this morning on election day. if you haven't voted, get out there and vote. >> have a great day everybody. ♪ good morning to you, our viewers in the west and welcome to "cbs this morning." tuesday it's, november 3rd, 2020. election day. the day we've all been waiting for. we're here in times square. i'm here with anthony mason and tony dokoupil. we are ready to go. it's decision day in america. we're at the crossroads of history. each candidate made their final appeal for votes as americans prepare to choose the next president of the united atweave across the entire country. >> president trump and joe biden both face tough paths to 27 electoral votes. and it could all come down to a handful of key states. we'll show you which states are most important and why we may not know the winner right away. the country is on edge amid hopes and fears of what might come next. we'll look at concerns about possible unrest and how lawsuits

could challenge results. plus, we'll talk to voters about their hopes for the next four years. first, here's today's "eye opener." it's your world in 90 seconds. >> i don't care how hard donald trump tries. there's nothing -- nothing that's going to stop the people of this nation from voting. >> polls officially open election day 2020 is finally upon us. >> look at this guy. you can't even see the end of it. this is not the crowd of a second place finisher. you agree with that? >> the power is in your hands, pennsylvania. >> both campaigns agree for legal reasons, pennsylvania's vote is going to take awhile to be tabulated. >> let's take 6,000 of these. we'll but them over here. let's take 6,000 of these. it's going to be cheating. >> top experts tell the trump administration that the country is entering the most concerning and most deadly phase of the pandemic. >> a vote for biden is a vote

for lockdowns. >> there's a manhunt for several suspects involved in a terror attack in vienna, austria. they opened fire on six places in the city. >> all that -- >> a hockey player gets a little too excited. >> he jumped into the plexiglass. >> and all that matters. >> i was listening to the radio in the car. all they were talking about was the election. you know what i listened to three times back to back? true story. mariah carey's "all i want for christmas is you." >> the best way to describe how i'm feeling. somewhere between christmas eve and the night before a liver tansplant. >> on "cbs this morning." >> i'm sure a lot of you wish you could just relax and skip ahead to when all the votes are counted. thankfully the late show has a new sponsor who can help. >> drink it in. the only prescription strength formula to mix rye and corn mash. drink it and targets election stress by eliminating all awareness of the electoral college. side effects may include

headache, liver aid, loss of vision, loss of car keys, loss of friends and upset spouse. election strength drincodin. sponsored by progressive. making it easy to bundle insurance. >> well, i have to say, i don't even drink and that looked pretty good to me. >> many americans taking advantage of early voting, early drinking also feels good. >> welcome to "cbs this morning." it's election day. we're not spending it in studio 57. it's a big, big day so we're in a big, big space. we're coming to you from the cbs news election headquarters near times square. >> very cool. >> very excited to be here. it's going to be a long day and we're ready and excited to bring this to you. the waiting is finally over on this election day. can you believe it's here? now it's up to you, you the people to make your voices heard. joe biden and president trump have made their closing arguments. biden was in pennsylvania where

he'll return today. the president was in grand rapids, michigan, in the same place he closed out his 2016 campaign. he'll be watching the returns at the white house. 400 people have been invited to that viewing party. >> we've seen unprecedented early turnout for this election. it's estimated nearly 100 million americans have already voted. this morning, many are already lined up for what could be the highest election turnout in u.s. history. we've got correspondents throughout the country following every aspect of this momentous day. we'll start with ben tracy at the white house. ben, good morning. >> good morning. so there's now nonscalable fencing surrounding the entire white house complex. and they expect that to stay up through the rest of the week. obviously, what happens today will determine who lives in this house for the next four years, and the two candidates battled it out in the battlegrounds until the final moments of the campaign. >> i want to do it just like last time. but let's give me a little more margin than that if you don't

mind. >> four more years! >> reporter: joined by his running mate and his family, president trump held his last rally of the campaign in the same place he ended his run for the white house back in 2016. grand rapids, michigan. >> i kept saying we have to finish off here. we have to do it. it's just -- we can be a little bit superstitious, right? >> reporter: on monday the president made five stops in four different and important swing states. >> i am asking you tomorrow to go out and vote for your all-time favorite president. >> reporter: mr. trump claims he's confident, but he's also threatening legal action before any election results have even been announced. >> can he really win? are we serious about this? >> no! >> reporter: in pennsylvania, he railed against the supreme court's decision allowing pennsylvania's law on mail-in ballots to stand. the law allows ballots to be counted that arrive up to three days after the election as long

as they're postmarked by election day. >> they made a very dangerous situation, and i mean dangerous, physically dangerous, and they made it a very, very bad -- they did a very bad thing for the state. they did a very bad thing for this nation. >> reporter: a tweet later released by the president with a similar message was quickly flagged for misleading information about the election. and there's a battle over the votes already cast. in texas, a federal court of appeals blocked a republican-led effort to invalidate nearly 127,000 drive-through ballots in heavily democratic harris county. the county clerk decided to close 9 of 10 drive-through voting sites to avoid further risk. the president seems to be linking any delay in the results to fraud, which could then result in violence, but it is important to note that it's not unusual to not have an official winner on election night. many may project a winner but it's up to states to continue counting their ballots and eventually certify a winner in every state.

>> ben, thank you. the winning candidate needs 270 electoral votes. former vice president joe biden appears to have the advantage. this is what the map looks like right now according to our cbs news battleground tracker poll. 279 likely or leaning states. but also note that there are 96 toss-up states and president trump still has a math he could still break through here. ed o'keefe has been following it all for us with last-minute updates. what is the biden campaign doing today to shore up support? >> sending him back to pennsylvania. the biden team is out in the critical battleground states you mentioned where they think they still have a chance of finding more votes to win. biden will be back in the keystone state closing out his campaign against president trump. >> the vast majority of americans are done with the chaos, the corruption, the failure. >> reporter: pennsylvania is where biden launched his presidential campaign 18 months ago. his aides called the state the cornerstone of their path to 270 electoral votes.

