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Election Day in America; Polling Station Issues; Romney Casts His Ballot; S&P Presidential Predictor

Aired November 06, 2012 - 09:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now continuing coverage on this Election Day as America goes to the polls. That's up next.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: If you think people are not enthusiastic to vote this time around, you would be wrong. Steady, long lines here in Hamilton County, Ohio.

I'm Carol Costello, reporting live.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Suzanne Malveaux at the CNN center in Atlanta. Welcome to this special edition of CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Right now voters at the poll and America at a crossroads. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have been working toward this moment for months.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you can't seem to remember the policies on your own Web site, then you might have Romneysia.

ANNOUNCER: Sparring every step of the way.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: They've been reduced to petty attacks and silly word games.

ANNOUNCER: We're live across the country, covering the candidates and the final appeals to swing state voters.

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We can't afford to wait four more years.

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people are bringing their country back.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN's coverage of Election Day in America, the fight for the presidency. The battle for Congress. And the issues dividing the nation.

OBAMA: I still believe in you. And if you still believe in me, I'm asking for your vote.

ROMNEY: I need to you go out there and find people that will come join our cause.

ANNOUNCER: It's your vote, your future, your country, your choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Today, 90 million Americans will head to the polls. That includes the men on the ballot. Republican nominee Mitt Romney voted just minutes ago in Massachusetts. Vice President Joe Biden did the same early this morning in Delaware. Romney's running mate Paul Ryan votes later this hour in Wisconsin.

You might remember President Obama beat the rush. He cast his ballot just a couple of weeks ago during a stopover in his hometown of Chicago.

Well, this hour, polls are already open across much of the country. Those states are colored green. You see them there. In yellow, you see the seven states where voting is getting under way. That is happening right now.

There's another view of the nation's political landscape. The blue states at least leaning towards Obama. The red states likely in Romney's hands. So the most important states will come in those yellow swing states you see there. In a race that is still too close to call, that is where the election is going to be decided.

We've got CNN crews scattered across the country, bringing you the view from the front lines. The candidates have made their closing arguments. Well, today it is going to be the people who will render the verdict.

So want to begin in Ohio. That is where we find our own Carol Costello back in her home state.

Carol, this is great. We get to share the hour with you here. You're in Blue Ash outside of Cincinnati, yes?

COSTELLO: You know, I love Election Day, Suzanne, especially this Election Day because voters are so enthusiastic. And yes, I'm in Blue Ash, Ohio, in Hamilton County. This is a traditionally Republican county but in 2008 it swung Obama's way.

So Republicans have people on the ground. They had people out on the ground in force for months and months, trying to change that back to the way it normally is. They want a huge Republican outpouring of voters this year. And maybe they're getting it.

We were supposed to talk to the Hamilton County Board of Elections director, Amy Searcy, but she got stuck because, frankly, things are so busy in every polling place in her district. We'll talk to her soon.

But I want to bring in one of the voters today who was particularly enthusiastic about casting her ballot.

Come on in, Sarah. Thank you so much for being on live television with me.

SARAH TARDIO, OHIO VOTER: You're welcome. You're welcome.

COSTELLO: OK. So you were enthusiastic to vote this year. Why?

TARDIO: Absolutely. It's just such a huge election. I mean there -- the candidates have done so much. And this is such a big area for -- they say it's going to change, you know, the vote so --

COSTELLO: Do you feel you could make the final decision on who could be president?

TARDIO: I do. I do. I'm very excited about it.

COSTELLO: Does this election feel different than years past?

TARDIO: I think so. I think. I just -- you know, things have changed in the country and I think everybody just wants it for the best and we're all hoping to make the right decision.

COSTELLO: OK. So you have been bombarded by television ads and --

TARDIO: It's unbelievable.

COSTELLO: How is your psychological health?

(LAUGHTER)

TARDIO: On the border, actually.

COSTELLO: I could see why. You have voted both Democratic and Republican in the past. Was your mind made up eons ago?

TARDIO: You know, it actually was. I think with both candidates, I think they're both great. And -- but I think you have to choose an issue and for that issue I've had that for a long time. So I -- it has been made up for a long time.

