racism in our country. we'll act to give working people a fair shot again in this country. and we'll tooact to restore our faith in democracy and our faith in one another. today we're facing a public health crisis of historic proportions. and with winter at hand, it's getting worse. just last friday 83,000 new cases in one day. saturday, another 83,000 cases. nearly 1,000 people a day are dieing. another 200,000 deaths are expected. over the next several months. and the president keeps telling us not to worry. he keeps telling us, we're turning the corner, is his quote. he says, removed from reality

and it's offensive as when he told us the virus affects virtually nobody. just the elderly, with heart conditions. virtually nobody. just the elderly with heart conditions. as if they don't matter. when he said in response to the number of deaths, reaching 1,000, he said, it is what it is. well, it is what it is, because he is who he is. in the spring the president declared in his voice as commander in chief, as commander-in-chief we was going to wage war on the virus. instead he shrugged. he swaggered, and he surrendered. then as chief of staff, just last week, made a stunning

admission. an admission that i believe but never thought he'd say. saying, "we're not going to control the pandemic." we're not going to control the pandemic. it's a capitulation. it's a waving of a white flag. it's a window into the shocking truth about this white house. that they've never really tried. think about all of the frontline health professionals who have risked and some given their lives. for the last nine months in this pandemic. think about all of the first responders. think about all the grocery store clerks, drivers, delivery drivers of trucks, teachers, parents. kids home from school. think about all of those who have lost their jobs. think about all of those who have been infected by the virus. think about all of those who have died. they are giving their all while the president was giving up.

well, i'm here to tell you, we can and we will control this virus. as president, i will never wave the white flag of surrender. just imagine where we'd be today if the president had embraced wearing masks instead of mocking it. imagine where we'd be today if the president practiced social distancing instead of holding superspreader events. imagine where we'd be with a comprehensive system of testing and tracing. i first put forward a detailed plan on how to deal with this virus back in march. this administration ignored it. then i released several more detailed plans in the months that followed. the most recent just last week. this administration has yet to offer a single plan. that's one of the reasons why bun of the most prestigious

journals in the world, the "new england journal of medicine" called the president "dangerously incompetent" and went on to say the president turned a crisis into a tragedy. i'm ready to act. i know what to do. starting on day one of my presidency, we will do it. i've talked about the battle for the soul of america. since the very beginning of this campaign. and i want to be very clear in these closing days about what i mean. and about what i intend to do in that battle. to assure that our better angels prevail over our worst instincts. i believe this election is about who w who we are as nation, what we believe and maybe most importantly, who we want to be. it's about our essence. it's about what makes us americans. it's that fundamental.

time and again throughout our history, we've seen charlatans, the con men, the phony populace poo stut play on our fears, appeal to our worst appetites, pick at the oldest scabs we have for their own political gain. they appear in the nation, where it's hit the hardest and at our most vulnerable. never to solve anything. only to benefit themselves. in a recent encyclical pope francis warns us against this phony populism that appealed to "the basis, the most selfish instincts." goes on to stay, politics is more noble than marketing, media spin. these sow nothing but division, conflict and a bleak cynicism. he said, for those who seek to lead, we do well to ask

ourselves, why am i doing this? why? what is my real aim? pope francis asked questions that anyone who seeks to lead this great nation should be able to answer. and my answer is this -- i run to unite this nation and to heal this nation. i've said that from the beginning. it's badly necessary. the bible tells us there's a time to break down, and a time to build up. a time to heal. this is that time. god in history called us to this moment and to this mission. with our voices and our votes, we must free ourselves from the forces of darkness, from the forces of division. and the forces of yesterday. from the forces that pull us apart, hold us down and hold us back. and if we do so, we'll once more

become one nation under god, indivisible. a nation united, a nation strengthened, a nation healed. that is my goal. that is why i'm running. that is what we must do. thank you all for being here. and may god bless america, and may god protect our troops. stay safe. and wear your mask. i want to bring in our chief political analyst gloria borger to talk about what we gijust sa. joe biden there in georgia. interesting itself. talking unity and about action, but he's clearly trying to be more inspirational and be a comforter in chief. i think that's the vibe he's trying to give off as he does

