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American Morning
Record Voter Registrations Could Lead to Record Turnout; Discussion with Howard Dean
Aired November 02, 2004 - 10:30 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It is Election Day, November 2nd, 2004. Welcome back, everyone. Extended coverage for us today, AMERICAN MORNING working some overtime. Five hours today, five hours tomorrow. So we will have it all for you, not just today, but also the fallout tomorrow.
The polls are open, turnout said to be heavy in many places. We'll get a live look at the voting in two of the biggest battleground states, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Also talk with the secretary of state in Iowa. We talked with the secretary of state of Nevada about 30 minutes ago. So we'll gauge, see how things are going in those states.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And of course the big guns from both parties are watching and waiting, along with the rest of us. Howard Dean has been working for John Kerry. Don Evans, President Bush's secretary of commerce is going to join us in just a moment. They're going to look at some of the key milestones in this long campaign, but also take a look forward to what a second bush or first Kerry administration might be like.
HEMMER: All right, stay tuned for all that. Also Heidi is with us.
Good morning to you.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you guys. And good morning to you, everybody.
Here are some other stories now in the news this morning. At least six people were killed this morning in the Baghdad car bombing near Iraq's ministry of education. Eight people also injured. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Israeli troops today destroyed the home of a teenage suicide bomber. The family of the 16-year-old had already removed their belongings in anticipation of the strike. Yesterday's blast killed three Israelis and wounded 35 others. Israel apparently showed restraint in its response, perhaps in keeping with its pledge made in the wake of Yasser Arafat's illness.
Today is the defense's turn in the Scott Peterson murder trial. Yesterday's closing arguments by the prosecution said Peterson was so desperate for freedom, he killed his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. Today the defense begins its closing arguments, with the jury likely to begin deliberations tomorrow.
And in Atlantic City, New Jersey, a gamble by striking casino hotel workers may have paid off. Late last night, union reps tentatively approved a five-year deal that would assure a 28 percent increase in pay and benefits over the next five years. The vote is due tomorrow. It could be back on the job on Thursday. Obviously this really disrupted casino operations, and a lot of gamblers had to sleep in unmade beds, I'm told.
O'BRIEN: Shocking.
HEMMER: Don't like that.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Heidi.
HEMMER: Patience is going to be needed today at a number of polling stations. Record voter registrations could lead to record voter turnout. And partisan challenges could raise the temperature inside some of these places.
Jason Carroll is outside one polling station, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, about two hours west of New York City.
Jason, good morning.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Bill.
You know, they are expecting record turnout here in the state of Pennsylvania. We're outside one of the polling stations here, where it has been orderly. We see a steady stream of people coming in and out.
I want you right now to take a live look inside to see what's happening as people are casting their vote. We've heard just about a few problems here, some dealing with provisional ballots and registration.
But other than that, things have been moving smoothly. People have been lining up for hours to cast their vote early this morning. Election workers were ready for them. They knew that the race -- the interest in this race has been intense, the political bickering just as intense. Republicans vowing to challenge the eligibility of thousands of voters. Democrats accuse Republicans of voter intimidation, especially in Philadelphia's urban areas. Pennsylvania's department of state has released guidelines, telling election officials not to let poll watchers -- quote -- "challenge voters without good faith." We spoke to a few voters this morning, talked to them about all of the political bickering and how the voting process has gone so far for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First of all, you don't see anybody giving out pamphlets. That's No. 1. No. 2, whenever you come here, you can get right into the voting booths. Take a good, hard look. This at 6:30 this morning was coming out the building. So you've got a very, very much differences here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It will be nice when it's all over, and we can move forward.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's something we need to solve, because it's destructive. You know the two parties spent a lot of time tearing at each other when we have so many problems that we need to sort of get together and solve, rather than tear each other apart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Poll watchers are out here just in case. The attorneys are out here, as well. Election workers are hoping neither will be needed -- Bill.
HEMMER: Jason, thanks. Lehigh County with that.
Now, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: He was once the Democratic front-runner. Now he is standing on the sidelines like the rest of us, watching how today's events unfold.
Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean joins us from Burlington, Vermont, with a little more on what it's going to take for his guy, Senator Kerry, to win and what it might mean if Senator Kerry does win.
Nice to see you, Governor.
HOWARD DEAN (D), FMR. VERMONT GOVERNOR: Thanks for having me on.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about predictions, shall we? Some people say Ohio...
DEAN: I never make them, but we can try.
O'BRIEN: I know, but I always try to goad you into it anyway.
Ohio as the Florida in 2004. Some people say Florida as the Florida in 2004. Do you think that this election will, in fact, be decided by the time everyone's getting up tomorrow morning?
DEAN: That's really hard to say. I've been debating that with all the folks at Democracy for America for the last, you know, 10 or 15 minutes. I think that it's going to be close.
There are 10 states that are very, very close. And I think there are going to be recounts asked for in some of those states. And I think the election is so close that we can't expect to know for sure who the next president's going to be probably until those recounts are done, and that may be for a couple of weeks.
But I think the most important thing is for everyone to get out and vote, you know, and remember the problems we've had in this country the last four years and see if you want another four years of that.
