live, from the station taking action for you. this is abc action news. the big day is here and the po 2016 kicking off. and florida is expected to pay a roll in who will become our next president. we'll break it down and explain how your vote will make an impact on the race. good morning. happy election day. thank you for joining us. >> once again, we expect florida to be a tight race. latest polls show hillary clinton with a one point lead over donald trump.

error. >> it could be a crucial county for the candidates. >> reporter: if history is any indication, it will be. the winner of hillsboro county hasn't gone onto take the state of florida, they've also won the presidential election. voting has been steady this morning. the reason for hillsboro for being a tipping point, it's a great reflector demographics that reflect florida. i spoke to voters who had no idea their county could be so impactful. >> i didn't know that until coming here. it's my first time voting. i'm a brand new citizen. this is big for me. >> reporter: voting numbers show that the democrats are outpacing

for just that many more democrats voting today. the justice department will monitor the polls today including in hillsboro county. civil rights violations and voter intimidation. they're sending staffers to 28 states because of a supreme court decision striking down the votings right act. the top three things you need to experience. know your polling place and take a valid id with you. they will make sure everything matches up before they issue you a ballot. know the vote by mail deadline. they have to be in the supervisor's office by 11:00 tonight. one of the first people in line was tampa mayor.

he is relieved to not be on the ballot this time. he brought his two daughters to share an important important lesson. >> if you don't show up to vote, you really have no right to complain i want them to understand that. i want them to be a part of the historic election. he was campaigning for some time and wants his daughters and shatter the glass ceiling. hillary clinton casting her vote in her home state of new york. this was the scene about an hour ago. hillary and bill voted together for the crowd of supporters welcoming them. donald trump is showing confidence this election day. he tweeted this morning, today we make america great again. he's expected to vote in about an hour from now. we're going to stream it live

>> safe to say, donald trump is the underdog. these are states likely to go one way or the other. the candidates need 270 electorial votes to win. donald trump starts off with 204 votes as shown in the red states and the lightly colored red states. the blue are clinton's camp she's up to 268 votes. trump needs to put togetr to 270. the white stats, those are the battleground states. that includes florida, florida is a must-win for trump. if we had florida to the trump said, that's 29 votes and he needs to take all of the other undecided states that includes arizona, nevada, north carolina

vote short. it still could happen. district 2 here in nebraska is one of only 2 states that brakes up electorial votes by district. if he wins that district, and all of the battleground states, trump could win. those are big ifs. so the trump campaign is counting on wrestling more of the blue states to give him a solid win. his campaign stop was in grand rapids, michigan. >> in the last day of campaigning went down to the wire. hillary clinton and donald trump rallied into the early morning hours. as dan mentioned, this is the

with star power. >> go out and vote for hillary clinton. it's time to come to mama. >> lady ga ga hit the stage for the final event in rally, north carolina. in philadelphia, she got to work with the boss, bruce springsteen and president obama. >> there is no reason, my friends, why america's best days for them together. >> trump was supposed to hold his rally in new hampshire. >> did you think you would hear a major speech at close to 1:00 in the morning. is this crazy? >> trump saying today is the day that the american working class strikes back.

superstar support. >> we don't need john bon jovi, we don't need lady ga ga, all we need is great ideas to make america great again. >> trump has taken a calmer tone in recent days, but he did briefly attack senator warren amendment one is one of the most controversial issues you're asked to vote on today. it's the solar amendment. they demanded this poll be pulled after hundreds complained. it implied that rooftop solar panels could be a fire hazard.