COSTELLO: And you said your issue has been the deficit and you also told me that if the candidates had just poured their money, all the money they used to campaign into fixing our debt problem, that would have been good for you.

TARDIO: It really would have. I would have really liked them to see a lot less money spent on this election.

COSTELLO: Sarah, thank you very much.

TARDIO: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: And thank you for talking with us.

TARDIO: Thank you so much.

COSTELLO: I'll let you get back to -- she's a nurse so she has to get back to work. TARDIO: Thank you.

COSTELLO: So, Suzanne, I'll throw it back to you.

MALVEAUX: All right. A lot of people still off to work today. Thanks, Carol.

CNN has the election covered like no other. We've got anchors, reporters, producers in every key battleground state. We're going to take some of the most hotly contested races right now in those states. We're going to be -- with Ashleigh Banfield in Miami.

Hey, Ashleigh.

ASHLEY BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Suzanne. Wow. Are there ever a lot of people in line here. About 200 people. And the people here right in front of the line have been waiting about 2 1/2 hours. There were people here at 4:00 in the morning, if you can believe it, Suzanne. Span over here and you can see how the line snakes even farther. I'm only showing you half of it, Suzanne, Malveaux. So a lot of people showing up.

And this is only one of about 6,000 precincts right across the state of Florida, vying of course for those 19 electoral votes. Right in there it's a little tough to see them. We have to stay 100 feet out. In fact, you know what, Jerry, show that white line. That white string is to show how far away we need to stay if you are from the media or if you are from any campaigns.

You could see all those campaign signs. And look at all the things that they've been sending out to people in line so that they can peruse that. The most important thing, though, Suzanne, this. This is the sample. It's supposed to show everybody in line how much reading they're going to have to do when they get in there.

It is a very long ballot. It takes at least -- between 10 and 20 minutes to actually do your vote.

Good luck, everybody. Enjoy.

So there you go. Two and 1/2 hours and they're already in now.

MALVEAUX: All right. At least they got some time in line to peruse that thing. Thank you.

Want to go to Randi Kaye in Woodbridge, Virginia. Our side of Washington.

Hey, Randi.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Suzanne. Here at this polling place It is about a two-hour wait to get your vote cast in the election here. And here in Prince William County, Suzanne, it is all about the economy, which is actually pretty robust here, 5.2 percent unemployment, some of the lowest in the country. But not everybody here is happy about how things are going. I talked inside with one government worker. And he said that his bonuses have been frozen. He has two daughters in college and that hurts a lot.

Of course here in Virginia we are also watching the marquis Senate race for the country. That is the race between two former governors, Democrat Tim Kaine and Republican George Allen, one of the most expensive races in the country, $53 million spent in outside spending.

And what's interesting, Suzanne, is that the polls close here a little bit early at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. A lot of folks watching this race closely. They say it could be a good indication of how the country is going to go and how this election is going to turn out -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Absolutely. A lot of people watching Virginia.

Want to go to Ed Lavandera, he is live in Lakewood, Colorado near Denver.

Ed, how is it looking out there?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Suzanne. Good morning. Here it's a beautiful day in Colorado. The polls just opened moments ago. You won't see -- it's very different from the lines you showed there in Virginia and in Florida. You're not going to see a whole lot of lines here. That's because people can mail-in their ballots and they take advantage of that process here in the state of Colorado. 1.7 million people have already voted in this state.

We are in Jefferson County, which is a western suburb of Denver. And you will hear a lot about this county tonight as the returns start coming in. This is the battleground within the battleground of Colorado. In this county you have equal parts Republican, Democrat and independent swing voters. And that's what the Romney and Obama campaigns will be looking at very closely when these returns start coming in.

They want to look at the way that these independent swing voters -- which side they break here. And we'll get a pretty good indication that within just minutes after the polls close here in Colorado at 7:00 Mountain Time, 9:00 Eastern, because so many people here have voted early we'll get a pretty good indication of which way these swing counties are going -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. We'll be watching closely.

Alina Cho. She's in Brooklyn outside a polling center there.

