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Voting Problems Already; "Daily Dose"

Aired October 28, 2004 - 11:30   ET

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

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


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: In Boston, the city of the big dig has dug itself out of an 86-year-old hole, claiming its first World Series win since 1918. The Red Sox clinched the title against the Cardinals 3-0, sweeping the series in four games.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Here we go, down to five final days in this presidential campaign. Both President Bush and Senator Kerry are turning to starpower in their quest for the votes. Bruce Springsteen campaigns for Mr. Kerry today. Arnold Schwarzenegger campaigns for Mr. Bush tomorrow.

With just five days to go, the race is still locked so tight. President Bush has a two-point lead over Senator Kerry in our average of national polls. Mr. Bush is at 49 percent, Senator Kerry is at 47 percent, but the difference is within the margin of error, as you've heard before.

As we talked about earlier this hour, George W. Bush and John Kerry are still going back and forth over those reports about the missing explosives in Iraq.

For more now on this story, and others, on the campaign trail, let's turn to CNN's Judy Woodruff. She's in Washington.

Judy, the explosives story has been out there for a couple of days now. Why are the candidates still talking about it?

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Well, frankly, because they both think they can make some headway with it, especially Senator John Kerry. John Kerry, when this story broke a few days ago, his campaign decided that this was a way to underscore the point that he's been trying to make for months now, and that is that President Bush has mismanaged the war in Iraq. And Kerry is trying to use the disappearance of some 380 tons of highly explosive materials as an emblem of how the president has, in effect, blown the war. He's saying that this wouldn't have happened if the president had sent enough troops in there, if there had been a plan to secure dangerous materials like this.

For his part, President Bush didn't say anything for the first few days. They, frankly, didn't want to be on the defensive, but now they've decided they have to address this, and they're trying to turn it around and use it against Senator Kerry. The president today saying that, you know, John Kerry is desperate to make points with anything. And this is not the kind of man we want as commander in chief. So both sides now trying to use this to their advantage -- Rick. SANCHEZ: Let's turn to some of the problems we've been hearing about at some of the polling places in certain states, including my home state in Florida, in the South Florida area. What is the federal government doing to ensure voting rights are going to be protected this time around?

WOODRUFF: Well, Rick, as you know, and you're right, Florida is right in the middle of it. But the elections in this country are run by the 50 states. The federal government has very little role in overseeing the elections.

However, there are some laws that the country has passed, in particular, the Voting Rights Act back in the 1980s, and some other specific laws that protect voters' civil rights, that calls for the federal government to oversee elections. And for that reason, the Justice Department announced just last night that they are going to send around 1,000 observers and monitors around the country. They're not telling us where. The only clue we are getting is that they are suggesting there will be some focus on those cities and states where civil rights groups say they have an increased concern about intentional racial or ethnic discrimination, or religious discrimination.

So this is three times as many monitors and observers as the federal government sent out in 2000. It's one more sign, Rick, that people are on the watch out -- on the lookout and on the watch for the problems.

SANCHEZ: And then there's 20,000 lawyers we've been hearing about representing both sides as well. That should be interesting.

Judy Woodruff, thanks so much for that report. We'll be looking for you at 3:00 p.m. on "INSIDE POLITICS."

KAGAN: Thank you, Rick.

Well, the 2000 presidential race turned the normally mundane issue of the Electoral College into a political firestorm. And with a close race in this year's election, who knows what could happen next week.

Our Tom Foreman looks at some of the possibilities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Run for the hills, hide the children, and lock up the dogs. The normally tame electoral college is turning ferocious with the specter of tied election looming again. So, John Fortier, who wrote a book on the electoral system, is spending his nights in a cold sweat.

JOHN FORTIER, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: I would lie awake sweating in any election that is likely to be this close, no matter what our system is.

FOREMAN: A tie is unlikely, but if George Bush wins every state he expects to win, and John Kerry does, too, a dozen closely contested states will make the difference. And computer models calculate about three dozen ways their electoral votes can add up to a tie.

FORTIER: One scenario that might be possible is that Kerry wins in Ohio and in New Hampshire; and Bush wins in Wisconsin and New Mexico and all the other states, the same as 2000. Those are possible pick ups.

