>> reporter: that group of course is puerto ricans many who voted in west tampa today. right now there's about 10 or 15 people in line to vote. but i talked to the volunteer manning the front door. he said that's how long it has been. he says it's been slow and that's good news that we haven't seen long lines in the tampa bay area because some native puerto ricans say they think there is already too many barriers for people in their community to vote. >> the sample ballot that they send you in spanish and in english, when you get over there, there's no one to help. >> doug: janet has been living in tampa for decades and speaks great english. she worries about those that doesn't. >> if a hispanic needs help, they would rather say i'll leave and not do anything.

each polling place should have a bilingual volunteer because florida has such a large puerto rican population. >> they are moving to orlando and then tampa because there's more job opportunities. >> reporter: job opportunities in florida have led to a spike in the hispanic population here. 24% of floridians now high as hiss -- now identify as hispanic. now there's nearly 700,000 registered puerto rican voters in florida than there were ten years ago. >> they're kind of the low- hanging fruit because they're already citizens. they have the right to vote. >> reporter: he's paying close attention. >> i think the difference-maker here today for this election is community. you know, can marco rubio turn out the cuban vote? is he able to capitalize on the momentum of puerto rico and have them turn out for central florida. >> reporter: senator marco rubio confirmed that outlook. >> we actually won the primary

got 70% of the vote there. we think that translates over to the tampa and orlando region. >> reporter: now, back here in west tampa, not seeing any super long lines, at least at the moment. part of the reason may be that there's been a lot of mail-in ballots and a lot of early voting. i did the math in hillsborough county, for instance. about 17% of hillsborough county voters cast the ballot before primary day. in pinellas county, that was up to 25% of voters who did their ballot before primary day. that may be helping a lot of people if you're still interested in voting right now. adam weiner, abc action news. >> thank you, adam. many candidates will be in florida tonight. both sides heading to the east coast. >> marco rubio is in miami tonight. hillary clinton will be in west palm beach. and top leader donald trump just next door in palm beach.

coverage tonight with carson chambers. carson. >> reporter: hey, guys. we're actually inside donald trump's private club. we are outside at this point because inside they are doing security sweeps. and there is a lot of gear in there from different news outlets that they are sweeping out at this point. we know it's an oppulent setting not side. a guilded ball room with chandeliers. there are guilded sinks in the women's bathroom to give you an idea what it looks like inside. tonight, whether or not donald trump became the republican defact toe nominee will depend on two big things, florida and ohio. if he can wrap up both states, he will be halfway to the delegates, putting him 1237 delegates that he would need to clench the nomination. a "new york times" report says that trump has received $1.9

because of the intense media coverage. he is expected to hold a press conference tonight at 9:00 p.m. of course we will be there and we will be updating you live from palm beach. i'm carson chambers, abc action news. >> carson, thank you. tonight is extra crucial for marco rubio. >> that's right. the florida senator spending the last several days on his home turf in what is considered a must-win for his campaign to survive. >> ryan raiche is live right now at florida international university in miami where rubio is set to appear. ryan. >> reporter: i want to start with breaking news actually as we have been reporting. the d.c. rubio headquarters office was evacuated for a short time due to white powder that was found. that office has been given the all-clear so the staff members can go back into the office. good news there. now to miami where the stage is set behind me. there's the podium that marco rubio will be taking the stage later tonight.

the fiu arena. the venue is small but the stakes are huge. rubio has worked tireless leon his home turf, trying to pull off a historic come from behind victory over donald trump. it feels like winner go home, do or die from rubio. when ask you him directly, up. >> there's an election on tuesday in utah and arizona. we will be on the ballot. the only question is do we go in with momentum which is helpful or do we not. >> reporter: and judging by that response, it appears that rubio is not giving up and will move on to utah after this night, whether he wins or one possible scenario that could play out, he will wait to convention this summer. if kasich wins ohio, all the other candidates really won't the nomination. his strategy.

and let's go to the democrat being side now because right now hillary clinton is on her way right now to florida. >> earlier today she stopped by a polling place in raleigh, north carolina where she has a big league like she does in the sunshine state. lauren rozyla has the very latest. >> reporter: this evening, hillary clinton will be right here in west palm beach at the convention center. you can see all of this setup that is happening right behind me. now, this venue holds about a thousand people. and today the clinton campaign has told me they expect it to be a full house for her remarked tonight. clinton spent the day campaigning in north carolina. one of the big things she is expected to talk about in florida is raising american incomes through tax cuts. she wants to make it easy for business owners to get credit. that will push businesses to compete over its workers. and today she also touched on republican candidate donald trump.

