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One Thing Democrats And Republicans Agree On Is That The Stake Of This Election Have Never Been Higher; Record Voter Turn Out This Year With More Than 100 Million Ballots Cast Before Voting Even Started; Special Coverage Of Election Day In America. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired November 03, 2020 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kaitlan Collins in the final hours of the Trump Campaign, and this is CNN.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: And Welcome, top of the hour, 11:00 a.m. on the east coast of the United States. I'm Anderson Cooper, it is an incredibly exciting day in this country. Thanks for joining me. CNN special live coverage of Election Day in America continues.

A big consequential day as voters get the last word on who they want to lead this country in multiple crises. The race is historic, already more than 100 million people have already cast their ballots before the polls even opened today, that's a record. Right now, polls opened in every state coast-to-coast. Alaska voting sites opening up this hour and in Hawaii, they're opening next hour.

Election Day process going smoothly, some long lines at polling locations like this one in Philadelphia, line stretching down two blocks and around the corner. Also many sites across the country with no lines at all, short waits. There's anxiety and uncertainty with the nation divided, the coronavirus pandemic surging, making this one of the most politically important and consequential moments in our country's history.

We could see the President Trump head to the RNC annex offices in Arlington, Virginia at any moment to encourage his campaign workers there. He's running late this morning for that visit. Former Vice Preisdent Joe Biden has already been out. We've seen him in Scranton, Pennsylvania, making his final pitch to voters before heading to Philadelphia.

Biden began his day at church in Delaware, going to mass. He also visited the grave of his son Beau. Our correspondents are in position at polling places nationwide to bring you the latest. We've been with them, checking with them all morning long. Let's go to Florida right now, the polls have only been open for a few hours.

Today, officials say the state has nearly matched the total number of votes cast in 2016. Randi Kaye is in Broward County, a place the democrats are hoping for high turnout and to help them carry the state. Randi, how are things now?

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Well Anderson, it looks like they're getting the high turn out that they were hoping for. We've seen a few lines here this morning, we're in Lighthouse Point, but I can tell you I just spoke with the office of the supervisor of elections here for the county, and he said that already they have almost 54,000 people who have voted in Broward County already.

Now keep in mind, they were saying that they were predicting maybe 100,000 to 125,000 people voting in all today. So they are off and running in terms of that. That's because they've had so many people vote already in the county. They, already around the state, they've had 9.1 million have voted about -- that's about 95% of the 2016 total.

But here in the county, they've had about 100 -- 850,000 who have voted already. So big numbers to talk about. But here in Lighthouse Point, this is really a red pocket in a very blue county, which is Broward County. Donald Trump won this area with about 65% of the vote compared to Hillary Clinton with about 31%, though she did take the county, though, with about 66%, so this is a very highly democratic area.

But this is a must for Donald Trump, really. The last republican candidate to win the White House without the state of Florida was Calvin Coolidge back in 1924. And we've been talking to some voters here today Anderson, and there are a fair amount of them that are voting for Donald Trump as expected in this area.

One couple would not tell me who they voted for. They said that they were waiting until they walked into this building here behind me, the rec center where we are, to decide who they were going to vote for. They were really torn because racial equality is important to them but they're also pro life. And I said are you happy with your decision and they -- the gentleman said to me no I'm not, but he did vote. So it wasn't a write in. I did get that much out of him.

But overall, we are seeing a big turnout here, which is really good news for the state. Donald Trump certainly is expected to do well in the panhandle, which is a red part of the state. Also he's pulling a lot of support from Cuban Americans in Miami, where he's been really pinning democrats to socialism.

And that is really resonating with that group. But Joe Biden and the democrats are hoping for a strong win here in Broward County, and they seem to be getting a big turnout, which could work in their favor Anderson.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Randi Kaye. Randi, thanks very much. A hiccup this morning in another key battleground state, at least three voting districts in the county incumbent seeing Pittsburgh saw delays opening today. CNNs Alexandra Field is in Pittsburgh for us. Have those issues been resolved.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN COORESPONDENT: Those were three sites that were missing some of their voting materials. The county has delivered those materials to the sites. They are back open and we assume they are seeing what I'm seeing here in Franklin Park, which is a suburban neighborhood in Pittsburgh, which is a long and steady line of voters.

[11:05:00]

We've seen it since before the polls opened at 7:00 a.m. and it is holding on through the day. We won't know the numbers until later, but what I'm hearing anecdotally from the people who are in line is that this is certainly a longer line than they've been used to waiting in.

