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Presidential Candidates and Surrogates Campaign in Battleground States; Hillary Clinton Speaks at Rally in Florida; Political Effect of FBI Investigation into Hillary Clinton's Emails Assessed; Presidential Candidates' Positions on Important Issues to Voters Examined. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired November 05, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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


[14:00:00] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: -- Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both want to end up in this place right behind me, the White House. They are making their last ditch efforts today, firing up voters and getting them to the polls. Both candidates holding events this afternoon, Clinton just wrapping up a rally at Pembroke Pines, Florida. Meanwhile, Trump holding his second rally of the day in battleground state of North Carolina where he continues to speak right now. And he was introduced by his wife, Melania.

Trump's travel schedule is packed in these final hours with the Republican nominee crisscrossing the country to get out the vote. Clinton and her top surrogates are on the ground in several battleground states as well including a big rally with pop star Katy Perry later on this evening in Philadelphia.

And this as the latest CNN poll of polls shows Clinton maintaining a five-point lead over Trump.

We have got reporters all over the place. They are following the candidates on the trail. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty and Jeff Zeleny are both with me now. So Jeff, let's begin with you. Clinton just wrapping up a rally in Florida despite the rain. It was a full house, so to speak, but her voice, she was holding on to it as best she could.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Fredricka. There is one way to keep a politician's speech short, and that is Mother Nature. This is one of the shortest speeches I have heard a presidential candidate give, Hillary Clinton in particular. She spoke for about six minutes here, but really she stood for about six minutes, but really she was rallying the faithful here in south Florida, in Broward County, a key Democratic area in Florida. Fredricka, it is the third time she has visited this county in the last week. It goes to show they are trying to get out this early vote. You can vote until tomorrow evening at 7:00 p.m. here in Florida. That was largely her message. But it sounded to me like she still had that concert in Cleveland last night on her mind with Beyonce and Jay-Z.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Just in case you didn't notice, last night, I've got to say, I was with Jay-Z and Beyonce.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: They were amazing. My personal favorite part was Beyonce had her backup singers and dancers in pantsuits.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: But what was really touching to me is both of them talked about what this election means for their daughter and for all of our daughters and our sons, every single child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: So Fredricka, you may ask what all these star-studded events and rock concerts have to do with turning people out to the polls. And this is what the Clinton campaign is doing. Their most important work is happening behind the scenes here, not at these rallies, but every person that attends a concert, if it's the one last night in Cleveland or it's Jon Bon Jove who was in Florida this evening, they are collecting information. Someone's e-mail address, their text, they are texting them to get out to vote. So it is an organizing effort, an organizing tool to try and drum up enthusiasm.

And as we get -- head towards Election Day with three days left here, that is what is going to make up the difference, the campaign machinery behind the scenes here of getting out the vote. It is one of the reasons the Clinton campaign is confident despite this last- minute surge from Donald Trump. But it is all about turnout, of course. And they are counting on all the people who have come to see her or one of these stars turning out on Tuesday or perhaps in one of these early voting states before then. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And Jeff, when Hillary Clinton was appearing there, that was kind of one of her shorter stump speeches. You made reference to her voice being raspy. That may be one reason why the speech was so short. Was that the case? Or did she have more planned or is she falling under the weather? Is she feeling all right?

ZELENY: It was the rainstorm that shortened her speech. No question about that. It was really raining pretty hard. You can see the stage behind me. She was under a roof, Fredricka, but her supporters out here were not. They were getting drenched. So that's why she kept her speech short. I think we have some sound here. We can take a listen to what her message was to the few hearty souls who stuck it out. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I have spent my career fighting for kids and families, and if you elect me that's what I'll keep doing.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: Now, my friends, you are a hearty bunch to stand out here in the rain. I don't think I need to tell you all of the wrong things about Donald Trump. But here is what I want you to remember. I want to be the president for everybody, everybody who agrees with me, people who don't agree with me, people who vote for me, people who don't vote for me.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: So let's get out. Let's vote for the future. Let's vote for what we want for our country and our children and our grandchildren. God bless you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:05:05] ZELENY: So that was a bit of a closing argument there, an abbreviated version, perhaps, of the Clinton campaign. But you get the point what she is trying to do here, really trying to pivot in these final hours away from simply drawing contrast with her rival, to the future, what people should vote for. But Fredricka, I can tell you if anyone has not voted and they have encountered some of these campaign volunteers, they are going to get door knocks, they are going to get a phone call. The campaigns are now in aggressive overdrive turnout mode here. That of course will answer the ultimate question here Tuesday night, who gets their people to the polls here. So many people inside the Clinton organization worked for President Obama who was successful both times in '08 and '12 in the state of Florida. But few states are as close as this, 29 electoral votes here on the line on Tuesday. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Jeff, powering through there in a rainy Pembroke Pines. Jeff, thanks so much, Jeff zeleny, appreciate that.