O'BRIEN: What do you think are the implications if it is not decided? Just moments ago we heard some sound from some of the folks who say they just want it over. Predict for me, if it's not all decided, do voters lose faith in the process?
DEAN: No. I think the only thing that caused voters to lose faith in the process was the Supreme Court decision last year, not because they elected George Bush, but because they didn't count the votes.
And I would hope that any court decision would be aimed at counting the votes. I really thought that court decision, Bush versus Gore, was the most disgraceful Supreme Court decision since the Dred Scott decision, because when you don't count the votes, you take away people's confidence.
Voters ought to vote. As I have often said, I'd rather today have somebody vote Republican than not vote at all. And that's quite a statement from me because I'm actually determined not to have any more of these deficits and jobs being lost, as we've seen under this president.
But I really think it's important that people participate and I think it's incredibly important that their votes count. O'BRIEN: Here's what Tommy Franks wrote in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. He said, "I don't know Senator Kerry's plan for victory. But I do know that his criticism of the military conduct of our global war on terrorism disrespects our troops. I also know he cannot lead troops to victory in a war when he's made it perfectly clear that he does not support the cause."
As a person who ran on a big anti-war platform, what do you make of Tommy Franks' rationale?
DEAN: I don't know what happened to Tommy Franks. He sounds a little like Zell Miller.
Most of the generals that have come out and endorsed this race have endorsed John Kerry because they don't think the president pays much attention to the Pentagon, and I think that's a mistake if you've never had any serious military experience before.
So I come to the conclusion that John Kerry will keep us safer from terrorism. And certainly General Franks is a well respected military leader. He's entitled to his opinion, but I disagree with him.
O'BRIEN: Orlando Sentinel says you could be named to the Kerry Cabinet if indeed Senator Kerry becomes President Kerry, and specifically in the health and human services area. Is this something that you've thought about?
DEAN: No. I'm not going to do any thinking about it.
My experience is those who name their Cabinet before they're elected don't get to name it afterwards. So I think we'll stay away from that one. I hope very much that John Kerry is in the position to choose a Cabinet. I think that would be good for America. O'BRIEN: Is it weird to be on the sidelines?
DEAN: Well, I'm not exactly on the sidelines. I spent last week in Ohio, the week before in Pennsylvania, and yesterday in New Hampshire.
O'BRIEN: All right, you're doing way more campaigning than the rest of us clearly. But to not be in it as a candidate?
DEAN: I feel like I am in it, certainly not as a candidate.
But I think John Kerry's done a great job. I think he's run a great campaign. He's given people a reason to change presidents. George Bush, of course, has given us a lot of reasons to change presidents.
But what John Kerry has done in the last few weeks is convinced us that he can be the president of the United States, and I think that's great. And I'm fully behind him and I'm very happy to be supporting him as hard as I can.
O'BRIEN: Howard Dean joining us this morning. Thanks for being with us.
DEAN: Thanks very much.
Well, one talked about jobs lost, one talked about the strength of the economy. Both presidential candidates have had lots of fodder for the campaign trail.
Don Evans is the secretary of commerce. He joins us this morning with a look at what he thinks it's going to take for President Bush to win in this election and what a loss could potentially mean.
Nice to see you, sir.
DONALD L. EVANS, U.S. SECY. COMMERCE: Sure, Soledad. Great to be with you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
Ken Mehlman we heard earlier today predicting that the president's going to take Florida and Ohio. The polling though in Ohio actually shows John Kerry with a little bit of a lead there. What does Ken know? What do you know that we don't know?
EVANS: What I know is that American people are going to trust the president to continue to strengthen the national security and economic security of this country.
And I think at the end of tonight we'll have a clear winner. I think the clear winner will be President George W. Bush.
As Governor Dean just said, look, I encourage everybody to go to the polls, everybody to exercise their really responsibility to go vote and vote for President George W. Bush. This is a trusted friend of mine for some 35 years, and what all the American people need to know is he trusts them. He believes in them.
And I think tonight the American people will show that they trust this president. They will confirm that trust in the president to continue to strengthen the national security and economic security of this country, which both are clearly stronger now than when he took office.
O'BRIEN: Some have said the president has had four years to make the case. If it is clearly stronger as you've just said, why is this race so close? Why is it neck and neck if the president's been able to clearly make his case?
EVANS: Well, I think, you know, that people continue to look at the different issues from both parties. But the facts to me, the record is clear. I mean, you look at the economy, the president inherited a rescission from the previous administration. We had the attacks of 9/11, we had corporate scandals to deal with, of course the war in Afghanistan, the liberation of Iraq, the war against terrorism.
And you consider all of that, and when you think about where there are more Americans going to work today than ever in the history of our country, when you think about the fact there's greater home ownership ever in the history of our country today, when you look at the growth rates over the last 12 months that are some of the highest we've seen in 20 years, and when you realize that we created almost 1.9 million jobs in this country in the last 13 months, it's clear that the economy continues to head in the right direction, continues to get stronger.
That's not to say there's not areas of the country...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Eight million people out of work, have been out of work for six months or more. Doesn't a number like that potentially -- couldn't that be a figure that ends up bringing down President Bush?
EVANS: Soledad, the unemployment peaked at 6.3 percent, it's now at 5.4 percent -- 5.4 percent is well below the unemployment average of the 1970s, well below the unemployment average of the 1980s, and also well below the unemployment average of the 1990s.
