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Presidential Election is Underway Across the Country; Donald Trump Casts His Vote in NYC. Aired 10:30-11a ET.

Aired November 08, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The polls are going to close much earlier than states like California, but I anticipate that people will be very cautious and because those results will be so tight.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN HOST: I will be glued to my set, I know that. Thanks to all of you. I appreciate you coming in. We're going to take you back to New York City when Mr. Trump finally casts a vote, presumably for himself. We'll take a quick break. We'll be back with much more in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: All right, I want to take you back. Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. I'm live in Washington D.C., but I want to take you immediately to New York City, because we understand that Donald Trump will cast his ballot at any moment now. You're looking at the precinct there, near the Trump Tower, where, of course, Donald Trump resides with his family. We understand the Secret Service has shut down foot traffic on the street, so Donald Trump may be voting at any moment now and, of course, when Mr. Trump leaves Trump Tower to cast his ballot we'll bring you back live to Manhattan.

All right, so we are in the home stretch. Voters right now across America are getting their voices heard. From coast to coast to right smack dab to the middle of the Rust Belt. And that's where our team coverage heads next. CNN's Brian Todd is with us in Virginia, Miguel Marquez live near Pittsburgh, and Martin Savidge live in Ohio. But let's start in Virginia, shall we, with Brian Todd? Good morning Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. The race here in Virginia seen as being a little bit tightening as we head into election day. Hillary Clinton was ahead by a few points for several weeks, but the race tightening as we headed closer to election day and this county, Loudoun County, is seen as a real battleground; a test county for both candidates as they really try to sew up the state of Virginia.

[10:35:12] Very, very steady turnout here at Precinct 817 at Sanders Corner Elementary School here in Ashburn, Virginia. The lines here have been going out this door and toward the front door here. This is where you check in. You present your photo ID here. Then you get a ballot ticket. You show it to these nice ladies over here and then you get one of these long ballots. Check it out over here, Carol. You've got very full voting stations here. They've been full all morning. As we walk over here, our photo journalist Steve Sorg and I will take you here past these balloting stations. We love watching kids come out with their parents. A lot of kids have come out all day long to vote, to watch their parents vote, and be in the voting booths with them. This is where you stand in line to get your vote scanned. This is a long ballot. You've got eight boxes on a long sheet of paper on both sides. You've got to stand in line here to get it scanned over there. Then they tabulate it on a long piece of tape, take it to voting headquarters in Loudoun County at the end of the day when polls close a little over eight hours from now. So still a long way to go here in Loudoun County. Both candidates concentrating on this, but Donald Trump thinks he can swing this county this way after it went narrowly for President Obama in 2012 and maybe that might help him pull off the upset in Virginia, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Brian Todd, reporting live for us from Virginia. A big push too by both candidates in the state of Pennsylvania. That's where CNN's Mel Gomar(ph)- CNN's Miguel Marquez is there. Good morning.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's about how I feel this morning, Carol. We're in North Strabane Township in Washington County. This is a county that Romney won but has more democrats. The line here, about an hour long since the polls opened at 7 o'clock this morning. They go all the way down the block here. This is the last bit of politicking that voters see as you walk in the polls here. It gives you an idea of what it is like here. We want to show you something really cool if this will work. As we walk down the line, we actually have a drone shot up so that you can see how long this line is. This is the North Strabane Township Center. It's one of the busiest locations for voting in this area. They have been getting through here in about an hour it takes to vote and they've been about this busy. Actually, this is the longest we've seen this line since we've been here at 7:30 this morning. It snakes all the way down the building, through the parking lot, around our satellite truck, and then down that bit of the parking lot as well. It's a very, very long wait. My guess is probably an hour and a half, hour and 45. This is an area that Donald Trump must over-perform in and Hillary Clinton is hoping to beat him in the urban areas. So no early voting across Pennsylvania. At 8 p.m. tonight when the polls close, we will know Pennsylvania's answer. Carol.

COSTELLO: So, Miguel, are people pretty cheerful in line?