Meantime, Donald Trump in the battleground state of North Carolina, he is holding the second of four rallies today that will see him crisscross the country. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is in Wilmington, North Carolina, where Trump he is campaigning at this hour. What's happening there, Sunlen?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, the state of North Carolina is essentially a must-win for Donald Trump. We are really seeing nearly the full contingent of the Trump campaign in the state in the final days. Of course you have Donald Trump today who just started speaking behind me. Mike Pence will be here tomorrow. Trump will return on Monday for a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina.

And the Trump campaign calling up some reserves as well today. A late add of Melania Trump to the schedule. She just introduced her husband a few minutes in a role that we typically do not see her play on the campaign trail. Here is Melania Trump a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIA TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S HUSBAND: I have known this man, Donald Trump, for 18 years. Donald is a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. He is strong. He is determined, bold, and decisive. He is also compassionate, thoughtful, giving, and loving. Donald cares.

(APPLAUSE) (END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: So a nice moment there for the Trumps.

This is the second of four campaign rallies Trump will have over four battleground states today. He is off to Nevada and Colorado after this. Today, here in North Carolina, this is the last day of in- person early voting. So certainly, the Trump campaign trying to make a big push and make sure the people who are here at this rally actually go and actually translate their support here to a vote in the polls. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much in Wilmington, North Carolina.

All right, so now let's take a look at how this is race is shaping up comparing to the 2012 election. CNN chief national correspondent and anchor of "INSIDE POLITICS" John King.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We are into the final weekend. Hillary Clinton at 268, Donald Trump at 204 in the electoral votes. The gold states are the tossup. Donald Trump is in the hunt. Advantage, Hillary Clinton.

Let's ask this question. How does she look compared to President Obama four years ago? Is she in the position the press was in when he won a big victory back in 2012?

Well, let's look at some ways to judge. First way to judge is the nationals polls. Heading into the final weekend, Hillary Clinton is up four points in our CNN average, our poll of polls, averaging the most recent national polls, Clinton, plus four. That's much better than where the president was four years ago. A lot of people forget this because of the outcome, the finish on Tuesday, but heading into the final weekend, this race was a dead heat, 47 percent to 47 percent. That's the national perspective.

But we pick presidents by state. So let's go back to the map and think about the key battleground states. You compare Obama then and Clinton now. Let's look at the states. In states where Clinton is running just about even with where the president was four years ago, they include Nevada and Arizona, they include these important blue Midwestern battlegrounds of Wisconsin and Michigan, and they include one of our toss-up states, New Hampshire.

The gold states are tossups heading into this final weekend. President Obama won one, two, three, and Nevada, four of these states. Hillary Clinton in the same position the president was heading into the final weekend. She thinks she can win all four of these two. We'll see what Tuesday brings. But she heads into the weekend about even with four years ago.

These are the states Clinton has to worry about. She is underperforming President Obama significant in big battleground Ohio and a small but important Midwest state Iowa. We lean these to Donald Trump because he is running much better than Mitt Romney did four years ago. He has a lead heading into the final weekend. Clinton is underperforming Obama in those two states and just by a bit in Pennsylvania. She still has a lead in Pennsylvania. It is not quite as big as President Obama's was heading into the final weekend four years ago.

But even though she is underperforming in those, she is over- performing, she is stronger than the president was heading into the final weekend in Colorado by a little bit, in Virginia, by a bit, and significantly in North Carolina and Florida.

