dixon poll gives Romney the edge. Fifty one percent of likely voters say they will vote for the Republican candidate, while 45 percent say they will vote for Obama.

So another state that could be a make or break state for both campaigns, we're talking about Colorado now, which is home to nine electoral votes. In 2008, Obama won that state. But in the past, it has favored Republicans.

Kyung Lah joins us from Englewood, Colorado, where Mitt Romney will be holding a rally later on today.

So Kyung, nearly 1.5 million people have already voted in Colorado there by mail-in, early voting, et cetera. So, what is the impact that is expected?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we are expecting is that we are going to know Colorado very quickly, if it is overwhelmingly one way or the other. That's according to the secretary of state. So, this complicates things for those trying to get registered independents on their side, specifically Mitt Romney. If you look at the numbers, 85 percent of all registered voters will have voted before Tuesday. Already, we're hearing 1.6 million votes have already been sent in to the secretary of state's office. So, that's what we know. The tough job for Governor Romney now is to try to capture a dwindling number of registered independents. And he's got to try to fire them up. So is that working? Well, we talked to a guy who is standing in line. He's a registered independent, and here's what he told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE JOHNSON, ROMNEY SUPPORTER: We're pumped. We are energized. We are ready to go, yes. Absolutely. Can't wait for Tuesday.

LAH: Now, polls are showing it's a dead heat.

JOHNSON: Really close, yes.

LAH: What is it going to take for your guy to win?

JOHNSON: Turnout. What more can you say? Turnout.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: So will he get the turnout? Well, in the ground game here, and if you go to looking back at the last Romney event, the last big one was at the red rock Amphitheater. They had to turn people away. The people who attended that said it felt more like an Obama 2008 event than something that they have seen from the Republicans.

So, certainly there is energy on the Republican side, but we should point out, Fredricka, that the latest CNN poll does show President Obama leading Governor Romney by a few percentage points.

WHITFIELD: And so Kyung, what about the so-called suburban mom? A lot of discussion has been taking place in Colorado about how potentially influential they are.

LAH: A very influential vote. And let me give you the big picture first.

Colorado has one third registered Republicans. One third registered Democrats, and a third registered independents. Drill it down even further, among those registered independents, suburban mothers who are unaffiliated. And they are the ones who overwhelmingly voted for President Obama in 20008, and the Republicans are trying to bring them back into the fold.

Now, we have spoken to some of the suburban moms and they tell us, OK, it is working. Some of them really do want to go with Governor Romney. That they don't feel the job security has been there, that President Obama won't give it to them in the next four years. But then you talk to another suburban mom sitting next to her. She said she is going to stick with President Obama in part because the deciding factor for her, are the social issues. So, there are a lot of issues that go into play. But I have to say, top of the issues here is job security.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kyung Lah, thanks so much from Colorado. Appreciate that.

Let's drill down a little deeper on the strategy of both of the candidates and see how the last-minute campaigning is shaking out.

Joining me right now is Tom Price. He is a Republican congressman from Georgia and the chairman of the party's policy committee. Good to see you.

REP. TOM PRICE (R), GEORGIA: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Right here in the studio with me.

And Sheila Jackson Lee, she is a Democratic congresswoman from Texas, and senior caucus wit. However, she's not joining us from Texas today. She's out on the campaign trail. She is in Columbus, Ohio. Good to see you as well, congresswoman.

REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: Fredricka, it is good to be with you this afternoon.

WHITFIELD: Excellent.

OK. Well, let's begin about, you know, we are talking about these candidates, President Obama, Mitt Romney, they are crisscrossing these battleground states.

Let me begin with you, Congressman Price.

PRICE: Sure.

WHITFIELD: You just heard Kyung talking about Colorado being so vital. It was Obama country during the last election. But with the one third independent voters made up much of suburban moms, is this a strategy that Romney is, you know, going to be spending more time there later on today? How focused is he on Colorado and trying to sway perhaps those one third independent voters?

PRICE: Well, it's Colorado and its Wisconsin and its Ohio and Pennsylvania and all of the other states that are still in play. And the independent voters are indeed absolutely pivotal. Each candidate wants to make certain that they get out their base, their base voters. But, when we look at the independent votes, which is why we believe so strongly that Governor Romney will be the next president, we see high single and even double digit leads in independents by Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan.

