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McCain Rallies For Votes in Pennsylvania; Second Stimulus Package Plan Floated; Voter Registration Fraud Becomes Serious Concern

Aired October 21, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Think things are going well in the U.S. right now? Well, there are three more people who couldn't disagree more. If you put a giant mood ring on America right now, the color would be somewhere between gray and black.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People should stop with the hyperbole, that we're going to have a stolen election, that fraud is rampant.

PHILLIPS: The latest cries of foul play come from California. A signature collector under investigation for allegedly turning people into Republicans without their knowledge. Is it payback for ACORN?

Lottery tickets are about the last place you want to have a misprint except for maybe an obituary. But thanks to a glitch, one state lottery is turning giddy winners into angry losers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Hello, everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips live in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We will start out with so many miles, and so little time. With two weeks to go until Election Day the candidates are covering the battlegrounds and then some. John McCain is in Pennsylvania today, then moves to New Hampshire. His running mate Sarah Palin in Nevada; she has rallies in Reno and Henderson before moving on to Toledo, Ohio tonight.

On the Democratic side Barack Obama heads to Virginia after his events in Florida. VP candidate Joe Biden is in Greeley, Colorado. Now Barack Obama is talking jobs and other pocketbook issues in Florida today. That state, the biggest tossup left on the map. Two days from now the Democratic candidate will take a quick break from the trail to be with his sick grandmother in Hawaii. CNN's Jessica Yellin joining us now live from Washington.

It has to be a tough time for him.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is a tough time, Kyra. But is staying focused on the economic message which is what took him to Florida today. At his rally there, he appeared with governors from four states that have gone Republicans in the past. Ohio, Michigan, Colorado and New Mexico, all states where Barack Obama believes he has a chance of winning this time around. And he is winning there, on the numbers, based on his economic message. These are all places where we saw those poll numbers turn around in Obama's favor after the economic turn -- the economic downturn hit the U.S.

Now, in Florida, today, Obama did a round table kind of discussion with the CEO of Google, and Paul Volcker, a former Federal Reserve chairman; all sort of economic gurus and he took on, in particular, John McCain's attack on his tax plan. As you know McCain has been saying that Obama's tax plan amounts to a giveaway to 40 percent of Americans who don't pay income taxes. He's calling it a form of welfare and this is what Obama had to say to that accusation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What he is confusing is the fact that even if you don't pay income tax, there are a lot of people who don't pay income tax, you are still paying a whole lot other taxes. You are paying payroll tax, which is a huge burden on a lot of middle income families. You are paying sales taxes. You are paying property taxes. There are a whole host of taxes that you are paying. So, when we provide an offset to people who are, you know, to the waitress, or the janitor, these folks are working. This is not some giveaway to people on welfare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: And this is the kind of message you can expect to hear from Obama and from his surrogates in the coming days, in fact, through the end of this campaign, because this is the message that has been working for him -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Jessica Yellin, thank you much.

Republican candidate John McCain is making another campaign swing through Pennsylvania. Right now a rally getting under way in Harrisburg. Let's listen.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... businesses all over this nation. Small businesses employ 84 percent of Americans, and we need to support small businesses, not tax them the way that Senator Obama wants to.

(APPLAUSE)

After months of campaign trail eloquence we have finally learned what Senator Obama's economic goal is as he told Joe, he wants to spread the wealth around. He believes in redistributing wealth and not in policies that grow our economy and create jobs and opportunities for all Americans. Senator Obama is more interested in controlling who gets your piece of the pie than he is in growing the pie.

This explains -- and this helps explain some big problems with my opponent's claim that he will cut income taxes for 95 percent of Americans. You might ask, how do you cut income taxes for 95 percent of Americans when more than 40 percent pay no income taxes right now? How do you reduce the number zero? Well, that's the key to Barack Obama's whole plan. Since you can't reduce income taxes on those who pay zero, the government will write them all checks called a tax credit. And the Treasury will have to cover those checks by taxing other people, including a lot of folks just like you, and just like Joe.

In other words, Barack Obama's plan to raise taxes on some in order to give checks to others - it is not a tax cut, it is just another government giveaway. We have too much of that already.

(APPLAUSE)

The Obama tax increase would come at the worst possible time for America and especially for small businesses like the one that Joe dreams of owning. The small businesses that Senator Obama would tax provide 16 million jobs in America and a sudden tax hike for those businesses will kill jobs at a time when we need to be creating more jobs. I am not going to let that happen, my friends. I'm not going to let that happen.

