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Critical Time in Politics & Northeast; Final Push for Ohio Voters; Polls Show Both Candidates Leading, Going after Florida Votes; 11 Year Old Finds Creative Way to Help Storm Victims; E-Mail, Fax Voting Allowed to Displaced New Jerseyans; Psychological Effects of Hurricane Sandy; A Look at New Voter Information Tools

Aired November 03, 2012 - 17:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much, Fredricka.

I'm Don Lemon. Good evening, everyone, from the beautiful boat house restaurant in Confluence Park, in downtown Columbus, Ohio.

Tonight, we're coming to you from a critical swing state, a state, quite frankly, with the luxury to call itself a swing state.

Our minds and hearts, though, are with the states that can only call themselves devastated right now, places like Jersey and New York, where for almost a week now, we have been watching people literally fight for their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA SOLI, NEW YORK RESIDENT: We are going to die. You don't understand. You got to get your trucks here on this corner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Nearly 3 million people, still without power in 15 states. One hundred and six people are dead now, and leaders say they could find more bodies beneath the rubble or washing to shore.

Now, that is a background, but with no gas and water in some places, with food and shelter in short supply in many places, where would politics -- specifically voting -- be on your list of priorities? It's not very high, even for the governor of New Jersey. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I've got a job to do here in New Jersey, that's much bigger than the presidential politics. And I could care less about any of that stuff. I have a job to do. I've got 2.4 million people out of power. I've got devastation on the shore. I've got floods in the northern part of my state. If you think right now I give a damn about the presidential politics, then you don't know me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I think the governor said it well. If FEMA and the Red Cross struggled to get into some areas, why would anyone think people can get out to vote? And the real question is, should our leaders, should our leaders be considering the real possibility of postponing voting in the hardest hit areas? That is a question we will be asking all of our guests over the next hour here on CNN.

So right now on the phone with me is a man who has dealt with natural disaster in his city. He is the mayor of Philadelphia and he knows all the politics in the Northeast, and Pennsylvania specifically, Mayor Michael Nutter. And also, CNN's Joe Johns is in Washington for us.

Mayor Nutter and Joe, the National Guard is providing trucks as polling places in New Jersey because the buildings were wiped out. Officials in other states are getting creative to make sure everyone gets a chance to vote. So we still don't know.

So, Joe, I'm going to get to you and talk to you first about this. So, what are the states doing? Before I get to the mayor. What are the states doing to try to make sure that people are getting to the polls? And number one, should we really be considering the real possibility of postponing voting in the hardest hit areas?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, it's easy if there is a state law that says you can change the election date in the state of an emergency. The state of New York, for example, has a law like that, they said you can add an additional day of voting if fewer than 25 percent of voters cast ballots on Election Day due to an emergency.

Otherwise, there are frankly some big challenges for certain states, secretary of state in Connecticut, Denise Merrill, was on CNN a little while ago. She said she did a tour of places like Greenwich, Bridgeport, other places, found a lot of frail, elderly people clustered along the shoreline. Concerns that some are still in shelters, people have no power. So polling is one of those issues that sort of goes farther down on the list.

And if you listen here for just a moment, you can hear her talking about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DENISE MERILL, CONNECTICUT SECRETARY OF STATE: 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 concerns there. Some of them are still in shelters. Many of them still have no power.

We do have power at most of the polling places but I think there are concerns about actually reaching people and getting them to vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: And, Don, some of the states affected by the storm are already taking the steps that they can take to make sure people vote, even if they can't show up at the polls. Things like extending, absentee voting. That's what's happened in Pennsylvania, which is arguably the state to watch the closest because the presidential race has been so close there. Around Philadelphia, which is a stronghold of Democrats, there have been some concerns about power, raising other concerns about turnout -- Don.

LEMON: Uh-huh, that is a good way to get to the mayor, now.

Mayor Michael Nutter -- Joe, stand by, I'm going to get back to you.

Mayor, thank you so much for joining us.

You heard what Joe said. And if you look at the latest poll, this is the latest poll that we have from October 31st, and it is a Franklin and Marshall College poll. And it's got 49 for President Obama, 45 for Mitt Romney. But the margin of error is 4.2 percent. That's still a razor's edge. Pennsylvania usually goes blue.