So, their challenge is to deliver the final message of optimism and hope and believe in America and urging individuals to get out to the polls.

WHITFIELD: And Congresswoman, you know, let's talk about those independents because during the 2008 race, President Obama, then candidate Obama, was able to really appeal to the independents. And in this case, it's not so cut and dry. So, what's the strategy or the focus as he campaigns against the battleground states?

LEE: Obviously, we feel very good about the campaign over the next couple days. I have been in Nevada. I'm in Ohio. I happen to be in a new congressional candidate's district, congresswoman Beatty (ph) with the congressional black caucus and we are assured by the sentiment and tone from Colorado to Wisconsin, Ohio, Virginia, we're certainly still working in North Carolina. But here is the key.

Independent voters did vote for President Obama in 2008. The independent voters like to set the country right side up. They understand President Obama has been the leader in turning this country around, so much so that its growth and job creation keeps going up and up. They like to see an optimistic approach to government. And that's what President Obama has. They're also big believers in education. And for a candidate like Mitt Romney who wants to abolish the department of education, we think we have a greater message for the independents, for women. We certainly are protecting women's health care. Those are issues the independents are interested in as well as the economy. Who are they going to choose? Someone who sides with sort of the antiquated views of abolishing or eliminated Planned Parenthood and attacking women's health care or look to someone who believes in embracing all of America. That's an optimistic view.

We're optimistic and working hard and we really believe that independents along with those who are champions of President Obama's cause will come to recognize that America is greater when we're united together. That's how the vote will turn out on November 6th.

WHITFIELD: So congressman, is that a big obstacle. Is there a sentiment that Romney's views are antiquated and he's trying to overcome that?

PRICE: Great talking points by Sheila Jackson Lee, clearly, but not the truth. The question is whether or not the American people want more of the president that results in higher taxes, more spending of money we don't have, greater regulations, decreasing ability for job creators to create jobs. Or do they want to move in a direction that is positive and upbeat for America with lower taxes, less regulation and making certain we balance the budget and decrease the debt and deficit.

That's the kind of positive issues that Governor Romney is bringing. That's the kind of work that he's done in the private sector and in the public sector which is why the Americans people recognize that this is an individual, Governor Romney, who could work across party lines, bring people together, move forward positively for America which we haven't seen in the last four year.

WHITFIELD: Well, that brings me to the other word that has come up a lot, big government, as it pertains to Mitt Romney. And now you have this crisis, this natural disaster that took place, and you also talk about the bipartisanship. And we have just now seen how, you know, government has needed to step in by way of FEMA. Romney has, you know, points of view in the primary, are simply being drudged up again by him saying FEMA is not necessary.

Then we talk about bipartisanship. You're seeing President Obama standing right next to what was a number one surrogate for Romney.

So you know, in the end, has this natural disaster now kind of skewed or changed some of the opinions or sentiments about what Romney has been saying about government not working, government being too intrusive?

PRICE: It changed a bit on the dynamic. But nobody's suggesting that governor Christie still isn't indorsing and supporting Governor Romney. Clearly, he has and continues to do so. The fact is -- of the matter is we don't want government, is that we want government to be efficient and positive and working for individuals, and not against individuals. So Governor Romney never said we don't need FEMA. What Government Romney said that it was the local and state governmental entities that were the first individuals in, in a disaster, and that is exactly true.

WHITFIELD: All right, Congresswoman?

LEE: Let me say this, Fredricka. Let me say this as a member of the homeland security committee, I thank my good friend from Georgia, we worked together, and I must say that President Obama has worked in the last four years with Republican members of congress. With senators, with house members on a number of different issues, patent law, a number of issues dealing with energy, a number of issues dealing with building up business opportunities. But the real policy questions that will help America, president Romney to be if he's trying to be president, excuse me, is arguing that government should be small, plain and simple. Not prophetic, a gross error. But, he is arguing for government to be small. He wanted to eliminate FEMA. He wanted to eliminate the department of education.

PRICE: Not true.

LEE: You can't flip-flop as he has done and now in the tragedy of Sandy, which I have been through with Katrina and Rita down on the gulf, you have to know that government has a purpose. I have always said that. It can be constructive. It's an umbrella on a rainy day to take the story at hand with Sandy's enormous storm.