(APPLAUSE)

America has an alternative to the phony tax cut that my opponent started talking about only months ago. A McCain/Palin tax cut is the real thing. We will double the childhood deduction for every family. We will cut the capital gains tax. We will cut business taxes to help create jobs and keep American businesses in America.

(APPLAUSE)

As Joe is now reminding us all, America didn't become the greatest nation on earth by giving our money no government to spread the wealth around. In this country, we believe in spreading opportunity for those who need jobs and those who create them. And that is exactly what I intend to do as president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

The next president won't have time to get used to the office. We face many challenges here at home. You know that. Many enemies abroad in this dangerous world. This weekend, just this weekend, Senator Biden guaranteed that if Senator Obama is elected, we will have an international crisis to test America's new president. My friends, we don't want a president who invites testing from the world at a time when our economy is in crisis and Americans are already fighting in two wars.

My friends, Senator Biden referred to how Jack Kennedy was tested in the Cuban missile crisis. My friends I have a little personal experience on that. I was on board the USS Enterprise. I sat in the cockpit, on the flight deck, of the U.S.S Enterprise, off of Cuba. I sat on the cockpit on the flight deck of the USS Enterprise, off of Cuba. I had a target. My friends, I know how close we came to a nuclear war. America will not have a president who needs to be tested. I have been tested, my friends, and senator Obama has not.

PHILLIPS: John McCain holding his rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We are following both of the candidates, and the VPs as well, as they continue to campaign less than two weeks away from November 4th.

Well Election Day countdowns are fine, but don't forget you can vote early pretty much everywhere in the country right now. Rules and procedures vary, of course, but one thing has been fairly constant, the crowds. These are scenes from South Florida, Dallas and Denver. Helping with the crowd control in Colorado is the fact that more than half of registered voters have asked for mail-in ballots. That is a first.

And if you vote early, we want to hear about it. Share your experience with us and other CNN viewers on the web and on the air. Logon to ireports@cnn.com.

We also want to get the big picture on election problems and pitfalls. Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center for Justice joins me at the half hour.

And as always, electoral votes are key to winning the White House. And to mapping the candidates' travels in the final days, my colleague John Roberts takes another spin with the "Magic Board".

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, with just two weeks left this race is starting to tighten up. Let's use our 2004 election results as a frame, here, as we track the presidential travel and tell you what's going on.

Senator John McCain yesterday spent some time here in St. Charles, Missouri. Missouri is a state that has picked correctly every time since 1904, except one, who would be to president of the United States. So Senator McCain trying to keep this state red. Of course, this went for George Bush heavily in 2004 and 53 to 46 percent. So he was here in St. Charles. He also spent some time in Belton, Missouri, yesterday, just south of Kansas City.

And here is the reason why. He is hanging on to a slim lead there, 48 to 46 percent in our latest CNN Poll of Polls. That is up just a little bit, so he's increased his margin just a tiny, tiny bit here in the state of Missouri. And he would certainly like to stretch that out just a little bit more before Election Day.

Senator Barack Obama, for his money, yesterday was spending time in the state of Florida, he's also there again today. Early voting began there yesterday and a lot of enthusiastic people coming out, lines around the polling places, and both John McCain and Senator Obama fighting heavily for this state with its 27 electoral votes.

Senator Obama, yesterday, traveling the I-4 corridor, an appearance here in Tampa, and a joint appearance with Senator Clinton, in Orlando. Also has an appearance today in Lake Worth, in Palm Beach, and as well in Miami. He would really like to put this state in the win column, and it is ever so close. Take a look at this. It was 4 points for Barack Obama in our latest Poll of Polls, now only 3, 49 to 46 percent. So it is definitely going to be a challenge for him to put that one in the win column. And don't forget, a state that went for President Bush in 2004.

John McCain will be spending some time here in the Keystone State, Pennsylvania. He has a campaign appearance in Ben Salem, and Bucks County, as well as Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. But you know, a lot of strategists are saying they don't understand why he is spending so much time and money in the Keystone State, because if you take a look at our latest Poll of Polls here, Senator Obama leads by 13 points. And there are some people who believe that that may take that state out of the win column. But it is a big prize in terms of electoral votes. And I guess John McCain figures he just can't afford to give that one up.