>> we're able to download the app to get coverage on the go. we're live streaming online. weather-wise, accident day for getting out to vote, otherwise, whatever you do, maybe a little lunch outside, go for it. temperatures around 80 degrees. very comfortable, but dryer heading into the next few days behind a front. it won't come in until tomorrow. and doppler looks fine now. a few clouds roll in for the afternoon which makes for partly cloudy skies and temperatures with max out for 82 today. by 7:00, the polls close, we'll be in the mid-70s. and if you are just heading out to go vote, you're smart, because you waited until rush

i-275 right through downtown tampa and here's a live look at i-75 north of i-4 up to speed in both directions. the slowest spot we're seeing is on i-4. pushing 50 miles per hour but in the green on 75 and 275. new this morning, the city of orlando is planning to buy the pulse nightclub and convert the sight into a memorial. the city buy the nightclub. the site will probably remain as is for the next 18 months people continue to mourn at the site. the june attack left 49 people dead. getting back to the election, the election cycle is creating tension among neighbors. look at this video. deputies need your help to find a woman who stole campaign signs from the same house twice in the last week.

golf cart and snatching a clinton sign. two days later, she comes back and did it again. the homeowner thinks that the thief is one of her neighbors. >> in a way it surprises me because these are my neighbors she didn't hop off of the interstate in her golf cart. >> if you have any idea who this person is, contact the sheriff's to a story going viral, a handicap boy in a wheelchair at an event. the family drove from the orlando area to protest what they say is trump's thought on the disabled and held up a hillary clinton sign. you can see a trump supporter kick the mother as she's leaving.

and arranged for the meeting in kissimmee. it's a dream most of us have, winning money. first, with each day comes more clues and more evidence. what south carolina investigators are learning this morning as they continue to

investigators are search forking -- looking for clues on the property of a man linked to 7 deaths. he is also accused of kidnapping a woman found alive and chained inside a storage container last week. one of the bodies found on the

boyfriend. he has confessed to four murders back in 2003. a woman confessing to a brutal murder in times square. he pushed a woman on the tracks as the train approached. the woman has a history of schizophrenia. they don't believe the women knew each other. large crowds gathered for event that featured a rapper and a basketball player. how that crowd grew aggressive as police called it. a crowd came out. when the event didn't start at 5:30, people in the crowd got upset and started knocking over barriers and people. they evacuated the mall and

sixteens were arrested after throwing glass at teen. a man under arrest died. the da says that the man was arrested on domestic violence charges and cut the booking clerk's throat with a box cutter at the station and then struggled with an officer and grabbed a gun before shots were fired. we're told officers found him in an old jail cell. the clerk and officer expected to survive. the multimillionaire the suggest of an hbo documentary is pleading not guilty to murder in the death of his friend. he was in court in a wheelchair and wearing a neck brace. he's accused of killing her friend 15 years ago.

obtained baby used in the trial. if you find three winning numbers on a scratch off ticket, you win that amount of money. usually the answer is yes. but a scratchoff leaving a lot of people very unhappy, so you don't waste your money. >> reporter: imagine scratching off that you won one million dollars. >> we've all dreamed of having the prize patrol show up bearing unexpected riches. gibson thought he hit the jackpot too. >> scratch all of it off and if you have three that match, you have a possibility of winning. >> he recently received a scratchoff ticket in the mail

scratched three one million dollar amounts on the card. >> the three that matched, it was one million each. >> he documented it all. >> i have a picture of it on my phone. >> he felt so confident that he made a special trip to the post office just to have his entry examined and hand stamped to make sure it go to publishing clearinghouse. weeks later, confirmation, just another chance to enter. we found other similar complaints online. the prizes listed on the scratch card are the prizes you would win if your entry is chosen as the winner. matching three amounts does not mean you win. he said it was not clear to him.