What happens if Pennsylvania goes red now? And will there be a contest of this election, saying, hey, you know what, people were disenfranchised. What do you make of that?

MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER (D), PHILADELPHIA (via telephone): Well, first and foremost, Don -- I know after having contacted Governor Corbett's office, all focus is on making sure that all of our polling places across Pennsylvania are geared up and ready to go. And either, (a), the power gets back on, which I know the utility company has been working hard on. Or (b), that we utilize the generators that are available to us, and primarily through FEMA.

So I think that we want to ensure the right to vote, the opportunity to vote, and all the efforts must be made to make sure that those polling places are operable, that people can primarily go to the place that they normally go to vote. And that all of our efforts as government leaders, regardless of party, but certainly as mayor of the city of Philadelphia, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure all of our polling places are in working, operating order. I don't think we have any at this point that are without power.

But I have ever confidence that Governor Corbett and his team, the secretary of the commonwealth, well make sure that the polling places are operating, either under their own power or with generators. And that is how we should approach it.

LEMON: And, Mayor, I know you have a very busy schedule because you're dealing with this, and with the election, and as we look now, just three days. Three days to the election.

And I'm just being honest here, of course we want to encourage everybody to go vote. No one is discouraging anyone to go vote here. But let's be realistic.

NUTTER: Absolutely.

LEMON: When you saw the woman who lost her kids, they washed away. When you see people who are standing on the street corner and saying, we're dying here, we don't have shelter, we don't have food, my clothes are wet, I cannot get gas, where would voting and presidential voting be on most people's minds if they have lost everything they own?

NUTTER: Well, I mean, I think the person, anybody, first and foremost will think about their current state and what's going on with their families. You know, preserving yourself is of the highest order. And you know, pretty much everything else takes second or third place.

So again, our focus as government leaders and community leaders have to make sure that everybody is safe, secure, that they are sound and can deal with the fundamentals. And everything else really does get put to the side. And we will do that in Pennsylvania, and the other states.

You heard Governor Chris Christie. I think he could not have been more clear in his comments.

So let us deal with the tragedy that has happened in communities, and certainly for the individuals. The voting process is a sacred right, but as -- I think has been made clear, people also have a responsibility to themselves, first and foremost.

LEMON: Yes, thank you very much, Mayor Nutter.

And thank you very much, Joe Johns. Still stick around, I'll be getting back to you throughout the evening here on CNN, as well.

I have a quick check of the map that shows the final push is on in those electoral battleground states. With the clock ticking and the race for the White House and a dead heat. Have a look at this. President Barack Obama is campaigning in Ohio, in Wisconsin, in Iowa and Virginia today. While Mitt Romney is focusing on New Hampshire, Iowa and Colorado.

And, of course, CNN is a place of complete election coverage. We don't know what's going to happen here, we've got Sandy and a very close race. All the campaigns are focusing their attention in the battleground states. The hold on the surprises here, what's going to happen?

But make sure you watch, "America's Choice: Countdown to Election Day", tomorrow night, 8:00 Eastern, only here on CNN.

And from the political end game to more now on that slow, steady recovery from superstorm Sandy, emergency teams are still doing the grim work of finding Sandy's victims. And as I said the death toll in the U.S. has risen to at least 106 people.

Many survivors are still without power now and utilities are warning that it could be a week, a week before they get it back -- 2.7 million households in the dark, nearly 3 million.

Electricity is not the only thing in short supply. Gas lines are still a reality for people in New York and New Jersey and millions of gallons of fuel are being trucked to those affected areas. And New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has ordered rationing in dozens of counties there.

Despite all the suffering, there are signs of hope.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: Eighty percent of the subway service has been restored. That is under literally in under one week, 80 percent of the subway service has been restored from what was horrendous damage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And workers are busy securing the crane that left dangling by Sandy's fierce winds. Look at that thing, officials say it could take up to 36 hours to finish that job.

You know, the economy is a huge issue in the election, and here in Ohio, so why are the people in the state with one of the lowest unemployment rates so worried? Some answers next on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: With just three days to go until voters head to the polls, a new jobs report has both campaigns, both sides taking sides. Now companies hired 171,000 employees in October. That's more than any other time in the past eight months. But while hiring has increased, so has unemployment. That rate rose slightly to 7.9 percent, up from 7.8 percent in September.