MARQUEZ: People are incredibly cheerful. They love seeing the CNN sign. They love CNN. They love Donald Trump down here and they love CNN. We ran into an elderly couple in line a little earlier that gave us a bit of a surprise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: You two have been married 37 years.

JACKIE KRACHALA, PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT VOTING FOR TRUMP: Each and every one.

MARQUEZ: Get in close to each other here.

BILL KRACHALA, PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT VOTING FOR CLINTON: No, I can't.

JACKIE KRACHALA: We traveled a lot.

MARQUEZ: You're voting for Donald Trump.

JACKIE KRACHALA: Yes.

MARQUEZ: You're voting for Hillary Clinton.

BILL KRACHALA: Yes.

JACKIE KRACHALA: Absolutely.

BILL KRACHALA: We're nullifying each other's vote.

MARQUEZ: Now I find that - do you guys fight? Do you get along?

JACKIE KRACHALA. Yes - no.

MARQUEZ: Why are you voting for Donald Trump?

JACKIE KRACHALA: Because he's the best there is right now. C'mon, we need somebody strong. We need our country that can be our country again and not be owing all the other countries.

MARQUEZ: Aren't you excited for the first female president?

JACKIE KRACHALA: No.

BILL KRACHALA: I am.

MARQUEZ: So why are you voting for Hillary Clinton?

BILL KRACHALA: Because she's the best of the two. I don't think either one of them are capable of running a country directly without prejudice and I believe that the experience is what counts.

MARQUEZ: Here's a Hillary supporter. Here's a Donald Trump supporter. Do you guys actually love each other?

BILL KRACHALA: Oh yes.

JACKIE KRACHALA: Oh yes. What are you going to do?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: So the line here about probably an hour and 45 minutes to two hours in North Strabane. This is the longest we have seen it all day; no early voting here again. We will know Pennsylvania's answer tonight at 8 p.m. Carol, back to you.

COSTELLO: Oh my gosh. That was perhaps the cutest couple in all of America. Miguel Marquez, thanks so much. All right, let's head to Ohio now. Martin Savidge is with voters in Parma. Hi Martin.

[10:39:59] MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. We are firing democracy on all eight cylinders here in Parma, Ohio. I make that reference because if you know Cleveland, you know that Parma, Brook Park nearby, they were all very instrumental in the automotive industry in days gone by. Those are days in the past and that actually impacts how people are thinking about voting this time around. You can see we've got no waiting here. I would say if you could come over from Pennsylvania and make your vote count, come here because there was only a line at the beginning of the day. There has not been a line since. A steady stream of voters coming in, but we haven't seen lines. Part of the reason for that of course is that Ohio is a very early voting state. They started voting October 12th and they only finished at about 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon. So a lot of people have already voted. In fact, about one quarter of all registered voters in Ohio already cast their ballot. We don't know how they voted. That won't be until this evening, but a steady stream still comes in here. Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Martin Savidge reporting love from Parma, Ohio. Thanks so much. Perhaps the biggest winner today is us, the election- fatigued American people, because we've made it. It is decision day. it's been a long, and at many times a very bitter, ride. With me now to talk about it is Elizabeth Suhay, Assistant Professor for the Department of Government at American University. She specializes in the study of political psychology. Ooh, this must be a very interesting time for you.

ELIZABETH SUHAY, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: Oh my gosh, it's keeping us all so very busy; a little too busy.

COSTELLO: So how is this different from other elections, as far as political psychology goes?

SUHAY: So this election is different in a couple of different ways. It is different because there has been so much negativity, to be honest. There's been more - a little bit more negativity coming from one side than the other. And I think it's also quite different because it's really ramped up our partisan divisions. So we always have our partisan teams, right? And that really colors how we see the election. But this time around, it's ramped up to being almost full- on war between the two sides.

COSTELLO: Oh yes. So when people cast their votes, will they feel differently about this vote than in elections past?

SUHAY: I think so, I think so. I think we've seen so - such a fight between the two sides and at the same time we have two candidates who are historically not real popular, to be honest. And so to win this campaign, both sides have painted the other as being completely unfit to govern. So I think a lot of people feel that this vote is more important than in previous election.