>> legally, publishing clearinghouse has done nothing wrong. but you wonder how much think they are a winner. >> that's not right. >> it's not right. take a look at this, a massive sinkhole in japan that has swallowed huge sections of a road including a street light. >> it's cutting off water, power and gas in parts of the city. the sinkhole 90 feet wide, 100 feet long and 50 feet deep. it's filled with water from sewage pipe. the cause is under investigation but it may be linked to ongoing subway construction near by. a beautiful day to get out and vote or anything else.

absolutely. i got my sticker early, haven't gotten my donut. a lot of freebies. i don't think it will be as windy as yesterday. look at the point there, a gorgeous shot again. we've been talking about the beautiful sunrises and sunsets. we can do that this time of the year with the lower humidity, there's less stuff out there to block our rays and we have these crisp images you get nice weather as well. it's the time people come down. the dew points, how much moisture we have at the surface, we're pleasant to humid, but they will drop more so if it comes in tomorrow. it will bring us a few clouds and a couple of showers. not today, we're dry with sunny conditions and a few clouds.

it won't arrive like this. it would be some good rains around here. but this will fizzle out and move through and it won't move with a lot of moisture. just a few clouds and a couple of isolated showers. as far as temperatures this afternoon, low 80s once again, comfortable humidity, we'll drop it more so heading into thursday and the latter part of the week. going light, the two-three-foot seas, there are your tides coming up and seven-day forecast going through veteran's day with plenty of sunshine. tomorrow with deal with clouds and humidity. thursday, we do it with full sunshine behind the front. the low humidity points and that will set us up for a fantastic weekend with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s. taking a look at there. coming up, snakes on a plane. it's happened in a hollywood movie and now it happened in real life.

snakes on a plane. a snake on a plane at least. >> that's still one too many.

viper. you can see the snake coming down from behind the bins. the snake was caught. it made some passengers nervous. they're working to find out how the snake got on the plane in the first place. cannot imagine. i do not think it's safe to say we have election fatigue and it's beginning to manifest in the forms of hallucinations for some people. >> a bird is a local celebrity because they think it looks a little it's nicknamed the trump bird because of the feathers on top of the head. he's bringing in a lot of foot traffic at the pet store. >> hillary clinton's campaign team having fun this election day. look at them posing in the mannequin challenge it is on her plane.

don't standstill, vote today. >> how races here in florida could have an impact nationally. >> a medical emergency at a preschool. dozens of kids get sick.

this is abc action news. >> there is a lot at stake this election day and it all comes down to this. by tonight, we will know who will be our 45th president. >> coming up, breaking down several other races and issues that have major impacts on the state as people head to the polls to cast their votes. good morning. thank you for joining us on this election day tuesday.

beautiful out there. >> let's go back outside and see what is happening with blue skies, clear weather, looks nice at the marina. low 70s in tampa. 68 in brooks field. upper 50s for lows. now we climb back out of the 70s and low 80s by later on today. that will be our daytime high. mid-70s by 7:00. we won't reach 80 degrees, we'll talk about that and the forecast in just a few minutes. countdown is over, election day is officially here. the polls have been open here in florida for two half-hours now. >> long lines at a handful of places no wait times and we haven't had any reports of issues at polling places. live this morning at st. john catholic church in lakeland and people started lining up this morning. >> reporter: by 6:00 this

waiting to go inside. officials here in polk county across the state of florida expecting a huge turnout today. >> by the time the polls opened at st. john catholic church, the line stretching out the door. the polk county location, typically one of the busiest polling sites on election day. today, no different. >> they're ready to get everyone in and they know it will be busier throughout >> to try to be before the line gets long. >> polk county is seeing plenty cast their ballots. more than 170,000 have voted. statewide, they're hitting records, 6.4 voting early. >> i think it's the biggest election we've had. >> florida will play a major factor in deciding the next president.