And as expected, both candidates pounced. The Obama campaign noted employers have done more hiring, but the Romney campaign said the report shows the economy is at a virtual standstill.

And in America's heartland, you might think the jobs report would be a boost for President Obama, he won Ohio four years ago. And the economy overall is doing better well compared to the rest of the country. But voters there are still divided.

And as CNN's Poppy Harlow found out in Des Moines, where she heard from there are still concerns.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN HARBERTS, CEO, KRYTON METALS: We basically started this in a run-down garage.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That was 33 years ago.

(on camera): How is business?

HARBERTS: Slow.

HARLOW (voice-over): You see, Kevin has watched the business at his metal company fall and fall, down 20 percent this year.

HARBERTS: Mid-2012, it started to slow down. And it's been a downward trend ever since, probably May.

HARLOW (on camera): But his Iowa isn't the Iowa the economic numbers illustrate, largely spared by the housing crisis, reaping the benefits of a strong farming sector, and unemployment well below the national average.

HARBERTS: I realize here, we're not bad in Iowa. But our customer base is not basically in Iowa.

HARLOW: It matters how California looks, it matters how Nevada looks, it matters how Virginia looks.

HARBERTS: Right.

SUE DVORSKY, IOWA DEMOCRATIC PARTY: It is difficult for Mitt Romney to say this economy is in free fall, it is not.

HARLOW (voice-over): Sue Dvorsky heads Iowa's Democratic Party.

(on camera): Unemployment rate here is pretty darn good, 5.2 percent, one of the lowest in the country. The president won here 10 percentage points in the last election. My question for you, sue, why isn't he locking it down? It's neck and neck.

DVORSKY: It is -- you know, we actually feel like we're locking it down, we have been locking it down for two years.

CRAIG ROBINSON, FOUNDER, THEIOWAREPUBLICAN.COM: I think she is selling you something, to bet honest with you. I don't it's on lock down.

HARLOW (voice-over): We found plenty of people in Iowans who are not convinced by either campaign.

CHAD MORAREND, ROMNEY SUPPORTER: Fiscally, I just don't see how we can sustain ourselves. I mean, Europe right now -- I mean, these big, huge, great empires, countries and all that, that they are going bankrupt. And it's going to be us.

HARLOW: Although Chad Morarend plans to vote for Romney but doesn't think his math adds up to erase the deficit.

MORAREND: I don't think either side honestly really has the plan for it, going ahead. It becomes kind of the lesser of two evils.

HARLOW: Back at Kryton Metals, Kevin Harberts says he can't plan a 2013 budget and certainly can't hire.

HARBERTS: Our customers are just slow. They're just not ordering.

HARLOW: He says like him, they're frozen, waiting to see who wins the election and whether we fall off the fiscal cliff.

HARBERTS: I need some reassurance that we're going to take care of our debt problem. That we're going to help small business.

HARLOW: He says he'll vote for Romney, but acknowledges that is little the next president can do without Congress and it pains him.

HARBERTS: So this is my dream. I mean, I have everything invested in this company. And so, you know, my name is on the line with the banks. And so I got to make it happen. My people are counting on me.

HARLOW: The economic numbers in Iowa tell a good story for the president. But plenty of people here worry about the bigger picture, and neither campaign can take this state's six critical electoral votes for granted.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Poppy Harlow in Des Moines right now.

Poppy, there does not seem to be a lot of enthusiasm on either side in terms of the candidates' economic plans.

HARLOW: That's exactly right, Don -- I mean, you're really getting the sense of people there in Ohio, and I'm getting the sense across the state in Ohio. We have been here for a week, and not one person that I talked to has been enthusiastic, saying I think this candidate or this candidate has what it takes to turn this economy around and long-term get us on a stronger fiscal path.

And I think that's concerning when you talk about the battle in a battleground state like this, getting the votes out, Don. Because I think here, especially in the Midwest and especially in Iowa, it's about winning the hearts of the middle class.

