right now on news channel 8 at 5:30 pm: >> decision day is here and florida is once again a battleground state. floridians cast their ballots not only for president but senators, representatives, local officials and controversial amendments. we have team coverage on this election night. >> thanks for being with us tonight. backers of amendment 2 are gathering in the group has been pushing for the use of medical marijuana in the state of florida. jeff patterson joins us from orlando where they seem pretty confident that this amendment will pass. they need 60%, is that right? >> reporter: good evening. they will need 60% of the vote for amendment 2 to pass. an amendment has failed in the state of florida for medical marijuana but the group united for care believes this is there time. backers complain -- claim

other conditions. an amendment failed in florida in 2014 but the group united for care believes they have the support of florida voters this time. >> i think it's been going well. this is a four-year conversation we've been having. we started in a place where floridians are compassionate and they believe medical decisions should be made between doctors and their patients. are allowing the use of marijuana in some form. 25 states throughout the country currently allow the use of marijuana. it's on the ballot in nine states this election cycle. you there for recreational use or in florida for medical marijuana use. we will keep you posted on how things go throughout the evening. >> jeff patterson live in downtown orlando. thanks. >> more than 50% of the registered voters already cast a ballot before polls opened

we are the only station with a reporter at the capital. mike is in tallahassee with the latest. >> reporter: we would like to think of today as being one election but under florida law, there are 67 separate supervisors running the election running 67 independent elections. that means a whole lot can go wrong. with that said, one incident was opened wh tuesday morning, more than 6.5 million people had already cast mail-in ballots. that means just over 50% had voted before election day. contrast that with 1992 when just 5.3 million voted overall in the presidential election. maria waited until election day to cast her ballot. >> it's a really motivating election this time around.>>

polling places this morning and only one have a problem. a station in jacksonville was the only place with a reported issue. a machine was plugged into a dead outlet and was quickly -- and was quickly brought online. this precinct saw a steady stream of voters, many made a conscious decision to wait until election day. >> you've got to vote on tuesday. it's like having christmas early.>> a lot of people are in the world to vote.>> reporter: taylor was perhaps the most enthusiastic, giving a double thumbs-up on her way out. >> it's a good day for women. the first woman president is running. that's a big accomplishment everywhere. >> reporter: at that remains the big question of the day. >> reporter: there has been one report and palm beach county in which a woman arguing used some

in broward county, two election poll workers were dismissed for allegedly intimidating voters but when we tried to verify those reports, we couldn't. when we asked the state, we were told to call the county. >> mike russell linda live in tallahassee tonight. we are less than 90 minutes from the polls closing and we're keeping tabs on the ballot boxes tonight and the state and nationwide. a dispute from a big campaign came to a screeching halt. >> reporter: we have learned that a judge in nevada denied a request from the trump campaign over an early voting dispute. they claim one county kept polls two hours -- kept polls open two hours longer than

according to policy. in pompano beach, two clerks were fired by the supervisor of elections following a dispute after police were called to the community center. some more complaining about possible voter intimidation from the democratic and republican poll watchers. all of that led to a dispute between clerks from 23 and 24. one a democrat and one a republican. one of the election clerks says there was no manipulation whatsoever. >> well, they are complaining that the poll watchers >> meanwhile before noon, eastern time, more than 5500 reports of voting problems were reported to the national call center for election consumer production -- protection, rather. that number and severity of reports updates the 2008 and 2012 -- outpaces the 2008 and 2012 election years. there has been a lot of

stolen. pasco county supervisor of elections is here to give us perspective. you know how these systems work. thanks for being here. how realistic is it to rigged an election. >> it would take collusion on the grandest of scales. our systems are decentralized meaning every county is going to run their own elections and transmit just vote totals to tallahassee. the whole concept, the whole don't buy it. >> if you are a voter and you are concerned your ballot won't be counted properly, what can people do?>> voters need to realize that every election is audited by law. they actually look at actual ballots. there is a lot of safeguards in place to ensure that votes are counted. there has to be some trust that

it's going to be counted, that it is going to be counted and when you look at the numbers, everything has to balance out. i have a lot of faith and confidence that everything works. it's impossible to be rigged. >> reporter: the system sounds good like it works. >> it does. >> thank you for being with us. we appreciate it. the end of the election means the end of the barrage of negative political commercials and mailers and for many voters, that cannot come soon enough. shannon behnken joins us in our tampa news center. shannon, i know you have been doing numbercrunching today. >> reporter: i have been. i have been crunching the numbers and there is a reason we all feel so overwhelmed. political parties spent nearly $6 million just in tampa bay on all the commercials that are driving all of us so crazy.>> and you can tell them -- >> the road to stagnation, drillers pollute our water --