He is also fighting hard here in the state of Ohio. He has an appearance here in the green, northwestern Cincinnati as well as Cincinnati, itself. He'd certainly like to put Ohio and its 20 electoral votes in the win column. Based on the electoral college map you probably would have to do that if he hopes to win the White House.

Senator Obama has a 3-point lead over Senator McCain 48 percent to 45 percent. That is about where it has been. This race is not really tightening up as it has been in some other states.

Let's just give you an idea of why this is all so important. We'll go back to the electoral college map and remind you of where we are. Senator Obama now with 277 projected electoral votes to John McCain's 174. We will remind you that our latest CNN Poll of Polls nationwide has Senator Obama ahead by 5 points now, 51 to 46 percent. So things are beginning to tightening up, Kyra, as many people expected they would. And both of the candidates are battling hard for each and every electoral vote they can get their hands on.

PHILLIPS: Well, what goes up, comes down at least on Wall Street. U.S. stocks are down today after yesterday's rally of more than 400 points, but the Fed is trying to ease the market saying it will buy commercial paper from money market mutual funds. Commercial paper is the short-term funding mechanism, by the way, that many companies use for day-to-day operations.

Also investor fears appear to be easing as frozen credit markets begin thaw. Now the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is all for it, now spending measures to stimulate the economy. The Dems are pushing it, too. President Bush, who flatly opposed the idea last month, is now warming up to it. Joining us with is take our Senior Business Correspondent Ali Velshi.

Ali, good to see you.

ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And you, Kyra.

There are a lot of things are going on. And one wonders whether they are all going to have some effect. The Dow is trading down again, but we are still above that range that some people think it is the bottom of the market, so I would almost caution people not to be too concerned what is going on in the market.

The issue now is the stimulus package that is being sort of floated. There are a couple of ideas. There is a Democratic sort of proposal and a Republican sort of proposal. And you mentioned Ben Bernanke in the testimony yesterday suggested that this might be a good time to think about it.

Whatever you think about whether Ben Bernanke should be floating into the world of politics or not, some people think that that call was a bit political, because it does seem to be more identified with Barack Obama's position than John McCain's.

But I will just give you a bit of a breakdown of what the Democrats think that a new stimulus package - and this is about people and not about Wall Street and banks - what it might include. The Democrats are talking about more cash assistance for infrastructure, to fund infrastructure, building projects basically, to create new jobs. They want to extend jobless benefits and they want to raise the limits on home loans that are backed by the government to create more guaranteed home loans.

The Republicans have a slightly different view and it is more in keeping with traditional Republican philosophy, cut the capital gains tax in half for two years. Those are gains on things that have increased in value, stocks and things like that. They also want to cut the income tax for firms that are buying up some of these troubled assets and mortgage loans.

Here's an interesting one, expand the capital gains exclusion on home sales. Right now, you have $250,000 exclusion. In other words, if you sell a house and you made $250,000, you can have an exclusion from the capital gains tax if you are a couple to claim half a million dollars.

But the Republicans are suggesting that people who buy -- that is on the primary residence -they are suggesting that people who buy additional residences over the next five years they should be able to claim the same thing. Typically you cannot do that. The idea is that if you encourage people, through tax breaks, to buy more of these homes you might deal with some of these homes that are on the market.

So in other words, people with money will go the buy more homes and make them into rental properties, or things like that, thereby buying up some of those excess homes on the market. So, they are both kind of interesting. They both funnel the money a little more directly to the average American, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I have a question for you.

VELSHI: Go ahead.

PHILLIPS: If someone were to give you $200 would you just take that, or would you take the risk of a coin toss and getting $500?

VELSHI: I take the risk of a coin toss, but that is just me.

PHILLIPS: That's what I thought. All right. Did you read the new Harvard study?

VELSHI: What did they say? What should you do?

PHILLIPS: Well, all men are to blame for what is happening on Wall Street.

VELSHI: Because we take the coin toss?

PHILLIPS: Because you take the riskier investments and that is why we are where we are. And women should be running Wall Street.

VELSHI: Ha, it is all my fault.

PHILLIPS: You took the coin toss. But you know what, so did I, sorry.

VELSHI: I must say, though, it would be better, if you asked me for society, it would be better not to take the coin toss. I would take the coin toss, because I figure someone else would be smart enough to take the money.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: See you in a little bit.

VELSHI: All right.