Hey, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Suzanne, good morning to you. In fact I'm at the only school is in New York that is doubling as an emergency shelter and a polling station today. The polls have been open here in New York for about three hours and I can tell you inside the building behind me, the line is just snaking around the building. Hundreds of people have already cast their ballot. I spoke to one woman who said that she is voting for the first time. She came with her mother today. And I spoke to another woman who, interestingly enough said that she came to vote early because later on today she will be volunteering in the Rockaways, which is one of the most hardest hit areas after Hurricane Sandy.

Now late yesterday in what was really an extraordinary move, New York's governor, Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order that essentially said if you are one of those people who lives in a federal disaster zone here in New York, you can vote not just in your district, but in any district in New York.

That is significant and unprecedented. The governor said just because you are displaced, Suzanne, you should not be disenfranchised -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Extraordinary measures that they're making to make sure that those folks get a chance to vote.

I want to go to David Mattingly. He's in Bedford in New Hampshire, just outside Manchester.

Hey, David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Suzanne. We're watching two things today. First of all voter turnout. State officials are predicting a very high turnout, possibly 70 percent of the voting age population today. So that could be possibly huge going forward to 7:00 when the polls close.

Also we're watching that small number, that very small number of undecided voters and how they might choose to vote today. The way they swing could swing this perennial swing state in someone's favor. But again it's going to come down to very few votes. We got a very small taste of that just after midnight this morning in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire.

What we saw there was history in the making. All 10 voters in that town voted, they came out a 5-5 tie. Five for President Obama and five for Governor Romney. Possibly a taste of things to come as it's going to be very close here. Both sides predicting it could come down to just a couple of thousand votes -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right. Thank you, David.

We're getting new video now. Just want to bring this to you. This is Mitt Romney. He just voted. This is in Belmont, Massachusetts. You see it -- he and his wife, Ann, there, as they go forward and present what we assume is their I.D. although I'm pretty sure they all know who they are. But obviously going through the process of voting early this morning.

He is actually not going to be done after this event. He's going to be doing some last-minute stops, still a little bit of campaigning today. He's going to head to Ohio and Pennsylvania after he votes. He wants to try to lock those up. And so he's not taking any chances today.

But you can see, there he is with his wife, Ann. And they will be casting their ballots. Happened just moments ago. Paul Ryan, the VP pick, he is going to be voting soon in Janesville, Wisconsin, his hometown.

And we're going to be seeing pictures of that soon as well. But the handshakes to the presidential candidate there, Republican presidential candidate as well as his wife, both of them working very hard. And it has been a grueling campaign. They both look surprisingly refreshed for such an event. But there they are, smiling. They seem quite pleased.

We're going to have more of this continuous coverage as Americans go to vote. Up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The White House isn't the only branch of government up for grabs. So is congressional control.

I want to start with the Senate. Right now, Republicans have 47 seats, Democrats 51 and two independents. Thirty-three seats are up for grabs tonight. Democrats are defending 23 seats, Republicans, 10. In order for Republicans to gain control of the Senate, they need to keep those 10 seats and win four more.

All 435 seats in the House are up for re-election. Right now, Republicans have control with a 242 majority. Democrats would node to retain their current 193 seats and add 25 to gain control but that is not likely to happen.

Want to check back in with Carol. She is live near Cincinnati this morning.

Hey, Carol.

COSTELLO: Hi. I'm at a polling station.

As you can see, the action has died down just a little bit. But this morning around 6:30 Eastern Time when the polls opened, Suzanne, there were literally hundreds of people in line. People are energized this morning.

But, of course, the polls won't get busy again until people have left work around 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Franklin Graham, one of the best known evangelical leaders in the country, is well aware of that. He has a message for voters. He says he's warning against the re-election of Barack Obama.

In fact, on Billy Graham's Web site he writes this, this morning, "This is a crucial hour for our nation. This could be America's last call to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, God's only son, who is coming again one day very soon to save his own and to judge those who don't know and worship him."

Franklin Graham joins us now. Welcome.

FRANKLIN GRAHAM, CEO, BILLY GRAHAM EVANGELICALISTIC ASSOCIATION: Thank you. Good to be with you.

COSTELLO: It's nice to have you with us today. What you wrote on your Web site, that's pretty tough.

GRAHAM: Well, you know, we do have a very important election this term. And there are moral issues.

The president is the one who said that he supports same-sex marriage. God gave marriage, Carol, to men and to women. God made us male and female. And for us to say that marriage is something else is going against God.