So the economy is headed in the right direction. As I said earlier, there are more Americans going to work today ever in the history of our country. So the economy is strong, continues to get stronger.
And I know the American people have realized in order to continue to strengthen the economy, their taxes need to be lower. That's where the president -- you know, that's been the centerpiece of strengthening this economy, is lower taxes.
What Senator Kerry has promised to do is raise your taxes and raise the taxes of the American people. If you want to destroy jobs, if you want to kill jobs, that's the way to do it -- you increase taxes on small business owners all across America, which Senator Kerry says that he will do.
And the president, in his next term in office, will continue to work on keeping taxes lower so that family of four that's earning $40,000 a year, and their taxes are some $1,900 a year lower today than they would have been otherwise, will have that same savings next year, and the year after, and the year after.
So we've got the environment for this economy to continue to grow stronger.
O'BRIEN: Well, as the president said a little bit earlier today, everyone gets a chance to have their voice heard today.
Don Evans is secretary of commerce. Thanks for being with us.
EVANS: Thank you, Soledad.
HEMMER: Let's get back out to a battleground state -- Iowa closely contested throughout this entire campaign.
Chet Culver is the Iowa secretary of state live in Des Moines this morning.
Good morning to you.
Have you been to the polling stations yet? And if so, what have you found?
CHET CULVER, IOWA SECY. OF STATE: I voted first thing this morning.
Our polls here open at 7:00 a.m. We had a lot of lines before the polls even opened. So we are expecting record turnout. Hopefully, 1.4 million Iowans will go to the polls.
But no real problems or issues. Things are running very, very smoothly. And I want to commend the 10,000 poll workers that we have at nearly 2,000 polling sites. They're doing an incredible job.
HEMMER: You say 1.4 million Iowans. The other day here on "American Morning" you said Iowa could have about 75 percent turnout. Do you still stand by that prediction?
CULVER: Absolutely. I think 70 percent, 75 percent. It is unprecedented.
We have 95 percent of eligible Iowans registered. I just got the new registration numbers last night. We had another 20,000 people register at the last minute before the voter registration deadline.
And the Republicans and Democrats are even on voter registration. They're right at both 600,000 Democrats, 600,000 Republicans.
This is terrific. This is a great thing for our democracy.
And in Iowa, we want to lead the nation in enfranchisement. We want to lead the nation in voter participation. And I believe we're going to do that here today.
HEMMER: Help me kick this spin to the curb, as we like to say around here.
You're a Democratic secretary of state. Does one party have an edge based on what you've seen so far in this race in early voting?
CULVER: I think it's dead even. To be honest with you, we have a Democratic governor. We have a Republican state house. We have a very progressive, Democratic U.S. senator. We have a very conservative U.S. Senator. And our voter registration is tied.
So it is a definition of a dead heat right here in Iowa. But it really will depend on the ground game today; who's going to get out the vote.
HEMMER: Sure, sure.
Let me just try to get one more point here. A judge said if you cast a ballot in the wrong place it doesn't count. However, it was also ruled that you'll put that vote to the side to be held possibly for a later date.
Does that open the possibility that if this thing is really close in Iowa that they'll go back and count those votes or even have some sort of court battle over them?
CULVER: Well, the great thing about our process in Iowa is that every voter here will have the right to have their vote counted and counted accurately, even if they vote a provisional ballot.
Those ballots will be segregated. They will be preserved. And under the Constitution and under our state laws, voters have the right to challenge provisionals. If they feel like those should count, on Thursday they can make that challenge.
So it's a great process. Everyone's protected and most importantly we're going to make sure that every vote is counted and counted accurately. And then some of these legal issues, if they have to be resolved afterwards they will be.
But for today, things are very smooth and we really commend all the people out there working hard to make election administration go well.
HEMMER: I'll hold back on the list of possibilities until we even get there if we need to.
Thanks, Chet Culver, secretary of state there in the state of Iowa.
Our election coverage begins later tonight at 7:00 Eastern Time, live in Times Square, right here in New York City -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, the race for the White House still dominating the headlines of course, but a separate issue on the ballot in one state could actually change the outcome of the election. We'll take a look at that, when AMERICAN MORNING continues after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: No commander-in-chief would ever, and I'm no exception, willingly allow our military influence to shrink. Unilateralism is a mistake. That's what I said for it. I think the senator made a mistake in criticizing me.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I don't need any lectures in courage from Howard Dean.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Looking back now at campaign 2004 -- one of the many moments, going back to the Democratic fight for that nomination that we all know that John Kerry won. Really started off strong in Iowa back in January with the caucuses when John Kerry emerged out of that state.
Special coverage of Election Day on this AMERICAN MORNING. We're here for five hours, start at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time. We'll go through the noon Eastern hour. Also, my colleagues Daryn Kagan and Rick Sanchez joining me from the CNN Center. Good morning, guys.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Bill.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: There's been a lot of talk of contentious takeovers. There's also been talk of political power grabs. And you know what's interesting, in this case, it's not the presidential race we're talking about.
KAGAN: No, we're actually talking about the Senate race, the control for the U.S. Senate. Today's election could change the balance of power in the Senate.