FOREMAN: If any combination produces a tie in the electoral college, then the election will be decided by the nation's legislators. The House of Representatives would pick the president for the Republican majority, George Bush.

But the Senate would decide on the vice president. And if the Democrats gained a few seats they could give John Edwards that job, another tie.

It is all enough to make some voters squeamish.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the electoral college should be abolished. I think it has outlived its usefulness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One person, one vote, will do it.

FOREMAN (on camera): Whoever gets the most is the winner?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. That's it.

ANNOUNCER (RODEO VIDEO): Thrills there are, and spills.

FOREMAN: The electoral college was designed and refined over many years to address rural concerns, uneven nationwide voter distribution, and much more. And historically, because it magnifies the popular vote, the college has made instantly clear who has won.

ANNOUNCER: A look at the future. Looks good, eh?

FOREMAN: But this time, with talk of states splitting their electoral votes, electors defecting from their voters and lawsuits, lawsuits, lawsuits, even chad can hardly hang on to see how the college comes through.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Five days before the presidential elections and the courts are already involved in the vote, as we alluded to just moments ago in our conversation with Judy Woodruff.

In Ohio, a federal judge has stopped hearing on thousands of contested voter registrations. The state Republican Party claims many of the registrations could be fraudulent.

In Iowa, a judge declined to rule on whether that state can count votes cast in the wrong precincts. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN BLACKWELL (R), OHIO SECY. OF STATE: What the court blocked was the state GOP's challenge of some 35,000 voters. Just two days before that we had already made a decision to allow challenged voters to vote provisionally.

So in Ohio, the ground rules are set. Those who believe that they are legally registered can ask for a provisional ballot if their name is not on their -- the voting roles in their assigned precinct. And we're going to check that out the way we always have checked it out over a decade.

CHET CULVER (D), OHIO SECY. OF STATE: I think the Help America Vote Act was intended to actually help Americans vote. And there is a new provision in the Help America Vote Act that calls for a provisional ballot. And I believe every attempt should be made in every state, and certainly the great state of Iowa, to count those ballots, to count those provisional ballots. We had four to six million people that were disenfranchised in this country in 2000. This should never happen again, and we're focused here in Iowa on enfranchising hopefully a record number of Iowans. We expect 75 percent turnout. And 2.1 million people are registered, which is 95 percent of eligible Iowans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: By the way, there is yet another problem we learned of last night here on CNN. This takes us to Broward County, Florida. They are sending out second batches of absentee ballots there, because the first batch apparently never reached many of the voters.

KAGAN: The campaign season is usually seen in well-choreographed rallies, with the candidates fighting over their political lives. But for many Americans, this election is a passionate struggle over the future.

Our Richard Quest, he's normally in London, but we've shipped him over here to come watch the U.S. Democracy in action. Recently, he's been hanging around partisan activists in Portland, Oregon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to call them. And we're going to call them again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One, two, three, four five -- there's five of them.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the everyday story of political mums who have swapped daily chores for the daily grind of getting their candidate elected.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have one of these yet?

QUEST: Allison Bruun, mother of Natalie and Katie, is going all out for President Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi.

ALLISON BRUUN, MOTHER OF NATALIE AND KATIE: Mothers are hard working women. Mothers are very dedicated to their kids and their family. And I have worked very hard on this campaign for the last year, since last October.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Siouxie Jennet, mother of Sierra, is leaving no stone unturned for John Kerry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you want me to cut off the face at all, baby?

SIOUXIE JENNET, MOTHER OF SIERRA: This war brought home to me, so to speak, because I am a mom. I feel like the environment is just being torn apart by Bush's policies.

QUEST: These two women live less than 10 miles apart. It's very unlikely they would never have met had we not introduced them.

JENNET: The George W. Bush administration right now is tearing down our economic policy. Our deficit is going -- skyrocketing right now, and I don't know how we're going to pay that off. Social Security, I'm not going to have it, let alone my daughter having it. Those things concern me.

BRUUN: And that's why George W. Bush has policies that are going to correct and fix Social Security, privatize it.

JENNET: He's had three and a half years.

BRUUN: He's had a lot on his plate in three and a half years, and he's going to have four more years to get it done.