PHILLIPS: More jitters, or just looking for a steal? Dow industrials down 89 points. For now, U.S. stocks will probably stay down on Wall Street for a little while. So, is a rebound around the corner? We are going to go live to the New York Stock Exchange to find out.

And you have seen them collecting signatures outside of stores and shopping malls, but do you really know what you are signing? New voter fraud allegations raise disturbing questions about our election.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, jobs and money on everyone's mind and it is no shocker that people are stressed out. New poll numbers about the mood of the country could affect how people are making their presidential choice. We asked you how you think that things are going in the country today and here is what we found; 75 percent of you say that things are going badly and 25 percent say that things are fine.

And, how are you feeling? Well, the our CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll found about three quarters of you are stressed and angry. The mood has not been this bad since Watergate, the Iranian hostage crisis and the '92 recession.

Well, he took a leap of faith in Ford Motor Company six months ago, but now the billionaire Kirk Kerkorian is having second thoughts about the second largest American automaker. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with more on his move along with the reaction on Wall Street?

Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra.

Well, Kerkorian has sold nearly 7.5 million of his shares he owns in the troubled car maker and may bail out of his stake completely. The billionaire investor was the largest individual shareholder in Ford outside of members of the Ford family. He dumped the shares at just a fraction of the price he bought them for, just six months ago. And he bought them, Kyra, at a price ranging between $7 and $8.50. That was the range. He sold them for under $2.50, on average. So, he took a bath. He's still really, really rich though.

This comes after Ford posted a nearly $9-billion loss in the second quarter and continues to see its stock price erode. Ford shares, right now, are down 6 percent and trading $2 and change. Kerkorian plans on shifting his focus to the gaming and hospitality sectors, and oil and gas industries, where he sees -- quote, unquote -- "unique value".

Let's see the value of the Dow Jones industrial average. Well, it is down, but well of its lows for the session. Right now, down 75 points or about 1 percent. The Nasdaq is down 2 percent. Oil prices, by the way, are down nearly $3 and right around $71 a barrel. Triple- A, says national average for a gallon of gas now stands at $2.89 and down three cents overnight. So it is trickling down the big declines that we have seen in oil prices, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: What does it say about the auto industry when we are watching plants close across the country?

LISOVICZ: Well, Kirk Kerkorian certainly does not put his money where he thinks he will lose it. So it is does not bode well for the sector when somebody has put that much money into it. In fact, Kerkorian has at one point or another had his hand in all three of Detroit's automakers. But Ford and other automakers have been hit hard by both the high gas prices as well as tighter credit, which makes it harder for consumers to get the financing they need to buy cars.

So just imagine that. Those record-high gas prices in the summer. And oh, for those people who could afford it, and wanted an SUV, yes, you cannot get access to a loan. I mean, it is really a very tight squeeze for them. And Kirk Kerkorian has bailed. He's going elsewhere, Kyra. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Susan Lisovicz, thanks so much. The Dow industrials down 72 points. We'll talk in a little bit, Susan.

The University of Nebraska says thanks, but no thanks to a professor who was scheduled to speak there. That is what happens when you are a controversial talking point during a hot election year.

And Americans are voting in record numbers, even though the real Election Day is two weeks away. We are going to tell you how to avoid early voting headaches.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, most people love a white Christmas, but come on, it is not even Halloween. Some early cold and snow out there.

What is up, Chad?

(WEATHER FORECAST)

PHILLIPS: Well, for some of us Election Day has come and gone and that number grows by the minute. But early voting does not always mean easy voting. We will tell you what you need to know to make sure your voice is heard.

And more talk of voter fraud. And fresh batch of allegations claims people were turned into Republicans -- not magically, but voluntarily, but, well, and not accidentally.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: 2:30 Eastern time and these are the stories we are working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Singing the blues, at least on Wall Street U.S. stocks are down after chalking up a big rally yesterday. The culprit appears to be some lackluster earning reports.

And taking pot shots at a controversial sheriff in Tucson, unflattering life size cutouts appear to look like Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Human rights groups have blasted the sheriff for his treatment of illegal immigrants and forcing inmates to live in tents and wear, yes, pink underwear.

Both Barack Obama and John McCain are going at it hard on the campaign trail today. Obama is in the battleground state of Florida holding a job summit with several state governors. McCain is seeking votes in Pennsylvania.