>> we can get this done in pennsylvania if pennsylvanians vote. >> reporter: in order to win the keystone staircts biden needs to turn out white working class voters, suburban voters, those around philadelphia and pittsburgh, and he needs to perform better in rural republican areas than hillary clinton did four years ago. ♪ the campaign is holding nothing back recruiting last-minute musical star power for their pennsylvania push monday night. >> now is your chance to vote against donald trump. a man who believes his fame gives him the right to grab one of your daughters or sisters or mothers or wives by any part of their bodies. >> reporter: biden campaigned with lady gaga in pittsburgh while john legend campaigned alongside kamala harris in philadelphia. >> your vote is your voice. and your voice is your power. >> reporter: but it's not just pennsylvania the biden campaign is focused on. >> right here in georgia, you

have got an even bigger power to deliver the change that we need. >> reporter: on monday, former president barack obama also made stops in georgia and florida. if biden wins either state, the president's pathway to victory becomes much more difficult. >> the president's declared -- he's basically planned to announce victory no matter what the numbers are. you know what? if we beat him soundly, he won't be able to do it. >> reporter: so joe biden is in pennsylvania. running mate kamala harris is headed to detroit. dr. biden is headed to florida and north carolina. kamala harris' husband is going to ohio. that's essentially where they see the ball game ending up today. guys, our late colleague called election day the feast day for floim. i think that's a good way of describing it. every holiday this year has been a little different. this election day will be very different as well. we'll see how it goes. one last time -- >> we were counting on it.

>> today is election day. >> hold it up higher. they took down the banner. >> just in case anybody woke up and forgot. >> i checked. 1,463 days to election day 2022. >> i remember when you first started that. i think it was day 58. the countdown seems so far away. to know that we're here today. i feel it, too. >> i hope we can put that away. >> i do, too. >> see you tonight. >> we will be here. many experts say that the president may need to carry pennsylvania to secure a second term. he won by less than 1 percentage point there in 2016. now the latest cbs news battleground tracker poll shows president trump trailing former vice president biden by seven points in pennsylvania, but there is still a feeling that this race may be tightening in the remaining hours. that's like right now. jericka duncan is at a polling place in philadelphia county. jericka, good morning to you. what do you see? >> good morning. a number of people, as you can see behind me, waiting for their

chance to cast their ballot. first person we spoke to in this line that entered about 15 minutes ago said they got here at 5:45 this morning. this is an area, no doubt in pennsylvania, where both campaigns are hoping to increase the african-american turnout. in 2016, that turnout was about seven points lower than expected for hillary clinton. the trump campaign has been running ads across the country trying to garner black male support, pointing to things like the president's criminal justice reform efforts. i spoke to pastor allen wahler who leads a philadelphia's large east one of his largest baptist churches. he believes it was necessary to publicly support a candidate. and that support that could influence his nearly 12,000 members. >> there's absolutely nothing wrong with me standing here and telling you what i'm hoping for, and that is that joe biden will win this and that we will clean up our government.

>> paster waller's church is actually going to be a polling place for the first time. and that was due to covid. anthony? >> jericka, thank you. florida is also a crucial state to watch tonight for president trump. it is central to his path to victory. the swing state is a toss-up. the latest cbs news/battleground tracker poll shows former vice president biden leading within the margin of error. manuel bojorquez is outside a polling place in miami. when could we expect results from florida? >> well, they could come by tonight, of course, because here in florida, not only do we have the voters showing up today, but the state started processing and counting ballots more than three weeks ago. so hopefully by tonight we'll have a pretty clear idea of who will win this critical state. now let's talk some numbers. nearly 64% of registered voters here cast their ballots before today shattering in-person and

mail-in ballot voting records. you may recall in 2016, president trump won florida's 29 electoral votes by just one percentage point. the black and latino votes could be crucial in winning this state. biden's support among black voters is higher than hillary clinton's was in 2016, and he leads among latino voters. latinos make up just over 17% of registered voters in florida. the largest among battleground states. but president trump has strong support among cuban americans and in 2016, he won white voters with college degrees by double di digits. cbs polling last month showed biden is neck and neck with the president among that demographic. gayle? >> manuel, thank you. cbs news political analyst reince priebus who was president trump's former chief of staff joins us with a former senior adviser to president barack obama, valerie jarrett. good morning to you both. all right, guys. here we are. the day is finally here. it was a late night for both the

candidates. this is a question for both of you. which states are you watching for, and is there one state in particular that you'll say we got this? valerie, can you start us off, please. >> well, sure, florida i think is going to be essential if vice president biden wins florida. i think it's going to be really tough for president trump to bring it home. but i think there are lots of states in play, gayle. the fact that president obama went to georgia, that texas is in play. it shows vice president biden has broadened the map and reached out broadly across america. today is the day that all of you who haven't voted have an opportunity to go out there and make sure your voices are heard. and then we have to give time to count the ballots. i think that's important. we have an open and fair election which means counting it all the way to the end. >> they don't call him battleground states for nothing. reince, your turn. >> i agree with valerie on florida. florida is going to count them up pretty quickly.