So, this is a moral issue. And I believe that there will be millions of Christians who will go to the polls and vote today. And I hope that they do, because if we're allowed to go down this road and the path that the president is wanting us to go down, I think it will be to our peril and the destruction of this nation.

The marriage, the family is the cornerstone of this nation. And we just cannot turn our back on God's definition of marriage. It's a big, big issue. I'm not sure that Democrats understand that.

COSTELLO: It wasn't so long ago that you viewed Mormonism as a cult. It was on Billy Graham's Web site. Was it that issue that changed your mind about Mormonism or did that -- when exactly did that happen?

GRAHAM: Well, listen, Carol, we've got 10,000 pages on our Web site. And we had some examples of what a cult were. I didn't know they were there. And when I found out we were calling people names, I told them to take it off.

How can I, as an evangelist win anybody to Christ if I'm calling them names? I'm not going to call anybody a name.

There's a big difference between what the Mormons believe, between what Catholics and Protestants believe. But if we go around calling people names just because they believe differently, we're making a big mistake.

So I took that off the website. We're not going to be calling people names. I want people to know that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him, Carol, should not perish but be given everlasting life. Jesus Christ came to this Earth on a rescue mission. And that was to take our sins. He died on the cross for our sins. He was buried, but God raised him to life. Your heart, my heart or anybody's heart if you invite him.

COSTELLO: I do want to ask you one more question. Your father, Billy Graham, was known as America's pastor. He recently met with Mitt Romney, which is unusual for him. Usually he doesn't take sides in presidential elections.

Like what's changed? What happened to the separation of church and state? What happened to America's pastor?

GRAHAM: What happened was the Democratic Convention here in Charlotte, North Carolina, when the Democrats voted to take God off the platform and then try to vote him back into the platform and they didn't want him.

My father is a registered Democrat, been a Democrat all of his life. But I can tell you, he is so disturbed as where we're going morally in this country. He turns 94 tomorrow. Tomorrow is his birthday.

And he is just watching this election with a lot of concern, a lot of interest. He believes we're going the wrong direction morally and he felt that as a pastor, the pastor, he has to speak out and warn people as to God's judgment that's coming.

COSTELLO: Franklin Graham, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

GRAHAM: Thank you. And God bless you. And God bless America.

COSTELLO: Thank you very much.

Mitt Romney, he has decided to campaign today on Election Day. He's going to come to the state of Ohio.

President Obama, he's not campaigning anywhere today. He is just waiting for the results. We'll ask one of the president's men about that decision when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Do I need to tell you how important the state of Ohio is to this election? People here certainly know that I'm in Hamilton County, Ohio, in Blue Ash, Ohio, near Cincinnati to be exact -- a polling station, steady stream of voters all morning long. In fact, the board of elections director here at Hamilton County is shooting for a 73 percent turnout. We're going to talk to her in just a bit.

But, first, we'd like to bring in an Obama supporter, Bill Burton, to talk with us.

Bill, welcome. Are you there?

BILL BURTON, OBAMA 2008 CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN: Hi, Carol. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good. Thank you so much for talking with us this morning.

We hear that Mitt Romney is going to make one more tour of Ohio. What do you make of that?

BURTON: Well, for starters, I think it's a mistake. You have these finely tuned turnout machines that you need every single one of your people working on to make sure your getting people out toll polls. Instead, he's pulling people into this rally and diverting staff resources. So, I think it's kind of a mistake, but I think it's also indicative of the fact that he's behind in Ohio and he's probably going to lose that state and lose the election today. COSTELLO: Well, of course, he doesn't think so. Maybe he thinks he can gain ground by campaigning one last day in the state of Ohio. It could be very, very close here. In fact, the voters I've talked to in Hamilton County think it could be a tie.

BURTON: I think there's no doubt it's going to be close. And if Democrats don't show up, the president is not going to do as well as he needs to.

But I don't think that you campaign on Election Day and take resources away from the single most important thing that you get your staff to do, which is help turn out the vote. Elections are about people voting and people are showing up at rallies is not voting.

COSTELLO: You did hear what happened in Dixville Notch, the traditional first voting place in the nation and the candidates tied five for Mitt Romney, five for Barack Obama. Of course, in 2008 Barack Obama won.