JENNET: I hope not.

QUEST: The children, you see, have been well schooled in their mums' political views, truly out of the mouths of babes.

(on camera): Where should George go?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Back to Texas.

QUEST: You want Bush to win?

Why is that? Why do you think Bush?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because he gives people money, and he's really good.

QUEST: It is a sign of just how close this election is, that everyone is being pressed into service. And mothers, on both sides of the political divide, have swapped their Saturdays for the campaign. Richard Quest, CNN, Portland, Oregon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Well, that was civil, if nothing else.

SANCHEZ: Only like a Brit could, right?

KAGAN: Yes, Richard has a unique way of telling his stories.

Health news is ahead.

SANCHEZ: Yes?

KAGAN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Flu vaccines?

KAGAN: How about it?

SANCHEZ: I bet.

Well, they may be scarce these days, but the good news is, so's the flu. A slow start to the flu season, thank goodness, and what it could mean.

That's next in your "Daily Dose" of health nose.

And later, one woman's ultimate nightmare has turned into one woman's brave battle to put rapists behind bars. You'll meet her, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And welcome back.

We've been talking a lot about the flu season in recent weeks, ever since the federal government announced that there was a shortage in the number of available vaccines.

Here's CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen with an update on where we are right now with this thing.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, where we are right now is, well, if we take ourselves back a little bit. Remember, when this whole thing first happened, the CDC said, look, we only want to give -- only shots should only be given to people who were at high risk. In other words, healthy adults should not be getting flu shots. And so that was the decision that they made. But now, there is more and more of the recognition that in fact there doesn't seem to be at this point even enough shots for the people who are at high risk, which is the reason why you're seeing all those long lines. So even those high-risk people, who the CDC wants to get the shots, they're having a hard time getting the shots.

Now let's go over that list of people and who they are and who's supposed to be getting shots. First of all, all children ages six to 23 months, adults 65 years or older, people with chronic medical conditions, all women who will be pregnant during the flu season, health care workers, and also household contacts and caregivers of infants who are ages birth to six months. Those are the people who are supposed to be getting them, but as we've said, there have been some problems.

For example, in the states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Maryland, they've been having flu shot lotteries in some of those communities, in those states, because they've been having such a hard time.

And then in the states of Kansas and Montana, what they've been doing is they've been prioritizing medical conditions over age. In other words, they've been saying in some communities in those states, they've been saying to people, hey, you know, you are over 65, but here's someone younger than you with a disease, such as asthma or diabetes, who we're going to give it to them first. So they're trying to make distinctions. And this is a very, very hard thing to do. Not everyone's doing this, but some communities are having to do this.

SANCHEZ: Why doesn't the CDC just step in and standardize this thing and tell them who should get it first?

COHEN: Well, it's a very hard thing to do this late in the game, for the CDC to just jump in and say, OK, this is how you've got to do it here and there, because different communities are facing different kinds of shortages.

But the CDC did have a meeting yesterday, and did something that was pretty unprecedented. They've set up a panel of four ethicists to start coming up with those rules for the future, to start saying, gee, when it comes down to a situation like this, this is how you prioritize among high-risk people. So that's their plan.

SANCHEZ: Any sense that things could get a little bit better for us?

COHEN: It is possible that the situation could get better, and I'll tell you why. The reason is that all the vaccine has not been put out on the market yet. The way the vaccine system works is that they make vaccine and it comes out on the market periodically, week by week, during the course of the flu season. So everyone's kind of crazy now. There's a shortage. Everybody's getting in line. Well, there's going to be more shots coming on the market as the weeks go by. And so that may help the situation.

SANCHEZ: All right, Elizabeth, thanks so much.

COHEN: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Well, to get your Daily Dose of health news online, all you've got to do is log onto our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness as well. The address, once again, CNN.com/health. When we come back, it's called Justice for All, ACT, and it aims to help put rapists where they belong. Up next, meet the courageous woman who has taken her own nightmare and turned it into a crusade. Her name is Debbie Smith. She's going to join us, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBBIE SMITH, RAPE SURVIVOR: Every kit that is sitting on those shelves, of course, is a life. And then, it also means that there's a rapist out there running free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: DNA evident is routinely collected in violence sex crimes. But in many cases, it's not analyzed in a timely manner. As a result, tens of thousands of rape cases are not prosecuted.