have criticism for president trump's pandemic response, but trying to sell this message of unity and healing. >> yeah. remember, this is kind of the book end he gave in gettysburg talking about bipartisanship and fighting for the soul of the nation. this now is his closing argument, which is, not only is he fighting for the soul of the nation, but he is the person who can unite the nation. he made the case against donald trump in terms of covid. effectively saying that this man is a selfish man. that he never really cared about you. that he runs on, and quoted the pope on this, but he said it's a phony populism. the pope did not mention donald trump by name, of course. and he said, look. this is a time to heal. and you need to think about all of those people who lost their jobs. all of those people who were infected, and, remember, this is the president who told us that

the virus effects virtually no one, except the elderly with heart conditions. and then he said, it is what it is, meaning covid, because he is who he is. and so this was the argument and you're going to hear this for the next week. he is clearly in georgia, as you pointed out, which is a state democrats have not won since 1992. he is at roosevelt the healing place and the choice of that was, you know, is not lost on us. that this is where roosevelt went to heal and to think, and i think that the message could not be clearer. it is interesting that we have yet to hear the sort of final uplifting closing argument from donald trump. maybe we will hear that some day within the next week. instead, what you hear from donald trump is the same old charges against biden and the

democrats at loud ruckus rallies. so the contrast really could not be clearer. this is a man, joe biden, who says, stay safe. put on his mask at the end of his speech, and walked off. and the president is talking about the huge sizes of his rallies. the amount of people who come out to see him. and so, you know, these are two very different men, with two incredibly different messages, bri. >> yeah. the contrast is stark it is. >> gloria borger, thank you so much. >> sure. >> president trump touting his covid response leaving the white house moments ago's scheduled to speak in michigan later this hour. the state part of the blue wall that he needs to break down again in order to win. cnn jeremy diamond is live for us in lansing now as he awaits the president, making his way there. so what is the strategy today? such a contrast going from this joe biden event to what we're seeing there in michigan. this crowd, which has been very

engaged, is awaiting the president? >> reporter: no question. look, the governor of michigan gretchen whitmer warned this event is a recipe for disaster. one of many state across the country that is experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases. we are at this point right now where the moving average of daily cases is at the highest points it's been in the united states at any point during this entire pandemic. what we are seeing from the president is the opposite of cdc guidelines. the opposite of live public health guidance, advice and practice, frankly. seeing from the president at these events where thousands continue to gather. most of them not wearing masks. and despite the surge in cases that we are seeing here in the state of michigan. but there's no question that the president is focused very much so on that wblue wall he helped cap demur 2017. the 77,000 votes across three states that helped him capture the presidency in 2016. here in michigan the president

won this state by fewer than 11,000 votes, and now that he is down in the polls against joe biden by an average of eight points, the president is still pushing voting here trying to capture magic in a bottle one more time. yesterday in pennsylvania. today in michigan. then he heads over to the state of wisconsin. those three states both key to the president's narrow path to 270 electoral college votes. we hear from the president not so much talking about the coronavirus pandemic. in fact, her rarely talks about it at rallies except to downplay it. we are hearing from the president a continued focus on mail-in ballots and talking about the need for votes to be counted on election night. listen to what he said just before leaving the white house. >> i think we're doing very well. we're going to have an exciting night. it would be very, very proper and very nice if a winner were declared on november 3rd instead

of counting ballots for two weeks. totally inappropriate and i don't believe that's by our laws. i don't believe that. >> reporter: and the president is just wrong there, brianna, saying that's not by our laws. that's false. it is completely valid to count after election day. postmarked by election day and receives within a certain number of days. that's what we'll see on election day because of the amount of mail-in ballots. perhaps the results won't be known until a few days after election day. it doesn't mean something is wrong, it means the system is working despite what the president says. >> jeremy diamond in michigan. for the first time this campaign season with just seven days to go, first lady melania trump is making a solo campaign stop appearing at a rally in pennsylvania this hour which is a state that president trump visit 9 yesterday. cnn's kate bennett is at this event. kate, the first lady has been