Now, Virginia is one of many states where Election Day is under way right now and election officials systems, procedures are being tested like never before. CNN's Dan Lothian is watching the voting in Prince William County.

Dan, everybody wants a big turnout and hopefully they won't get frustrated and fire off that cannon right behind you.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, you know why I am standing here, because it this is a battlefield in a key battleground state. How is that? Folks here certainly are energized, because they realize that in this county which is a swing county, that they could really play an important role in who becomes the next president. So a lot of excitement building here. Of course, they have already started voting here.

They don't have early voting as you have in other states where anyone really can show up and vote early, here what they have is absentee ballots, absentee voting and you can do it either by mail or you can do it in person. The difference is that you have to have a reason as to why you need to show up and vote in person. You have to either be out of town on Election Day or have a disability or because of your job, you are not able to vote.

Now, to make things a little easier for those absentee voters, officials have extended hours and also added some additional days. What it used to be in the past general elections is that the two Saturdays prior to Election Day would be the only days on the weekend when you could actually go in and vote absentee. Well, they have opened it for every Saturday in the month of October and in addition they have also added Tuesday evening hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How has it been going so far?

BARBARA BALL, ASST. COUNTY REGISTRAR: Well, it's been going very steady and very well. We are excited that voters wanted to come out to vote. We feel as though we are doing a fine job, getting people through the lines.

BETTY WEIMER, PRINCE WILLIAM CO. REGISTRAR: Well, in most general elections we run around 600 to 700 election officers. Right now we have assigned 1,100 people to work.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LOTHIAN: Kyra, the registrar telling us that they also have an additional 200 people who have been trained that will be on standby in case they are needed. But no doubt, with this heavy voter turnout, it could really complicate things here.

Back in 2006, it was 60 percent voter turnout and they had some problems, long lines, some of those touch screen machines did not work well, but they believe they have all the kinks worked out with the machines, but certainly there is concern that if we do see what's expected to be a 90 percent voter turnout statewide, they could have long lines here as well. So they are urging folks to be very patient and to wear comfortable shoes -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Give me some history of the battlefield Dan. Should I test the background there?

LOTHIAN: Sorry, the wind is blowing so hard, it is difficult for me to hear you, but yes, I'm in Manassas and this is the battlefield park here. We thought that it was sort of interesting to use this as a backdrop, because this is really a key battleground state. I mean, no doubt about it. This is a state that for the past 44 years really in terms of voting for president, they have always been voting for Republicans. And so, you know, this is the first time that it really is up for grabs, so everyone is excited about that here.

PHILLIPS: Perfect place to be. Dan Lothian, thanks so much.

Well, there's a fresh batch of voter fraud allegations. It comes from a fresh batch of California Republicans who say they were duped into joining the party.

Here is CNN's Ted Rowlands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 25-year-old Mark Jacoby was arrested for allegedly lying about his own home address on two voter registration forms in order to do business in California. The charges against Jacoby are serious, but they have nothing to do with the outcome of an election yet. After his arrest, California's secretary of state was talking tough.

DEBRA BOWEN, CALIFORNIA SECRETARY OF STATE: This is serious. It is a felony to register falsely.

ROWLANDS: Jacoby runs a company which finds people at places like grocery stores to sign petitions or register to vote. According to the California Republican Party, Jacoby's company registered about 50,000 people for them this year, and was paid between $7 to $12 per person. Authorities say some of those people have complained that they were lied to, told they were signing petitions supporting tough laws against child molesters, not signing up to become a Republican. Jacoby hasn't been charged with wrongdoing related to those complaints.

JANE ROBISON, L.A. COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE: That investigation is ongoing by our office into allegations that his company allegedly signed people up, reregistered them unbeknownst to them.

ROWLANDS: But the California Republican Party is crying foul, they accuse the secretary of state of using this case to make headlines to deflect recent ACORN criticisms against Democrats. The secretary of state denies that allegation, some experts say both parties are blowing cases of voter registration fraud out of proportion.

RICHARD HASEN, LOYOLA LAW SCHOOL: People should stop with hyperbole that we are going to have a stolen election, and the fraud is rampant and that the fabric of our democracy is threatened. None of that is true. But nobody should worry about the integrity of our electoral process.

ROWLANDS (on camera): Jacoby is out on $50,000 bail. His attorney says he has done absolutely nothing wrong.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLILPS: Well, there's some blocking and tackling in Colorado for you that would make the Denver broncos pretty proud.