>> glad to see people showing up to vote. >> hopefully the election will be smooth and we'll move on. >> hopefully, things do go smoothly today. there's a few things to be aware of. know your rights before you vote. the polls close at 7 p.m. as long as you are in line at the time, you will be allowed to vote. some of the locations may ask you for a picture id. ask for a provisional ballot, you can always head over to our web site on abc action news.com. reporting live in lakeland. thank you. we have crews spread out all over the bay area. folks across the state are casting their votes this morning. this is a live picture of folks lined up outside of the coliseum to cast ballots. polls close at 7 p.m. more than half of the state voted early.

to make their voices heard. voters are asked to vote on issues that may be confusing to you. we're going to break down a few now. in tampa, voters are asked if the city council can order audits this is a political issue, they want the power to perform more audits to see if taxpayers are getting ripped voters are asked to create a redistricting board it would make sure that the county represents everyone equally. today's vote determines who controls congress beginning in january. right now, it appears republicans will retain control of the house. they have 246 seats, it's a 57%

races and will maintain 218 simple majority. the senate, that's a different beast all together. take a look. right now, republicans control 54 out of the 100 seats. illinois senator is forecasted to lose his seat if republicans lose 3 more, that leaves us with a 50/50 split and control depends on who wins the white house as the vice president casts tie-breaking votes. the rubio could decide on which party controls the senate. rubio leads by 7 points. rubio accuses murphy of inflating his resume with little to show. new development on the race from charlie crist, we found

crist made a contribution to his campaign. he spent $75,000 for his bid for district 13. and we're watching several other congressional races. >> 8 different districts cover portions of the bay area. district 16 includes parts of hillsboro county. democrat january running. in district 15 which includes northeast hillsboro and southern lake counties, jim lang facing ross. in district 11, democrat dave is

webster. district 17 covers 9 florida counties including sarasota. >> democrat is facing off, seeking his sixth term in congress. he previously served as governor the vice chairman. as tradition would have it, first to cast their ballots today. it shows how close the election could be. polls in the hearts location opened just after midnight and closed as soon as everyone voted. clinton taking a victory over trump in hearts location but trump was the overwhelming favorite with 16-4 win. if you count up all of the votes, trump has the early lead in the 2016 presidential

so far in new hampshire. be aware of unsolicited messages. a south florida woman warning about a text she received trying to send her to the wrong polling location. she's not the only one who received it. others say they received it too. >> if you don't have a ride to the polls, catch a ride for free. the sun coast is offering free rides, they started this morning at free rides, you need a valid voter registration card. we have everything posted for you to know on our election page. get instant results as they come in. vandals target a little league field causing thousands of dollars worth of damage. the president is calling for the culprits to stop. john white says it's been going

they were supposed to unveil their field in september. he says that didn't happen because vandals damaged their field practically every weekend they raised $200,000 to build the field in the first place and now they estimate a lot of money to cover the damage. >> i don't know why it is that people find it funny and entertaining to destroy people's property. >> the league is putting off the big reveal until the start of the spring season. this morning, authorities are trying to figure out what made dozens of kids sick at a preschool. >> 19 children were hospitalized yesterday but nearly 30 kids got sick. they had nausea, vomiting and

>> coming out, taking them out to the ambulance. some were passed out. others were like droopy. >> i don't know, i just got the call from work. i don't know if she's in the hospital. something they ate at cool. >> officials say food poisoning is the primary suspect. crews didn't find a gas leak and no here's a live look at the dow down 29 points to 18230. the dow soared 371 points yesterday. four manatees rescued have a home this morning at the columbus zoo. a zoo posted a picture of the manatees. two are rescued after their mother was killed in a boat strike last month. the others rescued from the outer clam bay.

they're ready to return to the wild. coming up, plans are in the works in oklahoma after a quake rattled the area on sunday. how regulators are taking action with the earthquakes linked to manmade causes. >> it was like finding a needle in a hay stack. that's how rescuers describe the

new video shows the moments an australia scuba diver is pulled to safety after spending 18 hours lost at sea. >> is in the hospital and has mild hypothermia after being rescued yesterday. he was diving alone and forgot to pack his personal location beacon. when he didn't come home, they found his boat. when he thought that rescue helicopters has missed spotting him, he was planning on swimming to the coast through shark infested waters they almost left the search