[14:10:00] This is very important. President Obama trailed in North Carolina ion 2012 heading into the final weekend. He trailed in Florida by a bit heading into the final weekend. He ended up winning Florida by a tiny margin, the closest race in the country. He lost North Carolina. But again, he was trailing heading into the final weekend in one of those two. She is ahead in both of them. And that's a big deal as we go back and look at the map and say, how does Clinton get to the finish line, how does she compare to the president four years ago? She thinks she is going to hold these blues up here. She hopes to turn Ohio. Let's see what happens. We still lean that one in favor of Trump. There are some talk from Democrats they could pull back in Iowa. We're going to leave that one leaning Donald Trump. We'll see what she does on Tuesday.

But significantly, they believe especially because of early voting they can win out in Nevada. Most Republicans in Nevada are starting to think that too. That would get Clinton over the finish line. That's enough. But they also think, again, because she is in a better position than the president was four years ago, they think she can possibly win both of these. And they still think even though this one has become very close at the end and Trump is closing here, they think they can win there.

If that were to happen, if Clinton could win Florida and win North Carolina and add New Hampshire, that puts her in the ballpark of where the president was four years ago. Is that guaranteed? Absolutely not. Donald Trump is fighting in those states to the end. But if you are asking the question, how does she look now compared to the president then? Especially because of these two states she enters the weekend in a contested race with Donald Trump, but confident the outcome will look a little bit just like it did in 2012.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, John King.

Coming up, top Democratic lawmakers calling for an investigation after allegations of FBI leaks coming from Trump adviser, Rudy Giuliani. The former assistant director of the FBI weighing in, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in the nation's capital. So Donald Trump's adviser, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, is changing his story on whether he got leaked information from the FBI.

[14:15:03] You'll remember last Friday FBI Director James Comey announced agents were reviewing e-mails that might be tied to Hillary Clinton's private server. Here is what Giuliani said two days before the announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, (R) FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: I think he has a surprise or two that you are going to hear about in the next few days. I mean, I'm talking about some pretty big surprises.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard you say that this morning. What do you mean?

GIULIANI: You will see.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So naturally people wanted to know if Giuliani had been given a heads up. Listen to what he said in two separate interviews afterwards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you had a general idea something was coming.

GIULIANI: I had expected this honestly for the last, honestly, to tell you the truth, I thought it was going to be about three or four weeks ago.

I did nothing to get it out. I had no role in it. Did I hear about it? You are darn right I heard about it.

The other rumors that I get is there is a kind of revolution going on inside the FBI about the original conclusion being completely unjustified and almost a slap in the face of the FBI's integrity. And I know that from former agents. I know that from a few active agents who obviously don't want to identify themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Now, however, Giuliani denies what you heard there. Here is what he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Did you know, Mr. Mayor that, Comey was about to make this announcement?

GIULIANI: I did not.

BLITZER: Write to Congress about this review, because in the interview this morning on "FOX AND FRIENDS" you seemed to say, did I hear about it? You're darned right I heard about it. What were you referring to? GIULIANI: I was referring to the consternation within the FBI that "The New York Times" has reported on and "The Wall Street Journal" has reported on. That's what I was referring to.

BLITZER: We listened to the audio and you were talking about current FBI agents, at least in that radio interview with Lars Larson.

GIULIANI: The information I have been getting is from former FBI agents.

BLITZER: So you misspoke?

GIULIANI: If I did say that, that was wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk it over with my panel. With me now Rebecca Berg, CNN political analyst and national political reporter for Real Clear Politics, Tim Naftali, a CNN presidential historian, Maeve Reston, CNN national political reporter, and Tom Fuentes, CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former assistant director of the FBI. Good to see all of you.

So Tom, let me begin with you. If Giuliani is receiving information from former FBI or current FBI officials, how serious would that be?

TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Well, it would be serious, but as he mentioned, and I thought when he first made the announcement that he heard from former people that it really wasn't true in the first place. I think that's proven now because he's taken it back that he didn't hear anything about the email case being reopened.

I would like to add, I've been to two major police and FBI conventions in the last three months. And the day before Comey's letter to congress, I was at a retired FBI agent's luncheon where senior former and present executives of the FBI were at this luncheon. I hung around and hour after the luncheon and we chatted. Not one word that the FBI had Weiner's computer, that they were studying it or that Comey was going to send a letter.

WHITFIELD: Meaning that underscores --

FUENTES: Everyone in that room at the FBI and senior management know I am CNN's senior law enforcement analyst.

WHITFIELD: So would that be enough to cement your view that no one else would defy that same kind of level of secrecy and tell someone whether they were part of a campaign or not?