Now, a new law aims to clear the DNA backlog so that justice can be served. Debbie Smith of Virginia is a primary force behind this measure. A section of the Justice for All Act is even named after her. She joins us this morning from Richmond to tell her story.

Debbie, good morning. Thanks for being with us here.

SMITH: Thank you.

KAGAN: If you could tell us your story, which as I understand begins about 15 years ago?

SMITH: Yes, it does. It was about 15 years ago when a man came into my home and took me out of my house in the middle of the day. I lived in Williamsburg, Virginia, at that time. And he took me to some woods behind my house where he robbed and repeatedly raped me.

KAGAN: I just want to appreciate that, even 15 years later, it's got to be very disturbing to tell your story again. And I know you think it's important to do that, and that it's helped bring about the change that will soon be in law.

DNA played an important part in convicting your rapist, but why did it take six years for that to happen?

SMITH: It was because, in the State of Virginia, it took that long before we were able to work through the backlog of offender samples. Because Virginia has enacted a law where we will test all convicted felons. Then, it just takes a while, as with anything that you start up, you know, it takes awhile to play catch-up. So, it took them that long to finally get to my offender. And when they did, it was the fourth cold hit in the State of Virginia.

KAGAN: And so, DNA made a difference in taking the man who raped you, putting him in prison for life. This new bill, how will this change things? SMITH: Well, it's going to take care of the backlog. There's an estimated 350,000 to 500,000 rape kits sitting on shelves behind locked doors that have never been tested.

With this law, this will help them -- this will provide grant money to get rid of that backlog, as well as offender samples. It will also set a minimum standard for rape kits across our country. It's amazing how many states have no minimum standard, or have no kit at all, or how many states have three to four kits.

We are speaking across the country. My husband and I have spoken with rape crisis centers that actually steal products from their local hospital in order to make up a rape kit and just hoping that they have the right things in that kit.

Hope is not a plan. When a woman goes through this type of evidence collection, she needs to know for sure that everything's being done -- everything possible is being done that that evidence collected is preserved and collected properly.

KAGAN: Just real quickly, Debbie, I just want to know from your personal experience, so many women would just be devastated by the experience of being raped. If you could quickly share with us how you were able to channel that anger and those feelings into making a positive difference and bringing change about?

SMITH: I had lots of help doing this. I cannot thank the people on Capitol Hill, like Senator Hatch and Leahy, Senator Biden and Representative Greene. And especially Carolyn Maloney -- this was her baby to start with. She was the one that got me involved, approached me, and asked me about if I would come and speak to a committee hearing.

And all I have done -- and I don't feel like I should be getting this kind of attention. All I've done is share my heart, and that's because it's the only thing I know how to do. I'm a person just like anybody else who just happens to have a personal story. I'm driven by passion for other victims so that they don't have to wait six-and-a- half years. I almost took my own life, and I don't want that to happen to anybody else.

KAGAN: Well, thank you for sharing your story, for your passion, and for making a difference for rape victims across the country.

SMITH: Thank you.

KAGAN: Debbie Smith, thank you for being with us today.

SMITH: Thank you very much.

KAGAN: Rick?

SANCHEZ: And before we let you go, let's get a check on business news. And to do that, we'll go over to Rhonda Schaffler. She's with the Stock Market update.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

SANCHEZ: All right. Thanks a lot, Rhonda. Boy, it's been a busy day here. We've brought you all the information going on around the country and around the world.

KAGAN: Absolutely. We'll be doing it again tomorrow morning. And Fredricka Whitfield is in for Wolf Blitzer today. She will see you -- or you will see her at the top of the hour. We're back tomorrow. Have a great day.

SANCHEZ: See you then.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta, filling in for Wolf Blitzer.

Unfolding this hour, starpower on the political stage. Can it light the way to the White House. We're live on the campaign trail.

The candidates appeal to women. This hour, we'll look at issues important to female voters.

And a Middle East powerbroker for a generation -- does he have the strength to survive? An update on Yasser Arafat's health.