maddening. >> i can't take much more. >> reporter: voters are sick of the attack ads and mail ads clogging their boxes. >> and sometimes their huge. they don't even fit in there. >> reporter: but are they effective?>> do they help you at all? >> they are just a nuisance. >> have these ads helped you make your decision? >> well, the decision is a tough one because i want to go one way but it's th on all of us as citizens to pick the right one. >> reporter: at this west yuba sandwich shop, this group may not agree on a candidate but they agree that they are tired of it. >> it's all over today. >> reporter: ernest carrera yearns for the day when politicians got out their message that old-fashioned way. >> all the politicians would speak.

advertising. >> reporter: wouldn't that be nice? tampa and orlando have seen more political ads than any other media outlet in the country. >> because florida is so important with the i-4 corrider in particular. i am curious, did anyone say they were actually influenced by these ads? >> reporter: i asked that because i was looking for examples but every single person i spoke with, and i spoke with people for both candidates, that if anything the ads turned them off and made them think twice. >> and made them very tired if they are anything like me. thank you. we appreciate it. it's one of the most interesting congressional races in the state and it's happening right here in the bay area. >> coming up, a look at district 13 for david jolly is being challenged by david crist. utility companies battle consumer groups over solar power. we will check the pulse of

84 degrees for a high temperature. the record 88 degrees last year. it's a pleasant night and the humidity is a little lower. if you're still planning out to vote, there is still good weather for it. we will talk about that and your weekend forecast coming up. >> that and more coming up. you are watching news channel 8, the station that is always on our side. what is tampa bay saying about news channel 8 today? >> we wake up with you gu >> where do you watch us? >> at the gym in the morning. >> does it help to have weather and traffic on the eights? >> absolutely. >> everybody has a great vibe together. >> the traffic. driving from new port richey to downtown tampa. >> when the tv comes on, it makes me feel at home and i love 8 on your side. 8 on your side rocks. >> weather and traffic on the eights sponsored by fields bmw.

g them all back for you to enjoy and two, we got to each a bunch of really good cheese along the way. publix deli specialty cheese. over 36 varieties to fall in love with.

news channel 8 at 8:00 only and great 38. >> closed captioning is sponsored by wesley chapel honda. two times the selection at the same cost of two years we're now back to why your vote counts 2016 team coverage. one congressional race we're watching his district 13. >> david jolly's facing a challenge from governor crist who has changed parties before and is running as a democrat. peter bernard joins us from

petersburg. truck the jolly campaign has set up here.'s with a little vacant right now. the party begins at 6:00. you can see the big screen where we expect results and a podium where we expect jolly to appear later. the newly drawn district 13 is only in pinellas county. it runs to the south part of the county and that's not good for the incumbent because the majority -- because it is now i members with a battle cry to stop them from seeking donations and office but former st. pete mayor rick baker is predicting a won. >> this is a different type of election. i think all the old rules have been thrown out and dave -- david has been a change agent. he's gotten some hits from both sides of the aisle, which is what i think we need. we need people to come up with solutions and really not

>> reporter: we understand in excess of 200 people rsvp for this tonight. rick baker has spent part of his day waving signs for david jolly and i believe he is back out there now. my colleague paul mueller is with the charlie crist people. >> reporter: thank you. charlie crist has been at the polls since early this morning and he will be there when they close at 7 pm tonight. at his watch party, things are fairly quiet but that will all change. let's talk about the polls here. the latest poll coming out on election eve shows chris with a five -- crist with a five-point lead over jolly but most of the polls have shown the two neck and neck. this has been a very tight and contentious battle for this seat representing most of pinellas county, the 13th congressional district. this could be republican turned

crist has the hometown advantage and hopes the redistricting, which created a significant shift will pay off. listen to senator rick kriseman and why he wants crist to win. >> we need to have friends in washington that we can work with that know what's going on and know how to provide that assistance so we can get things done.>> reporter: normally, crist has his watch parties at the that spot this year. interesting to see how these political games can play out even up until election day and including election day.>> always full of intrigue. we're going to check back with you throughout the night. right now, this is the view

we are getting obviously shorter days now. 78 degrees, gorgeous on the beach with that very light north wind at the moment. who will be, 77 degrees, also a very nice sunset with east winds that for meet me. in lakeland, 75 degrees. temps throughout the area will remain in the 70s. we also see lower dew points and a great view at crystal river, the plantation on crystal river. we will probably see a few more clouds in the forecast area 72 degrees. it's actually very comfortable. we have some slightly drier air around. if you are planning to go out and vote at 7 pm, the polls will close. 71 degrees. maybe a few clouds around but you just saw the cameras and it looks pretty nice. the picture this morning from danny had a beautiful sunrise as we have been talking about and showing you on rise our 80