Let's take a look at some of the numbers. Thirty-four seats on the line. Democrats are hoping to take control.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, in fact, right now Republicans rule 51-48, with one independent who tends to vote Democratic -- as you know, that's Jim Jeffords. So, Democrats need to pick up two seats to take the majority. That's, of course, assuming that George Bush wins.
KAGAN: More than two-thirds of the 34 Senate races are said to be safe for incumbents. About eight, though, when you take a look, are neck and neck, including two that we really want to look at.
First to South Dakota. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle trying to fight off Republican challenger John Thune. You might remember back in 2002, Thune came within 524 votes of defeating the state's other Democratic senator.
SANCHEZ: Let's go to Alaska now. This is interesting here. Incumbent Lisa Murkowski, she's fighting for her political life against former Governor Tony Knowles. Now, Murkowski is dogged by talk of nepotism. In fact, that's actually a referendum there. She was appointed by her father, Governor Frank Murkowski, to replace him. Alaska hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate in more than two decades.
KAGAN: So, we will be watching those numbers, as well.
SANCHEZ: Very carefully. And voters are also going to decide on a number of issues from stem-cell research to gay marriage.
KAGAN: And one ballot initiative could impact every single American. Our Bob Franken has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Of all the state initiatives, there's one that could theoretically change the results of the presidential election. A proposed amendment to Colorado's Constitution would allocate the state's nine electoral college votes based on the proportion of the popular vote as opposed to winner take all. The GOP is dead-set against this change, arguing it violates the U.S. Constitution.
Controversial though that may be, the intense feelings probably don't compare to the emotions over gay marriage. No fewer than 11 states have proposals that would ban it, including battleground states like Ohio and Michigan and Oregon, where Republicans are hoping the issue will generate a big turnout of conservatives.
It's fair to say that not all Republicans are towing the line with the president on all issues. Take stem-cell research, for instance, and take Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I'm very much interested in stem-cell research and support it 100 percent.
FRANKEN: He's supporting a proposition that would provide state funds for new stem-cell research. President Bush has banned federal funds.
Meanwhile, efforts to decriminalize marijuana provide the drama in three states -- Oregon, where some might expect an effort to expand its use for medical purposes. But Montana, too? And Alaska?
(on camera): The matter of who's president will just be one of those that's been decided. The way he's selected will also be affected. There will also be questions about the fundamental matter of life, as well as choices people make about the way they live their lives.
Bob Franken, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Here are a couple other high-profile ballot initiatives that we're going to be following for you. Florida voters are going to decide on parental notification before abortions. That's a key issue down there.
Also, a California proposition would change the three strikes law so that it's a long prison term that would actually only kick in when the third offense was a major or a violent crime or a felony. We'll follow that one, as well.
KAGAN: Yeah, a lot of interesting races to watch throughout the day and throughout the night. We are here for you. For now, back to New York.
HEMMER: How's the advertising been in Georgia for this campaign? Have you seen much down there in Atlanta or not?
KAGAN: Well, in terms of presidential election, you wouldn't even know there is a presidential election. They have...
SANCHEZ: A little bit on the Isakson and Denise...
KAGAN: Majette.
SANCHEZ: ... Majette.
KAGAN: The Senate race.
SANCHEZ: Right. But...
KAGAN: And some local races. But presidential election, might as well be 2001.
SANCHEZ: Far cry from what you're seeing in Ohio or my folks are seeing down in Florida, I'll tell you that.
HEMMER: Ditto for here in the State of New York. Thanks, guys. Talk to you next hour, all right?
In a moment here, everybody likes to talk about what life will be like if their guy wins. But what if your guy loses? Back to Jack on that after this. A special extended edition of AMERICAN MORNING, live in New York City on campaign day 2004. We continue in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome back, Mr. Cafferty.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How are you doing, Soledad?
What are you going to do if your guy loses tomorrow? Supposed to be a close race, and some of you are going to obviously be unhappy how we handle it is the true test of something -- I'm not sure what. Ron in Elmira, New York: "I sure am glad it's Election Day. Now I can quit lying to the pollsters when they call on the phone. I have to leave now to go vote and lie to the exit polls."
Pete in DeSoto, Texas: "Well, since I made a $100 bet on Kerry winning, it works for me either way. If Kerry loses, I get an early start on having less money for the next four years; if he wins, I get a jump-start on the better economy that'll be coming."
John in Westminster, Maryland: "It doesn't matter who wins. You could put a potato in the Oval Office and this country will still be fine." I'm not sure that's true. A rutabaga, maybe, but I'm not sure a potato.
Some of the favorite political jokes of the very long campaign are as follows. David Letterman said, "President Bush has said that he does not need approval from the U.N. to wage war. And I'm thinking, well, hell, he didn't need the approval of the American voters to become president, either."
And this from Craig Kilborn, "John Kerry will be the Democratic nominee for president. Democrats finally found someone who is Al Gore without the flash and sizzle." Very clever.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
In a moment here, live snapshot across the country. Polling, voting underway. Also, a look today at who could control the House and Senate at the end of this day. The balance of power in Congress in a moment as we continue. Election Day here on AMERICAN MORNING after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired November 2, 2004 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: It is Election Day, November 2nd, 2004. Welcome back, everyone. Extended coverage for us today, AMERICAN MORNING working some overtime. Five hours today, five hours tomorrow. So we will have it all for you, not just today, but also the fallout tomorrow.