A bad sign of things to come?

BURTON: I'm demanding a recount. We've already sent a team of lawyers to Dixville Notch and are working hard to make sure every vote counts.

No, I'm not worried. I think the president is going to win in New Hampshire. I think he's going to get a solid electoral victory tonight and a popular vote victory.

I think Mitt Romney had a lot of trouble appealing to middle class voters through this whole election. At the end of the day, middle class voters aren't going to choose Mitt Romney over President Obama.

COSTELLO: Of course, as you know, there's been a lot of controversy over provisional balloting here in the state of Ohio. How worried are Democrats about them?

BURTON: Well, you know, both campaigns put a lot of resources into making sure that, you know, all the laws are upheld. I know Bob Bauer over at the campaign is probably doing everything he can with his team of lawyers to make sure that everybody who votes has a vote that's counted.

You know, America runs elections every year right around this time. And I think that this one is going to go just fine, provisional ballots or not.

COSTELLO: Well, I have one here in my hand, Bill Burton. Thank you so much for talking with us this morning.

We're going to talk more about provisional balloting with the Hamilton County board of elections director. She joins us right after this break. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: As you well know, I'm in Hamilton County, in Blue Ash. Oh, hi, Suzanne. I didn't mean to ignore you.

MALVEAUX: Hi, Carol.

I'm at the CNN Center in Atlanta. I want to welcome back to our special edition of CNN NEWSROOM.

Today, 90 million Americans are going to head to the polls, and what that include also the men on the ballot. We saw Republican nominee Mitt Romney voted just moments ago in Massachusetts. Vice President Joe Biden did the same earlier this morning in Delaware. Now Romney's running mate, Paul Ryan, he votes in a few minutes from now in Wisconsin.

You might remember, President Obama actually beat the rush. He cast his ballot a couple of weeks ago at a stop over in his hometown of Chicago.

Now, this hour, the polls, they are already open across much of the country, the states that are colored green, OK? Now, in yellow, the seven states where voting is getting under way right now.

There's another view of the nation's political landscape right here. The blue states at least leaning toward Obama. You got the red states likely in Romney's hands.

So, the most important votes is going to come from those yellow swing states. You see them there. This is a race that is too close to call. That is where the election is going to be decided.

This is a live look at one of the polling places. This is Bedford, New Hampshire. We're taking a look at this here. Four electoral votes up for grabs. The race there is also too close to call that you can see. People waiting patiently as they go to vote.

The all-important vote, every vote counts. Can't stress it enough.

I want to go back to you, Carol, in your home state there. I know you're manning the polling stations. How is it looking?

COSTELLO: It's looking busy once again. So maybe -- I don't know. People couldn't be on their lunch break just yet. The line suddenly got long. I am in Blue Ash, Ohio, Hamilton County. That's the southwestern part of the state.

I do have the Hamilton County board of elections director Amy Searcy with me.

And you are expecting huge turnout today. So, give us your prediction.

AMY SEARCY, SUPERVISOR, HAMILTON CO. BOARD OF ELECTIONS: Well, actually, we have 70 percent turnout in 2008. When I saw how many people were interested in getting an absentee ballot, and it was even more than in 2008, I realized that this was going to be a big turnout.

And then when I saw what the nice weather was going to be today, it confirmed it. And now, we've been hearing reports from one end of the county to the other, it's heavy turnout. People are out voting. It's a good day to vote in Hamilton County.

COSTELLO: So you were shooting for like 73 percent turnout.

SEARCY: I kind of am because I'm a glass is half full kind of gal.

COSTELLO: You are.

SEARCY: I'm still hoping for up to 73 percent. Again, I'm just happy with when I'm seeing here. And voters are coming out. They're voting, being processed properly and so far at this point, all is well.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about the process, because I talked to the precinct captain here. He says he feels there's added pressure this year to do everything exactly right.

Do you hear that from other precinct captains?

SEARCY: Actually, when I'm hearing from our presiding judges and our deputy judges is that they feel that they have been trained better this time than they ever have been before. Every year, we tweak our poll worker training a little bit more. We learn from the year before. We have spent quite a bit of time this past year improving our poll worker training, making it more efficient.