But Governor Romney does not want to support government in the way that helps people. And that means eliminating Medicare. It means not caring about seniors, not providing for Pell grants. So, I'm just saying, you can't flip-flop in the last hours to suggest you would embrace government.

We all want government to be efficient, and President Obama has been a leader. He has the smallest federal government we have had in decades under President Obama. Smallest number of employees, but it has been efficient enough to be effective on the east coast, rising to the occasion, to the extent that Republican governors have given the president and his team compliments in their responsiveness and the mayor of New York has endorsed him.

So, it's not about that. It's about the president wanting to support a constructive government and Governor Romney who is trying to be president, running against an efficient government or government at all. I think Americans will see the wrongness of that.

PRICE: It's about whether or not the American people believe that 23 million unemployed Americans is all right, whether they believe $5 trillion more debt under this president is all right, or whether we want to go in a direction that pulls people together, that creates jobs, 12 million jobs that Governor Romney has laid out for his first term, and moving in a direction so that government isn't spending more money than it takes in.

WHITFIELD: It clearly, it sounds like jobs, government --

LEE: President Obama has created jobs, particularly in Ohio where we restored the auto industry. No one can take that away from this past administration. But what they can attribute to Governor Romney is let them go bankrupt, and also a misleading and distorting ad that tells not the truth but a distortion of that which is so unfair. They will vote the truth and the truth will set them free, and they will vote November 6th and be free. They vote today, by the way.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Excellent, thanks so much to both of you. I appreciate it.

And, of course, you know, the drum beat carries on. Just three days to go until Election Day. So, still many discussions to be had before folks in large numbers hopefully make it to the polls.

Thanks so much to both of you. Appreciate it.

PRICE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. It's canceled for the first time in 42 years. We are talking about Sunday's New York City marathon. Critics were afraid the race would hurt the Sandy recovery efforts. Now, runners have turned their attention from the race to those most in need.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, you know by now the world renowned New York City marathon has been canceled. Mayor Michael Bloomberg made the decision yesterday. He faced a lot of pressure because many said the race would divert resources and manpower from the victims of Sandy.

Well, the race has been run every year since 1970, and it draws runners worldwide. Many runners supported the cancellation, even encouraged it. And they took offense to being called insensitive to Sandy's victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARICEL LAXA-PANGILINAN, MARATHON RUNNER: When the marathon was told to be pushing through and then there were some talks about the runners not being sensitive to the people in need, I think that's a little bit sad because as runners, we came here to help and support also the people. And you know, we thought if the marathon was pushed through, we would actually help the city get back on its feet. But now that it's not pushing through, we're still here to help. And our hearts go out to the city of New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining me now, celebrity runner, TanyaMarchiol from HGTV's bang for your buck.

Tanya, good to see you.

MARCHIOL, HGTV PERSONALITY: Good to see you. Thank you so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: So, you traveled from far and wide as well. She traveled from the Philippines. You traveled from Arizona?

MARCHIOL: Arizona.

WHITFIELD: OK. You traveled from Arizona to make it to the New York City marathon only to find out it was canceled. So how disappointed were you?

MARCHIOL: Honestly, if this was causing dissension between the residents of New York City, mayor Bloomberg did the right thing. He should have done it a little bit earlier. People were losing their lives. People don't have power. They are afraid of freezing. This is something that - this race brings the city together. It shouldn't calls dissension. So, that is one thing that I think he made the right decision by cancelling it and really sending those resources to the people that truly need them.

WHITFIELD: And so now I understand an awful lot of runners who made that trip have decided, OK, I'm here. I'm going to be a volunteer. I'm going to help. There are a whole lot who turned out to Staten Island earlier today to help in any way, shape, or form. What are you going to do?

MARCHIOL: That's exactly right. And that's where I got really excited yesterday when they did cancel the race. I didn't have to run 26.2 miles.

WHITFIELD: You've been training for it, wait a minute?

(LAUGHTER)

MARCHIOL: And I was running for North Shore Animal League. So, I called North Shore immediately and I asked them what I could do to help them. So, I'm actually walking dogs and helping the North Shore Animal League. They're the largest no-kill shelter in the world and they have taken in over 90 animals. And they're up at NASSAU community college right next to the Red Cross so the people in the shelter can actually see their pets, and they're caring for their pets. So, I'm up there helping them as much as I can and then I'm heading to Staten Island tomorrow as well.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. And so, what do you suppose you're going to be able to do in Staten Island because apparently, they are still trying to organize the flood of all these new, you know, helping hands and they want to figure out how, you know, to best utilize everybody. What are you hoping you might be assigned or volunteer to do?