we'll know florida. we'll know a lot about the country when you look at certain counties in florida and who lives in those counties and how the candidates did. florida number one coming out of the gate for president trump. on the east coast and eastern time zone, too, early vote count type state is north carolina. north carolina is going to tell us a lot. i think if trump puts north carolina in its bucket and then goes to ohio, it's going to be another state is going to count them up pretty quickly. ohio. if trump hits florida, north carolina, ohio, my guess is that he's going to also do enough in georgia and arizona to hold. and then what you are looking at for donald trump is he needs to win one of the three midwest states, the big ones. wisconsin, michigan or pennsylvania. i do think it's coming down to pennsylvania. there's a reason why both candidates are camped out there. >> the president continues to stoke uncertainty about this election raising skepticism about the counting of ballots,

threatening to send in lawyers right away. why is he taking this approach? >> well, i think you're going to find out -- i think the president's verbal about it, but i think both candidates are already, by the way, both campaigns have lawyers right now in pennsylvania. they've been there for days. reviewing an enormous amount of absentee ballots. reviewing postmarks, signatures. there are lawyers from the rnc and dnc, if this comes down to mail-in ballots, they are going to review them. it's what every campaign does for 20 years. before i was chairman of the rnc, i was general counsel of the rnc. i headed up election day operations, which was mostly lawyers. that's what campaigns do, tony. >> valerie, if president trump attempted to declare victory early, as has been rumored he might do, what would the biden campaign's response be? >> well, first of all, i don't think he should.

we ought to be able to wait until every vote is counted. the american people are showing up at the polls. and why would president trump want to preempt their opportunity to weigh in and make sure that their vote does count. so i think the biden campaign has lawyers, as well, just as reince said, ready to go into court if necessary to protect the right of every american's vote to count. >> let's take a look at the early turnout so far. over 90 million people have cast their votes early. the thinking amongst pollsters is that favor s joe biden. president trump says not so fast. he says there's a red wave coming because my people will vote on election day. do you believe early turnout favors biden over president trump? >> well, first of all, your premise to the question, all the lead-up. that's 100% true. there's three buckets of voting that we talk about in politics. one is absentee ballot voting. the other is early vote.

that's when you go to a poll before the election day in person. so that's the second bucket. the third bucket is election day voting. in bucket one and two, the democrats have historically done better than republicans. they like voting early. and they did so again this time in record amounts. a lot of republicans came out and voted early, which closed the gap between the two parties. president trump is going to do better on election day in almost every battleground state in america. it's just, i don't think valerie would even disagree with that. so the question is going to be, what does -- what do those three buckets look like at the end of the day? the trump campaign thinks they've got enough out there today to put into the third bucket to win the election. >> all right. reince and valerie, thank you. looking forward to spending the night with both of you tonight. bring your pajamas and a pillow. >> thank you, gayle. >> i'm very excited about tonight. thank you both. cbs news will bring you election results in a primetime special tonight, cbs news 2020.

election night: america decides. norah o'donnell is leading our coverage. i'll join her along with margaret brennan, john dickerson and ed o'keefe. it starts at 6:30. >> starts at 6:30. no end time. ahead -- how security is being beefed up across the country amid concerns about potential protests over the elec real progress?

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it only gets better when you switch and save with geico. cbs news elections director shows up each candidate vi 's guide to watching election night. the first thing to know is that millions of ballots have already been cast. a record number. it might be most of the ballots that will be cast. we also know politically that joe biden has a lead in those

early ballots. the question is, can that lead stand up to what could be a republican turnout surgeon election day? let's take a look at the map and which states to watch. a possible path for joe biden could run up through the upper midwest winning states the president won in 2016 taking back places like wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania where joe biden came in with polling leads. for the president, his path probably starts going back through the sunbelt, places like arizona, which has become a tossup. florida, always a close race. georgia, north carolina, and then back up through the upper midwest, for him, ohio, iowa, and trying to flip back into his column again pennsylvania, which could put him back over into the top. one of the big things to watch tonight as the results come in is, remember, this is a 50-state race. it is the electoral college that

decides the presidency and should be an exciting night. >> an important reminder, thank you, anthony. chief washington correspondent major garrett joins us. good morning. >> good morning. >> from what you've heard from both campaigns going into this election day, finally we're here, how confident are they? >> at this stage both campaigns and candidates kind of know where things are. they have a better sense than voters do, and i think it's very important to go back to what was said last night by the two candidates. joe biden for the first time said, i think we're going to win. he started talking about america in a post trump era. joe biden is nothing if not cautious. him saying that out loud is a reflection of the internal data they're going through. what did donald trump say yesterday? could this guy win? could joe biden win? those are reflections of what they're already absorbing about what they've seen at their state level data and national data. i think that's very important. joe biden is in a very different place than he was. >> i think we should manage

viewer's expectations going into this evening. there's a lot of tension in the air. how is the night likely to look for the president given when polls are closing and when the first results are coming in. >> there's a phrase people may have heard that i don't like is red mirage. it sounds pejorative. it's not a foehny thing. votes are counted, they're real, they're not a mirage. on day of turnout, if the trump turnout is high, those votes will be counted first. doesn't mean they're worth more or less, they are counted first. they will look better for the president. you add absentee voting and then in person voting then the tabulation begins to look different. it's not a mirage, it's a combination of things. in some states the president could jump out to what looks like an early lead. if that lead dissipates, it doesn't mean anything is going on, it means all votes are being tabulated. >> right. >> the trump campaign rhetoric in court and in person is all votes counted, all votes legally

counted. >> the early impression may be misleading. >> it may indicate something that over time doesn't hold up. >> yeah. >> that's why you have to be patient, because just because it's taking a long time doesn't mean that there's something wrong. >> precisely. >> but i want to compare 2016, major, because you were there. what are the similarities and differences that you see between the two campaigns? >> 2016 i was on the road for 16 months. this campaign i've covered from my couch. big difference. >> more comfortable. >> the other big difference, this is really important. 2016 was a change election. hillary clinton was trying to extend for four more years an existing political orientation, the obama administration effecttivelily. very hard thing to do. on my broadcast the debrief, robby mook said they didn't understand how difficult that was. this is not a change election, this is a referendum election on the president's handling of everything. because it's a referendum, he is the central focus of this election. back then it was a change.