she said she doesn't believe that he appeals to most of the country. >> luster and bigotry and bullying that he is exemplifying on the campaign trail is disturbing to the majority of americans. >> reporter: so far today, clinton hasn't commented much on her fellow candidate in the democratic race for president, bernie sanders. she seems much more focused on defeating donald trump, calling him dangerous. hillary is expected to take the stage tonight around 9:00. but the doors open here at the convention center right around 8:00. in west palm beach, i'm lauren rozyla, abc action news. >> thank you, lauren. clinton's rival bernie sanders starting his day in chicago before moving to arizona. it's expected to be a close race for him in illinois. but he is predicted to take missouri and is pushing to claim ohio. jamison. >> tonight we're going in depth with dr. susan mcmanis. dr. mcmanis. welcome to the show.

>> cnn just reporting tonight that senator marco rubio will continue on with his campaign tomorrow in utah even if he loses the state of florida tonight. how does he do that trailing so badly? >> well, it's obvious that he has a different idea of what the republican party should be compared to trump. we will see how many people in florida and elsewhere agree with him. it's likely that even kasich might make a continuation of his campaign in pennsylvania if he doesn't win ohio. it just is really a point at which there's such turmoil and division within the republicans about how the party should look and what trump will do for other candidates and these specific states. >> donald trump in some polls is winning all five states tonight. if he goes to the rnc and they do not nominate him, how does he do that if he doesn't win florida and ohio today. >> he still needs to get the number of delegates needed.

if they denied him the nomination, obviously his supporters would be very upset and probably might stay home or worse yet vote for the democrat. on the other hand people that don't like trump getting it it's really a challenge. party county. >> this rnc could be thank you for joining us. you will be here throughout the evening as well. we're your home tore lek coverage tonight tracking all of the candidates in a special broadcast at 7:00 p.m. plus online updates all night on abcactionnews.com. now the most accurate weather team in florida, abc action weather. >> good evening, everybody. temperatures right now still in the low to mid 80s. there's a dense fog advisory for our off-shore waters and for the bay. and i think there's little doubt that that advisory will be extended into our inland

tomorrow morning, 6:00 a.m., visibility one mile or less. and i think the closer you are to the coast, the visibility will be even lower. could be real difficult drive times tomorrow morning. ivan will be here in the morning with that. temperatures waking up to the upper 60s to the low 70s before the rape arrives. coming up. a couple is dead following an apparent murder-suicide. >> the mother is recovering in the hospital after being hit by bullets as well. kara is live at the sheriff's office. >> reporter: a heart breaking community. a man and woman left death. without both parents. advocates in the community hope this is a reminder that there is help available to prevent domestic violence. this quiet gated community the scene of a violent crime after midnight.

that the couple got into an argument inside this garage that led to david shooting alyssa and then himself. his mother also hit by the gunfire. >> it's sad all the way around. >> reporter: some neighbors heard fighting between the couple a lot and are disturbed this comes soon after an elderly couple on the block was stabbed by their son. >> it's crazy. you never think something would happen to your neighborhood like this. >> reporter: sadly this kind of case is all too common. >> 95% of the people killed in florida when we check our records never reach out to a center like hope for help. >> reporter: if you're worried there might be a red flag in your relationship, call the domestic violence hotline and they will walk you through it and get you the help that you need. >> after we address the immediate concerns, we start talking about things like safety planning, what the courts can do to help, what they can't do to help,

>> reporter: and certainly we are committed to taking action against domestic violence. a full list of resources is not o our web -- is on our website. >> it is a crisis. and it is scandal the way it is in florida. >> one group of people didn't get to cast ballots today. the reason and who is trying to

>> tonight our i-team is revealing one thing blocking millions of people from voting in florida. >> some people are not allowed to cast ballots because of criminal records even if they're nonviolent or never served time. jarrod holbrook shows us how some are fighting this. >> it is discouraging at times. >> reporter: nikki johnson a junior and the president of her student government program at st. pete college.