FUENTES: Yes, because I have been meeting with my friends and former and present colleagues all through the summer. None of them, some of them working as mid and senior level managers at the FBI, not one of them ever brought up any of these cases. We talked about just generality things, but not whether cases were on going or not ongoing or any of that.

Now, his statement that many FBI agents were unhappy, I have not heard there is a rebellion brewing at the FBI. But the idea that agents are unhappy, where that unhappiness is coming from started when Director Comey made his announcement on July 5th not recommending charges after listing a whole series of violations that everyone realizes are against the law. And then when everyone thought listening to that that he was going to announce charges and didn't, there was kind of a shock. But he says --

WHITFIELD: Would that therein give the impetus for anyone who was upset or felt shocked about that to learn that there was a review of- mails that would enough to leak share?

FUENTES: No. Back to July 5th, then what happens is many agents are just confused, don't have all the information, the ones out on the investigative team. So like I said, I met with many of them. And they just said I don't understand what happened here. As the summer goes on and Director Comey gives testimony to Congress, and when Judicial Watch and WikiLeaks and other sources come up with what aspects of the investigation were done or weren't done, then that's when this -- I wouldn't quite call it anger, but the concern of FBI agents is, wait a minute.

[14:20:15] We gave you the benefit of the doubt on July 5th when you said we don't have enough evidence to prosecute her. But now we realize that the FBI agents were conducting an investigation with at least one arm tied behind their back. They weren't using the normal techniques that you would do in a major investigation like this, like bring people before the grand jury, number one, and have them make statements under oath without their team of advisers and lawyers present, all by themselves, and have those questions come from a prosecutor, even just that step that's done normally routinely in major investigations, when they heard that, when they hear other thing coming out, that wasn't being leaked out of the FBI.

WHITFIELD: OK, so now there's been a lot of concern expressed from members of the Hill. There have been other letters that have been written as a result of Comey's letter that went to the Hill, and Representative Elijah Cummings, Representative John Conyers have sent a letter to the U.S. inspector writing this, saying "It is absolutely unacceptable for the FBI to leak unsubstantiated and in some cases false information about one presidential candidate to benefit the other candidate. For these reasons we are calling on your office to conduct a thorough investigation to identify the sources of these and other leaks from the FBI." What's the real chance of an investigation of the investigation?

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: An investigation of the investigation, it just tells you what a remarkable political moment we are in right now where Democrats clearly feel that institutions of the government are under attack, you know, the FBI and this idea that you have House members talking about a possible Clinton impeachment. You have a very toxic and angry culture in Washington. And all of that leads to what is going to await the next president after Tuesday. If that is Hillary Clinton, she has such a huge task on her hands in terms of governance and bringing the country together, particularly because this race is closing very close and down to the wire. So it is not like she would potentially be walking in there with a mandate if she wins.

WHITFIELD: So Tim, how concerned are you that the investigations, reporting of investigations, et cetera, undermines in large part these agencies that are supposed to be impartial, and with the discussions now, there is a view by many that they are less than impartial?

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Oh, I'm very concerned. This country, our country needs a nonpartisan FBI. We need an FBI that can go after Scooter Libby and can do the investigation, if need be, of Hillary Clinton.

We have to feel that this isn't the FBI of the time of J. Edgar Hoover when they played favorites. Some people I think with all of the so-called leaking, people of a certain age think back to the Hoover area when information about Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders used to be leaked to damage them. I don't think this is the same period at all. But what we really don't want is for people to assume it is the same period, that we are back with a politicized investigative team.

So am I worried? Super worried. When you hear Congressman Chaffetz predict that if Hillary Clinton wins, he is going to start investigating her from day one. We have gone too far. We have criminalized our disagreements. Not all of them deserve to be criminalized. In fact few of them do.

So I am worried. And there was a time when you could hope that, I hate to use the word "establishment" because no one can say that anymore, but when the leaders of the two parties would calm down some of their partisans and say, you know what, we need government to work. I don't know if there are such leaders at the moment. But this will be a true test, because the FBI, Comey, those of us who have studied this man remember him for what he said about the TSP. In 2004, he said, I will not as the acting attorney general sign on to this program, the surveillance program. He is a man who at least his public career is that of unimpeachable integrity.