The polls are open, turnout said to be heavy in many places. We'll get a live look at the voting in two of the biggest battleground states, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Also talk with the secretary of state in Iowa. We talked with the secretary of state of Nevada about 30 minutes ago. So we'll gauge, see how things are going in those states.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And of course the big guns from both parties are watching and waiting, along with the rest of us. Howard Dean has been working for John Kerry. Don Evans, President Bush's secretary of commerce is going to join us in just a moment. They're going to look at some of the key milestones in this long campaign, but also take a look forward to what a second bush or first Kerry administration might be like.
HEMMER: All right, stay tuned for all that. Also Heidi is with us.
Good morning to you.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you guys. And good morning to you, everybody.
Here are some other stories now in the news this morning. At least six people were killed this morning in the Baghdad car bombing near Iraq's ministry of education. Eight people also injured. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Israeli troops today destroyed the home of a teenage suicide bomber. The family of the 16-year-old had already removed their belongings in anticipation of the strike. Yesterday's blast killed three Israelis and wounded 35 others. Israel apparently showed restraint in its response, perhaps in keeping with its pledge made in the wake of Yasser Arafat's illness.
Today is the defense's turn in the Scott Peterson murder trial. Yesterday's closing arguments by the prosecution said Peterson was so desperate for freedom, he killed his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. Today the defense begins its closing arguments, with the jury likely to begin deliberations tomorrow.
And in Atlantic City, New Jersey, a gamble by striking casino hotel workers may have paid off. Late last night, union reps tentatively approved a five-year deal that would assure a 28 percent increase in pay and benefits over the next five years. The vote is due tomorrow. It could be back on the job on Thursday. Obviously this really disrupted casino operations, and a lot of gamblers had to sleep in unmade beds, I'm told.
O'BRIEN: Shocking.
HEMMER: Don't like that.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Heidi.
HEMMER: Patience is going to be needed today at a number of polling stations. Record voter registrations could lead to record voter turnout. And partisan challenges could raise the temperature inside some of these places.
Jason Carroll is outside one polling station, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, about two hours west of New York City.
Jason, good morning.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Bill.
You know, they are expecting record turnout here in the state of Pennsylvania. We're outside one of the polling stations here, where it has been orderly. We see a steady stream of people coming in and out.
I want you right now to take a live look inside to see what's happening as people are casting their vote. We've heard just about a few problems here, some dealing with provisional ballots and registration.
But other than that, things have been moving smoothly. People have been lining up for hours to cast their vote early this morning. Election workers were ready for them. They knew that the race -- the interest in this race has been intense, the political bickering just as intense. Republicans vowing to challenge the eligibility of thousands of voters. Democrats accuse Republicans of voter intimidation, especially in Philadelphia's urban areas. Pennsylvania's department of state has released guidelines, telling election officials not to let poll watchers -- quote -- "challenge voters without good faith." We spoke to a few voters this morning, talked to them about all of the political bickering and how the voting process has gone so far for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First of all, you don't see anybody giving out pamphlets. That's No. 1. No. 2, whenever you come here, you can get right into the voting booths. Take a good, hard look. This at 6:30 this morning was coming out the building. So you've got a very, very much differences here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It will be nice when it's all over, and we can move forward.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's something we need to solve, because it's destructive. You know the two parties spent a lot of time tearing at each other when we have so many problems that we need to sort of get together and solve, rather than tear each other apart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CARROLL: Poll watchers are out here just in case. The attorneys are out here, as well. Election workers are hoping neither will be needed -- Bill.
HEMMER: Jason, thanks. Lehigh County with that.
Now, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: He was once the Democratic front-runner. Now he is standing on the sidelines like the rest of us, watching how today's events unfold.
Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean joins us from Burlington, Vermont, with a little more on what it's going to take for his guy, Senator Kerry, to win and what it might mean if Senator Kerry does win.
Nice to see you, Governor.
HOWARD DEAN (D), FMR. VERMONT GOVERNOR: Thanks for having me on.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk a little bit about predictions, shall we? Some people say Ohio...
DEAN: I never make them, but we can try.
O'BRIEN: I know, but I always try to goad you into it anyway.
Ohio as the Florida in 2004. Some people say Florida as the Florida in 2004. Do you think that this election will, in fact, be decided by the time everyone's getting up tomorrow morning?
DEAN: That's really hard to say. I've been debating that with all the folks at Democracy for America for the last, you know, 10 or 15 minutes. I think that it's going to be close.
There are 10 states that are very, very close. And I think there are going to be recounts asked for in some of those states. And I think the election is so close that we can't expect to know for sure who the next president's going to be probably until those recounts are done, and that may be for a couple of weeks.
But I think the most important thing is for everyone to get out and vote, you know, and remember the problems we've had in this country the last four years and see if you want another four years of that.
O'BRIEN: What do you think are the implications if it is not decided? Just moments ago we heard some sound from some of the folks who say they just want it over. Predict for me, if it's not all decided, do voters lose faith in the process?