>> are you expecting the president may try to declare victory early if the early votes suggest he's ahead? and are you expecting legal challenges from him? >> the republicans have given every indication that's on the president's mind. i will always give the president and any political figure the room to not do what their advisers say they're going to do. if this is decisive for biden early on, i don't expect the president to do that. but if it's close, be ready. >> we can say we're ready. >> we are ready. >> we are definitely ready. >> it will be a great night. >> i think so. it will be a long night. really, really looking forward to that. coming up next, how police and businesses are stepping up security. reminder, invitation from us to you, you can always get the morning news by subscribing to the "cbs morning news" podcast so you get the top stories in less than 20 minutes. we like to think that's a deal. we'll be right back. you're watching "cbs this morning." experience clean

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that's not true - we're all going to pay. $11 billion in new property taxes will get passed on to small businesses and farms. they'll raise prices... ...higher gas, health care, food...even day care. we can't make ends meet now. families can't afford 15. no on prop 15. election day. it's an opportunity to celebrate our democracy, but some people very, very fearful, rather, about what might happen after the results come in. think about that for just a second. now we should stress, officials are not aware of any specific threat, but many businesses taking no chances and they are boarding up just in case. a new steel fence went up around the white house yesterday and police are preparing for the possibility of unrest regardless of the election's outcome. lead national correspondent

david begnaud is in washington. the streets so eerie this morning. >> they are quiet but bustling. they don't want a repeat of what we saw in the george floyd protest. peaceful protests were over shadowed by looters. some businesses have hired private security. they've taken in the extra chairs and table for dining. new york city and for that matter the country is on edge today. from los angeles to denver to raleigh and to new york, business owners are boarding up and bracing for election night. this year the tensions are high

from anger over coronavirus restrictions to large protests about police brutality. the protests calling for racial justice were mostly peaceful but marred by violence from agitators. >> what have you done? >> we've just boarded up over the weekend in preparation for what may or may not happen after the election. >> reporter: jim english is the general manager of warehouse wines and spirits in manhattan. his store was looted following the death of george floyd. how much damage was there. >> there was almost $200,000 worth of damage. i did not feel particularly safe then. i don't think that they could allow that same response to happen again without people in the city just saying, i don't feel safe. so i hope that they are monitoring the situation. >> in the days following the election we will have additional officers ready to respond to any type of incident. >> reporter: the new york police

department says it will work with 40 agencies to monitor activity from its joint operations center. on monday vandals targeted the democratic party in houston, texas. spray painting elections no, revolution, yes. fbi officials will be monitoring the night's developments from a command center inside fbi headquarters. there was an independent report that found five states are especially at risk for civilian militia activity this week, including the state of oregon. the governor says the national guard is on stand by. >> we stand here today urging all oregonians to commit to non-violent expression. we can all do our parts this week by staying calm, cool, and collect collected. >> reporter: hope this makes you feel comfortable. cbs news has been told by forces there is no direct threat about violence surrounding the election. law enforcement officials are

concerned if it becomes contested, lootders and agitators could then come in and disrupt what would otherwise be peaceful protests. anthony, back to you. >> we hope it's a peaceful day, david. lines already forming at my polling station at 5:30 a.m. people not discouraged. >> this portion of "cbs this morning" sponsored by colgate. colgate op this portion of "cbs this morning" sponsored by colgate.

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thank you very much, linette. appreciate that. here are a few stories we're talking about today. the only thing we're talking about, the election. the first vote count in this presidential election come from two tiny towns in new hampshire. >> five votes for joe biden. >> the democrat made a clean sweep in dixville notch. that is a small township with a 60 year tradition of voting at midnight. it was a different story in nearby mills field. president trump got 16 votes while vice president biden picked up another five. we have five votes for biden. watch this. all right. we're not watching that. here's another story. so that was dixville notch. >> what kind of record do they have though, vlad? >> it's a little spotty. >> a lot spotty. >> they voted for richard nixon in 1960. obviously president kennedy won. they also had hillary clinton in 2016. >> it is the first time one

candidate has had a clean sweep? >> is it? >> dixville notch. first in the nation. along with millsfield. all right. this is an interesting story. people diagnosed with the coronavirus and oergs who have been exposed to it can vote in person. according to the cdc voters who are sick or in quarantine should immediately alert poll workers when they arrive. those voters should wear a mask, stay at least six feet away from others and wash their hands or use hand sanitizer before and after voting. i have to tell people that because it's important, even if you have the coronavirus and you're voting, which is incredible, just keep in mind. >> if you have the coronavirus, can you also cut the line? if so, i think i -- >> i think i would be like, go right ahead. >> that surprises me. if you have coronavirus and i'm in line, i want to know that. >> yes. >> i'm surprised. >> a separate space for them to vote. >> okay. >> the good news is, your vote still matters even if you are sick with the coronavirus.

>> absolutely. 94-year-old woman proves if she can find a way to vote, so can we. this is mildred madison casting her ballot in detroit. she had been stayin with her son julian outside of chicago when madison's absentee ballot never arrived. she took matters into her own hands. she hopped into her car with her son and she rode more than 300 miles back home to detroit so she could vote. madison and her son told chip reid it's important to use your voice. >> if your vote did not matter, then certain individuals or groups would not take the time to make sure you did not vote. >> it's most important that you vote for your life, for your future, for the future and the life of your children and your children's children and for all those generations that you may not know. >> this is such a consequential election. when you hear stories like that, we've profiled a couple of people, people who are 100, 104

years old taking this seriously because it matters. >> there's no slack. she made that 600 mile trip in one day with her son. she was head of the league of women voters in cleveland and on the board of ed, city council. >> right. >> she's setting a great example. >> very great example. the moral is, america, you're in power here. >> the scariest costume on halloween for a candidate is voter. a look at three key states in the election today. stay with us. it's still warm. ♪ thanks, alice says hi. for some of us, our daily journey is a short one. save 50% when you pay per mile with allstate. pay less, when you drive less. you've never been in better hands. allstate. click or call for a quote today.