con speck lousily absent. supposed to attend an event last week and skipped it because of a lingering cough from coronavirus. what do you expect from her appearance today? >> reporter: well, brianna, talk about 11th hour. here we are seven days out of the election, and the first lady of the united states is making her first solo campaign appearance. frankly, her first campaign appearance at all in over a year. she's not been on the trail with the president since june of 2019. she's decided to come here to rural, pennsylvania. clearly a trump area driving in we saw a lot of trump signs, a lot of trump supporters here today. she's expected to talk for about ten minutes today making the case for why she and her husband should be in washington, another four years. certainly her absence from the trail just to make, it has been a historic break from precedence. first ladies are typically very, very much needed. they're important, and they're essential surrogates on a campaign trail. it is not something that melania

trump particularly likes to do. we didn't see her a lot in 2016. she's not a prolific speechgiver or a public presence. however, this is a tight race. so to see her here in pennsylvania today certainly notes that she is deciding to make this last week push. we're expecting more solo events and perhaps an event with the president also before election day. bri? >> reporte >> kate, thank you. kate bennett from pennsylvania. with just seven days to go the supreme court made a crucial ruling about mail-in voting in wisconsin. denying a deadline extension and ruled that all ballots must be received by election day no matter when they are postpostma. just last week justices upheld a ruling extending the mail-in deadline there. justice kavanaugh writing most states including wisconsin require absentee ballots received by election day. not just mailaled by election

day. they want to avoid imzigss of impropriety. could sue if they arrive after election day and potentially flip the results of an election. a cnn law analyst and constitutional law professor at nyu law school. i wonder what you make of this opinion being something that can illuminate how justice kavanaugh might rule in he was faced with a contested election? what do you think? >> well, it's clear that a majority of the supreme court not just justice kavanaugh are not particularly tolerant of lower federal courts using federal constitutional doctrine to change the rules in state election codes over the election. how that might apply after the election is anyone's guess. depends on whether we actually is contested litigation and whether the federal courts and then the supreme court are brought into the picture. >> as he writes here, there's not really an address of how the

additional -- one of the big things when it comes to mail-in ballots and how long after the election they should be considered. one issue, unprecedented volume of mail and ma mail-in ballot wl see. does he address that? >> we've known sis late march we would face this situation of a massive surge of absentee ballots unlike in normal times's there are a lot of things to do to prepare for that. one of the things i've been doing several months encouraging people 23 they're not particularly vulnerable to vote in-person. or certainly to return their aboutsettee ballots very early. not at the last minute. the reason is that given our political climate at the moment, i think it's safe to believe realistically that if the vote cannot be determined for five or six or seven days, in pennsylvania, and it's decisive in the election or a couple of other states, it's going to

four unfortunately be an explosive situation. social media will throw fires on the case. the president will try to shut the process done. what he did in florida when it happened in the governor of election there. so it's a toxic culture in general. it will be better if we can get to a clear result sooner rather than later. i think everyone recognizes that. >> calvin, i actually cited one of or articles for "the chicago law review" when the case was made. you write policymakers need to give serious consideration to extending these deadlines. what did you make being included in kavanaugh's opinion? >> a little uncomfortable to be a part of the story instead of talking about an opinion. in that article i say what i just said to you now, about this concern about not being able to get to a count for a long time,

and what might ensue. i don't say flig about whanythi courts should or sohouldn't do. policymakers should consider extending the deadlines given the massive absentee ballots we're going to get. some states have done it. most have not. most states require absentee ballots received by election night to be treated as valid votes. >> finally, were i let you go, asking you about a tweet from the president. twitter flagged it as misleading. i piff reface this. the country must have final total on november 3rd. what do you think of a president making a declaration like that? >> well, let's just be clear. we never have a final total on election night. the networks may declare winners, but there's a process. the states count the ballots. they never finish their count completely on election night.