That is because people in Pennsylvania know exactly how much pressure they are under. This is a state that Donald Trump won by just 44,000 votes in 2016, flipping the state to red. They know that this is a state that the world is watching. And Anderson, you called this an exciting day, which no doubt it is, but the word that a lot of the voters who I speak to out here are using to describe it is also tense. Not just the day itself, not just the wait, but that's how they describe what's going on in their neighborhoods in Pittsburgh right now, neighborhoods that are deeply divided. Yes, this is a state that flipped to red in 2016, but Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh, was the blue spot in Western Pennsylvania in that sea of red.

However, this neighborhood that I'm in, Franklin Park, did air toward Trump at that time. What I'm hearing from voters is that this year they know more of their friends who are going to go to the polls. They know more people who sat out last time who will vote this time. I haven't heard anyone who has said they have changed their vote in terms of party between 2016 and 2020, so we're going to have to see how this all shakes out, but what is unifying voters out here whether they plan to vote for Trump, whether they plan to vote for Biden is something of a sense of frustration, and that is because they are not expecting to get results from Pennsylvania today. They know they're going to hang on and wait longer.

There have been some 2.5 million mail-in ballots that were casted as of now, and some counties in Pennsylvania are saying they won't begin to count the mail-in ballots until tomorrow, the day after the election. So that's fueling the sense of anxiety for some. They know they could have to wait to hear the results for the entire state. They also know that there's likely to be further legal challenges to ballots that are received after election, that despite a state Supreme Court ruling that said that ballots could be counted as long as they're post marked by Election Day and received within three days of the election. Anderson -

COOPER: It is nice to see that as tense as people may be about this day in anticipation of this day the reality that we have been seeing in, you know, polling place after polling place that we've been looking at over the last several hours since they opened around the country is just how normal it is and just how peaceful it is. We see that on the right-hand side of the screen, in Londonderry, New Hampshire, the polling place you're at. There's no one yelling at people on the line. People are just standing in the line just like a normal Election Day.

FIELD: Yes. No one is confronting on another as far as what we have seen in the polling sites that we have visited in this part of the state. We don't see a lot of people advertising on their clothes, on their hats, by holding signs who they're going to vote for. In fact, this is an interesting site because frankly people seem a little bit reticent to say exactly who they're voting for at all. It's everyone's right to keep that perfectly private, but when you talk to people in general when it comes to this election, people tend to have a strong opinion. In some places in the country they are eager to express it, let you know exactly who they're voting for.

Here people seem to be keeping it a little bit quiet. They know that these are real - that there are real divides that exist within this community. They tell me, you know, it's very likely that the neighbor next door will have a different lawn sign from the one that's in their yard. I've heard from people about family members who are deeply divided. So these are real tensions that people are living with on a daily basis. It's not just about the ballot that they casted today. It's really about their view of the country, where it's been, and where it should go.

COOPER: Yes. Alex Field, appreciate it. Thanks very much. I want to turn to Michigan. Critical battleground - another critical battleground state that President Trump won by less than 1 percent in 2016. CNN Correspondent, Omar Jimenez, joins us now from St. Clair Shores in the Detroit area. So Omar, polls opened just a few hours ago. How are things since we last saw you?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Anderson, we heard from the Secretary of State's Office who say that so far things have been running smoothly. They've only had to call in about a dozen of their reserve poll workers that they set aside mainly for COVID-19 reasons just in case, but they wouldn't say if this was pandemic-related or if just someone didn't show up to an actually poll, but again so far so good here in Michigan, as you mentioned a state that President Trump won by less than a percentage point.

In this county in particular where we're standing, St. Clair Shores within Macomb County, is a county that President Trump flipped from Democrat to Republican in 2016, and it's a county who's winner has been the state-wide winner for presidential and governors races going back seven elections in a row now. When you talk to some of the people here, this is a place Trump had a rally over the weekend, and when you talk to the people here obviously they are divided in many ways, but for specifically for people who support President Trump, some might think his image has taken a hit over the past four years. At least one voter we spoke to has been with him from the very beginning and says he's going to continue sticking by the president.

[11:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRET WAHLBERG, SAINT CLAIR SHORES RESIDENT: I knew Trump was going to take it all the way, because he said himself I don't get in anything to lose. He's -- he's -- he's suave, he's busy savvy, he's -- he can think off the cuff and he says what a lot of Americans want to hear, you know, not politically correctness stuff. JIMENEZ: And one of the interesting things he went on to say as well

that I've actually heard in common between Democrats and Republicans that you speak to here is that the stakes of this election have never been higher. He actually told me this is the most important election he has ever voted in.