Oh, yes, those are protesters trying to block Sarah Palin's motorcade yesterday in Grand Junction. Motorcycle cops jumped off their bikes to get them out of the way, but they couldn't arrest anyone because they had to get back into the motorcade. Police say the protesters are part of a group called Red Pill. Their Web site urges supporters to stand up against war, corporate cronyism and four years of Bush-style leadership.

Chancellor leaders in Nebraska says that no one threatened to cancel a visit from this guy, William Ayers. He was supposed to talk about education issues next month at a conference on campus. The chancellor says the risk to Ayers' safety was just too great. Ayers was a founder of the weather underground, a radical group that claimed responsibility for bombing several government buildings in the 1970's. He became a talking point in the presidential campaign after Republicans questioned his ties to Barack Obama.

Now whenever you head to the polls, here is a reminder, don't wear any campaign logos. This woman was turned away from an Albuquerque, New Mexico polling place, because she was wearing a Barack Obama T-shirt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMANTHA RASMUSSEN, TURNED AWAY BECAUSE OF T-SHIRT: I was shocked, because I felt that that's really unconstitutional.

MAGGIE TOULOUSE OLIVER, BERNAULLO COUNTY, N.M. CLERK: No signs, no literature. Folks can't even really wear T-shirts or buttons with any candidate information on them, because that is considered campaigning.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, most states have similar rules banning campaign logos from voting places. And by the way, the woman we showed you was able to cast her ballot. She went out to her van, turned her shirt inside out and then she came back and voted.

Well my next guest says early voting means early problems. So whether you vote early or last-minute, you need to know the rules and your rights. So we turn to Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center for Justice, that's a nonpartisan public policy institute at the New York School of Law.

Michael, good to see you.

MICHAEL WALDMAN, BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE: Good to be with you.

PHILLIPS: Here is a couple of our questions. We were wondering with early voting, a lot of people, a lot of viewers too, e-mailed us and said, first of all, how do you protect those votes, once you send it in or you vote early, where do they go, where are they stored, what kind of security is around those votes?

WALDMAN: Well, states with early voting do have early security and they have a kind of a lock-box situation. I would say that I am not particularly worried that those votes are going to go awry any more than I am worried about all these vaporous allegations of voter fraud. Which often turn out to be just kind of an excuse for steps that wind up keeping regular people from voting. I think that people should know that their votes are going to be secure. The bigger problems have to do with being on the voter list and making sure the machines work.

PHILLIPS: How do you know -- OK, all right. I have another question for you, but let's get back to that. How do you know you're on the list. What if you show up, and you're not on the list.

WALDMAN: Well, this year it's especially important and the problems with early voting are not that different from the problems on Election Day. It's kind of just the canary in the coal mine that it shows us what they are. There are so many new voters as you've been reporting, that there are different problems having to do with all these new voters. There are many names on the list, and sometimes voters will be registered, they will be eligible to vote, but maybe they've been purged from the list, kicked off the list or blocked in some way.

So voters need this year to start off if possible, find out if you are on the list. You can do that by calling your local board of election, often there are Web sites, there are nonprofit Web sites such as govote.org that ought to be able to tell you in some states whether you are on the list, but if possible check and see if you are on the list. But in any case, if you get to the polls and you're not on the list, don't take no for an answer. If you are register and you're eligible, you can vote.

PHILLIPS: Now, military votes from overseas, remember back in 2000 there was a glitch with that and there was concern that those were causing. They could make a difference for the candidate with all of those votes if indeed they were all counted. How do we know those are getting in on time, they are being counted, protected, all of that will play?

WALDMAN: Well, we have come a long way since 2000. We've learned a lot about what happened in Florida in 2000. The Federal Help America Vote Act was passed in 2002, which standardizes and puts some protections in place. And we should expect this year, I do think it's likely to be the case that military ballots will be appropriately counted. They are making a better attempt.

The biggest challenge is making sure that overseas voters actually get to register and get to seek absentee ballots. Again, the biggest problem right now is not so much counting the vote, but making sure that people are on the list, because we know that there are hundreds of thousands of people whose votes may have been purged or kicked off of the rolls and we need to make sure that they get to vote.

PHILLIPS: You know what else a number of people wanted to know Michael.

WALDMAN: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Say they voted early and then something happens in the final two weeks before November 4th, like a candidate came out and said something and they wanted to change their minds or some scandal broke and they wanted to take back their votes, too bad, right?