expecting to learn more following the earthquake in oklahoma. >> regulators plan on shutting down now some disposal wells. oil and gas officials say 700 square miles will be included in the area. oklahoma has had thousands of earthquakes in recent years, nearly all can be traced to underwater injection of waste water. the deadly twister hit next to rome. two people died. the two killed were in two towns close to rome. many others were injured. in italy, devastated by a series of earthquakes last month. the video shows the damage and authorities are saying that they are investigating the theft of

the 1631 painting was well known among historians. >> i'll tell you what, you have covered many over there and th here. of course, we get the warnings out, . looking for unlimited visibility. we are back in the 70s after morning lows in the 50s this morning. nice and cool and we'll be back into the 80s this afternoon. we'll do that with low humidity and we'll be comfortable, whatever you're doing for the

looking good on radar. the few clouds on an eastern flow. be able to see a good chunk of the entire 95 corridor and warm ahead of this front. they're in the 60s across new england which is impressive this time of the year. all this moves in our direction, not much in the way of moisture. it will change our forecast and we'll talk about that in a second. for today, lower 80s, a light breeze. it won't be as gusty. nowhere near as gusty as yesterday. about 82 for the high. we'll do close to that tomorrow and mostly cloudy skies, just a 20% chance of showers as the front comes in and clearing out for the rest of the week and the veterans day, overnight temperatures cooling off in the 60s at the airport, most of us will be in the 50s as we have been and heading into the

the next front coming in next monday and tuesday, plenty of time to watch that. otherwise for now, a nice forecast after tomorrow. a st. pete landmark is

good morning. leading up to the holiday, spotlights local veterans and veterans groups we turn our attention to st. pete where this family owned business has hosted to veterans for years they host a classic car show, bike shows all day long and all of the proceeds benefit

abilities ranch who just one week shy of ending his tour of downtown was hit by a sniper's bullet which left him paralyzed we're happy to have them in studio this morning. thank you for joining us. first of all, thank you for your service to our country. >> i appreciate it >> let's talk >> we have a big flag pole dedication. they wouldn't give us a permit before. the veterans got that done for us and we are doing a big benefit, car show and bike show on saturday. also starts at 8:00 in the

from 10-11. >> year around, the site is home to veterans all year long who just go. what does it mean for you to have this support from a local business? >> it helps us out a lot. i do what i do because i've seen other people in my situation struggle and i want to be there to help. when i see them step up, it makes my job easier. >> how >> it's going to be an outdoor recreational park. the whole goal is to get wounded vets like myself and other veterans back into the community. >> how difficult has it been to really give hope to others? you seem strong and in great shape, but you come face to face with veterans maybe a little hopeless and don't have the support of the family. >> i try to do everything i

nice event. my job is to find out what they love to do before they got hurt or what they used to love to do and show them, you can still do it, get a sailing boat or whatever, there's stuff out there for you. >> thank you for joining us. and thank you for your service. thank you to your dad in the u.s. navy. thank you again, if you would like to join the family for the all of the activity starts at 10:00 in the morning. head to the flag pole and it continues throughout the evening until 10:00 with a country music concert.

warming up in the 70s, back in the low 80s for this afternoon. a nice looking day out there. sunset at 5:41. 7:00, polls close and a high of 76. tomorrow, more cloud cover as the front approaches here. a couple showers possible we're looking good for the rest of the week and into the weekend with highs in the 70s. >> great day to get out and vote. get marco's pizza giving away vouchers were free pizza at some polling locations. >> all of the day's coverage right now. >> tampa bay's morning blend is

captions by: caption colorado, llc (800) 775-7838 e- mail: comments@captioncolorado.com good tues >> i'm natalie taylor. as always, thanks for joining us right here on the blend. carley is in her red, white and blue. i'm in a neutral purple. today is, of course, election day. everybody's been counting down. >> i thought it would never get here. people are rejoicing because after today, the political ads are done and back to normalcy.