COSTELLO: OK, so what does that mean after the election is over and a winner is announced? How will the loser feel? SUHAY: You know, I think that after this is all over, you are going to see the losing side being more disappointed than usual. You know it's never fun to see your team lose, to see your candidate lose. You're down in the dumps for a few days, maybe a little bit longer. But this time, I think that the negative effects are going to linger. And it's a little bit different, whether you talk about, you know, the Clinton side or the Trump side. I think that the negative reaction is a little bit different. I think that you'll see on the Clinton side some anxiety and fear about a Trump presidency. I think that for the Trump supporters you might see more anger, because he's really instilled this notion that Hillary Clinton is a criminal, that the election is rigged.

COSTELLO: That it was stolen from him, right. So it will be imperative for whoever becomes president to say the right things.

SUHAY: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: To try to bring the country together. I was talking about this with one of our political analysts and we were talking. You know, if Hillary Clinton wins, let's say.

SUHAY: Right.

COSTELLO: And she stands up there and says, "You know, I really don't want this to be a divided country. We can all get along." People are going to listen to that and go, "Oh come on."

SUHAY: That's right. She's going to have - and, you know, predictions are showing she'll probably carry the day, and if that's true, she's going to have a tough time, at least initially. You know there's some reason for optimism. When she was in the senate, she worked well with republicans. There are many republicans who actually think pretty well of her, although they might not say so publically. So I think that there's some reason for optimism. She has very good political skills, negotiating skills, that sort of thing. But frankly, I think that there's just going to have to be a full-court press by the Clinton team and, you know, maybe even by the media to persuade people, for example, that the election wasn't rigged. I don't think we'll see (--)

COSTELLO: But what if Mr. Trump wins? You know, his followers are going to want him to clean house, right?

SUHAY: Yes.

COSTELLO: And he's not going to be able to do that right away, if at all. So what if he doesn't?

SUHAY: What if he doesn't clean house? You know, so this is a good question, and, you know, he's going to have to work hard to kind of control the anger that he has - that he has really evoked among his followers. And I think that people will be patient for a little while. But if he's not able to clean house, and probably he can't because this is not how our system works, of course. There are other branches of government, he could, you know, experience some backlash. [10:45:10] COSTELLO: OK, well, we should end it on an optimistic note

because people are voting and democracy works. Elizabeth Suhay, thanks so much for stopping by.

SUHAY: Thank you.

COSTELLO: OK, if you want a chance to be featured on CNN's election day coverage, it's simple. All you have to do is snap a selfie and post to Instagram, using the hashtag #myvote. Let us know where you voted, who you voted for, and we'll be showing them throughout the day right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: All right, this is Precinct - PS 59 in New York City. The Secret Service has shut down the street in preparation for Donald Trump. He's in the nearby Trump Tower. He's expected to vote at any time. He was quite lively this morning. He had a 16-minute phone interview on Fox and Friends on Fox News this morning and, of course, his family was out stumping for him right up until the last moment. In fact, his son was on New Day this morning and said the last 18 months for him just felt like ten years. I'm sure a lot of people can relate. There was a little bit of drama at this polling station. Two women were placed under arrest for taking off their tops and yelling anti-Trump slogans inside of the polling place. That would be a big no-no. Those women were placed under arrest and they were taken away. So as soon as Donald Trump votes - Oh, I don't know what that vehicle is, but if Donald Trump pops out we'll take you back to New York City.

OK all of this happening as we enter the final hours of the presidential campaign. We've got reporters on the ground all over this country, so let's head to Golden, Colorado, that's where Ana Cabrera is. Good morning.

[10:50:10] ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. We're inside one of the polling centers in Jefferson County, one of the bellwether counties in this state. We've seen a steady stream of voters coming in here since the polls opened at 7 a.m. this morning. These are the folks who wanted to do it the old-fashioned way or decided to wait until election day to make their votes count. But a lot of the voters here in Colorado, actually, have already cast their ballot. In fact, the most recent ballot returns that we've heard from the Secretary of State's office shows two-thirds of Colorado registered voters have already sent their ballots back or they've dropped them off, because here in Colorado it's a mail-in election. So there are these voter drop-offs bags inside drop boxes set up all over the state, where people who got their mail-in ballots could simply fill them out at home and put them in these bags. So the voters and the workers are going to be very, very busy here in Colorado.