MARCHIOL: That's exactly the problem, is there are a lot of volunteers. And people don't know what to do. And honestly, I don't care if I'm shoveling sand or moving furniture or have a dryer in someone's house. I think the whole point is that we need to unite and come together and help the people that really need it. New York is a comeback city. They will come back again. And if the Tunisian and people from the Philippines and everybody that was here to run the race helps, we will make it a little better.

WHITFIELD: OK. And in the meantime, you know, with the hg TV show "bang for your buck" we get to see your expertise is in the real estate industry. I understand you are, you know, licensed in many states, including that of New York. And so, when we talk about some of the hard hit areas, Queens, the Rockaways, et cetera, I understand that you have a point of view about the obstacles that might be ahead for some of those homeowners, namely, the ones who were living in homes where they may have been behind in their payments, facing foreclosure, et cetera. What is this recovery likely to be for them or the rebuilding efforts, the response?

MARCHIOL: Right, so in September, we actually saw existing home sales jump 11 percent over the past year. So, we were actually getting into a little bit of a positive situation for housing. This is actually going to set back the national housing numbers, let alone New York's housing numbers. Foreclosures in New York on average have 900 days. So, there were a lot of people that were in the foreclosure process who may say, this is just far too much. I'm not going to try to modify. I'm not going to try to do anything. I'm just going to walk away. And that really leaves the burden on the banks.

So, the banks are going to have a lot of decisions to make. Do they fix them? Do they sell them as is and let investors come in and really create that home and make the money on them? What are they going to do?

But there's a lot of decisions to be made when it comes to housing. And I think one of the hardest things for a lot of New Yorkers is these homes are passed on from generation to generation. So there may not be homes that they want to give up. They want to re-create these homes. They want to make it home again. And that's where they're really going to have to understand that yes, there's going to be assistance from FEMA and your insurance, but you're going to have to get in and probably do some sweat equity to get the homes back to where they were.

WHITFIELD: Tanya Marchiol, thanks so much. I won't wish you the best or break a leg because you're not running tomorrow. But instead, I wish you the best on your volunteerism activity tomorrow because, yes, there's going to be a lot of heavy lifting, but the people in Staten Island are awfully grateful you and so many other runners are volunteering to help them out. Thanks so much for your time. MARCHIOL: Thank you so much. WHITFIELD: All right, straight ahead, I will have the story of an injured veteran who took his disability and turned it into an inspiration for others.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Often we hear stories of men and women coming home from war broken and struggling to find their place. Well, maybe they are disabled or they can't figure out the next step. But one injured veteran in Alabama is turning his disability into an inspiration and a better life for his family. His story, in this welcome home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): A wave of patriotism swept the country in the wake of 9/11 and it changed Noah Galloway's life.

SERGEANT NOAH GALLOWAY, RETIRED U.S. ARMY: I joined the army immediately after September 11th 2001. I was going to the school at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. And after we were attacked, you know, I felt like it was what I needed to do.

WHITFIELD: Galloway deployed to Iraq in 2003 and again in 2005, when he was injured by a roadside bomb. He lost his left arm, left leg, and his jaw had to be reconstructed. It also marked the end of his first marriage.

GALLOWAY: As I laid in the hospital bed, I remember thinking that it was all over. You know, I was very physical. I lost two limbs, a wife. I remember thinking I would much rather have died than to have woken up like this.

WHITFIELD: But then, Galloway reconnected with a childhood love who renewed his strength.

GALLOWAY: She was a big part of what got me out of the hospital as quickly as I did because I felt like I had something else waiting for me outside.

WHITFIELD: Noah and Tracy Galloway now have two children in addition to Noah's son from his first marriage. Tracy is candid about the emotional toll of his husband's injury.

TRACY GALLOWAY, NOAH'S WIFE: I think his disability makes things a little different. Little things that people don't think about, he wasn't able to do. But then again, he amazes me every day, too, because if I were in his position, I probably wouldn't want to get out of bed.

WHITFIELD: Galloway runs races like warrior dash, tough madder, and even the marine corps marathon to challenge himself and inspire others.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Way to go.