it usually does take a couple of weeks. with absentee ballots, may take longer, pennsylvania and wisconsin in particular. but there's no reason to even claim that historically we have a legal winner on election night. sometimes the networks can cree claire tha declare that. sometimes they can't. it's the state officials who count the vote, put a certified vote total there end of the process of tabulating all the votes and that didn't ever happen shorter than a couple of weeks after the election. >> and it's about the norm of a candidate, one of the candidates normally conceding, whichly a key part of this and generally happens before you do have those vote totals in. rick, thank you for being with us. sorry. go on. >> glad to be here. i was just going to say, of course, concessions have no legal significance. they don't determine who is the winner or not.

they have great cultural significance. >> yes. a very good point. we are a nation turns out very much governed by norms. that is one of them. great to see you. thanks for being with us. >> okay. thanks, briannbrianna. next, president trump insisting, done dozens of times, the country is rounding the turn on coronavirus. we'll map out how he couldn't be further from the truth. one case in point, el paso, texas. the hospitalization rate is at its highest point ever. we'll take you there. later, a conservative christian speaks out to make his case why evangelicals should dump trump. when i was in high school, this was the theater i came to quite often. the support we've had over the last few months has been amazing. it's not just a work environment. everyone here is family. if you are ready to open your heart and your home, check us out. we thought for sure that we were done. and this town said: not today.

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with a week to go until the election the president is

repeating one of his favorite lies about the coronavirus. >> it's running its course. we're rounding the turn. we're rounding the turn on the pandemic. >> it will go away and as i say we're rournding the turn, rounding the corner. >> we're rounding the corner buelly. >> we're rounding the turn. our numbers are incredible. >> we are coming around. we're rounding the turn. >> not true. forbes has been keeping track of this lie of his and found he said this phrase something similar to it nearly 40 times in the last 57 days. here is the reality. coronavirus cases hit the highest number ever in the past week. this is a record for the seven-day average. as a nation, we are at 70,000 cases a day. when you average out for the week. now, for context, we were in the low 20s going into memorial day in may. a peak in late july in the high 60s then dipped back down to the mid-30,000s in september, which gave our nation a sense that things were settling down.

now, here we are. spiking into the 70000s. 37 states have increasing cases. there's only one state that is going in the right direction. the other 49 are not. 16 states just broke their previous records for number of cases, and it's not just more testing as the president likes to say. the positivity rate is also higher than a month ago and we also know that spikes in hospitalizations and deaths come after an increase in cases. hospitalizations are already up 40% in a month. 11 states broke records for the number of people hospitalized with covid on monday. in utah, hospitals are so strained they're discussing the possibility of rationing care if the numbers don't turn around. in el paso, a curfew in effect as isus his capacity. trump tweeted, 99.9%. we assume talking about young people. even then this stat lacks

context. 2.6% of people who contracted coronavirus since the pandemic began, they've died of it. just look at the numbers and ask yourself. are these numbers acceptable? 800 people dieing every day in the u.s. on average right now. despite all the evidence the president is upset, not that americans are dieing but that the media is paying attention to americans dieing. he's alleging this is all a hoax that will disappear after the election. >> that's all i hear about now. all i hear -- turn on the television. covid, covid. covid, covid, cove covid. a plane goes down, 500 people down, they don't talk about it. covid, covid -- by the way, november 4th, you won't hear about it anymore. >> he is lying knowingly. after alls first lady couldn't campaign last week because of lingering covid symptoms. there is currently an active outbreak on the vice president's staff. five of mike pence's closest aides. trump e event at the would us to

honor confirmation of amy coney barrett to the supreme court could not escape reality. a 9:00 p.m. white house event in the rose garden, outdoors, in the dark, to be safe. sociality distanced to be safe. more masks than we've ever seen before, to be safe at a president's event. a super contrast from the superspreaders the president held outdons and indoors at the white house just a month ago. he says we're rounding the turn. believable only if you trust donald trump over your own eyes or over the voices of americans who are living this nightmare that is getting worse. like alice roberts who lost her husband rob a police officer in new jersey. >> i've lost the partner, i've lost a cook. i've lost the guy who made me laugh all the time. you know, we were always joking. there was just -- so many good memories. that we spent together, justice on the ordinary things and on