And when you look at the turn out, the numbers that we have seen so far, that mindset and mentality is reflected. We've already seen 3.1 million absentee ballots have been returned here in the state, that's more than the 2016 presidential election turnout and more than 60 percent of the 2008 presidential election turnout, which set the record for turnout here in Michigan.

And you look no further than the campaign activity as well from these candidates, President Trump between Friday, over the weekend and last night has held at least four rallies in the state of Michigan and Joe Biden and President Obama were in Detroit and Flint over the weekend. Senator Kamala Harris is expected to be in Detroit later this afternoon. So a lot of attention being paid, again, to the state that President Trump took by just the slimmest of margins in 2016.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Omar Jimenez, appreciate it. Thanks.

Record voter turnout this year with more than 100 million ballots cast before voting even started. Six states have already topped the number of votes cast in 2016. CNN's Phil Mattingly joins us now. So walk us through these numbers.

PHIL MATTINGLY: Yes, Anderson look, obviously this is all gray right now. It's going to fill in over the course of the night. But we already have a sense of one key thing, and that is enthusiasm; enthusiasm like we've never seen before in early vote. And there is a reason for that, obviously it's in the middle of a pandemic. Democrats in particular have focused on that, but you mentioned, six states at this point in time have already surpassed their 2016 total vote. Texas, nearly a million over that.

Washington state, Arizona, a battleground state, Nevada, a battleground state. Montana, there's a key Senate race as well. There's are seven other states that hit the 90 percent mar, including battleground states like Florida, like Arizona, like Georgia and like North Carolina. Overall, Anderson, 37 states and the District of Columbia are already past 50 percent of their 2016 vote.

So I think you talked to both campaigns, you talked to operatives on both sides and one thing they agree on, they don't agree on much right now when they look at the totality of this map, but they agree that the enthusiasm is there. And that raises this question, is the U.S. today on track for record turn out? You take look, it's dropped off over the course of the last 50, 60 years, to be completely blunt, rather sad levels. 1960, kind of the high point of the modern era at 63.8 percent. 2008 was 61.6 percent and it has dropped precipitously since then. And the big question right now is, are -- is the United States going

to surpass perhaps what we saw in 1968? It's a very real possibility, at 63 percent, 64 percent, 65 percent of turnout. I think what goes with that is the big question of what that means, who does that benefit, what does it mean for the map and does it shake up the map based on states we assumed might be going one way?

And because of record turnout, because of low propensity voters turning out, because of the availability of absentee and mail-in balloting, all of a sudden those become more in play or start shifting directions. We don't know the answers and won't until tonight and in some cases tomorrow, but one thing we do know, people are turning out and they are turning out, at least in the early voting, on record levels.

COOPER: Yes, we're seeing more states more and more purple the past decade.

MATTINGLY: Yes, I think this is the interesting thing. Look, I'm going to pull up the 2016 map, because that's kind of the baseline, which the Trump campaign has operated throughout this campaign. They know what their pathway was in 2016 and largely they need to replicate that to as much of a degree as they can. The Biden campaign, obviously they're looking through the Pennsylvania and the Midwest as their clearest pathway to 270; win back that blue wall.

The difference though -- and there are plenty of differences between 2020 and 2016, I think is the idea there are a handful of states as you move from the southeast to the southwest, kind of the sun belt here, that all of a sudden maybe weren't in play for Democrats a couple of cycles ago that progressively have moved in that direction. You look at Georgia, obviously President Trump, it's red in 2016, you look at Arizona, it's red back in 2016, a shift in demographics, the move of suburban voters over the last couple of cycles.

We saw it in the 2018 midterms, in some senate races in Arizona, in some house races in Georgia, what is going to happen over the course of the night? Those states have been moving towards Democrats and the presidential level, they haven't cracked the map yet on the Democratic side. Will tonight be the night it changes? And just one more that I want to highlight.

We've been talking about the early vote, obviously the state of Texas, nearly a million votes beyond what they did in the entirety of 2016, and a lot of that surge is coming from suburban areas, Harris county, Houston, its outskirts, Dallas county and some of its outskirts. What does that mean? Does that all of a sudden put Texas in play?

[11:15:00]

I think Republicans have long said we understand the demographics are shifting in Texas but they don't think it's quite there yet for Democrats, going to take a couple more cycles. Democrats believe tonight may be the night it changes. And Anderson, if Texas changes tonight the entire map changes for Democrats. COOPER: Yes, so much to watch for. Phil Mattingly, thanks very much. We also have breaking news on how the U.S. postal service is handling mail-in ballots. For the fifth day in a row the United States postal service moved fewer ballots on time in critical battleground states then it did in the previous day.

CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us now. This is really concerning. We're learning this from court filings. What other details have you learned?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. This is incredibly concerning, Anderson, given the fact that in at least five of these states they don't actually accept mail-in or absentee ballots anytime after the election.

So this is now significantly putting ballots in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia at risk of not being counted. Now, I want to give you some of the numbers here because overall we talk about this slowdown, these ballots being processed and it looks like a shift down one point from 91 percent of ballots being processed to 90 percent.

OK. But then I get into the weeds of the numbers here and I'm looking at things like this. Just 52 percent of the Atlanta district ballots were processed, I mean 52 percent.

COOPER: Wow.

HOLMES: 69 percent in wide (inaudible) of North Carolina moved on time Sunday and Monday, 69 percent in wide (inaudible) of one of the most critical battleground states of North Carolina in this election. So, I can't stress this enough. For the last several months we have been talking to the postal service.

We have asked questions. We have said look at these numbers. There have been slowdowns in all of the policies that Postmaster General Louis DeJoy instituted. They told us they were ready for this election. That no matter what they were going to get those ballots there and get them on time. That is not what we are seeing right now.

They say this is because of a lack of staffing because of COVID-19. But again, we've known this could've been a problem now for months. So this is just -- it really is shocking to see some of these low numbers in the 50 or 60 percents here for the postal service these ballots that now might not be counted because of these delays, Anderson.

COOPER: Also I mean there are some states where if you -- you can track your ballot and if you realize it's not going to -- if it hasn't already been received that you can actually still vote but in some states that's not the case. And if you've sent in a ballot, that's it, you can't then go to a place if you realize it hasn't yet been counted.

HOLMES: Right. And we're talking about some of these critical states where every single vote counts so in a state like Wisconsin you are out of luck if you do not have your ballot cast at that time.

Now, in a state like Pennsylvania if you don't get your ballot, if you don't see where it went you can show up. If you can't turn in that ballot which obviously you can't if it's lost in the mail you can file a provisional ballot there. So, there are different rules across the board.

And people if they have not been that their ballot is being delivered, if it hasn't been yet they should show up at their polling place no matter what and try to cast one of these provisional ballots to make sure that their vote counts.

Again, you're looking at some of these numbers in different areas of the swing states. At one point I saw in Pennsylvania and in Ohio it was roughly 80 percent on time ballot sorting and ballot moving. So, these are not great numbers given that we're on Election Day right now.

COOPER: Wow. That's really stunning. Kristen Holmes, appreciate it. Thank you. After months and months of build up the day is here. A waiting game for President Trump and Former Vice President Joe Biden has begun.

Where they plan to spend those hours next and if the vote doesn't go Trump's way he would join a very small group of presidents who have only served one term. I'll speak to presidential historian about that. Special coverage of Election Day in America continues after a short break.

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[11:20:00]

COOPER: President Trump is making one public appearance today in the RNC in Virginia. Once he's returned to the White House he's expected to remain there for the rest of the night. In the meantime, Joe Biden is making some final campaign stops in his childhood home state of Pennsylvania. Our White House Correspondent, John Harwood, is in Washington. And "CNN's" Jessica Dean is in Philadelphia.

Jessica, I understand Joe Biden has - he had his granddaughters with him today. He said he wanted to take them to the home where he was born.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Anderson, he was in Scranton, Pennsylvania, his childhood home; taking some of his grandchildren, two of his granddaughters with him. And I mentioned earlier today this is obviously strategic being in Pennsylvania, it's a critical battleground state. They want to turn out union workers, white working class workers like you would find there in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

And he did speak to some union workers there. But what you said is also true. He did go to his childhood in Scranton where he's been several times during this campaign. And I wanted to show he went inside and wrote on the living room wall there a short little message signing wall from this house to the White House with the grace of God. Then signing his name and today's date. It's worth noting he did a similar thing in a different room back when he was running with Barak Obama as his vice presidential candidate.

But Scranton has played so much into the theme of this campaign, Anderson, but also is so much of who Joe Biden is and how he sees himself and presents himself both to the world, to voters, to his family. We've heard time and time again over the last several months his closing argument of Park Avenue versus Scranton. That because he as born in Scranton, because he grew up with working class parents that he understands everyday Americans and that's what set him apart from President Trump.