So it is very hard to understand what's going on and whether he has lost control of the bureau, what role the department of justice has put him in perhaps beyond something he wanted. So Comey's reputation is also at risk in the future. It will be interesting to see what happens.

WHITFIELD: Whether the comparisons are just or not, reminders of yesteryear. The FBI building, after all it is the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building. So Rebecca, your take on this and how influential this is to the race, how the race is influential to what should be unbiased departments, agencies?

[14:25:03] REBECCA BERG, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, it clearly shapes the race at a few junctures. First when Comey over the summer came forward and actually explained to the public why he was recommending that the DOJ not prosecute Hillary Clinton, that was a remarkable moment that also lacked any sort of precedent in the modern history of the FBI and the bureau.

And now there is this recent moment of Comey writing this letter to Congress also without any sort of precedent. And both of those moments were remarkable junctures in this presidential race that shaped the course of it. First, giving Hillary Clinton a chance to say that this investigation is closed, that the questions about my e- mail server are no longer appropriate because the FBI has made this decision. Now, she faces this question of, why are you under investigation again at this very critical moment in the race. And we have seen the results in the polling. Suddenly, people are starting to second-guess Hillary Clinton and look toward Donald Trump, especially Republicans. And I think that's been a big part of why we are seeing the polls tighten right now.

WHITFIELD: And we are presenting so many what-ifs.

RESTON: Because of course, you are going to see the polls tighten at the end. How much of an impact the Comey announcement had in terms of depressing Hillary Clinton's support, that's why the exit polls will be so important on Tuesday night.

NAFTALI: I wanted just to add this. If the government decided that she couldn't be indicted, how was that going to be conveyed? Because the big October surprise that people were talking about in the summer was her indictment. I think the problem relies in the fact that the FBI made that statement and not somebody in the Justice Department. And the reason it wasn't made in the Justice Department is everybody would have said, it is the Obama Justice Department protecting his successor. That is the key problem here.

WHITFIELD: We're going to leave it right there. Tim, thank you so much, Rebecca and Tom Fuentes, appreciate it.

All right, so much more straight ahead. Coming up, the race to the White House remaining tight through Utah, which has emerged as a three-way battleground state. CNN's Stephanie Elam is there. Stephanie?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So what happens, Fred, if you are never Hillary and you are not feeling what Donald Trump is saying? We'll tell you why some folks here in the beehive states are finding some strength to put behind Evan McMullin coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:31:00] WHITFIELD: Welcome back. Less than three day toss go. And both presidential candidates are hitting battleground states. Here is our latest map on the race to 270 electoral votes. Take a look at Utah, which is a light red state for now. And right next door, Colorado, which light blue. That means those are up for grabs. It is contentious.

Let's talk about Utah now. We find our Stephanie Elam there to talk about a third candidate is in play in a very big way there. Stephanie? ELAM: That's definitely the case here, Fred. And you take a look at Utah, the last time this state went blue was 1964. At this point, it probably will still stay red as it has for years here. But what is different this year is the advent of Evan McMullin. He's a native son. He's running as an independent but obviously has said that he voted Republican for most of his life, his entire life that he could. But he is a Mormon and his message here of conservatism is resonating with a lot of people here.

So when you take a look at a poll that was done yesterday here in the state, that came out yesterday, I should say, it says Donald Trump at 33 percent and Evan McMullin at 28 percent and Hillary Clinton at 24 percent. So that's within the margin of error there. Too close to call what will happen. But obviously, the fact that he is so close to Donald Trump is giving some people here a reason to say, you know what, I have to vote my conscious. I am not liking what Donald Trump is saying. It doesn't fall in line with my values, so I am going to vote for Evan McMullin.

The other thing that's interesting that's happening here in Utah, specifically some parts of Utah County and Salt Lake County where we are here is that you will hear for people who are voting for Hillary Clinton. I spoke to one supporter yesterday. He said it feels good to finally feel like he is making a dent. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODNEY RASMUSSEN, VOTED FOR HILLARY CLINTON: For the first time ever, I have been able to vote and feel like it is actually counting or has a chance to be counted. And that's exciting. It has always been Republican or death here in Utah. And so that's exciting for me as a Hillary Clinton supporter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: So interesting turn of events in a state that is so deeply red. But when push comes to shove, if you ask most people here, Fred, they will tell you they do believe at the end of the day the state will stay red and Donald Trump will likely win. What Evan McMullin is hoping is that they will put enough of a push that it is not clear who wins and those six electoral votes will be up for grabs and they will have to take it to Congress. That's what they are hoping to do here in Utah.