We have a busy day this hour, but first some other headlines now in the news.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired October 28, 2004 - 11:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: In Boston, the city of the big dig has dug itself out of an 86-year-old hole, claiming its first World Series win since 1918. The Red Sox clinched the title against the Cardinals 3-0, sweeping the series in four games.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Here we go, down to five final days in this presidential campaign. Both President Bush and Senator Kerry are turning to starpower in their quest for the votes. Bruce Springsteen campaigns for Mr. Kerry today. Arnold Schwarzenegger campaigns for Mr. Bush tomorrow.

With just five days to go, the race is still locked so tight. President Bush has a two-point lead over Senator Kerry in our average of national polls. Mr. Bush is at 49 percent, Senator Kerry is at 47 percent, but the difference is within the margin of error, as you've heard before.

As we talked about earlier this hour, George W. Bush and John Kerry are still going back and forth over those reports about the missing explosives in Iraq.

For more now on this story, and others, on the campaign trail, let's turn to CNN's Judy Woodruff. She's in Washington.

Judy, the explosives story has been out there for a couple of days now. Why are the candidates still talking about it?

JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: Well, frankly, because they both think they can make some headway with it, especially Senator John Kerry. John Kerry, when this story broke a few days ago, his campaign decided that this was a way to underscore the point that he's been trying to make for months now, and that is that President Bush has mismanaged the war in Iraq. And Kerry is trying to use the disappearance of some 380 tons of highly explosive materials as an emblem of how the president has, in effect, blown the war. He's saying that this wouldn't have happened if the president had sent enough troops in there, if there had been a plan to secure dangerous materials like this.

For his part, President Bush didn't say anything for the first few days. They, frankly, didn't want to be on the defensive, but now they've decided they have to address this, and they're trying to turn it around and use it against Senator Kerry. The president today saying that, you know, John Kerry is desperate to make points with anything. And this is not the kind of man we want as commander in chief. So both sides now trying to use this to their advantage -- Rick. SANCHEZ: Let's turn to some of the problems we've been hearing about at some of the polling places in certain states, including my home state in Florida, in the South Florida area. What is the federal government doing to ensure voting rights are going to be protected this time around?

WOODRUFF: Well, Rick, as you know, and you're right, Florida is right in the middle of it. But the elections in this country are run by the 50 states. The federal government has very little role in overseeing the elections.

However, there are some laws that the country has passed, in particular, the Voting Rights Act back in the 1980s, and some other specific laws that protect voters' civil rights, that calls for the federal government to oversee elections. And for that reason, the Justice Department announced just last night that they are going to send around 1,000 observers and monitors around the country. They're not telling us where. The only clue we are getting is that they are suggesting there will be some focus on those cities and states where civil rights groups say they have an increased concern about intentional racial or ethnic discrimination, or religious discrimination.

So this is three times as many monitors and observers as the federal government sent out in 2000. It's one more sign, Rick, that people are on the watch out -- on the lookout and on the watch for the problems.

SANCHEZ: And then there's 20,000 lawyers we've been hearing about representing both sides as well. That should be interesting.

Judy Woodruff, thanks so much for that report. We'll be looking for you at 3:00 p.m. on "INSIDE POLITICS."

KAGAN: Thank you, Rick.

Well, the 2000 presidential race turned the normally mundane issue of the Electoral College into a political firestorm. And with a close race in this year's election, who knows what could happen next week.

Our Tom Foreman looks at some of the possibilities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Run for the hills, hide the children, and lock up the dogs. The normally tame electoral college is turning ferocious with the specter of tied election looming again. So, John Fortier, who wrote a book on the electoral system, is spending his nights in a cold sweat.

JOHN FORTIER, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: I would lie awake sweating in any election that is likely to be this close, no matter what our system is.

FOREMAN: A tie is unlikely, but if George Bush wins every state he expects to win, and John Kerry does, too, a dozen closely contested states will make the difference. And computer models calculate about three dozen ways their electoral votes can add up to a tie.

FORTIER: One scenario that might be possible is that Kerry wins in Ohio and in New Hampshire; and Bush wins in Wisconsin and New Mexico and all the other states, the same as 2000. Those are possible pick ups.