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. good morning. it's 7:46. if you are hitting the roadways it's a busy ride to the richmond, san rafael bridge. we have a trouble spot on the lower deck but that westbound side which is the commute direction seeing a few brake lights in that area as well. as far as the travel times go it's also pretty slow on the east shore as well as highway 4, antioch to 80. all right. it's a chilly start to the day. also foggy in spots this morning because of that on shore flow. it'll we cooler compared to yesterday but still on the mild side. mid to upper 70's to low 80's inland, around the bay mid

it is tuesday, november 3rd, 2020, election day. welcome back to "cbs this morning." i'm gayle king with tony dokoupil and anthony mason. election day in america, it is finally here. we'll look at the critical states in play today, including some for the first time in decades. democracy's historic test, what a safe and secure election looks like on a day when results could face multiple political and legal challenges. and celebrating our diversity, a conversation about the growing influence of minority voters, plus america's hopes for the nation's future. but first, here is today's eye opener at 8:00. the waiting, it is finally over on this election day. it's here. now it's up to you. you the people, to make your voices heard. >> what happens today will

determine who lives in this house for the next four years and the two candidates battled it out until the final moments of the campaign. >> the biden team is out in the critical battleground states where they think they have a chance of finding more votes to win. biden will be back in the keystone state closing out his campaign against president trump. >> reporter: this is an area in pennsylvania both campaigns hope to increase the african-american turnout. you look back in 2016, that turnout was about 7 points lower than expected for hillary clinton. >> here in florida, the state started counting ballots more than three weeks ago, so hopefully by tonight we'll have a clear idea of who will win this critical state. and one last time. >> one last time. >> we were counting on it. >> today is election day. >> hold it up higher. they took down the banner. >> just in case anybody woke up and forgot. >> i checked, 1,463 days to election day 2024. >> i don't think anybody could

possibly forget that today is election day. >> no. >> it's a big, exciting day for all of us, and all of you, too. if things look a little different, it's because we cut off half the table and blew it up so it's gynormous, coming to you from a completely new location, welcome to the cbs news election headquarters here in times square. it's going to be a very long day for all of us, probably all of you, because you're going to stay up and want to see the results coming in. >> i recommended yoga, some tea and relax. >> and a big old suitcase of patience. >> yes. we begin with the polls across the country now open. you can see people in charlottesville, virginia, casting ballots earlier this morning. millions are expected to vote across the nation on top of an estimated record of 100 million early voters already stood in line and voted. joe biden spent his last moments on the trail in pennsylvania, a state that could be pivotal in deciding this race. >> one of the president's last campaign rallies was in wisconsin, one of the key midwestern states that helped

him win the white house in 2016. the latest cbs news battleground battle tracker poll shows president trump trailing joe biden by seven points in the contest for wisconsin. wisconsin has ten votes. adriana diaz, good morning to you. >> reporter: people have been trickling in. historically on average, 6% of people usually vote by mail in wisconsin. this year an estimated 60% to 80% of votes voted by mail due to covid, led to record-breaking early voting numbers in wisconsin, now nearly 2 million early votes just started being processed and counted at 7:00 a.m. there's no guarantee we'll have a declared winner tonight. the trump campaign has crisscrossed wisconsin at least 17 times since the pandemic began, compared to just four visits from joe biden and kamala harris. the president won in 2016 by

just under 23,000 votes, who could forget that, less than 1%. this year despite being outspent and behind in the polls, wisconsin trump supporters we spoke with believe in his record. >> he aligns much more with my ideals. for one thing, the abortion issue, also i go hunting, so i'm a gun owner, and the economy is a huge issue also. >> reporter: joe biden is trying to flip wisconsin back to blue. in 2016 president trump won the first republican to win this state since ronald reagan. anthony? >> adriana thank you. it will be difficult for president trump to win the election without the state of georgia. georgia has not voted for a democrat since 1992, but the latest cbs news battleground tracker poll shows former vice president biden leading there by three points, that's within the margin of error.

mark strassmann is in atlanta where the polls are open. mark, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. it is close here. georgia's 16 electoral college votes are up for grabs. georgia as a state is changing, it's growing younger and more diverse, especially in the suburbs and democrats genuinely believe they have a chance today to turn this red state blue. joe biden is counting on support from seniors, suburban women and black voters, he needs them all to turn out for them here. before polls opened the state smashed record with nearly 4 million early votes. a more than 550% increase in absentee mail-in ballots compared to 2016, where president trump won the state by five percentage points. yesterday former president obama was in atlanta for biden. he leads among voters who have already cast their ballots here. georgia republicans are counting on a heavy turnout of their voters today. democrats also have a chance here of flipping to highly

competitive two republican seats and that could change control of the senate itself. polls here are open until 7:00 and gayle, with new touch screen machines here, election officials are hoping to tabulate the votes quickly tonight. always a good thing. >> election officials and a very grateful nation are hoping that they can tabulate the votes quickly. thank you very much, mark strassmann. cbs news dribtors contributors robbie mook and terry sullivan joins us now. all i can say is i'm so excited to see you guys in the flesh. when you walked in, my heart did a little somersault. so glad to see people. let's talk about the campaign. terry, lead us off. what are you hearing from the trump campaign how confident they are? i asked this question knowing i don't expect them to say we're nervous, but what are they saying? >> no campaign says on election day we don't think we're going

to win. it's they express confidence and feel good about their chances. the question is, are they bluffing? >> are they? they don't seem to have as many paths to victory as the biden camp. >> they've got one narrow path, they have especially early in the night got to win a lot of states that are toss-ups. biden can pick one or two of the states and win those, north carolina, a georgia, florida, biden wins one of those and near impossible for a path for trump. >> the hillary clinton campaign was confident in 2016. were you as confident as you appeared back then? >> not really. because we were actually nervous and this is interesting, the upper midwest, early vote looked so good in florida, we can make up for it as long as we just get florida, and we're in a similar place tonight where we're probably going to see florida early, if biden wins there, that probably closes the door, north carolina could close the door, georgia could close the door.