Now that said, I have talked to Obama supporters here who say it's correct our economy is not where it needs to be, but we do like the plans the president has, his focus on education and training. We need to give it more time. The Romney supporters you heard from completely disagree.

I will tell you, though, you know, the unemployment rate here is relatively good, 5.2 percent. So when you look at the bigger picture here, folks think what is ahead for my children? What does the deficit mean long-term, not just why don't I have a better paying job right now, Don.

So they are very big picture, ands look, this is a place where people are very financially conservative. It's the Midwest. And they're sick of seeing our government spend the way it is, Don.

LEMON: All right. Poppy Harlow in Des Moines -- Poppy, thank you very much.

The fight for this key battleground state is heating up right here in Iowa, we're going to show you how volunteers here are helping to win over voters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're back now live in downtown Columbus at the beautiful boat house restaurant in Confluence Park. And voters right here in Ohio may decide the most expensive presidential race in history. Both campaigns are blitzing to try to woo Ohio voters and try to score the state's 18 electoral votes.

A brand new CNN/ORC poll gives us latest snap shot of this. Look at it -- 50 percent of likely voters support President Obama, 47 percent say they support Mitt Romney. It is that close. President Obama's lead equals the poll's margin of error, 3 percentage points.

You know, and the lines here are burning up with campaign calls. I visited both banks for both campaigns in Dayton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (voice-over): It's sort of a symphony of noise. Dayton, Ohio, these Obama volunteers are trying to reach everyone they can as the clock ticks towards Election Day.

(on camera): Do you ever get distracted by all the people around you calling?

ARLENA SMITH, OBAMA VOLUNTEER: No, we don't. We talk all the time. And everybody is talking. Right now, they have all stopped. But no, we talk at the same time and get the same message out to whomever we're talking.

LEMON (voice-over): Chris Cameron and her husband, Bill Butler, traveled a long way to Ohio to help the president.

(on camera): Why is it so important what happens on the ground right now?

BILL BUTLER, OBAMA VOLUNTEER: Well, we're from California, so we came to Ohio, you know, California is kind of a safe state. We wanted to be where the action was, and, you know, it's really important to get every single voter out there.

LEMON (voice-over): Arlena Smith is the veteran here.

(on camera): How long have you been doing this?

SMITH: Oh, about 50 years.

LEMON: Fifty years you have been volunteering for Democrats?

SMITH: Yes.

LEMON: Yes? And for the president --

(CROSSTALK)

SMITH: If they don't have rides we're standing, ready to pick them up to carry them and put them right on the spot, wherever it is.

LEMON (voice-over): On the other side of town, from the other side of the aisle, another group of ladies is burning up the phone lines for Governor Mitt Romney, for Mary Mogan (ph), sometimes her calls are a success.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can we count on your vote for mitt? Yes, that's what I want to hear. Thank you so much.

LEMON: And sometimes, not so much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can we count on you for Mitt Romney? Hello? I guess that's a no.

LEMON: Across the table, one-month call newbie Angie Dye says she's unemployed, and hope that Mitt Romney will help her get back to work.

ANGIE DYE, ROMNEY VOLUNTEER: I hear excitement on the other line, and that excites me even more. And it's very encouraging that there's a lot of Mitt Romney supporters out there.

LEMON: And they dial and dial some more.

(on camera): Let's see your dial finger, is it calloused? Which finger do you use?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I kind of use them all.

LEMON: You're a master dialer?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am. I'm getting pretty good at this. And I don't need the cheat sheet on how to do it anymore.

LEMON (voice-over): Two teams, working hard and changing the meaning of "phoning it in."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Very dedicated people there, lots of people in Ohio voters have already made up their minds, made up their final decision really. Just look at the long lines for early voting. That's in Cincinnati. Look at that. Ohio has almost 8 million registered voters. And most of them show up at the polls. Almost 70 percent of registered voters here cast ballots in 2008, that is significantly higher that the nation's voter turnout.

I want to bring in Tracy Townsend She's an anchor and reporter for WBNS-TV News here in Columbus.

Tracy, where did we work together? It's a small business. Philadelphia, was it Chicago or was it probably in a number of those places?

TRACY TOWNSEND, ANCHOR/REPORTER, WBNS-TV: Right.