WHITFIELD: He also paired up with team extreme, which runs these races in gas masks, to raise awareness for injured veterans.

GALLOWAY: We still have veterans coming out of Afghanistan with injuries. And it's not that I'm this incredible guy, but my injury was before them. If I can show them the route I took to success, they can follow the same. And that makes me feel good.

WHITFIELD: Galloway has a Web site and is trying to get sponsors which he hopes will lead to a new career.

GALLOWAY: It's been a struggle finding where I fit in with work and having found that there is a possibility of making a living off being somewhat of a special athlete. I go to the races, I'm not winning, but I'm a guy missing an arm and leg and pushing it, and people see that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, extraordinary. You can read more about Noah Galloway and others at projectvisibility.org.

And in a minute, I'll tell you why the U.S. justice department is sending out hundreds of monitors to polling stations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back.

We mentioned the candidates are crisscrossing all of the battleground states. Virginia is one of them, one of the swing states. Right now, you are looking at Eric Cantor, house majority leader.

However, any moment now, we understand vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan will be entering, and he'll be rallying there in Richmond, Virginia. And of course, when that happens, we will take that live.

All right, meantime, the other swing state, Florida, Democrats in that state are looking for an extension of early voting now.

CNN's Joe Johns joining me from Washington with more on this. So, why the extension? What's happening?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, essentially they're going to go to the very different states, look around, and see if all the laws are being followed that the United States Congress passed of the 23 different states, Fred, including six battleground states, seven different locations inside the state of Florida just by itself. And think of what's going on there right now. We have gotten reports of very long lines on the last day of early voting. People waiting three hours even four hours, just to cast a ballot. And as you know, the Democratic senator Bill Nelson there, has asked the Republican governor, Rick Scott, to extend early voting, this being the last day. So far, the governor has said no. So, there's a lot for the justice department observers to keep an eye on, at least in the sunshine state.

WHITFIELD: And so Joe, are we talking about just extending it throughout the day instead of say, 7:00 being, you know, the time that the polls close this evening, it would be, you know, 10:00 p.m., or are we talking about extending it into a whole other day?

JOHNS: Well, I have heard it both ways. I heard extending it into Sunday, of course, that's problematic because as you know, the state of Florida passed a bunch of different laws including cutting off that last Sunday before Election Day as an early voting day. They say they did that because they wanted to give the election officials more time to prepare for Tuesday. And the idea that they would now come at the 11th hour and switch back to the old scheme doesn't sound like something the governor would want to do.

WHITFIELD: OK, and then as it pertains to the justice department election monitors, what would they be doing as they descend on, you know, so many states or locations that they want to keep a closer watch on? Is it as simple as them standing there and just, you know, observing the people?

JOHNS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Doing the right thing? I mean, what is it?

JOHNS: Right, it depends on the state. So, you have a bunch of different states that come under what's called the voting rights act of 1965. And these states have different places inside the state, a county, a city, what have you, that have been adjudicated years ago as perhaps having a problem with dealing with minorities and the vote. So there's a certain set of rules that go along with those individual locations.

Then, there are other states that they are just interested in. For a couple spots in the state of Ohio, for example, where they want to go and watch and see what's going on. We were told a lot of this has to do with concerns about language on the ballot, so you have Latinos or Asians or others who have an equal right, certainly, to vote. And the question is whether they can read and understand the ballot well enough to vote.

So that goes into it. And there are a lot of other concerns. None of which the department of justice shares with us until they run out and file a lawsuit or something.

WHITFIELD: Right. All right, Joe Johns. Thanks so much from Washington. Appreciate that.

All right, something else that considered a pretty big challenge or obstacle right now. In states like Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York, how do people vote given what took place with that super storm Sandy? Five days after the storm, polling station managers are working to make sure voting goes as smoothly as possible. But is that a difficult undertaking?

Joining me to explain what they are doing in Connecticut, Connecticut secretary of state, Denise Merrill, good to see you.

DENISE MERRILL (D), CONNECTICUT SECRETARY OF STATE: Good to see you. WHITFIELD: So, I understand already in some portions of Connecticut like cities like Greenwich and Trumbull, everything is working again. You have the polling stations in place. But then are there other areas in Connecticut that were impacted by the storm where things are not up and running, those polling stations and the power is not up and running?