WHITFIELD: We shall see in three days. Thank you so much, Stephanie Elam, appreciate that from Salt Lake City, Utah.

On to Colorado where it is a dead heat. Both candidates with 39 percent in the most recent polling. Anna Cabrera is there. So Anna, how does it look for either side as they try to get that last minute stumping in?

ANNA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a battleground, and it is definitely a battle here, both sides seeing a potential opportunity in the state. Clinton campaign had the early momentum many weeks ago, but now Republicans are seeing a potential opportunity and some real vulnerability with Democrats in this state. And so they have been putting a lot of resources into Colorado.

Now, the voting has been under way for some time because everyone here in Colorado got a mail-in ballot if they were registered earlier on. And so they have the option of sending these back in, dropping them off at one of the drop off boxes. These are the boxes where voters in Jefferson County can take their ballots. You can see a lot of security on those boxes with all those cameras. They are brought to these election centers. This is one in Jefferson County where all the ballots end up being funneled. And here you have signature verification going on. People are working on the weekend trying to process all of these ballots that are coming in. They have already had been 50 percent of the vote returned to Jefferson County.

And in this room is where they are now taking the ballots out of the envelopes, separating them from their signatures after they are verified, and they will be ready to go through the counting machine.

[14:35:06] Now, the vote is not tallied until election night. So they will run them through and hit that button at 7:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday night.

I can tell you, we are seeing party affiliation and getting some early return when is it comes to who is sending their ballots back. We know more Democrats have sent back their ballots than Republicans so far both in Jefferson County, which is a bellwether county, as well as statewide.

Now, in 2012, it was split. Republicans had the lead in early ballot returns and yet still Colorado still voted for Obama. Now, good news for Republicans is the gap is closing quickly. And you do get the sense that this race is narrowing, not just because of the polls but because both campaigns are really spending resources here, both in the TV ad spending where we have seen the two campaigns each invest over $1 million in television ads just this week. We have also seen huge surrogates, Bill and Chelsea Clinton from the Clinton campaign and Donald Trump, himself, coming to Colorado tonight. Mike Pence was here on Wednesday night. So the battle is on as each side works to turn out their voters as well as to win over some of those that still may be undecided, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Down to the wire. Thank you so much Anna Cabrera there in Colorado.

Both campaigns are out fighting for votes on the campaign trail. But these are intense battles going on behind the scenes in the run-up to Election Day. Take Arizona, for example. The Supreme Court upheld a law bring organizers from picking up ballots and delivering them to polling stations on behalf of other people. Democrats have argued those living in towns near the border and on reservations may not have reliable mail service and therefore activists should be allowed to collect ballots and turn them in.

In Ohio, the Trump campaign challenging a restraining order handed down by a federal judge that limits ballot security and voter questioning efforts. Democrats filed the lawsuit to try to stem any alleged voter intimidation. This after Donald Trump has said that his campaign will have people watching the polls on Election Day.

And then, North Carolina, another win for Democrats. In a move that could affect thousands of voters a federal judge ruling that residents whose voter registrations were canceled in recent months must have their registrations now restored. The case came after lawyers argued more than 4,000 voters were purged from the polls after mass mailings sent to them were returned as undeliverable.

This as the Department of Homeland Security admits the U.S. is concerned about the possibility of an Election Day cyber-breach. So while the DHS is worried that a breach could cause confusion, they say they are confident no breach would affect the outcome of the election.

Now, to this. While at a rally in New Hampshire, CNN found one undecided voter hoping that seeing the candidate in person would help her feel better about her vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am undecided. I'm really confused, on an emotional rollercoaster with the voting process this term. So I think seeing him today, I really wanted to feel something. I am more of a passionate person. I like to go by the way someone's facial expressions or body movements are. So I really wanted to come here and feel how he presented himself in person and see how passionate he was to help me sway my vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Coming up, our panel just might be able to help undecided voters by laying out where the candidates stand on the issue that is matter most to voters. We'll be right back live from Washington, D.C.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:41:54] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. This is our special live coverage from Washington D.C. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Fiery rhetoric and insults have dominated the campaign trail, often steering it away from discussing policy. A recent CNN/ORC poll of polls listed the top issues voters care about when making their choices for president. The top four, the economy, terrorism, the U.S. Supreme Court, and health care.