marijuana and writing bad checks. she never served prison time and completed probation in 2010. >> i understand my choices were choices and that those choices have made me the woman that i am today. >> reporter: she lost her right to vote. since then she has been fighting to get it back. >> i want my children to understand the importance of having a voice. the importance of being a part of the community. >> reporter: the i-team discovered that nikki is not alope. we found the rights have been restored to nonviolent criminals compared to the last two governors before him. >> scandalous, it shouldn't be happening. >> reporter: joyce hamilton henry with the aclu says it's a problem that affects two million floridians. take a look at when we found. under governor jeb bush from 2002 to 2006, more than 72,000

chris restored voting rights to 155,000 people. governor scott, only 1500 people had their voting rights restored from 2011 to 2014. >> i think it raises your level of concern about what is going on here. >> reporter: former governor chris says his numbers were high because he implemented automatic reregistration rights for nonviolent offenders. once they finish their sentence, they get their voting rights back. governor so the removed that policy. >> it looks political by and learn. i think that's sad. >> reporter: governor scott declined to go on camera but says that they need to show that they can live a life free of crime. >> another board is coming. have hope. >> reporter: we reached out to all four members of the board. they all declined to go on camera. those that responded are posting written statements on our website.

on new legislation that will help nonviolent offenders get their voting rights back more quickly. taking action for you. >> now the most accurate weather team in florida, abc action weather. >> good evening, everybody. i'll tell you what, we have extremes going on right now. whether or not you're at the beach or inland, it's literally one extreme to the other. fdot cam. there's the sky way. the bridge is up above. today. morning. you go about 20 miles east and then all of a sudden you've got this. a beautiful day with temperatures across the area 80s. river gate it's sunny. with temperatures in the mid 80s. low 70s. because some folks especially

you've been socked in the especially be tire day. bad news for folks who had spring break this week hoping to work on the tan. truthfully it's going to be the same thing tomorrow and thursday along the immediate coastline where highs are in the upper 70s. lakeland at 84. winter haven hit 87 today. outside right now, tampa is at 80 degrees and mostly sunny. clearwater also 80. 77 in st. pete. again, that fog took quite a long time to burn off across our coastal areas, which is why they only hit the upper 70s as opposed to the upper 80s inland. officially at the airport, 82. normally we're at 76. as quiet as it looks, that fog is really going to be an issue overnight. there it is again. by midnight tonight, a lot of folks are socked in. first thing in the morning, you're definitely socked in. it clears out by 10:00, 11:00.

we will pinpoint who will have the worst of it and ivan will have more tomorrow morning. it happens again on thursday. a few showers pop up by thursday night. the best rain chances are later friday and saturday and sunday. yes, there will be rain this weekend across the viewing area. high temperatures along the coast tomorrow in the low to mid-70s. you go east of i-75, upper 80s. look at that. 86 in bartow. very, very warm temperatures after the foggy start. here is a look at the 7-day. same thing on thursday. friday, we begin to see a storm system come this way with rain chances at about 30%, all the way up to 50 to 60% this weekend. cooler and refreshing weather by early next week. hello, folks. good news for the lightning and the triplets slime. a go tonight against toronto. s this the good news.

likely out for the rest of this road trip and cedric says he hopes to be back in the next couple of games but not this one. andre will be in net tonight, giving ben bishop another rest. all right. the usf women are getting ready for their third straight ncaa appearance. they are taking on colorado state. if successful, they will play likely ucla around 2:00. even head coach jose fernandez couldn't get over the committee putting them in the same region as uconn. a team they played three times already this season. >> the last two years, we have played uconn more than anybody in the country. and for us to be -- i think our team has played uconn better than anybody in the country. so to put us in the same region was a surprise to me. >> it's become apparent that

as the ace. he will start opening day and smiley coming in. the decision might have been more difficult but archer is the guy and he is ready to take the baton. speaking of smiley, he gave up only one today against philly leaves him with a .90 e ra this spring. and the rays lost 5-2. we're

>> before we go, we want to remind you, we will have the election special at 7:00 tonight with all of the primary results here in florida and across the country. >> we will have the results online as well as they come in throughout the night at abcactionnews.com. we will see you back here at the top of the hour at 7:00.

breaking news tonight. the exit polls coming in right now. what the voters are revealing already. will donald trump essentially seal the deal? >> this is the place i want to win. this is the place. >> his rivals looking to stop him tonight. all eyes on john kasich and his home state of ohio. and hillary clinton. can she finally put it away? or, another sanders surprise tonight? clinton tells us she's optimistic. >> but not confident? that's a word a lot of your supporters might want to hear you say. >> okay, i'm confident. >> our team standing by on it all. also tonight, the severe weather hitting right now in several of the states voting. now images of the tornadoes in ohio. where the storms track next. and dangerous driving for millions in the east.