FOREMAN: If any combination produces a tie in the electoral college, then the election will be decided by the nation's legislators. The House of Representatives would pick the president for the Republican majority, George Bush.

But the Senate would decide on the vice president. And if the Democrats gained a few seats they could give John Edwards that job, another tie.

It is all enough to make some voters squeamish.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the electoral college should be abolished. I think it has outlived its usefulness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One person, one vote, will do it.

FOREMAN (on camera): Whoever gets the most is the winner?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. That's it.

ANNOUNCER (RODEO VIDEO): Thrills there are, and spills.

FOREMAN: The electoral college was designed and refined over many years to address rural concerns, uneven nationwide voter distribution, and much more. And historically, because it magnifies the popular vote, the college has made instantly clear who has won.

ANNOUNCER: A look at the future. Looks good, eh?

FOREMAN: But this time, with talk of states splitting their electoral votes, electors defecting from their voters and lawsuits, lawsuits, lawsuits, even chad can hardly hang on to see how the college comes through.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Five days before the presidential elections and the courts are already involved in the vote, as we alluded to just moments ago in our conversation with Judy Woodruff.

In Ohio, a federal judge has stopped hearing on thousands of contested voter registrations. The state Republican Party claims many of the registrations could be fraudulent.

In Iowa, a judge declined to rule on whether that state can count votes cast in the wrong precincts. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN BLACKWELL (R), OHIO SECY. OF STATE: What the court blocked was the state GOP's challenge of some 35,000 voters. Just two days before that we had already made a decision to allow challenged voters to vote provisionally.

So in Ohio, the ground rules are set. Those who believe that they are legally registered can ask for a provisional ballot if their name is not on their -- the voting roles in their assigned precinct. And we're going to check that out the way we always have checked it out over a decade.

CHET CULVER (D), OHIO SECY. OF STATE: I think the Help America Vote Act was intended to actually help Americans vote. And there is a new provision in the Help America Vote Act that calls for a provisional ballot. And I believe every attempt should be made in every state, and certainly the great state of Iowa, to count those ballots, to count those provisional ballots. We had four to six million people that were disenfranchised in this country in 2000. This should never happen again, and we're focused here in Iowa on enfranchising hopefully a record number of Iowans. We expect 75 percent turnout. And 2.1 million people are registered, which is 95 percent of eligible Iowans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: By the way, there is yet another problem we learned of last night here on CNN. This takes us to Broward County, Florida. They are sending out second batches of absentee ballots there, because the first batch apparently never reached many of the voters.

KAGAN: The campaign season is usually seen in well-choreographed rallies, with the candidates fighting over their political lives. But for many Americans, this election is a passionate struggle over the future.

Our Richard Quest, he's normally in London, but we've shipped him over here to come watch the U.S. Democracy in action. Recently, he's been hanging around partisan activists in Portland, Oregon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to call them. And we're going to call them again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One, two, three, four five -- there's five of them.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the everyday story of political mums who have swapped daily chores for the daily grind of getting their candidate elected.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have one of these yet?

QUEST: Allison Bruun, mother of Natalie and Katie, is going all out for President Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi.

ALLISON BRUUN, MOTHER OF NATALIE AND KATIE: Mothers are hard working women. Mothers are very dedicated to their kids and their family. And I have worked very hard on this campaign for the last year, since last October.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Siouxie Jennet, mother of Sierra, is leaving no stone unturned for John Kerry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you want me to cut off the face at all, baby?

SIOUXIE JENNET, MOTHER OF SIERRA: This war brought home to me, so to speak, because I am a mom. I feel like the environment is just being torn apart by Bush's policies.

QUEST: These two women live less than 10 miles apart. It's very unlikely they would never have met had we not introduced them.

JENNET: The George W. Bush administration right now is tearing down our economic policy. Our deficit is going -- skyrocketing right now, and I don't know how we're going to pay that off. Social Security, I'm not going to have it, let alone my daughter having it. Those things concern me.

BRUUN: And that's why George W. Bush has policies that are going to correct and fix Social Security, privatize it.

JENNET: He's had three and a half years.

BRUUN: He's had a lot on his plate in three and a half years, and he's going to have four more years to get it done.

JENNET: I hope not.