We just got updated numbers from the Secretary of State that showed 2.2 million voters in Colorado have already cast their ballots, but that means there's about a million more active registered voters in this state who still have to vote today or have an opportunity to vote today. And right now I can tell you registered republicans are leading the way; about 20,000 more registered republicans have voted already according to the secretary of state than registered democrats with a lot more unaffiliated voters still left to cast their ballots, Carol. And we know from the latest polling there is a large percentage who were undecided as of last week, so it could go either way. Back to you.

COSTELLO: All right, Ana Cabrera reporting live from Golden, Colorado, thank you. Now let's head to the battleground state of Arizona. This is what it looks like in Phoenix, where voters are lining up to make their voices heard. CNN's Dan Simon is in Phoenix. Hi, Dan.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well the polls opened up at 6 o'clock local time. We did see a line here at this church, but right now it's pretty much smooth sailing. This is a reliably red state, Carol, so it is going to be very interesting to see what happens because the polls have narrowed. Right now the polls show Donald Trump up by about 5 pounds but the Clinton campaign, they have poured a lot of resources into the state over the past week. She has increased ads, noting(ph) only one democrat has carried Arizona over the past 64 years. In case you were wondering, that was Bill Clinton back in 1996, but they think that they can win it again, the democrats do. And they think that could happen because of the Latino vote and based on the historical patterns or what we're seeing across the country, we have seen a surge in Latinos voting early here in the state of Arizona, double in terms of what they saw in 2012. But the Trump campaign, you know, he's been here seven times. So we'll see what happens. This is a true battleground state. In terms of the senate race, John McCain who withdrew his support from Donald Trump, he is expected to win easily. Right now he's up by double digits. Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Dan Simon, reporting live from Phoenix, thanks so much. The presidential candidates are not the only choices on the ballot today. There are major initiatives up for a vote in several states, including marijuana legalization and minimum hikes. CNN's Chief Business Correspondent, Christine Romans, has more on that. Hi, Christine.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. You know, this is so interesting because so many of these, it's the people who put them up for a vote, right? This is how the people get to have their say, 162 different ballot initiatives. And I four states, Carol, it'll be the minimum wage on the ballot again. Since 2000, every one of these minimum wage initiatives have passed, the people passed them. In Washington, you're looking at a $13.50 minimum wage, Colorado $12, Arizona $12, and Maine $12. All of those would be increased gradually. Right now, none of those are for $15.00. You've heard the Fight for 15 is a progressive movement that has really swelled during this presidential election. There are a few states that have $15 already, states that have passed those kinds of - that kind of minimum wage, but these other states are talking about something a little bit more gradual. What do the candidates for president think? Hillary Clinton supports a gradual hike to $15 an hour. Trump has said he supports $10 an hour. The current federal minimum wage, Carol, is only $7.25 an hour. When you adjust that for inflation, that means somebody working the minimum wage right now is making far less than they would have doing the same job 30, 40, or 50 years ago.

Also on the ballot, more pot initiatives, Carol. And we saw this a couple of years ago, when you saw so many of these pass. These are the legalization issues we're looking at here: Recreational pot on the ballot in five states; medical marijuana on the ballot in three more states. About half the states right now already have medical marijuana, so a lot of people are really watching those recreational ballot initiatives, especially in Arizona, which is a pretty red state. And a reminder, the last couple of elections they've started this end of legalizing recreational marijuana, you can see the states there in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and in Washington D.C. where it is already legal, Carol.

[10:55:11] COSTELLO: All right, Christine Romans, reporting live for us, thank you so much. Oh, is something happening in New York City, the motorcade? You see a motorcade? OK. We are hearing the motorcade has left. Donald Trump expected to cast a ballot for himself at any moment. This is the precinct where Donald Trump will go to cast that ballot. He's in nearby Trump Tower so it shouldn't take him very - very long to get to this particular place. I want to bring in Asma and Thomas right now, just to talk a little bit about this. So Donald Trump, he was on Fox News this morning. He gave a very long interview, so he was up very early after a very late night of campaigning last night. I can't even imagine how he's feeling.