And we really believe these poll workers are well trained and prepared to process these voters today.

COSTELLO: Before I let you go, we have to talk about provisional ballots. There's a problem in your registration, if you changed your address and didn't record it, many things could make you possibly ineligible to vote. So you file this provisional ballot and those are counted later.

A lot of Democrats are afraid of this because this year instead of a poll worker filling out the information -- or at least some of it, the voter has to fill it out. And the fear is that the voter will make a mistake in filling this provisional ballot ought out and it will be thrown out.

SEARCY: Well, the ballot is not provisional. The ballot is the regular ballot. It's just the envelope it's put in.

And the reality is the idea of the provisional ballot envelope is that it allows many different voters who otherwise their votes haven't been counted in past to be counted as long as they're at the correct precinct and they fill out the rather simple questions that are here in this envelope questionnaire, highlighted.

COSTELLO: You say simple questions but sometimes people get overwhelmed and confused on Election Day. And that's why some Democrats say it's better that the poll worker fills it out, because they're sure to put the right information down. SEARCY: The information has a lot to do with -- it's the voter's information, their name. Right here, everything there that the voter -- information, their ID information. So, again, the poll workers have been trained in how to process voters. Voters have time. We have privacy booths in order to fill out whether it'd be their ballot, their provisional ballot envelope.

COSTELLO: Yes, ask, ask, ask questions, right?

SEARCY: Always ask questions.

COSTELLO: Amy Searcy, thank you.

SEARCY: Thank you so much.

COSTELLO: We'll take a quick break. We'll be back with much more from Hamilton County and beyond.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning, everyone. I'm Carol Costello, reporting live to you from Hamilton County, Ohio.

And you can see people voting in droves here, and that's a good thing. That's what America does, what America should do.

Hamilton County is really important, because in 2008, it swung Obama's way. This year, Republicans would like to change that and make it swing back to Romney's way, back to the Republican way, the way it's traditionally always been.

Interestingly enough, Mitt Romney chose to campaign one last day on Election Day in Ohio. But he's not campaigning here in Republican country. He's campaigning in Cleveland, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County, which is traditionally Democratic country.

So, let's talk about that. Hilary Rosen, CNN contributor, along with Erick Erickson, another CNN contributor, joins us now.

Welcome, Hilary and Erick.

HILARY ROSEN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Carol.

You're exactly right, which is that, you know, for Mitt Romney to win Ohio, he needs to win more than the Republican districts. He needs to keep down President Obama's lead in Cuyahoga County. I don't think that's going to be possible, but that's true.

I don't -- I would be curious to know Erick's view of this. I thought Bill Burton made a very important point when he said that the Romney campaign is really risking a lot of actual tactical and strategic momentum today in Ohio by forcing the campaign to divert its resources to do events instead of getting out the vote.

COSTELLO: Erick? ERICK ERICKSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, I think the way they're actually structuring it, it's not that bad. They're doing small events with the poll reporters, they're not going to be huge events. They're going to be at airports, trying to get local media than they are actually people out from the polls. And instead where the president may do some satellite hits, may do some radio, Romney going in person, forcing the local media.

Look, they're going to Cuyahoga not because of Cuyahoga per se but because of the surrounding suburban counties and they can also get some reach over into the western Pennsylvania market. So, they're trying what they can. I suspect their poll is showing what all the other polls are showing, that it's really, really close.

And everyone at this point seems to be flying blind as to what is actually happening on the ground.

COSTELLO: And, Hilary, maybe Erick has a point because -- I am going to be at ground zero tonight.

A lot of voters I must say, Erick, that, you know, I talked with today, they were disturbed that Mitt Romney was in Cuyahoga County and not here in Hamilton County, because this is a Republican county. Most voters I talked to were Republican. They really want Mitt Romney here, Hilary.

ROSEN: Look, I think that if they don't have an operation now, by today to get out their solid Republican votes in Hamilton County, he doesn't have a chance to win. So while it's always nice to see the candidate, really what folks who want him to win need to be focused on is turning out the vote.

That's why I think you see such enthusiasm from the Obama team, which has really targeted early voting and feel quite confident that Romney actually has to make up not just win 51 percent of the vote in Ohio today, 50.9 but actually 52 to 53 percent of the vote in Ohio today because of the early voting. That's a -- that's a big hurdle.