DEAN: No. I think the only thing that caused voters to lose faith in the process was the Supreme Court decision last year, not because they elected George Bush, but because they didn't count the votes.
And I would hope that any court decision would be aimed at counting the votes. I really thought that court decision, Bush versus Gore, was the most disgraceful Supreme Court decision since the Dred Scott decision, because when you don't count the votes, you take away people's confidence.
Voters ought to vote. As I have often said, I'd rather today have somebody vote Republican than not vote at all. And that's quite a statement from me because I'm actually determined not to have any more of these deficits and jobs being lost, as we've seen under this president.
But I really think it's important that people participate and I think it's incredibly important that their votes count. O'BRIEN: Here's what Tommy Franks wrote in the Wall Street Journal yesterday. He said, "I don't know Senator Kerry's plan for victory. But I do know that his criticism of the military conduct of our global war on terrorism disrespects our troops. I also know he cannot lead troops to victory in a war when he's made it perfectly clear that he does not support the cause."
As a person who ran on a big anti-war platform, what do you make of Tommy Franks' rationale?
DEAN: I don't know what happened to Tommy Franks. He sounds a little like Zell Miller.
Most of the generals that have come out and endorsed this race have endorsed John Kerry because they don't think the president pays much attention to the Pentagon, and I think that's a mistake if you've never had any serious military experience before.
So I come to the conclusion that John Kerry will keep us safer from terrorism. And certainly General Franks is a well respected military leader. He's entitled to his opinion, but I disagree with him.
O'BRIEN: Orlando Sentinel says you could be named to the Kerry Cabinet if indeed Senator Kerry becomes President Kerry, and specifically in the health and human services area. Is this something that you've thought about?
DEAN: No. I'm not going to do any thinking about it.
My experience is those who name their Cabinet before they're elected don't get to name it afterwards. So I think we'll stay away from that one. I hope very much that John Kerry is in the position to choose a Cabinet. I think that would be good for America. O'BRIEN: Is it weird to be on the sidelines?
DEAN: Well, I'm not exactly on the sidelines. I spent last week in Ohio, the week before in Pennsylvania, and yesterday in New Hampshire.
O'BRIEN: All right, you're doing way more campaigning than the rest of us clearly. But to not be in it as a candidate?
DEAN: I feel like I am in it, certainly not as a candidate.
But I think John Kerry's done a great job. I think he's run a great campaign. He's given people a reason to change presidents. George Bush, of course, has given us a lot of reasons to change presidents.
But what John Kerry has done in the last few weeks is convinced us that he can be the president of the United States, and I think that's great. And I'm fully behind him and I'm very happy to be supporting him as hard as I can.
O'BRIEN: Howard Dean joining us this morning. Thanks for being with us.
DEAN: Thanks very much.
Well, one talked about jobs lost, one talked about the strength of the economy. Both presidential candidates have had lots of fodder for the campaign trail.
Don Evans is the secretary of commerce. He joins us this morning with a look at what he thinks it's going to take for President Bush to win in this election and what a loss could potentially mean.
Nice to see you, sir.
DONALD L. EVANS, U.S. SECY. COMMERCE: Sure, Soledad. Great to be with you.
O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.
Ken Mehlman we heard earlier today predicting that the president's going to take Florida and Ohio. The polling though in Ohio actually shows John Kerry with a little bit of a lead there. What does Ken know? What do you know that we don't know?
EVANS: What I know is that American people are going to trust the president to continue to strengthen the national security and economic security of this country.
And I think at the end of tonight we'll have a clear winner. I think the clear winner will be President George W. Bush.
As Governor Dean just said, look, I encourage everybody to go to the polls, everybody to exercise their really responsibility to go vote and vote for President George W. Bush. This is a trusted friend of mine for some 35 years, and what all the American people need to know is he trusts them. He believes in them.
And I think tonight the American people will show that they trust this president. They will confirm that trust in the president to continue to strengthen the national security and economic security of this country, which both are clearly stronger now than when he took office.
O'BRIEN: Some have said the president has had four years to make the case. If it is clearly stronger as you've just said, why is this race so close? Why is it neck and neck if the president's been able to clearly make his case?
EVANS: Well, I think, you know, that people continue to look at the different issues from both parties. But the facts to me, the record is clear. I mean, you look at the economy, the president inherited a rescission from the previous administration. We had the attacks of 9/11, we had corporate scandals to deal with, of course the war in Afghanistan, the liberation of Iraq, the war against terrorism.
And you consider all of that, and when you think about where there are more Americans going to work today than ever in the history of our country, when you think about the fact there's greater home ownership ever in the history of our country today, when you look at the growth rates over the last 12 months that are some of the highest we've seen in 20 years, and when you realize that we created almost 1.9 million jobs in this country in the last 13 months, it's clear that the economy continues to head in the right direction, continues to get stronger.
That's not to say there's not areas of the country...
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Eight million people out of work, have been out of work for six months or more. Doesn't a number like that potentially -- couldn't that be a figure that ends up bringing down President Bush?
EVANS: Soledad, the unemployment peaked at 6.3 percent, it's now at 5.4 percent -- 5.4 percent is well below the unemployment average of the 1970s, well below the unemployment average of the 1980s, and also well below the unemployment average of the 1990s.