LEMON: I talked to all the people voting here, at last count we spoke to the secretary of state who said that 1.6 million people have voted in the state already. And that's total in person, and also mailing it in. That's a lot of people, high turnout.

You heard the ladies -- you saw the ladies on the phone there, the volunteers. The people are just kind of sick of being called and just being, you know, all the time asked for their vote and their support?

TOWNSEND: It is interesting, Don, I think people are tired of being called and called and tired of mailers. And they tell us they're tired of the ads on television.

LEMON: Oh my God.

TOWNSEND: And so I think it is driving people to really get out and vote early. I was in Cleveland this morning. And the president was talking to some folks at Mentor High School. And he asked about early voting, just about everybody raised their hands, they had gotten it done.

LEMON: You know, I was tweeting out last night. I've said, I'm in Ohio, I'm trying to watch the local news, I was trying to watch you guys and see what's going on. I said I'm getting depressed, not because of the news.

TOWNSEND: Right.

LEMON: But because every single ad is a negative ad, people here are just bombarded with that and the mailings in there, they're going to the mailbox. You have a weekly political -- you host a weekly political show.

TOWNSEND: Yes.

LEMON: Was it --

TOWNSEND: It's called "Capital Square," every Sunday.

LEMON: It's called "Capital Square." The issues here for you, I would imagine it is the economy at the top of mind for everybody.

TOWNSEND: It really was the economy. And Ohio is a little different, because, you know, there has been good news on the employment front. And so for a while there, there is sort of this tug of war, is the governor responsible for that? Or is it something that has been the benefit of the president's administration?

So, you know, there is good news there. You still have people getting laid off, people really struggling to make ends meet. So, you know, this is a great place to live and it's going to be a great place to watch the election. Because there is a little -- it is a microcosm of the country.

LEMON: Yes, and it's going to be interesting to watch. To get that many people, I think that's what 80 percent of the electorate vote here, are registered to vote. That is unbelievable. You don't get that high of a percentage pretty much anywhere.

TOWNSEND: Right, and, you know, Franklin County is going to be critical. You showed Cincinnati earlier, Hamilton County is going to be critical because it went for Obama in 2008. So a lot to watch in Ohio here on Election Day.

LEMON: It's so good to see you.

TOWNSEND: It's great to see you. Welcome back to Columbus. Great to see you.

LEMON: It's a small business. Thank you, Tracy Townsend. We appreciate it.

You know one different state, two different polls and two different candidates in the lead. And what's going on in one of the most crucial battleground states, and I'm talking about Florida, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It is the biggest prize of the battleground states, Florida's 29 electoral votes. And the campaigns know it. Combined, they spent close to $97 million in ads there, more than anywhere else. The pay off? At this point, it's a toss up. Two polls taken just days ago showed each candidate with the lead. NBC News/"Wall Street Journal"/Marist poll has Obama ahead. While a Mason Dixon survey says Mitt Romney is winning by six points.

CNN's John Zarrella has been talking to Florida voters himself, and he joins us live from Plantation.

John, my goodness, a lot of money to spend at being a tie.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it sure is. You know, of course, it is good for the economy, I guess, down here, and they certainly need it when you talk to people down here in these long lines behind me. And you can see there is a long line of voters there. This is early voting, the last day of early voting. The line is about two hours long now right now. Earlier today, three and a half to four hour waits here at this polling station in Broward County.

Now, part of the reason for these long lines, the state legislature reduced the number of days from 14 down to eight for early voting. So that has had a big impact. And a lot of people are saying that means we're going to see long lines again on Tuesday at the polls.

Now, you know, just up north, long lines, as well. And in Orange Park up in -- near the Orlando area, in Lake Park, what they had were two suspicious packages that actually had to be detonated. And they had to close down that polling station for a while and have people go to some of the other polling stations, as well.

But there are some people here we've talked to over the past few days who said you know what, I'm waiting until Tuesday anyway because I'm not to sure this early voting is right for me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID STRINGFIELD, FLORIDA VOTER: I always have felt if I voted on the day of the election, my vote would really be counted. And I have heard of other scenarios in which people have voted earlier, and their vote doesn't get counted. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Now, a couple of days ago, the League of Women Voters called on the Republican governor, Rick Scott, to extend the voting hours. Scott's response was, early voting is going just fine, and I hope everybody gets to vote.