To help sort out where each of the candidates stand on these key issues, I am joined now by CNN political commentator and Trump supporter Alice Stewart, and CNN political commentator Hilary Rosen, a Clinton supporter. So I'm going to go through the rules here. This is what we are going to do as we go through these top agenda items for voters. You each have 30 seconds to save the case. We're going to begin with the economy. So Alice, you first. Donald Trump's best pitch on the economy to voters.

ALICE STEWART, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I think his plan certainly to cut taxes and reducing and reducing the income bracket to three brackets I think is a good start. And certainly his experience in the private sector has gone a long way to show he can work to rein in spending. And his idea to drain the swamp in Washington and get away from business as usual in Washington will go a long way to working to keep federal spending under control, which is critical to this point, and also his commitment, as he has already said, to repeal Obamacare will go a long way to helping the economy. It all what matters to people's pocketbooks, and those are issues important.

WHITFIELD: We'll talk more about the health care in a moment. Hilary?

HILARY ROSEN, CLINTON SUPPORTER: Frist, the good news is that all of Hillary Clinton's plans are on her website. So all viewers can go to HillaryClinton.com and get real details about what she wants to do. The economy is number one in her book.

She has three basic parts to her plan for the economy. One is to move quickly on infrastructure investments, which creates jobs and helps our roads and bridges and helps get the economy a jump start that we need. The second is investing in education. There are job as available in this country but people aren't getting enough training for them. So making sure college is debt-free and that we can have good skills training at community colleges will be a significant focus.

And then the third is wage increases where it is appropriate. So she has called for an increase in the minimum wage. And we know that somebody today who working at a minimum wage job cannot support their family. That's just wrong. It doesn't help. It doesn't help spending. It doesn't help the companies who are hiring these folks.

WHITFIELD: The economy is number one. It always seems to be every election season. And now the state of affairs has it such that terrorism, national security is another key issue for voters. So what's Trump's best pitch on that?

STEWART: First of all, I think one of the things that Donald Trump has that Hillary doesn't is he is not afraid to call radical Islamic terrorism for what it is. And Hillary will not do that.

[14:45:00] I think it is important what he has also said with regard to suspending visas for areas where we cannot properly vet those that are coming in, as well as his strong stance on immigration and having a tighter screen for those that come into this country. Those are critical issues for fighting terrorism.

WHITFIELD: Hilary on Hillary Clinton?

ROSEN: Well, a couple of things. We hope we are going to have significant progress over the next couple of months in Syria. Hillary has called for a no-fly zone in Syria, being a little more aggressive in pushing back than President Obama has been. Unlike Donald Trump who is focusing more on helping Putin in Syria, Hillary Clinton believes that we should have a strong alliance in the Middle East and push back on Assad and get the current regime out of Syria.

Immigration is an important part of anti-terrorist activities. But the answer for Hillary is not to close our borders. The answer is to continue to do tough background checks, to do the kinds of immigration enforcement we have been doing and we have been successful at doing. We have had some domestic terrorist problems in the last couple of years, but they have not come from immigration. They have come from mistakes in law enforcement. We have to fix that.

WHITFIELD: So at the root here, as both the candidates have been trying to state their cases on all of these issues, there has been either criticism of very little detail on a plan or perhaps there is criticism of a continuation of the current administration. So in your view, Alice, how does Donald Trump make his last kind of closing argument to voters there on some real clarity on some of the detail that many voters have felt have been missing?

STEWART: I think what's important, as Hilary mentioned, anyone that wants more clarity on any of these issues can go to their websites, can go to DonaldTrump.com and see specifics on some of these. I'll admit some of them were rolled out a little bit later than would have been helpful for a lot of voters. But all of these issues they have flushed out in great detail. He is out right now on the campaign trail. It is not a matter of persuading voters on specific issues. It is about motivating voters to get out to the polls. And that's what we're seeing.

WHITFIELD: Hilary, how does Hillary Clinton strike a balance of a continuation of this administration and at the same time separate herself that it's not a continuation of this administration?