So the economy is headed in the right direction. As I said earlier, there are more Americans going to work today ever in the history of our country. So the economy is strong, continues to get stronger.
And I know the American people have realized in order to continue to strengthen the economy, their taxes need to be lower. That's where the president -- you know, that's been the centerpiece of strengthening this economy, is lower taxes.
What Senator Kerry has promised to do is raise your taxes and raise the taxes of the American people. If you want to destroy jobs, if you want to kill jobs, that's the way to do it -- you increase taxes on small business owners all across America, which Senator Kerry says that he will do.
And the president, in his next term in office, will continue to work on keeping taxes lower so that family of four that's earning $40,000 a year, and their taxes are some $1,900 a year lower today than they would have been otherwise, will have that same savings next year, and the year after, and the year after.
So we've got the environment for this economy to continue to grow stronger.
O'BRIEN: Well, as the president said a little bit earlier today, everyone gets a chance to have their voice heard today.
Don Evans is secretary of commerce. Thanks for being with us.
EVANS: Thank you, Soledad.
HEMMER: Let's get back out to a battleground state -- Iowa closely contested throughout this entire campaign.
Chet Culver is the Iowa secretary of state live in Des Moines this morning.
Good morning to you.
Have you been to the polling stations yet? And if so, what have you found?
CHET CULVER, IOWA SECY. OF STATE: I voted first thing this morning.
Our polls here open at 7:00 a.m. We had a lot of lines before the polls even opened. So we are expecting record turnout. Hopefully, 1.4 million Iowans will go to the polls.
But no real problems or issues. Things are running very, very smoothly. And I want to commend the 10,000 poll workers that we have at nearly 2,000 polling sites. They're doing an incredible job.
HEMMER: You say 1.4 million Iowans. The other day here on "American Morning" you said Iowa could have about 75 percent turnout. Do you still stand by that prediction?
CULVER: Absolutely. I think 70 percent, 75 percent. It is unprecedented.
We have 95 percent of eligible Iowans registered. I just got the new registration numbers last night. We had another 20,000 people register at the last minute before the voter registration deadline.
And the Republicans and Democrats are even on voter registration. They're right at both 600,000 Democrats, 600,000 Republicans.
This is terrific. This is a great thing for our democracy.
And in Iowa, we want to lead the nation in enfranchisement. We want to lead the nation in voter participation. And I believe we're going to do that here today.
HEMMER: Help me kick this spin to the curb, as we like to say around here.
You're a Democratic secretary of state. Does one party have an edge based on what you've seen so far in this race in early voting?
CULVER: I think it's dead even. To be honest with you, we have a Democratic governor. We have a Republican state house. We have a very progressive, Democratic U.S. senator. We have a very conservative U.S. Senator. And our voter registration is tied.
So it is a definition of a dead heat right here in Iowa. But it really will depend on the ground game today; who's going to get out the vote.
HEMMER: Sure, sure.
Let me just try to get one more point here. A judge said if you cast a ballot in the wrong place it doesn't count. However, it was also ruled that you'll put that vote to the side to be held possibly for a later date.
Does that open the possibility that if this thing is really close in Iowa that they'll go back and count those votes or even have some sort of court battle over them?
CULVER: Well, the great thing about our process in Iowa is that every voter here will have the right to have their vote counted and counted accurately, even if they vote a provisional ballot.
Those ballots will be segregated. They will be preserved. And under the Constitution and under our state laws, voters have the right to challenge provisionals. If they feel like those should count, on Thursday they can make that challenge.
So it's a great process. Everyone's protected and most importantly we're going to make sure that every vote is counted and counted accurately. And then some of these legal issues, if they have to be resolved afterwards they will be.
But for today, things are very smooth and we really commend all the people out there working hard to make election administration go well.
HEMMER: I'll hold back on the list of possibilities until we even get there if we need to.
Thanks, Chet Culver, secretary of state there in the state of Iowa.
Our election coverage begins later tonight at 7:00 Eastern Time, live in Times Square, right here in New York City -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, the race for the White House still dominating the headlines of course, but a separate issue on the ballot in one state could actually change the outcome of the election. We'll take a look at that, when AMERICAN MORNING continues after this short break.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: No commander-in-chief would ever, and I'm no exception, willingly allow our military influence to shrink. Unilateralism is a mistake. That's what I said for it. I think the senator made a mistake in criticizing me.
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I don't need any lectures in courage from Howard Dean.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Looking back now at campaign 2004 -- one of the many moments, going back to the Democratic fight for that nomination that we all know that John Kerry won. Really started off strong in Iowa back in January with the caucuses when John Kerry emerged out of that state.
Special coverage of Election Day on this AMERICAN MORNING. We're here for five hours, start at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time. We'll go through the noon Eastern hour. Also, my colleagues Daryn Kagan and Rick Sanchez joining me from the CNN Center. Good morning, guys.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Bill.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: There's been a lot of talk of contentious takeovers. There's also been talk of political power grabs. And you know what's interesting, in this case, it's not the presidential race we're talking about.
KAGAN: No, we're actually talking about the Senate race, the control for the U.S. Senate. Today's election could change the balance of power in the Senate.