And today, Democratic Senator, Bill Nelson, who himself is running for re-election, sent a letter to the governor asking the governor to extend early voting at least by one day. But we don't believe there has been a response from the governor on that.

So at this point, we believe the voting will end in about an hour and a half here in Florida. But if you're in line -- and you see the long line here now -- in line at 7: 00, you will be allowed to vote, even if it is 9:00 or 10:00 when you get in there -- Don?

LEMON: Give it some time though, it may be extended. We will see.

Thank you, John Zarrella.

Oh, yes, may the best man win?

Yes, you have --

(LAUGHTER)

You have just a couple of days left to cast your vote in the presidential election, then rush home to watch CNN's live coverage of the "Election Night in America," starting at 6:00 eastern.

You know, with many without power after Superstorm Sandy, people are finding creative ways to help each other. Next, I want you to meet an 11-year-old girl who found a way to help her neighbors and the Red Cross.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, you know, getting back to normal seems like a distant reality. Survivors pleading for basic necessities, most importantly, power.

One really ingenious 11-year-old, whose family lives on one of the only powered blocks in Hoboken, she decided to do something to help out. With the assistance of her dad, she set up a pop-up Internet cafe charging station right in front of her very own home -- there you see the picture over there -- allowing dozens of people to get back on the grid, if only just for a few minutes.

11-year-old Lucy Walkowiak joins me.

Walkowiak, I said that right.

Lucy, first, tell us about this cafe. You doing OK?

LUCY WALKOWIAK, SET UP CHARGING STATION: Yes. We're doing OK. LEMON: Tell us about this cafe?

WALKOWIAK: Well, I got this idea for the cafe because, well, some people didn't have power in our town. And most people need their electronics to go on. So we set up a table with some power cords and our Wi-Fi password, and people could just get in touch with their friends, loved ones, whoever they needed to contact.

LEMON: Well, it looks like your power station was a pretty big hit. How many people came to your house?

WALKOWIAK: Well, I estimate about a 100 people came altogether over the days -- all the days that we set it up.

LEMON: So anyone is welcome to plug in, but to use it, you're asking for a small donation. What are you going to do with that money?

WALKOWIAK: Well, all the money that we raised, which is $392, we are going to donate to the Red Cross.

LEMON: The American Red Cross, right?

WALKOWIAK: Yes.

LEMON: How much money?

WALKOWIAK: Well, we got $392. And we also received a generous donation of $2500 from somebody who was going to run the marathon, but since it was cancelled, he donated all the money he would have spent going to the marathon, and donated it to the Red Cross.

LEMON: All right, well, good job.

11-year-old Lucy Walkowiak. Thank you.

All right, thousands lost everything in Superstorm Sandy. It is a situation that is hard for the rest of us to even imagine. We've seen the physical impact. Up next, we're going to talk about what the survivors may be deal with, psychologically.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We lost our house, our pool, and god only knows what else.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable. It's like a war zone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not exactly sure where to go from here besides calling the insurance company.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That is the first step. Then comes calculating the loss and cashing the check.

In Sandy's wake, tens of thousands of homeowners are now asking, if a tree falls in a hurricane, who pays? JEANNE SALVATORE, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, INSURANCE INFORMATION INSTITUTE: If the tree hits your house, you call your insurance company and file a claim. You're going to be covered for the damage that that tree does to your house, for anything that is in the house, and for the cost of removing that tree.

ROMANS: Jeanne Salvatore, of the Insurance Information Institution.

How does wind damage -- that comes under your homeowner's policy.

SALVATORE: Correct. Wind is covered. I mean, wind is one of those standard disasters that is covered.

ROMANS (voice-over): With Sandy's wind, came water.

SALVATORE: Most people buy flood insurance from the National Flood Insurance Program. So if you have a flood insurance policy, you're going to be covered for that.

ROMANS: About 14,000 homeowners in the northeast have flood insurance, more than the 5 percent who were covered when Hurricane Irene howled through.

(on camera): Will some people who don't have flood insurance be able to be made whole or at least get relief from the federal government?