there's a lot of these door closers for biden, but gosh, trump's got to run the table and it hangs on a razor's edge, the states are so close. >> robby, famously in 2016 there was a late-breaking surge for president trump that didn't show up in the polls. are you concerned about another trump surge here on election day? >> the dynamic of this election has been totally different. all we've talked about is donald trump's leadership as president. this has been a referendum on his presidency. that's bad when you're an incumbent trying to run for re-electi re-election. the polls are steady. trump's job approval and numbers in the states hasn't moved. things were moving around in 2016 so the fundamentals are much better for biden than they were for hillary but again, we're in the margin of error in these states and where this is not over. >> terry, if the polls are accurate, the early vote went overwhelmingly for joe biden and there are 100 million votes in, which is a record. what does that mean donald trump has to do today? >> well if the polls are

correct, the election day voting is going to go overwhelmingly for donald trump so he needs to turn out people. this is a turnout game for him at this point. he has to turn out his voters, turn out new voters because of this record turnout. >> are those voters out there? >> we're about to find out. stay tuned. stay tuned to cbs. >> yes, please. >> it's going to be, you know, i don't know. we're in uncharted territory. >> robby, there's a lot of talk of flipping some red states blue. do you see that? >> look, as we said earlier -- >> ruby red states. >> that's right, georgia, texas, never would have imagined this, right? one state i think is likely to flip is arizona. hillary only lost by three points. it's likely biden wins. georgia, texas we have to see and terry is right, this comes down to turnout. can trump pull out people he couldn't get out in '16 to really very steep hill to climb and the turnout looks good for democrats right now. >> the fact we're in a conversation turning red states blue says a whole lot, does it

not? >> exactly. >> terry, are you surprised texas is this close? >> i don't know that it's as close as we think it is. i think it's closer than it ever has been but i think trump still wins texas. i think georgia might be a bigger surprise, a very safe state. >> two important senate races in georgia. >> definitely. >> it's hard to miss the fact we came to work today in a building boarded up, my bank is boarded up, all across the country places are boarded up, concern about unrest. the president is talking about treason in the rallies and voter fraud. >> calling lawyers. >> calling lawyers the next day. what would your message be to him tonight as we head into election evening? about tamping things down? >> i think samuel l. jackson said it best in "pulp fiction." everybody stay cool and nobody gets hurt. >> that was a good line. >> great movie. i think it's important that everyone just stay calm. the elections ever never called on or rarely called on a

landslide. donald trump better hope it takes a while. if it's called early, it's not good news for him. the longer this goes, the better it is for him. it's a very close race and that's hanging onto these states reporting early and going to states like pennsylvania. >> so the line for president trump is stay cool, honey bunny? i want to see that at a rally. >> absolutely. >> i knew this was a big day, terry walked in and didn't have a zz top beard. >> still a formidable beard. >> it looks great. looks great. my turn, oh, no, your turn, tony, sorry. >> we're in a new studio, new camera. great to have you here. have a great evening. cbs news brings you election results tonight, "cbs news 2020 election night america decides." norah o'donnell and gayle king and john dickerson and ed o'keefe at 6:30 p.m. eastern on cbs.

it is now

much more news ahead. as milli as millions line up to cast their ballots, a record number of people voted. what the staggering number could mean for the election. plus republicans are fighting to keep their majority in the senate. we'll take a closer look at the handful of races that could determine the outcome. that's all ahead on "cbs this morning."

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as the polls open this morning, it's estimated nearly 100 million americans have already cast their ballots shattering early voting records and with millions more expected to vote today, the u.s. is on track to reach historic levels of overall voter turnout. for a look at what to expect as the results come pouring in, we are joined by cbs news contribut contributor, david becker.

he's with the founder of the center for election innovation. mr. becker, good morning to you. we hear about record early turnout and yet more turnout today. how do we know there's going to be more turnout today given so much has already been banked in so many states? >> well, we don't know absolutely for sure until it happens, but i think it's a pretty good bet we're going to see turnout of around 50 to 60 million voters today. we've had as you mentioned 100 million people vote already in states like georgia, north carolina, florida we've seen pretty much all of the turnout that we saw in 2016 and in texas we've blown past their 2016 turnout. if we see 60 million people voting today, we will break all records for american turnout, but interestingly, we will also have fewer voters voting on election day than we've seen in the past. what this means is good news for voters today. if you haven't voted, show up and vote. you're very likely to see faster moving, shorter lines because fewer people are concentrated and voting on this single day. >> yeah. people who have voted by mail

may have sent in their ballot but that doesn't mean it's been counted yet. that will happen today. in some cases there are problems with the ballots. one of our political reporters tweeted out a picture of voters in philadelphia lining up to make corrections to their ballot. what does that long line in a ballot pairing line tell you? >> well, first of all, we're still seeing relatively small percentages of mail ballots being rejected but what this is telling me is election officials did a good job of notifying those voters. we saw those lines in philadelphia county, bucks county in pennsylvania yesterday and what that's telling me is they got the message. they had to go down and they were willing to wait in line again which is just incredible. the amazing resilience of the american voter in this election cycle with the pandemic all around us, with disinformation campaigns happening is incredible. the voice of the voters will be heard loud and clear. >> some voters will be nervous hearing about oh, wait there could be a problem with your

ballot, it hasn't been counted yet. some states will call you if there's an issue. many others will not. what should people do if they're home and worried about their mail-in vote? >> most states will give you notice if there has been a problem with your ballot. you would have already received it in all likelyhood. if you have any doubt, there's ballot tracking in most states. can you go on to your local election website to see if your ballot has been received and processed. if they don't have that, you can call them. if you are absolutely worried, you can still go down and vote today. you will likely have to cast a provisional ballot. that provisional ballot will count. >> some have reported that the president could declare victory early tonight if it looks like he's ahead even though the mail-in vote and the early vote has not necessarily been counted and added in yet. given that scenario, are we in potentially uncharted legal territory this evening? >> i don't necessarily think so. i think the president can say whatever he wants to say, of