ROSEN: Well, some things have been good in this administration. That's why President Obama has an almost 60 percent approval rating. And so I do think it is important that on the economy and producing jobs we keep moving forward.

The other thing that President Obama has done, which is an important part of education and young people and optimism and hope is this sense of inclusiveness, that we are a community and country that values diversity, that values each other. And it is really important I think in these closing days that Hillary Clinton says what she said today at her rally, which is I just want you to know. It's raining and I'm going to get you out of here, and I just want you to know, I want to be everyone's president, whether you voted for me or not. I want this to be an inclusive country. And we have to move forward together, stronger together.

WHITFIELD: Hillary, Alice, thank you so much.

We have got so much more coming up. We are going to discussion the other issues that are so important to voters, including the U.S. Supreme Court, next.

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WHITFIELD: All right, less than three days before Election Day and many candidates are making their final pitches now. I want to bring back CNN political commentators Hilary Rosen and Alice Stewart. Before the break we were talking about the candidates of their choice, their policies on the economy as well as national security.

So again, the ground rules. You've got 30 seconds each to represent the best argument for the next couple of topics for your candidate of choice. So Alice, we're going to tackle right now the U.S. Supreme Court. What is the position of Donald Trump on the U.S. Supreme Court and potential appointments?

STEWART: I think it's important for folks to realize the next president possibly could appoint four Supreme Court justices. So this is an important issue that unfortunately gets lost in the conversation. He wants to appoint someone with similar views as Antonin Scalia as well as someone who will protect the rule of law and the constitution and also someone that will protect our freedom and our liberties, specifically with regard to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press as well as we're talking about Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. These are critical issues and Donald Trump has made a commitment that he will appoint justice that will strictly adhere to those principles.

WHITFIELD: And Hilary on Hillary Clinton and the U.S. Supreme Court.

ROSEN: Yes, I don't actually think any of those freedoms are really at risk. But what is at risk and what Donald Trump has promised to try and undo with his Supreme Court justices are decisions like Roe v. Wade which protect women's reproductive freedom.

Look, when the Supreme Court two years ago legalized same-sex marriage. I am gay. It changed my life. It changed the life of so many people in my life and that I care about and my family. And Donald Trump has promised to undo that. That is just untenable for so many people. And so we cannot go backwards when it comes to racial equality, when it comes to recognizing individual rights and liberties. And the Supreme Court that Hillary Clinton is going to appoint will recognize that.

WHITFIELD: OK, healthcare is also an issue that is contentious among voters. They want to hear from each candidate what the plans are going forward. Hilary, back to you now on Hillary Clinton and the position on maintaining Obamacare, making changes, what?

ROSEN: So Obamacare has become extra controversial I think over the last few weeks even again when we have seen premium increases. I think it has gone in a sea of bad facts. Premium increases affect two percent of the population because the 10 percent of the population that's on the exchanges are getting subsidized health care through those exchanges. Most people still get their health insurance from employers. So it is important we recognize what Hillary Clinton has said, which is those 20 plus million people who now have health care, we don't want to take it away. We don't want to take away from the 18 to 25-year-old kids who have got it now on their parents' plans. We want to fix the problems, but we do not want to repeal Obamacare.

[14:55:07] WHITFIELD: Alice, Donald Trump has said he does want to repeal Obamacare. But what is the plan forward for Donald Trump on health care as it pertains to the 20 million people who now have insurance?

STEWART: We have to go back to 2010 when Barack Obama promised us if you like you doctor, you can keep it. If you like your health care, you can keep it. Premiums will go down $2,500 for the average family when in actuality the plan, Donald Trump, wants to repeal and replace Obamacare in exchange for health savings accounts which is a way to save money tax-free to pay for your medical expenses. Also work with the states to create high-risk pools for people that need insurance as well as allowing people the possibility to purchase health care across state lines. And all of these are great way toss help bring health care costs down and put the decisions back in the hands of the citizens.

WHITFIELD: Alice Stewart, Hilary Rosen, thanks so much. Your candidates are very happy with what you just did to help those undecided voters put it all all together. Sometimes you need a little streamlined message. All right, thank you so much.

And thanks for being with me. I am Fredricka Whitfield. So much more straight ahead. Thanks for being with us here in the nation's capital. Vote, three days away. Our special coverage continues after this.

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