COSTELLO: Well, I must say, Erick, I just talked to the Hamilton County board of elections director. She said turnout in Ohio was spectacular so far. Help Romney?

ERICKSON: Yes, you know, I think in areas like Hamilton, look, Romney doesn't necessarily need to go where the Republicans are, he needs to go where the undecideds are. There are probably more undecideds up in the Cuyahoga area than in the Hamilton area.

By the way, before I forget, happy birthday to my dad today, suffering through this Election Day for his birthday. You know, if folks turn out in Ohio for Romney, like they think it's going to be huge turnout, then maybe my dad will have a good birthday present coming out of Ohio.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: Maybe so. Erick Erickson and Hilary Rosen, thank you so much for a fascinating conversation.

ROSEN: All right. Have a good day, Carol.

COSTELLO: We'll be right back after this. I will.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Reaching out to voters across the country to report any problems you witness, as you go to the polls today.

Ali Velshi, he is taking the tweets and the e-mails.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Carol, as voting has begun, we are getting a lot of reports of issues at polling booths. They fall into a couple of different categories. First of all Florida is sort of the poster child for the long line up. It's been that way with the eight days of advance polling and it is that way today. We've got pictures from Miami-Dade.

Usually you're going to see these problems in the -- in the three populous counties in the -- in the south of Florida where there are long line-ups, and that's causing some people who have to go to work to back away from the line. The vote ballot itself is very long in Florida. So perseverance is the key in Florida.

Then we've got problems with the Ohio provisional ballots. That is going to be litigated this morning in court. Whether or not the state -- the Secretary of State, who imposed a second form that voters have to fill out if they're using provisional ballots is legal.

That of course, may not affect things today. Because provisional ballots are not counted until ten days after the election. But if it's close in Ohio and Ohio is the deciding state that could delay the results of the election.

We're also getting scattered reports of voting machine issues in Indiana, Virginia, New Jersey and New York. There are a sense that most of these got be worked out but again, people who went before work to vote, have had to go to work. Hopefully they will come back later and vote.

We've also got reports of very, very busy polling places in Virginia and New York and New Jersey. Issues in New Jersey with the electronic voting, the fax or e-mail voting. Some people are not able to get the e-mail in or are not getting approved. It takes about an hour. We've talked to some officials there, to get it approved. If you are voting electronically, you have to do it by 5:00 p.m. today.

And we are checking on reports that some members of the military will not get their ballots on time to be able to submit them. They may be able to submit them but they won't be counted in the initial count.

So a lot of issues, they're going to matter more in the close races in Florida, in Virginia, in Pennsylvania and in Ohio. And in other places we have some reports out of Pennsylvania as well with some problems. We'll be following up on it throughout the course of the day.

People want to send us information, please, send us information about what you are seeing not articles from other places. Tweet me @AliVelshi. Put hash tag VoteWatch in --CNNvotewatch into your tweets, CNNVoteWatch or votewatch@CNN.com, you can you e-mail us -- Carol.

MALVEAUX: Ali, all four candidates from both campaigns have now voted. We are just getting in new video here. Just moments ago Paul Ryan casting his ballot in Janesville, Wisconsin. Later today he's actually going to head to Ohio and Virginia for some campaign stops. But you see him shaking some hands there, looking very comfortable, looking very relaxed. And rather encouraged.

We're actually being told these are live pictures that we're looking at here. And it looks like he's got his kids with him as well. And that he is actually in the process of casting his ballot here. And it looks like he's actually showing his kids how it's done.

And it was -- it was something that President Obama did as well when he was voting back in 2008, showing his kids how to vote because it was such an historic occasion.

Paul Ryan showing his children how he's actually handling it.

Mitt Romney's voted but he is actually not done campaigning just yet. We're going to talk to one of his senior advisers about decision day in America as voters choose the next president.

Up next.

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COSTELLO: Welcome back. I'm Carol Costello in Hamilton County, Ohio -- Blue Ash, to be specific. It's a suburb of Cincinnati.

And as you can see behind me, people are busy voting. It's been a steady stream of voters all day long. In fact the Hamilton County Board of Elections director she's shooting for a 73 percent turnout and she just may get it if this was any indication.