Who he charges is just looking out for himself and for his millionaire friends with his tax cuts and decisions in the White House. His lack of leadership there in the White House. But also in Scranton there going by his old church, a local hoagie shop he likes. So really weaving in the personal here with the political on this final day of his campaign. And up next he comes here to Philadelphia where he will make his final stops before he heads back home to Wilmington, Delaware where he will address the nation tonight and await election results.

DEAN: Anderson.

COOPER: John, the White House, I understand has made now changes to their election party plans.

[11:25:00]

HARWOOD: They have Anderson. You know, the president will visit the RNC office, you mentioned, this afternoon, then will have this party at the White House. Originally they had talked about having a party at the Trump Hotel, but after the regulators in the city, who give out liquor licenses, raised some questions about the arrangement.

They shifted it to the White House, originally told us that they expected around 400 people there. Today they have announced that they will limit the size of the gathering to 250 people with everyone receiving a rapid COVID test and getting a bracelet indicating that test before having the party tonight.

Now, Kayleigh McEnany, the White House Press Secretary, has said they expect to be celebrating a landslide victory tonight. Got to tell you, it did not sound like the president was expecting a landslide.

He phoned into Fox News this morning, said -- complained that Fox had not been as good to him in the past -- this year as they had been in the past. And when he was asked about the reports that he try to prematurely claim victory before all the votes were counted, he said, no, I'll claim victory when victory occurs, if victory occurs. He said, I think I have a very solid chance. That does not sound like a candidate who is expecting to win a landslide today.

And, of course, the polls tell us that it is not likely he wins a landslide, he's trailing significantly nationally, trailing in more than enough battleground states. He's got to hope that all of those very close battlegrounds that he won in 2016 tip his way and he can figure out some way to deny Joe Biden one of the three Rust Belt states that gave Trump the presidency in 2016, Wisconsin, Michigan or Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania is probably his best shot, which of course is why Joe Biden is there today, Anderson.

COOPER: Yes, John Harwood, appreciate it. Jessica Dean as well. The last three U.S. presidents all went on to serve two full four-year terms. If President Trump wins re-election he'll joined a distinguished list of Commander-in-Chiefs to accomplish such a feat. And if he looses, where does that leave his legacy in U.S. history?

Douglas Brinkley, CNN's Presidential Historian is here to answer the question only -- Doug, only six other U.S. presidents since 1924 have ever lost re-election.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well that's right. You -- you definitely want to win. You want to be the two-term club, when we rank presidents that's the first thing you look at, because it's a referendum are you doing a good job.

If Donald Trump looses and has, you know, 42 percent of the public backing him, it doesn't bode well for him establish any kind of legacy. He'll be always ranked towards the bottom of the presidents, like James Buchanan and Warren Harding, known for impeachment and corruption, bigotry, xenophobia, dividing of the nation.

The -- Jimmy Carter, Anderson, you know he had his -- he was sitting president and he got killed in a landslide by Ronald Reagan in 1980, led to the Reagan revolution. This might be more like 1992 when Bill Clinton squeaked out a victory over Bush 41, but Ross Perot was the weird third factor in that particular election, Perot got 19 percent of the vote as a third party candidate, it really messed up the political energies of the country.

COOPER: And -- and if Trump wins re-election, it will be the seventh time since 1924 a president won re-election to -- to a four-year term.

BRINKLEY: That's right. But, if he wins, he's -- we -- we're living in the age of Trump. The Republican Party is Donald Trump. We've seen how --

COOPER: Yes, there literally is no other platform.

BRINKLEY: There is no other platform. There is no plan B for the Republican Party. It's got turned into Trumpism. So, if that gets rejected now, the slates open of who could become the -- to take charge of the Republican Party. I'm sure Marco Rubio is going to want to insert himself into that role, maybe Nikki Haley down the road.

But Donald Trump isn't going anywhere. I mean, he's built his career, Anderson, as I'm not a looser, I'm a winner. So, he may not accept the results of the elections. He may try to take it to the Supreme Court.

And eventually if you get him out of office he may not even show up for the Biden inaugural, but he'll probably create his own media network, which he's intimated and his Twitter -- twittering will continue.

He'll start keep trying to get followers and be -- still be a disruptive -- a disruptive force in American life, intimating he might back at it in 2024 and run for president yet again.

COOPER: Doug Brinkley, thanks very much. Appreciate it. Coming up, voters casting their ballots in battleground Iowa. President Trump won the state, of course, in 2016. Also ahead, an intense battle for the Senate, take a look at the key races that could determine the balance of power there.

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