trips and just everyday life. you know, it went by too fast. everyone always said that, but it really did. >> or minnesota state senator matt klein, a democrat mourning his father-in-law who was skeptical of masksened social distancing. >> i loved my father-in-law and i know he loved me. like a lot of families these days we had strong political differences, but somehow public health cannot be one of those political differences. we've got to trust that we want to care for each other and do the right thing for each other. we're not ow to trick people or impies a political agenda. we just want to get through this together. be safe and healthy as a country. >> the president says we're rounding a turn? we're rounding a turn all right. going 90 without a seat belt, would you brakes and with a driver who refises to keep his eyes on the road. next, a christian's case against donald trump. a man who used to work for one of the most influential

evangelical groups in the country is trying topeers the pt deserve a second term. he'll make that argument live, in just a moment. hi, i'm dorothy hamill. as i look toward 65, i'm thinking about medicare. i know i want coverage that connects all the different parts of my health care to keep me aging actively. aetna medicare advantage plans offer $0 monthly premiums. with benefits like dental, vision and hearing. and telehealth so you can see a primary care doctor from the comfort of home. keep doing what you love. that's the aetna medicare advantage. call today and we'll send you a $10 visa reward card with no obligation to enroll. we knew that this was really, really bad. we had ample forewarning. but we did almost no testing,

almost no contact tracing. completely ignored the science, completely ignored the warning signs. there were things that could have been done. a lot of people have died needlessly, and there's nothing more frustrating than feeling like you're fighting against someone who should have your back. we are not going to stamp this out unless we have a change of leadership. ff pac is responsible for the content of this ad. and let me tell you something, i wouldn't be here if i thought reverse mortgages took advantage of any american senior, or worse, that it was some way to take your home. it's just a loan designed for older homeowners, and, it's helped over a million americans. a reverse mortgage loan isn't some kind of trick to take your home. it's a loan, like any other. big difference is how you pay it back. find out how reverse mortgages really work with aag's free,

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on the network rated #1 in customer satisfaction. it's your wireless. your rules. only with xfinity mobile. scott wiener immediately went to work, making sure families could put food on their tables, defending renters facing eviction, securing unemployment benefits, helping neighborhood businesses survive. scott wiener will never stop working until california emerges from this crisis. the bay area needs scott's continued leadership in sacramento. because we know scott is fighting for all of us. re-elect scott wiener for state senate. the trump and biden campaigns are in the final sprint with just seven days to go until election day. both campaigns spreading out across the country trying to make their case. in 2016, president trump won the

evangelical vote. he won overwhelmingly. today writer and editor matt kaufman is hoping to change minds. matt joins us now and i thank you for being with us to talk about this. you used to work for the magazine publishes by "focus on the family" a prominent group in the country. you said i spent years working for a conservative christian organization but believe supporting trump damping the country and christianity too. you say in this article that the president is bad for the cause of christ. explain what you mean. >> well, i think this, brianna. i think his contact, his way of behaving and many of the ways he uses his power are damaging not only just to the country in general, that's bad enough, but if people see christians, no matter how well we may behave in

our own personal lives if they see our behave are and link us to trump, i think that shuts us down to not only what we have to say about public policy, more importantly what we have to say about our faith. that is really what should be our greatest concern. >> and you knee, there are, i mean, there are many evangelicals who voted for president trump and are expected to vote for him again. even as they dismiss behavior in him that they certainly would not talk about doing themselves. right? this is, isn't something they would typically, they would disapprove of. can you explain that to us and also tell us, i know you haven't made a ton of friends with some folks by writing this. >> well, i think the -- i think probably what happens to a lot of people is, it is a combination of they overlook some things in trump either