WALDMAN: Unless they have a time machine, they can't, you don't get a do-over when you are voting.

PHILLIPS: No do-overs when you vote.

WALDMAN: There is that old Tammany Hall saying, vote early and often, that actually isn't true.

PHILLIPS: So I guess voter fraud would work in this case, because then you could vote a couple of times. You could go either way I guess and then you're safe.

WALDMAN: Well, I don't think unfortunately, you only get to vote once even if you really love the candidate.

PHILLIPS: Got it. Michael Waldman, always great to talk to you. Thanks so much.

CNN is keeping them honest. If you have trouble at the polls, call the CNN voter hotline or try to get in touch with Michael Waldman, he knows what he's talking about. You can help us track the problems too and we'll report the trouble in real time. All you do is you call this number on your screen 1- 877-462-6608, we're keeping them honest all the way through the election and beyond.

Well don't look now, but what was going up almost everyday is now going down nearly everyday. We're talking about gas as in at the pumps. Guess what a gallon of regular is going for now?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right, down, down, down. Gas prices here in the U.S. continue to fall. It is good news. AAA says the national average for a gallon of unleaded regular is now $2.89. That's down from two cents from yesterday and 86 cents from a month ago.

When we began our "Energy Fix" segment earlier this year, the goal was to offer ways for people to help cope with high prices, but over the past few months oil prices have tumbled dramatically. So today, Poppy Harlow will begin a two part series looking at how the slide is affecting the search for alternative energy. She joins us now live from New York.

Hey, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey there, Kyra.

You know it's interesting, in just three months we have seen oil prices tumble more than $70 a barrel. I don't think anyone could have guessed that this summer. It is an energy fix for all of us in and of itself, but on the other hand, what it's doing is it's prompting corporations around the world to pull back on their investment in cleaner, renewable energy. That's an issue. Yesterday, two Canadian companies postponed their plans to produce oil sands projects in Alberta, Canada. Some analysts say that could become a trend among more companies because crude really does need to stay close to that $100 a barrel mark for oil sand producers to even make money on their investment.

Another problem right now, it takes a while to crank out all that new technology we have been talking about. And when energy prices rose earlier this year, companies were committed to building wind farms, electric cars, developing biofuel, but prices turned south, and the projects aren't done yet and they still need funding. These are for profit companies, Kyra, you know what that means in the end they have to make money.

PHILLIPS: All right. Let's talk about -- Rick Sanchez, would you stop! He is sitting next to me, I'm sorry, he is sitting next to me yawning. He is yawning.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: I am a huge fan.

HARLOW: Rick! Come on, I am not that boring.

SANCHEZ: No, no. Are you kidding.

PHILLIPS: Exactly. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: It's Poppy Harlow time.

PHILLIPS: Come back in six minutes. All right. Let's talk about the credit crisis and something not to yawn about, OK, it's stressing us all out. How is that affecting alternative energy?

HARLOW: Well, I am afraid I'm going to make Rick fall asleep, but I'm going to tell you, the lack of financing for these companies, that's a big problem, right? Most of the new technology products require huge money right up front. Everyday investors simply are not as enthusiastic as they once were and they might not have the money.

So if you look in the last quarter, there's an index made up of a bunch of renewable energy companies that fell 30 percent. That is three times worse than the decline we saw on the S&P 500. Earlier this month, a German solar company canceled its IPO, meaning it's not going public right now. And Tactical Motors, that company that makes those cool expensive electric cars, well it delayed plans to roll out a cheaper one until it gets a loan from the government -- Kyra and Rick.

PHILLIPS: Yes, Rick.

SANCHEZ: I am exuberant about that one! I thought that answer that was spot-on.

PHILLIPS: Poppy, you are great. I know it is a two-part series, right, so why don't you go ahead and tell us what's on tap for tomorrow. I'll get Rick a coffee. HARLOW: Yes, exactly. We're going to talk about the challenges facing the alternative energy environment. What the candidates are talking about and what difference they will make and if there is a future for it at all. That's all coming up tomorrow. It will be exciting, I promise.

PHILLIPS: I'm sure it will. Thank you Poppy. How are you doing there Rick?

SANCHEZ: Stun gun. You see that? Can you guys at home see that on her?

PHILLIPS: I don't need waking up. I need no tasing.