SALVATORE: Well, people need to get in touch with FEMA and find out what is available to them. They may be able to get some sort of disaster aid or loans.

ROMANS (voice-over): Another enduring image of Sandy, flooded cars.

SALVATORE: You're covered under a lot of the natural disasters under the comprehensive portion of your car insurance. So that will cover wind damage and flooding.

ROMANS: Keep notes. Find as many receipts as you can. Be thorough with the claims adjuster. No damage is too small to mention. Keep your patience and perspective.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A home can always be rebuilt. As long as we have our lives, then we're safe.

ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, so listen, this concerns the top of our show. And we have told you about the issues that are going to go along with voting in affected areas. This is breaking news, coming out of New Jersey from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. The Department of State is directing county election officials to permit the registered New Jersey voters -- listen to this -- displaced by Hurricane Sandy to vote electronically, which can vote either by e-mail or fax. They say it's already in place for our military and overseas voters. They will open this for the people in New Jersey, displaced. They said -- again, this directive came today from county officials to permit the New Jersey registered voters displaced by Hurricane Sandy to vote electronically. It goes on to talk about why they're doing it, to allow not only people in New Jersey who are displaced but the workers coming in to New Jersey to help those people who are displaced to vote as well. In order to vote electronically in New Jersey, once this is up, displaced voters can submit an e-mail ballot application either by -- a mail-in ballot application either by e-mail or fax to the county clerk. Once an application is approved, the clerk will electronically send a ballot to the voter by either fax or e-mail in accordance with the voter's preference. Voters must return their electronic ballot by fax or e-mail no later than November 6th, 2012, at 8:00. And then it goes on to tell how voters can download those ballots. But again, adding a new wrinkle into this election that is going to happen on November 6th. People displaced in New Jersey, now can vote by fax or by e-mail, which is very interesting. It happens, but it doesn't really happen that much for civilians. More on this at the top of the hour with Wolf Blitzer.

Let's talk now to human behavior expert, Wendy Walsh, with that in mind.

Dr. Wendy, you know, we have been seeing what's happening in New Jersey and all over the eastern seaboard. Thousands of people have been forced out of their homes. We've seen the deaths. Most have lost everything. Really, you look at these pictures, how do people deal with this? How do you wrap your mind about something of this magnitude?

DR. WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST & HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: Well, the important thing to remember is not to under estimate the mental health consequences of disasters like this. Even if you're not in it and you're watching it on television frequently, you can have is symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder, so you can actually -- this is much more far reaching than just the people who are stranded where, of course, it can be more serve.

LEMON: And when we say effects, what kind of symptoms are we talking about here? Should some people seek out mental health treatment?

WALSH: Well, in the short term, of course, they will be concerned for their personal safety and the personal safety of their family, which is actually one way to help heal.

But let's talk about the symptoms. They are as widespread as there are people. It could be disturbances in sleeping, eating, irritability, loss of patience, weeping and sadness, even a numbness or disengaged almost like you're watching a movie of everything going on, that you're not really in there experiencing it.

LEMON: You know, we heard some back and forth this week about this -- it is important for leaders and elected officials to visit these areas. Is it really important for them? And you see the people crying and, you know, in their leader's arms. Does that do anything for the victims?

WALSH: Psychologically, I believe it does. Remember, when we're in a stress situation like this, we regress almost into an infantile state with our emotions and feelings. And we all share a kind of fantasy that a mommy or daddy-type figure will come and save us, or a king or a queen, some kind of archetype person who will come and save. So just having the presence of those who, on some level, are kind of caring for us, or at least steering the ship a bit, can console a lot of people.

Another thing I want to mention quickly, Don, is children often recover from a post-traumatic stress situation very quickly and completely if their parents keep cool and stay strong. So it is really important that the parents try not to exhibit their anxiety in front of the kids.

LEMON: All right, Dr. Wendy, thank you very much.

At the top of this broadcast, we talked about, should -- in the hardest-hit areas, should there be some consideration about postponing voting in the hardest hit areas. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie coming out now and saying that e-mail and fax voting will be available to New Jerseyans displaced by Hurricane Sandy.

We're back in a moment here on CNN.

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LEMON: All right. Welcome back to the swing state of Ohio.