QUEST: The children, you see, have been well schooled in their mums' political views, truly out of the mouths of babes.

(on camera): Where should George go?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Back to Texas.

QUEST: You want Bush to win?

Why is that? Why do you think Bush?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because he gives people money, and he's really good.

QUEST: It is a sign of just how close this election is, that everyone is being pressed into service. And mothers, on both sides of the political divide, have swapped their Saturdays for the campaign. Richard Quest, CNN, Portland, Oregon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Well, that was civil, if nothing else.

SANCHEZ: Only like a Brit could, right?

KAGAN: Yes, Richard has a unique way of telling his stories.

Health news is ahead.

SANCHEZ: Yes?

KAGAN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Flu vaccines?

KAGAN: How about it?

SANCHEZ: I bet.

Well, they may be scarce these days, but the good news is, so's the flu. A slow start to the flu season, thank goodness, and what it could mean.

That's next in your "Daily Dose" of health nose.

And later, one woman's ultimate nightmare has turned into one woman's brave battle to put rapists behind bars. You'll meet her, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And welcome back.

We've been talking a lot about the flu season in recent weeks, ever since the federal government announced that there was a shortage in the number of available vaccines.

Here's CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen with an update on where we are right now with this thing.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, where we are right now is, well, if we take ourselves back a little bit. Remember, when this whole thing first happened, the CDC said, look, we only want to give -- only shots should only be given to people who were at high risk. In other words, healthy adults should not be getting flu shots. And so that was the decision that they made. But now, there is more and more of the recognition that in fact there doesn't seem to be at this point even enough shots for the people who are at high risk, which is the reason why you're seeing all those long lines. So even those high-risk people, who the CDC wants to get the shots, they're having a hard time getting the shots.

Now let's go over that list of people and who they are and who's supposed to be getting shots. First of all, all children ages six to 23 months, adults 65 years or older, people with chronic medical conditions, all women who will be pregnant during the flu season, health care workers, and also household contacts and caregivers of infants who are ages birth to six months. Those are the people who are supposed to be getting them, but as we've said, there have been some problems.

For example, in the states of Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Maryland, they've been having flu shot lotteries in some of those communities, in those states, because they've been having such a hard time.

And then in the states of Kansas and Montana, what they've been doing is they've been prioritizing medical conditions over age. In other words, they've been saying in some communities in those states, they've been saying to people, hey, you know, you are over 65, but here's someone younger than you with a disease, such as asthma or diabetes, who we're going to give it to them first. So they're trying to make distinctions. And this is a very, very hard thing to do. Not everyone's doing this, but some communities are having to do this.

SANCHEZ: Why doesn't the CDC just step in and standardize this thing and tell them who should get it first?

COHEN: Well, it's a very hard thing to do this late in the game, for the CDC to just jump in and say, OK, this is how you've got to do it here and there, because different communities are facing different kinds of shortages.

But the CDC did have a meeting yesterday, and did something that was pretty unprecedented. They've set up a panel of four ethicists to start coming up with those rules for the future, to start saying, gee, when it comes down to a situation like this, this is how you prioritize among high-risk people. So that's their plan.

SANCHEZ: Any sense that things could get a little bit better for us?

COHEN: It is possible that the situation could get better, and I'll tell you why. The reason is that all the vaccine has not been put out on the market yet. The way the vaccine system works is that they make vaccine and it comes out on the market periodically, week by week, during the course of the flu season. So everyone's kind of crazy now. There's a shortage. Everybody's getting in line. Well, there's going to be more shots coming on the market as the weeks go by. And so that may help the situation.

SANCHEZ: All right, Elizabeth, thanks so much.

COHEN: Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Well, to get your Daily Dose of health news online, all you've got to do is log onto our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness as well. The address, once again, CNN.com/health. When we come back, it's called Justice for All, ACT, and it aims to help put rapists where they belong. Up next, meet the courageous woman who has taken her own nightmare and turned it into a crusade. Her name is Debbie Smith. She's going to join us, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBBIE SMITH, RAPE SURVIVOR: Every kit that is sitting on those shelves, of course, is a life. And then, it also means that there's a rapist out there running free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: DNA evident is routinely collected in violence sex crimes. But in many cases, it's not analyzed in a timely manner. As a result, tens of thousands of rape cases are not prosecuted.