because they are trying to focus on some policy gains that they hope to make, or because they are concerned about what democrats will do. they see dangers on the left. i understand where they're coming from, because they are, i share many of those concerns, but i think there's an ideological tunnel vision we have to watch out for. where we only see dangers on the left, and there are dangers on the right, and there are dangers that tonight fit on the left-right spectrum when you have a president so unstable, callous and cruel. we have to watch out for all of those. now, as to not making some friends, i, i know there are some people who are going to be alienated by what i'm saying's people hoop share a lot of the views that i have on issue as. i have heard from hoaeard from other people who are much more supportive and that gives me hope that these are concerns more widespread perhaps than

you'd realize when you just see some of the people known as conservative christian spokespeople in the media. >> matt, you talk a little about that in your piece. you write about finding company in your political views that this is something that can come up in casual conversation. up know, which i think is something that when it comes to evangelical christians, something you're very familiar with when it comes to talking about the bible, talking about religion. explain what you mean. finding company in your political views? >> well, this can come up very much without having a political conversation. you're just, may even be trying to avoid a political conversation, but something comes up. something trump has just said or done. something notably outrageous or crazy or whatever. and you just can't help but run, sigh or let your voice make clear how disturbed you are by it and others pick up on that and quickly you realize, there's a lot more people who think this

way who are, who share this revulsion at trump and desire to set a higher standard than is generally recognized. >> matt, thank you so much for the conversation. i really appreciate it. matt kaufman. >> thank you. next, one. president's closest allies lock in a dead heat in south carolina. senator lindsey graham is getting vastly outspent by his democratic challenger, and now he is begging for money. we will roll the tape. ♪ limu emu and doug. and if we win, we get to tell you how liberty mutual customizes car insurance so you only pay for what you need. isn't that what you just did? service! ♪ stand back, i'm gonna show ya ♪ ♪ how doug and limu roll, ya ♪

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and getting amy coney barrett into the supreme court. a political win for him. moments after that vote he went on his favorite tv channel to beg for money, which become a built of a ritual for senator graham up against a democrat shattering fund-raising records. roll the tape. >> i've getting out-raised 3-1 out spent 4-1, if you want to help me fight back go to lindseygraham.com. fill in the gap i'm facing. >> i'm being killed financially. this money is because they hate my guts. get orch our websites, lindseygraham.com, $5 or $10 goes a long way. >> i'm overwhelmed. outraised 2-1. if you want to help me, lindseygraham.com, goes a long way, $5. >> loading me up by i'm chair of

the -- >> if you want to help me pep me going to my website. >> help me @lindseygraham.com. trying to silence us all swamping us with money. >> had elp me. >> the internet is on fire raising money like crazy to take back the senate. help me. >> remember, senator graham used to be one of donald trump's fiercest republican critics. >> he's a race baiting xenophobic religious bigot. >> you know how you make america great again? tell donald trump to go to hell. >> mr. trump, thank you for being the best commander-in-chief since ronald reagan. everybody in this room has one thing in common. we all have your back. >> i want you to use my worz against me. if there's a republican president in 2016 and a vacancy occurs in the last year of the first term you can say, lindsey graham said let's let the next

president, whoever it might be, make that nomination. >> i made a decision that would be wrong to deny judge barrett a chance to be confirmed on the floor of the united states senate. >> it's like whiplash. graham has come a long way since an angry trump docks him making his cell phone number public back in 2015. >> i wrote the number down. i don't know if it's the right number. try it. 202 -- >> senator graham sure has come a long way since he criticized trump for attacking his best friend john mccain's military service and time as a presseser in of kwar saying trump had "a lack of respect for those who have served, a disqualifying characteristic to be president." now lindsey graham is an ally of the president's. his reaction to trump's abhorrent treatment of mccain, even in death, luke warm. >> it bothers me greatly when the president says things about john mccain. it pisses me off to no end, and

i let the president know it. the way he's handled the passing of john is just -- was disturbing. i am not going to give up on the idea of working with this president. >> working with him and golfing with him. graham and trump are often seen on the course together. graham has tweeted about how grated trump's golf club is, and he's talked about the president's game. >> i saw you played golf with the president over the weekend. who won? >> i've never seen him play this well. i mean, he's got more on his shoulders. i'm hoping, okay. he's a little distracted. he beat me like a drum. amazing's shot 74. >> what? >> i know. 4 74. >> i'm not joking. >> if i could beat him i would. >> 74? 2 over par. what a notorious golf cheat president trump is. ready to safely wager they'd eat

their 9 iron if the score was accurate. graham's situation is not unique. walking the line between president trump and what they traditionally stood for. loyalty to the president may cost graham his job. certainly cost his dignity as he begs for money or television making a final pitch to voters sound more like an infomercial for the sham wow more than an argument for a next term. cnn is on the ground in five key swing states. we're going to have a look what early voting looks like in the places that may decide this election.