A 21st century voter has plenty of tools to make Election Day as easy as possible, and many of them you can find at CNN.com.

CNN's Josh Levs shows me now to show us what to do and where to go.

Josh, what's up first?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Don, we've got some brand new ones. Amazing things that can give you a window into where things stand nationwide.

Let's start off with this. This is what we call "The Road to 270." We're showing you, based on CNN's latest calculations, where things stand in the electoral race. You have the ability to try things out for yourself if Romney gets a certain state, if President Obama gets a certain state.

But this is something brand new here that I want you to see here. You can click on any state in the country and find out how much money each of the candidates have spent there, how many times they've visited there, and how much money they have raised there. For example, you're in Ohio. This shows here how much money President Obama has spent and, in that same, time frame how much money Mitt Romney has spend. Also how much of the spending went to negative ads versus positive ads. Fascinating.

And then what you can do is compare any two states in any category. So take a look here. I was wondering how often the candidates have visited Ohio and how often they visited Colorado. So I typed in those two states and it shows me how many times in this campaign season they visited each. And then you can snapshot each. You can create it, take it and post it on Twitter and Facebook.

Speaking of Facebook, there was a study that found that Facebook and social media in general really can help get people to the polls. So we at CNN have partnered with Facebook to create this, the "I'm Voting" app. It's on my Facebook page right now, joshlevs/CNN. You can go there, click on it. Once you're inside and say that you're voting, you can take part in all sorts of conversations. And you can join the Facebook polls there.

So, Don, a lot of great stuff. I've posted it all online at Twitter and Facebook. I'll tell you, it's unlike anything for any election we've seen.

LEMON: And you can find your ballot before you ever step into line, Josh?

LEVS: Yes. You can see your ballot right now. That's what I'll show you right here. We've actually got it set up so you can see all of the races that you will be asked to vote on. Go to at CNN.com/vit. You type in your address and it will show you all of the things that will be on your ballot. I used, as an example, my hometown of Albany, New York. Showed me all the things they will be asked to vote on there in Albany. It's all there for you. And honestly, that's just the beginning. Check out cnn.com/elections for this and a lot more.

LEMON: All right, Josh, thank you very much.

Josh, we've got to get to Colorado Springs right now. We want to get live right now. Mitt Romney taking the stage in Colorado Springs. There he is speaking. Both men are out in force today, going to all the swing states. They're going to be in every single swing state pretty much until the election, come Tuesday. You can watch this entire event if you want to. You can go to CNN.com. Just log on to CNN.com and you can watch in it in entirety.

We're back from Ohio in just a moment.

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LEMON: We showed you Mitt Romney in Colorado Springs. There's the vice president of the united states campaigning. He is in Pueblo, Colorado. Both men in Pueblo. We have been talking how they fly in and out for these political events, they've been in these swing states so much, sometimes one plane takes off and the other one lands, and they kind of meet up at the airport, so to speak. So there is the vice president campaigning, Pueblo, Colorado. Go to CNN.com, you can watch the whole thing there as well.

Some interesting campaign news to tell you about. Puppeteers and their puppets were on the National Mall for what was billed as the Million Puppet March. It was a lot smaller than that, as you can see. It is in response to comments Mitt Romney made about Big Bird during the first presidential debate. He referred to the "Sesame Street" character when talking about plans to cut public funding for public broadcasting. By the way, the march is not affiliated with PBS, "Sesame Street Workshop," the Hansen Company nor Disney.

President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney get an extra hour to push for votes tonight. If you are going out clubbing tonight, if you want to stay up and watch us late, go ahead and enjoy an extra hour on the dance floor. For less rowdy people, you can savor an extra hour of precious sleep. That's what I'll be doing. Daylight Saving's Time ends at 2:00 a.m. Sunday. Don't forget, turn your clock back one hour. Spring forward, fall back, of course. Benjamin Franklin first came up with the idea back in 1784, and the U.S. formally adopted the policy in 1966.

Isn't this a beautiful shot? Downtown Columbus.

I'd like to thank our host here at the Boat House in Columbus. It's a beautiful place and we thank you for having us.

In the meantime, we'll be back in an hour, by the way. "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer begins right now, the live version.