Now, a new law aims to clear the DNA backlog so that justice can be served. Debbie Smith of Virginia is a primary force behind this measure. A section of the Justice for All Act is even named after her. She joins us this morning from Richmond to tell her story.

Debbie, good morning. Thanks for being with us here.

SMITH: Thank you.

KAGAN: If you could tell us your story, which as I understand begins about 15 years ago?

SMITH: Yes, it does. It was about 15 years ago when a man came into my home and took me out of my house in the middle of the day. I lived in Williamsburg, Virginia, at that time. And he took me to some woods behind my house where he robbed and repeatedly raped me.

KAGAN: I just want to appreciate that, even 15 years later, it's got to be very disturbing to tell your story again. And I know you think it's important to do that, and that it's helped bring about the change that will soon be in law.

DNA played an important part in convicting your rapist, but why did it take six years for that to happen?

SMITH: It was because, in the State of Virginia, it took that long before we were able to work through the backlog of offender samples. Because Virginia has enacted a law where we will test all convicted felons. Then, it just takes a while, as with anything that you start up, you know, it takes awhile to play catch-up. So, it took them that long to finally get to my offender. And when they did, it was the fourth cold hit in the State of Virginia.

KAGAN: And so, DNA made a difference in taking the man who raped you, putting him in prison for life. This new bill, how will this change things? SMITH: Well, it's going to take care of the backlog. There's an estimated 350,000 to 500,000 rape kits sitting on shelves behind locked doors that have never been tested.

With this law, this will help them -- this will provide grant money to get rid of that backlog, as well as offender samples. It will also set a minimum standard for rape kits across our country. It's amazing how many states have no minimum standard, or have no kit at all, or how many states have three to four kits.

We are speaking across the country. My husband and I have spoken with rape crisis centers that actually steal products from their local hospital in order to make up a rape kit and just hoping that they have the right things in that kit.

Hope is not a plan. When a woman goes through this type of evidence collection, she needs to know for sure that everything's being done -- everything possible is being done that that evidence collected is preserved and collected properly.

KAGAN: Just real quickly, Debbie, I just want to know from your personal experience, so many women would just be devastated by the experience of being raped. If you could quickly share with us how you were able to channel that anger and those feelings into making a positive difference and bringing change about?

SMITH: I had lots of help doing this. I cannot thank the people on Capitol Hill, like Senator Hatch and Leahy, Senator Biden and Representative Greene. And especially Carolyn Maloney -- this was her baby to start with. She was the one that got me involved, approached me, and asked me about if I would come and speak to a committee hearing.

And all I have done -- and I don't feel like I should be getting this kind of attention. All I've done is share my heart, and that's because it's the only thing I know how to do. I'm a person just like anybody else who just happens to have a personal story. I'm driven by passion for other victims so that they don't have to wait six-and-a- half years. I almost took my own life, and I don't want that to happen to anybody else.

KAGAN: Well, thank you for sharing your story, for your passion, and for making a difference for rape victims across the country.

SMITH: Thank you.

KAGAN: Debbie Smith, thank you for being with us today.

SMITH: Thank you very much.

KAGAN: Rick?

SANCHEZ: And before we let you go, let's get a check on business news. And to do that, we'll go over to Rhonda Schaffler. She's with the Stock Market update.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

SANCHEZ: All right. Thanks a lot, Rhonda. Boy, it's been a busy day here. We've brought you all the information going on around the country and around the world.

KAGAN: Absolutely. We'll be doing it again tomorrow morning. And Fredricka Whitfield is in for Wolf Blitzer today. She will see you -- or you will see her at the top of the hour. We're back tomorrow. Have a great day.

SANCHEZ: See you then.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta, filling in for Wolf Blitzer.

Unfolding this hour, starpower on the political stage. Can it light the way to the White House. We're live on the campaign trail.

The candidates appeal to women. This hour, we'll look at issues important to female voters.

And a Middle East powerbroker for a generation -- does he have the strength to survive? An update on Yasser Arafat's health.

We have a busy day this hour, but first some other headlines now in the news.

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