course, but i think everyone in the country and certainly all of the media understand that we have to actually count the ballots, that this is the process we've always had, that it takes time to count the ballots. we are literally going to be trying to count 160 million ballots in a few hours. that's a big job. it's always taken time. military ballots are still coming in. we should be patient. if the election is very, very close, it might take some days. that's entirely normal. >> what people are used to seeing on election night is a projection based on what's coming in. it's not the official count. that is normal. people should be patient. mr. becker, thank you very much. good talking to you. no matter who they vote for, many americans share the same hopes for what happens after election day. ahead, we'll hear from voters across election day about their dreams for our nation's future. you're watching "cbs this morning." need to find the closest

official ballot drop box near you? just visit vote.ca.gov to find your nearest location. then drop off your ballot. your vote will be secure and counted. there are other ways to vote too. just return your vote-by-mail ballot at your voting location or mail it back. or you can vote safely in-person during early voting or on election day. vote the way you're most comfortable - but vote by 8pm on november 3rd.

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welcome back to "cbs this morning." control of the senate is also at stake today with more than 1/3 of the 100 seats on the ballot. republicans currently hold 53/47 majority in the chamber. our chief congressional correspondent nancy cordes breaks down the pivotal races. what does the senate landscape look like heading into tonight? >> every 2/3 1/3 of the senate is up. it's lopsided. you have 23 held republican seats reflected in red on that map that are up for re-election and just 12 that are held by democrats in blue. so republicans are defending a lot of territory, and they're doing it in a really challenging

election environment where president trump's decent chance of picking up three or four seats in the senate. there are a lot of places you can go. >> which states -- >> well, democrats have tier one, include first and foremost north carolina and republican senator tom till lis. all of these trailing his democratic opponent. you have very senior senators

and locked into a race and you go out west to arizona where martha mcsally is going up against the democratic rock star recruit of this cycle, astronaut mike kelley. and colorado where cory gardner is struggling to hold on to a state that has been moving to the left. he's facing john hickenlooper. they represent the clearest path to the majority. then did you to tier 2. these are states where republicans -- democrats have been running surprisingly strongly this cycle. they've been vastly out raising in some cases their republican opponents. that tier starts with south carolina where lindsey graham is fending off challenger jamie harrison who's raised more money than any senate candidate this cycle and then two very close races in georgia. i know you've been talking about georgia a lot this morning. both races could go to runoffs. you have republican opponent david perdue with 33-year-old

opponent john ossoff and kelly loeffler with an election that's a free-for-all including pastor raphael warknock. in iowa, president trump won that state by 10 points in 2016. now a lot of polls show it's a tight race between joni ernst and the democrat theresa greenfield. if democrats are winning any of those states tonight, it is a really ghietd for them. >> the senate races are almost as exciting as the presidential race. >> couldn't agree more. >> very good point, nancy cor s cordes. let's take a look at the house. what are you looking at there? >> democrats have a huge overwhelming win. they picked up 41 seats. they are forecast to pick up even a few more seats tonight. so they go into the night with a majority 232/197. republicans have to pick up 17

seats to win back the majority. that's unlikely to happen. here is one of the main reasons why democrats are probably going to pick up a few more seats. 34 republicans have retired or vacated, in a couple of cases they've been indicted, over the past couple of years. that's three times as many retirements as democrats who only have 12 members who are retiring. it's always easier to win an open seat than it is to defeat an incumbent. that's why democrats think the landscape favors them tonight. most analysts believe that as well. >> could be a big night. >> very interesting. >> nancy cordes, a lot of really interesting races. thank you so much. researchers say a record 62 million eligible voters are hispanic and black americans. ahead, how that could

musicares.org. democrats are hoping to flip north carolina back to blue for the first time since 2008 and just the second time in nearly 50 years. a half century. recent polls show president trump and vice president joe biden in a statistical dead heed. more than 4.5 million absentee ballots have been cast in the crucial swing state. chris van cleve is in raleigh,

north carolina. what have you been hearing and seeing? >> reporter: good morning. there was a line outside this polling place on a cold morning. 30 people waiting for the polls to open at 6:30 this morning. we've seen a steady pace of people coming and going. election officials believe there will be a record number of votes cast, perhaps more than 5 million. the vast majority are going to come in the form of early voting. the early vote alone has nearly equalled the 2016 total. almost 4.6 million voted early or by mail-in absentee. turnout is at about 62%. democrats have outperformed republicans in early voting by over 5%. president trump made by our count his 14th campaign visit to north carolina yesterday to rally supporters one last time to get out and vote. >> i really believe that the direction we were going to with the democrats are not the right direction. i believe in defending the police. i believe in defending america.

>> reporter: are you concerned about the outcome here? do you feel like he has it in the bag? >> well, i take nothing for granted but i feel the momentum is definitely on his side and i think, you know, we saw this in 2016. the polls showed them that there was no chance he was going to win but by the end of the night i think a lot of the people that don't show up in the polls show up to vote and i think you'll see that again especially in north carolina. >> reporter: polls here show the race very close. there could be several key factors that end up being the decider here. you have an incumbent democrat governor on the ballot. you have a strong democratic challenger against a senate incumbent. that could move turnout. we're also watching the changing demographics here in north carolina. they have hundreds of thousands of more registered voters now than in 2016 and of course what happens with the minority vote, it was crucial for president obama to win here in 2008 but that turnout has declined in the last two elections.