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the unfair money bail system. he, accused of rape. while he, accused of stealing $5.

the stanford rapist could afford bail; got out the same day. the senior citizen could not; forced to wait in jail nearly a year. voting yes on prop 25 ends this failed system, replacing it with one based on public safety. because the size of your wallet shouldn't determine whether or not you're in jail. vote yes on prop 25 to end money bail.

seven days left now until november 3rd and joe biden and president trump are courting voters in swing states. we have sara murray in pennsylvania. >> reporter: i'm sara murray in pennsylvania. it's the last day to apply for a mail-in ballot. in pennsylvania it's the first time anyone can vote by mail for any reason whatsoever. 300 people have already requested a mail-in ballot in the state, and they are encouraging them to turn those ballots in as soon as possible and not necessarily wait until election day. they're also saying it could be a long election night. it could take them a few days to count these ballots. >> reporter: i'm drew griffin in tallahassee, florida, a drizzly tallahassee where the big, big

headline in this state is how many voters have already voted. 6.4 million floridians as of this morning have already registered their vote. that is approaching nearly half of all the registered voters in the state, and the voting continues for an entire week. the polling here, you can just walk in and vote, no problem. the secretary of state says she really wants people to drop their mail-in ballots in the mail today to make sure they get counted by election day, but based on the fact that all these voters have voted, we could have a very early decision here in florida come tuesday night. >> reporter: i'm bill weir in madison, wisconsin where they're reeling from the supreme court decision that all absentee ballots must be received -- not postmarked -- received by election day. thus there are about 324,041 ballots still outstanding in this key state that have to be

mailed today. some 27 states with similar deadlines to get those ballots in the mail. the disaster they had in april for a general election for judges here, they're trying to make things go as smoothly as possible, volunteers even meeting folks at their car to help them avoid exposure to covid, which is setting new records around the state. >> reporter: i'm miguel marquez in michigan where officials expect around 5 million votes to be cast in this election, and most of them, about two-thirds, will be in before election day. michigan will be hard fought. remember, donald trump won this state by 10,704 votes back in 2016. many of the candidates and surrogates will be here this week. one big concern here across the state are guns, guns at the polls. the secretary of state ruling they could not be brought into polling places. that's been challenged in court. we expect to have that court ruling before election day as to whether or not people can bring

open carry or concealed weapons into polling places. >> reporter: i'm kim lah in phoenix, arizona. today is the day election officials say you need to put your ballot in the mail to ensure it's going to be counted. after today, they recommend that you do this. drive up to an early voting site, deliver it in person or drop it into a drop box. that ensures that it will be counted. here in maricopa county, 1.1 million ballots have already been counted and signature verified. arizona's secretary of state calls the record levels of early voting, quote, historic. >> thank you to all of my colleagues for those reports. we are just one week away from election night in america. from the first votes to the critical count, cnn is the best place to be for an in-depth look at what is happening in your state and all across the country. our live special coverage will

start next tuesday at 4:00 p.m. eastern.

welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper and we begin today with the 2020 lead. exactly one week before election day and the candidates are revealing the state of the race and the strategies from president trump and democratic nominee joe biden. at any moment president trump will hold his first of three rallies today all happening in states that president trump carried in 2016, states he hopes to hold onto this election: michigan, wisconsin and nebraska. during a pandemic, these rallies are superspreader events the way they're being held. no masks required, no distancing, crowds gathered in tight groups. biden is looking to expand the maps to states he would like to win, focusing today on georgia after president trump c