take a bit of a rise for thursday but falling off you can see towards the end of the week. slightly below average comes with drier air. a cold front passes through later tomorrow into thursday and that will draw some slightly drier air for the region. 65 degrees at 7 am, sun and clouds, mild temperatures. 79 degrees at 4 pm and a 10% chance of rain. we're not building of enough -- up enough moisture. we're just not seeing a 76 degrees in downtown st. pete. all in the pleasant category. the dew points in the 50s and 60s so most areas are seeing comfortable weather conditions. high clouds back to the west and showers as well. as i mentioned, it's all about the moisture ahead of a cold front. you need that to help produce showers and even out the end of -- even out the instability. wake up to partly cloudy skies for us.

mostly cloudy skies, a few sprinkles. once this passes through thursday, we bring the sun out, change the wind direction and we draw in some drier air. the next three days, the rain chances are really low. 10% tomorrow because of that cold front you just saw. thursday, 81 degrees with a high of 78 like for veterans day. pretty nice weekend. low rain chances, highs in the upper 70s. pretty close to our averages and the overnight temperatures cooler with overnight lows coming through.>> i say that's pretty close to awesome. >> thank you. amendment 1 is pitting utility groups against solar consumers. >> we get reaction to the controversial solar power amendment. >> join us on news channel 8 on

pm to 9 pm. good evening from the nbc news election center. one meijuan yu tonight, we expect to have exit polling data we can share on the mood of the electorate. what may be happening in a few key states and the outcome of the first legal challenge in this race. our decision night in america

we continue with our your vote counts 2016 team coverage. one of the most divisive and confusing members is my met 1. >> backers insist the amendment clears the way for more solar power but critics claim mark douglas joins us from precinct 115 to try to clear it up.>> reporter: good evening. we are hearing a lot of opinions tonight. a lot more people say they are voting no than yes so far at this precinct. whatever the case, they are turning out and strength at the jan platt library, also known as precinct 115 to cast their ballots tonight. it's no secret that energy

panthers -- power and light have forked up millions to pass amendment 1 under consumers for smart solar. to some extent, their message spread through tv spots and other paid advertising is working. >> i voted yes on 1. i think what we can do for the environment, we should do. >> reporter: a coalition of environmental and consumer groups has banded together to oppose amendment 1, banning it as trickery to keep consumers om and they had to count on social media and free news coverage to get there point across. >> i don't trust the ads on television. they say that firefighters are for it. i haven't heard one firefighter say therefore it. >> reporter: other voters just don't believe in changing the constitution. >> there is no tweaking to amendments and there is too

testing this as a kind of david and goliath political battle with big power companies spending a lot of money on one side and a grassroots social media effort on the other. however it turns out, it's going to take 60% of voters saying yes for this change to happen in the florida constitution. >> mark douglas in tampa. most polls we will have election results on the bottom of your screen throughout the night. you can also get the results by heading to www.wfla.com. news journal eight at 6:00 is coming up next. >> reporter: 8 on your side is covering all aspects of election night 2016. >> as america decides, tampa bay is watching closely. we're going to take you live to watch parties around our area. and democrats are hoping for a shift in power in the

rubio and patrick murphy. the big day is here so what is the chance hackers will influence the outcome of the election? storm team 8 sponsored by

america. tonight, the world is watching florida, the state that could make or break hillary clinton or donald trump. 8 on your side is watching the polls making sure your vote counts. now, on news channel 8 at 6:00, complete coverage of election night 2016. here is stacie schaible. >> reporter: thank you for joining us. >> tonight, americans decide who will be the next president of the united states. in just one more hour, the polls begin to close in florida. this is a live look at the

lakeland. voters if they show up will be waiting until the last hour to make their decisions. if you are in line by 7:00, you will still be able to vote, even if you don't get your ballot in your hands until after 7:00. the candidates in this all important presidential race cast their ballots this morning. both hillary clinton and donald trump floated in new york and tonight, they are watching and waiting like the rest of us to see who our next president will be. news channel 8 is covering all the races that matter most to you. we have coverage in tampa bay and all over the state. we begin with rod carter live, tampa waterside hotel. this is where bay area democrats will be watching and hoping to see hillary clinton declared the winner of this residential race. >> reporter: they are all going together here in the second- floor ballroom at the marriott waterside. you can see behind me the stage is already set.