ASMA KHALID, NPR REPORTER: I can't imagine either. He's had sort of a whirlwind day. He was campaigning all over the country, going to different states, and now, you know, he'll have the chance to cast a ballot for himself. And what I think that's just so extraordinary throughout his entire run is, you know, this is a man who has - has never had political experience before. And here he is, casting a ballot - casting, you know, a vote for himself.

COSTELLO: We were talking a little earlier, Thomas was like, "What if it was you and you were casting a ballot to become president of the..." I mean, I can't even imagine.

THOMAS BURR, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT FOR THE SALT TRIBUNE: How exciting for him, though. It also reminds me back of Mitt Romney in 2012. Mitt Romney had never written a concession speech. He was so excited and so in the bubble that he thought he was going to win. And all his advisors around him were telling him he was going to win. I kind of wonder, and, who knows what's going to happen tonight, but has Trump written a concession speech? Is he going to concede tonight if the polls come in and he's not the winner? I don't know.

COSTELLO: I don't know, but I wouldn't like to think about myself losing. There's Donald Trump, he's getting ready to go into that polling place right now. He appears to be - I'm just trying to see if there's anybody with him, like his wife Melania.

KHALID: It looks like Ivanka is there.

COSTELLO: Ivanka was there?

BURR: It's bring your daughter along(ph). COSTELLO: Well, she's been working hard for him on the campaign trail, right?

BURR: Yes.

COSTELLO: And maybe she's going to cast a ballot herself, right? I don't know what - if this is her precinct or not.

BURR: I think he's just upset that they're not at Trump Tower right now. Shouldn't the polling place (--)

COSTELLO: Yes, Trump Tower? Right, exactly. It's interesting, his son was on "NEW DAY" this morning and he was talking about how this has been such a long, awful election season even for him. He says the last 18 months has felt like ten years. And I think most voters can relate to that.

KHALID: It has. I think that also, you know, we've sort of seen, I think, some really polarizing elements of the country. I think that, you know, we as a country now sort of see ourselves divided in ways that maybe we didn't all realize that those divisions existed, and now we'll sort of all have to piece ourselves back together after the election.

COSTELLO: And you know - oh, let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How much is that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One dollar.

TRUMP: I'm going to give you this. You can make a little buck, okay? Have a good time. Have a good time everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED: Thank you, Mr. Trump.

TRUMP: Hi, how are you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I'm so glad to see you.

TRUMP: Did you vote?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Boy do we all feel better.

TRUMP: Thank you. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Trump, what are you hearing about early returns so far from your team?

TRUMP: Very good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very good?

TRUMP: Everything's very good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any states in particular?

TRUMP: Just very good in general.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to go this way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm guiding you a little bit, OK?

TRUMP: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I've got you.

TRUMP: I'm good. We're going this way?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right, we're back outside the polling place. It's very hard to get, like, a steady shot when you're inside of a polling place. But you know, it was really nice Donald Trump bought a cupcake from that kid. That probably thrilled that child, right?

BURR: A writer, David Fahrenthold, of the Washington Post marked that down in his charity list he keeps going on.

COSTELLO: But, Melania Trump was with her husband. And we assume that she's also going to cast a ballot for Donald Trump today. And, you know, this must be an overwhelming day for her as well.

KHALID: It has. I mean, I can't imagine what it's been like. She's been an extraordinarily private spouse during this campaign season, you know. We really didn't see her out on the campaign trail much. And I think that in some ways this hasn't - I can't imagine that it's been an easy experience to be in the public limelight. She's the woman that we heard from at the convention and then we heard her give a big speech the other week in Pennsylvania, but she's been a fairly private person.

BURR: Just to be thrust into the spotlight like that. It's got to be so difficult, not used to this stuff at all, and then all of a sudden everyone wants to talk to you.