Let's take a look at some of the numbers. Thirty-four seats on the line. Democrats are hoping to take control.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, in fact, right now Republicans rule 51-48, with one independent who tends to vote Democratic -- as you know, that's Jim Jeffords. So, Democrats need to pick up two seats to take the majority. That's, of course, assuming that George Bush wins.
KAGAN: More than two-thirds of the 34 Senate races are said to be safe for incumbents. About eight, though, when you take a look, are neck and neck, including two that we really want to look at.
First to South Dakota. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle trying to fight off Republican challenger John Thune. You might remember back in 2002, Thune came within 524 votes of defeating the state's other Democratic senator.
SANCHEZ: Let's go to Alaska now. This is interesting here. Incumbent Lisa Murkowski, she's fighting for her political life against former Governor Tony Knowles. Now, Murkowski is dogged by talk of nepotism. In fact, that's actually a referendum there. She was appointed by her father, Governor Frank Murkowski, to replace him. Alaska hasn't sent a Democrat to the Senate in more than two decades.
KAGAN: So, we will be watching those numbers, as well.
SANCHEZ: Very carefully. And voters are also going to decide on a number of issues from stem-cell research to gay marriage.
KAGAN: And one ballot initiative could impact every single American. Our Bob Franken has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Of all the state initiatives, there's one that could theoretically change the results of the presidential election. A proposed amendment to Colorado's Constitution would allocate the state's nine electoral college votes based on the proportion of the popular vote as opposed to winner take all. The GOP is dead-set against this change, arguing it violates the U.S. Constitution.
Controversial though that may be, the intense feelings probably don't compare to the emotions over gay marriage. No fewer than 11 states have proposals that would ban it, including battleground states like Ohio and Michigan and Oregon, where Republicans are hoping the issue will generate a big turnout of conservatives.
It's fair to say that not all Republicans are towing the line with the president on all issues. Take stem-cell research, for instance, and take Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: I'm very much interested in stem-cell research and support it 100 percent.
FRANKEN: He's supporting a proposition that would provide state funds for new stem-cell research. President Bush has banned federal funds.
Meanwhile, efforts to decriminalize marijuana provide the drama in three states -- Oregon, where some might expect an effort to expand its use for medical purposes. But Montana, too? And Alaska?
(on camera): The matter of who's president will just be one of those that's been decided. The way he's selected will also be affected. There will also be questions about the fundamental matter of life, as well as choices people make about the way they live their lives.
Bob Franken, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: Here are a couple other high-profile ballot initiatives that we're going to be following for you. Florida voters are going to decide on parental notification before abortions. That's a key issue down there.
Also, a California proposition would change the three strikes law so that it's a long prison term that would actually only kick in when the third offense was a major or a violent crime or a felony. We'll follow that one, as well.
KAGAN: Yeah, a lot of interesting races to watch throughout the day and throughout the night. We are here for you. For now, back to New York.
HEMMER: How's the advertising been in Georgia for this campaign? Have you seen much down there in Atlanta or not?
KAGAN: Well, in terms of presidential election, you wouldn't even know there is a presidential election. They have...
SANCHEZ: A little bit on the Isakson and Denise...
KAGAN: Majette.
SANCHEZ: ... Majette.
KAGAN: The Senate race.
SANCHEZ: Right. But...
KAGAN: And some local races. But presidential election, might as well be 2001.
SANCHEZ: Far cry from what you're seeing in Ohio or my folks are seeing down in Florida, I'll tell you that.
HEMMER: Ditto for here in the State of New York. Thanks, guys. Talk to you next hour, all right?
In a moment here, everybody likes to talk about what life will be like if their guy wins. But what if your guy loses? Back to Jack on that after this. A special extended edition of AMERICAN MORNING, live in New York City on campaign day 2004. We continue in a moment.
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O'BRIEN: Welcome back, Mr. Cafferty.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: How are you doing, Soledad?
What are you going to do if your guy loses tomorrow? Supposed to be a close race, and some of you are going to obviously be unhappy how we handle it is the true test of something -- I'm not sure what. Ron in Elmira, New York: "I sure am glad it's Election Day. Now I can quit lying to the pollsters when they call on the phone. I have to leave now to go vote and lie to the exit polls."
Pete in DeSoto, Texas: "Well, since I made a $100 bet on Kerry winning, it works for me either way. If Kerry loses, I get an early start on having less money for the next four years; if he wins, I get a jump-start on the better economy that'll be coming."
John in Westminster, Maryland: "It doesn't matter who wins. You could put a potato in the Oval Office and this country will still be fine." I'm not sure that's true. A rutabaga, maybe, but I'm not sure a potato.
Some of the favorite political jokes of the very long campaign are as follows. David Letterman said, "President Bush has said that he does not need approval from the U.N. to wage war. And I'm thinking, well, hell, he didn't need the approval of the American voters to become president, either."
And this from Craig Kilborn, "John Kerry will be the Democratic nominee for president. Democrats finally found someone who is Al Gore without the flash and sizzle." Very clever.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
In a moment here, live snapshot across the country. Polling, voting underway. Also, a look today at who could control the House and Senate at the end of this day. The balance of power in Congress in a moment as we continue. Election Day here on AMERICAN MORNING after this.
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