MERRILL: There are still a few that we are worried about, probably a handful at these points, but we've been in communication with all of the 169 towns where these elections are held. We don't have a county election system in Connecticut, so that's a big challenging. But we are pretty confident we will have most of the polling places up and running and generators standing by, if need.

WHITFIELD: So this means that early voting was interrupted, right, in many of these jurisdictions? Does that mean that you are anticipating longer lines, you know, more frustrated voters come Tuesday?

MERRILL: Well, actually, in Connecticut, we don't have early voting, and we have very strict absentee ballot laws which actually have gotten in our way a little bit because we have workers from out of state that were struggling to figure out how we are going to get them a ballot. So that's one of our remaining problems.

But in general, yes, there will be -- we're going to be watching it closely to make sure that everyone gets to cast their ballot on Election Day.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, interesting. No early voting in your state. However, were there a lot of people displaced by the storm and now one of the challenges might be how to get to the polling station?

MERRILL: Absolutely. And I did a tour yesterday of places like Greenwich and our biggest city, which is Bridgeport, where there are a lot of poor and frail elderly people, and they are all clustered along the shoreline. There are some concerns there. Some of them are still in shelters. Many of them still have no power. We do have power to most of the polling places, but I think there are some concerns about actually reaching people and getting them to vote.

WHITFIELD: All right. They sounds like you are feeling very confident that people's voting rights will not be interrupted in a big way come Tuesday in Connecticut.

MERRILL: Well, we're working hard on it, and there's been a lot of communication necessary, and we will be monitoring things to make sure that things are going well. It is a challenge, though. An additional one on top of others we had. But we're hopeful.

WHITFIELD: All right, Connecticut's secretary of state Denise Merrill, thanks for your time and all the best to you and your voters come Tuesday.

MERRILL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. As the candidates continue to carry out their blitz of the swing states, including that of Virginia, right now the governor speaking, they are waiting Paul Ryan, the vice presidential Republican nominee to enter. Paul Ryan will be campaigning right there in Richmond, Virginia. When that happens, we will take you there.

WHITFIELD: All right, something brand new that lets you see your ballot before you vote. And you can find out how much campaign spending money has reached your state.

Josh Levs is here to show us all of that and more. Hi.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, you know, there are some amazing people in the CNN.com world who dream up the great ideas and then they pop up right here. I know that some people like to joke about how we get big maps. We get them around on TV. These are ones you get to move around and folks, all of them have hard information that I think you're going to be interested in.

Let's start off with this one right here which is called the road to 270. Ad we are showing you at any given moment the prediction for the electoral results inside this election. You can see what we think the states are going to do and we will continue to update this as time goes on.

Now, I want to jump across the screen and I want to show you something that brand new. Look at this. How much money has been spent by each candidate in each state in the entire country? Also, how many times they have traveled to each state, how much money they have raised in each state? All you have to do is click on a state, and look at the breakdown here. This is how far folks went. Let's see if we can weigh in to this. I clicked in Colorado, not only are we showing you ad spending. We're also showing you approximately how many of the ads were positive and negative.

And here is an amazing thing you can do. You can compare two states and any category you want. Let's zoom in way over here. I want to show you this. A few clicks. You compare any state in any category. So, just as an example, I pulled up Colorado and Ohio to see how many times the candidates have visited. You can then with one click save this image, share it on facebook, share it on twitter. Basically, do anything you want with it and send it to your friends in different states with all of the facts about how much money is going into each of these states.

Now, another thing you should see, really impressed by here. You can actually see your ballot starting right now. All you need to do is go to our Web site, and what you will see is a place that you can click on and see all of the races in your area. I clicked on my home town, Albany, New York, just so good so I can give you an example. They will show you the ballots and the questions that you are going to be facing. You can prepare in advance.

And one more thing, my facebook page has now been tricked out with this thanks to our team here. They set up the "I'm voting" app. Check it out at my facebook page, joshlevscnn. Fred, one thing to know about this, a really relevant and important study found that social media can get people to show up to the polls. So we have hooked up with facebook in an effort to make that happen. Check it out there.

All of this is linked for you at my twitter and facebook, joshlevsCNN.

WHITFIELD: That is fascinating. But, in for fascinating is what you are going to be bringing up in the next hour as well.