I want to welcome now U.S. Senator, former U.S. Senator Jim Talent, he's a Romney supporter. He's joining us live from Boston, Massachusetts. Good morning, Senator.

JIM TALENT, SENIOR ROMNEY ADVISER: Good morning to you, Carol.

COSTELLO: Well I hope you could -- good morning. Are you feeling confident?

TALENT: Yes, it's hard not to. I mean, I've been campaigning for Governor Romney in Iowa, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and our group was speaking to packed crowds. His crowds have been so great. And you can tell people want hope for a real recovery and really addressing the nation's problems and I think they see that in Governor Romney.

So you know we know it's close, but it's hard not to be optimistic.

COSTELLO: Well, in Dixville Notch it tied -- five for Romney, five for Obama. What does that say to you -- anything?

TALENT: Well, if voting ends today, I guess it will go to the House of Representatives then, won't it? Yes I mean, look, it's a sample. And we know this is going to be close.

We think we have some momentum. Governor Romney is -- is the guy with the plan to create a real recovery and the alternative is going on the way we are now, and so we think that that will create a momentum that will produce a favorable result.

COSTELLO: Ok. So Democrats are saying since Governor Romney has decided to campaign on the last day and he's decided to campaign in Ohio in Democratic-rich Cuyahoga County -- that means Mr. Romney feels he's in trouble. Why did Mr. Romney decide to campaign on the day of the election?

TALENT: Well actually, I think that's pretty normal. I mean I used to. You know you campaign right up to the end because you want to ask the voters -- as many voters as you can for their support. And he's enthusiastic. He's feeding off these crowds, so to me that's normal, campaigning on Election Day.

I'm a little surprised the President isn't, but, you know, that's his choice.

COSTELLO: Well, in fairness I do think Barack Obama is doing satellite interviews and he's going maybe to some campaign offices and thanking the volunteers and things like that, but he's not out physically, actively campaigning like Governor Romney.

You know, Hilary Rosen, I just talked to her, she said this really means that Mr. Romney thinks he's in trouble and that he cannot win the state of Ohio. That there's just no way -- he's delusional if he thinks he can win.

TALENT: Well, we'll find out who is delusional tonight. I mean, I know the crowds he's been speaking to. I was with him last Friday night, 35,000 people outside Cincinnati. We feel pretty good about this. Intensity level is high, we're winning Independents, but again, you know the good news is that today we're going to get the poll that really matters and we'll see what the American people think and whether they want a change from what we've had the last four years.

COSTELLO: Senator Talent, thank you so much for being with us this morning. I know you must be exhausted, too. We sure appreciate it. Senator Talent live from Boston, Massachusetts.

Quite a long delay for some reason. We apologize for that, but, of course, he had such interesting things to say, we'll take it.

We'll be back with much more, including how the stock market could decide the election. Alison Kosik will explain.

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COSTELLO: Ever hear of the S&P predictor? Well, Alison Kosik has. She's at the New York Stock Exchange to tell us how the S&P predictor has already chosen the winner of 2012.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they have. So there's this one forecasting model that says President Obama will win. This is from Sam Stovall from Standard & Poor's presidential predictor. And you know what; this predictor actually has gotten it right 82 percent of the time.

What this forecast wound up doing is looking at elections going all the way back to 1900. What it found is if the S&P 500 rises in the three months before the election, meaning August, September, and October, then the incumbent wins. If the S&P 500 falls, then the challenger wins. The basic thinking behind this is that if the market is doing well, the economy is probably doing well also. So the thinking is keep the same leader.

If all that stuff isn't doing well, the thinking is, all right, time to give them the boot. But in August, September, and October the S&P 500 rose 2.4 percent so the thinking is Obama would win, but this time it may not be a slam dunk because the gain, the 2.4 percent, it's not a huge gain. So usually when the incumbent wins, the market is up more than 6 percent. Clearly that's not the case this time. The market is up only 2.4 percent during those three months and it was actually down in October. Who knows, this could be a tossup. We may throw the model to the wind -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Maybe so. Alison, thanks so much. I'M CAROL COSTELLO reporting live in Hamilton County.

Suzanne Malveaux continues our special election coverage.