gayle? >> got it, kris. thank you. for the first time in a presidential election, hispanics are expected to be the largest racial or ethnic minority group with a record of 32 million voters. there are a record number of black americans, 30 million there, who are eligible voters to vote this time. together they represent more than 25% of the electorate. cbs news political contributor and north carolina native is joel payne. he joins us with cbs news contributor maria alaina celenes at the desk. joel, we just came from your state of north carolina. can you talk about the impact of the black voters in north carolina for this race? >> well, gayle, you mentioned i'm a native of north carolina. actually, where the president had that rally in gastonia is a mile from where i grew up. in north carolina we know there's been an explosion of african-americans registered and engaged. something i'm watching are the early vote numbers. i think there's an increase of

100,000 new voters in early vote in north carolina. that's a big number. it's a place where joe biden needs to win early so he can stave off some of president ballots in other states.w out those early states are the ones i'm looking at. al also kris in his piece mentioned governor cooper. it's important to drive up democratic participation and that will drive up democratic vote goers. >> elena, i wanted to ask you as a former florida boy myself. when we talk about the latino vote, people may think that's a uniform block of people. >> right. >> there's incredible diversity and they don't vote in lock step. >> you are from florida. you know the way it is. the latino community is not monolithic. there's about 20 different countries where they trace their roots. you have the most diverse latino community in the state of florida. there's parts that are very conservative, cuban americans which are the majority of

voters. they are very conservative. this time you have to add the venezuelans, central americans who feel very strongly about this anti-socialist message that has resonated with them. then you have the puerto ri ricoans. we have to remember a lot of them moved to florida after hurricane marie and they were not happy with the federal response. >> joel, i want to ask you something about the b.e.t. poll. health care and the coronavirus virus are top factors in them making their decisions, far more so, actually, than social justice issues, does that surprise you? >> not at all. if you go back to the last few election cycles, health care and economy are issues. coronavirus is wrapped up in that. i think when the story of this election is written, it's all about coronavirus. it cuts across all demographics,

seniors, young people, people in the rural areas, communities of color, african-americans, latinos, coronavirus is what controls this election. no surprise that african-americans are being driven by this issue based on health care and the economy. >> maria, the president taking a hard line on immigration. we've seen the people at the border trying to get in. most of them are families desperate to get to the country for a better life yet the president has a lot of support among hispanic voters. does that surprise you? >> it doesn't surprise me but it is disappointing that the latino community has so many immigrants here and doesn't want people from their countries to come. >> why do they support him? >> there are several reasons. one is you have the hard core republicans that will vote for any republican and continue supporting president trump. then you have the immigration hard liners. you have a lot of immigrants blaming the parents for bringing their children and blaming the parents for that separation and

then of course you also have, like i said before, the cuban americans who don't feel like there's an immigration issue for them because they have been allowed for decades to come to this country with open arms and never had to deal with the immigration issue. it is that issue that is really driving the majority of latinos to go out and vote. the rhetoric, separation of families, all of those things are really driving latinos to vote especially in states like arizona and texas. >> it's going to be very interesting this year. thank you both. we appreciate it. ahead, we hear from voters from all over the country about what they are hoping for after the election. that's when we come back. need better sleep? try nature's bounty sleep3, a unique tri-layer supplement that calms you, helps you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer great sleep comes naturally with sleep3. only from nature's bounty.

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despite what many people are probably feeling was a divisive campaign, americans are, believe it or not, hopeful as they come together to vote. we spoke with voters of all backgrounds from the east coast to the west and north and south and they told us about their hopes for after election day and their dreams for our country's future. >> my hopes are that the country will calm down and that we don't have to think about politics on a daily basis. >> recently we've had a big divide in the country and i really just want everyone to come together again. >> we can all come together and

be one country. one group of americans. ♪ ♪ >> decency, fairness, humanity and all that is right in the world. we have to vote for the america that we dream of. >> normalcy. i hope the country just gets back to normalcy. >> vote like we never did before. every single vote matters. >> thank you, everybody. have a good time. get out and vote. >> i feel like 2020 has been very challenging and difficult for many of us. but on election day we all get to come together and collectively show our power. >> i want to see a better change in the world for people that look like me. >> i think we're redefining what it means to be an american and i think it's really important that we go out and vote and make sure that your voice is counted. >> i have never missed a presidential voting since i've been on the planet. >> me being an immigrant,

believe me, everybody should vote. >> i was talking with a friend of mine and they were saying that americans, they vote and then they go for ice cream. it's such an american thing. >>. >> the election is that we're able to heal the divisions between the political parties and accomplish something positive. >> it's a privilege to exercise our right to vote. i think that ultimately it's the people who speak and so as my shirt says, my voice is my vote. >> this is what we should be doing. we should be coming out and voting. it's our right and i think as

citizens it's our responsibility. >> i'm hoping that the american people are just going to voice their voices and just create this country into the most awesome place on earth. >> i got the ballot and i remember shaking as i was writing, wow, my vote counts. >> yes, young lady, your vote does count. that to me is a much needed reminder about who we are as a country. >> don't you feel a surprising bit of power? >> i did. i felt power and pride that says your vote has been counted. >> i have goose bumps hearing from those voters. if you haven't voted, go out today. it really matters. >> i share the sentiment that one woman shared that the country will calm down after this. >> taylor swift has a song that says, we need to calm down. let's all take that advice. that will do it for us. tonight, speaking of calm, we're going to be very calm on cbs news. we'll bring you the election results in a primetime special cbs news 2020 election night,

america decides. it starts at 6:30 eastern right here on cbs. we'll see you

. good morning. it's 8:55. it's still a pretty slow ride along 880. the freeway southbound. we have a couple things going on here causing this back up in both directions. southbound right before 42ndnd avenue we have the crash in the oakland area. we are seeing brake lights northbound. still slow if you are going in that direction and there's an accident across the area block the right lane. it's a chilly start to the day. if are you going out to the polls to vote grab that jacket first thing. as we head through the afternoon cooler, compared to yesterday but still in the mild side mid to

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