LEVS: Yes. You know, we have a change of pace next hour. This is going to be big. Over the past week, we have seen some astounding videos and photos which tell stories you have not yet heard about super storm Sandy. Now, some are heartbreaking, some are hopeful and will even make your laugh. We have that coming up 4:30 to 5:00. Be here that for that half hour, folks. You will laugh, you will cry, you will love it.

WHITFIELD: Right. And we will look forward to that. Thanks so much, Josh. Appreciate that.

LEVS: You got it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Again, we continue to watch the candidates as they stump in a final blitz this weekend, particularly in the battleground states. You look at Richmond, Virginia where Romney/Ryan plane has landed. Paul Ryan will be speaking soon and we will, of course, take you there live as it happens.

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WHITFIELD: All right, back to the campaign trail. And right now, you are looking at a live performance of singer Katy Perry and her band there. They are at the Delta Center in Milwaukee, ahead of President Barack Obama's arrival there. She's been campaigning on behalf of the president.

You remember earlier in the week, she was in Las Vegas and wearing an outfit that kind of looked like a paper ballot, have ballot for her selection of the Obama fighting ticket, and later on in the 4:00 eastern hour, when he arrives. Of course, we will take that live.

Right now in Virginia, in Richmond, Virginia, the Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan is speaking at a rally there. Let's listen in.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Like that smart person over there or a Redskins fan. We love this country. We have got serious problems in this country. That requires serious solutions. And in order to put serious solutions in place, you need to elect a leader. That's why in three days, we need to elect Mitt Romney the next president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

RYAN: You know, in the closing moments of the campaign, it's what you can see really what a campaign is all about at times. In these last hours, let me read you a quote from four years ago. "If you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things." You remember who said that, four years ago? You do remember. That's what Barack Obama said in 2008. Sadly, that's exactly what he has become. As candidate in 2008, he appealed to our highest aspirations. Now, he's appealing to our lowest fears.

Just yesterday, he suggested to his supporters that people ought to vote out of revenge. Look, Mitt Romney and I are asking for your vote, and asking for your vote, and we are asking you to vote out of love for country. That is the kind of election we want. That is the kind of victory we want. That is the kind of victory you deserve. USA. That is right, USA.

AUDIENCE: USA, USA, USA, USA, USA, USA.

RYAN: In 2008, President Obama made lots of grandiose promises. You remember hope and change? Remember how he would bring everybody together? He has not met with our party leaders since last July. Remember when he said he would cut the deficit in half? It has doubled. Remember when he said he would create all of these jobs?

Look, we just got the latest employment report. And the unemployment rate is higher than the day he took office. You have got 23 million Americans struggling to find work in this country today. Fifteen percent of our fellow citizens are living in poverty today. It is the highest rate in a generation. We are nine million jobs shy of what he said we would achieve if only he could borrow all the stimulus money and spend it on all of these interest groups.

Look, this isn't working. We have a jobs crisis. Wouldn't it be nice to have an actual job creator in the White House during a jobs crisis? We need leadership. You know, one of my favorite historians, a guy named Rufus Fears. He did all of these election lectures on Virginians, on our founders. And the four common themes and principles, the characteristics that define a great leader in a nation's time when it needs a great leader, he said this. You need a leader with a moral compass. You need a leader with a bed rock of principles, like our founding principles came right out in Virginia. You need a leader with a vision for the country and the experience and skills to execute that vision.

That is Mitt Romney. This is the man that is here for the moment. The man and the moment are meeting.

Look at what the man has done in his life. This is a man who when given a responsibility actually achieves. This is a man who where others have failed he has succeed. This is a man who helped create tens of thousands of jobs, who turned around businesses. Who helped struggling businesses. And by the way, being successful in business, that is a good thing. We like success. We don't demean success. We don't envy success. We want to emulate success. We want other people to become successful. That's how we create -- WHITFIELD: All right, vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan there in Richmond, Virginia. If you want to watch the rest of his statements there out of Richmond you can go to CNN.com.

Next hour, President Obama is scheduled to speak in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We will bring that to you live, as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, next hour, President Obama will be taking the stage there in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But right now you're seeing the warm-up act of singer Katy Perry and her band there on stage. Earlier in the week she was in Las Vegas, wearing a kind of ballot type of dress, to say that she was all for Obama, and Biden today, it is all campaign forward. Let's listen in.

(KATY PERRY SINGING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)