SANCHEZ: I'm going to show you how this works. Actually, Mike Brooks is going to be there to show us how this tase me bro machine works.

PHILLIPS: Fabulous. Don't tase me bro.

SANCHEZ: Just one of the many things I have in my repertoire for you.

PHILLIPS: We have a few things from Rick's repertoire coming up, also we're going to take a look at winning ticket for big bucks. There's always a hitch though. Find out why lottery officials won't be paying up due to a little glitch in the numbers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: People protesting in the mountains of southwest Colombia suddenly turns violent. It is the latest clash between Indian tribes, the police and army. The result is viewed by some as justice, to others its brutal.

A warning now that some of the images in this report from CNN's Karl Penhaul are pretty graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Indian protest turned violent. Police tried to stop a tribal blockade to South America's main trade route, a Pan American highway. The Indians throw rocks, use slingshots, toss Molotov cocktails. The police and army fight back with tear gas. The high casualty count has come rage.

In a nearby village, tribal guards parade a young man in front of the crowd. He is accused by the Indians of spying on protesters. In civilian clothes he was carrying a camouflage uniform. His name is (INAUDIBLE). He admits being an army corporal, but denies being a spy.

He tells CNN only that he was pulled from a public bus. He knows the tribal leaders have decided to have him flogged. Elders spray him with sacred water. They describe the nine lashes as a remedy intended to cure the captive of his evil ways. FELICIANO VALENCIA, INDIAN LEADER: There will be people who point the finger and say those Indians are savages, but we're not being uncivilized. We're using ancestral teachings to carry out justice this leader says.

PENHAUL: Under Colombian law, Indians are permitted to administer their own traditional forms of justice. And it's tough justice indeed. The first strike. The crowd surges forward, they want to take tribal law into their own hands. Indian guards struggle to restore order. Eight more lashes to go. More blows, each one from a different Indian leader. The pain is etched across Chaparral's face.

(on camera): While they insist it is a traditional ritual they say that hope it will also serve as a warning to other security force members not to try and infiltrate their protests.

(voice-over): The soldier is led away to be handed over to government officials. The crowd cries for more.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, La Maria, Colombia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Lots of questions now in Little Rock, Arkansas, after a local news anchor is brutally attacked in her home. Anne Pressley works for our affiliate KATV. Police still aren't sure if this was a random home invasion yesterday or if Pressley was targeted. Right now she's in critical but stable condition. Rick Sanchez and his team have been working the story.

What have you found out?

SANCHEZ: Well, you know when you look at something like this you probably think, this is something that probably hits close to home for you, anchor woman in the business and working in Little Rock, Arkansas.

PHILLIPS: Well, we definitely deal with strange individuals.

SANCHEZ: And that is what they are already looking into. I think sometimes one of the first things you have to look at is the means by which she was attacked. And what they are looking at is the attack was so gruesome it would not be normal for someone whose purse is going to be robbed to be attacked in such a vicious manner as its being described. So we are going to be talking to her neighbor coming up in just a little bit who is going to give us some inside information into what's going on in the investigation.

We're also going to be doing a story today on some video that we received about a tasering. When it's appropriate and when it's not appropriate when used by police, which is becoming a big problem because more and more police departments are turning to these instead of guns. So we'll do the demonstration, Mike Brooks will be out here and he's going to join us.

PHILLIPS: Thinking of Pressley, too, it might have helped I mean even for self-defense. A lot of women keep those in their cars and they have tasers at home.

SANCHEZ: It's much better they say, in fact police academy officials I've talked to say these are better than guns when it comes to that kind of stuff.

PHILLIPS: All right, coming up at the top of the hour. Thanks Rick.

Well some Virginia lottery winners are getting an apology instead of cash, despite having what looks like a golden ticket worth thousands of dollars. No lucky 7s in this game, folks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, not so lucky number 7. A new Virginia lottery promised a grand prize of $7,777 if the numbers on the ticket added up to seven. Hundreds of ticketholders thought they were winners only to be told a computer error caused those misprints.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY WATERS, THOUGHT SHE WON LOTTERY: I don't see why that is my problem, I think it should be their problem. I'm really very sorry that they had a computer glitch, but stand by what it did.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, that ticket says that it is void if -- well, that it's void if misprinted, but still the lottery officials are talking with the state attorney general's office to see if they have to pay up.

NEWSROOM continues now. Stay with us, Rick Sanchez takes it from here.