[captioning made possible by wisn tv] >> commitment 2016 election coverage. >> 2016 is here. voters are finally casting their ballots after more than a year of campaign >> speeches, debates and ads. >> first people in line to vote this morning. about three million wisconsin voters are expected to cast ballots. >> long lines all day. this is video from downtown milwaukee where voters were line up before the polls waiting for chance to fill out their

woman's name on the ballot gave me chills. >> probably the most important thing to me, national security. securing our boarders. >> it's my first time and i feel like i'm part of history. >> milwaukee police are keeping an eye on the polls as wl as state and federal officials. so far, no problems. >> the polls are open until 8:00. >> you do need to show a photo i.d. to cast a ballot. they are expecting voter wisconsin's turnout ever with 73% in 2004. >> no one is covering the elections like wisn 12 news. >> we're spread throughout the

>> now through 8:00, election officials expect it to get even busier because people are coming after work to vote. we can't do a live report inside but poll workers told me earlier they have seen a steady stream of people all day. at times there were long lines but no major issues. we did learn in the town of lisbon they did have some trouble with the machines reading the ballot. that was fixed that was fixed right away. we also learned that in the city, they had so many people turning out to vote that they ran out of ballots. those were also replenished right away. the county expects voter turnout to exceed four years ago. >> i would be stunned if we didn't hit 85 and i think we'll be in the 85 to 90 range. >> talking about the 85 to 90% voter turnout. she also tells me there have not been issues with voter i.d. here

cast their ballot. christina, wisn 12 news. >> nearly 800,000 people in wisconsin voted early setting a record. 797, 740 people returned their absentee ballots for today's election breaking the 665,000 early voting record in 2012. >> a poll released last wednesday showed hillary clinton points, 46-40 among likely voters in wisconsin. >> both clinton and trump spending this election day in new york city. trump, his wife and son-in-law voted at a public school on manhattan's east side. hillary clinton and her husband former president bill clinton voted this morning at an elementary school near her home in new york. shortly after clinton remarked

campaign. meanwhile, donald trump left voters with a parting word last night. >> so many people are counting on the outcome of this election. what it means for our country and i'll do the very best that i can if i'm fortunate enough to win. >> i'm with you, i'll fight for you, and i'll win for you, i promise. [applause] >> in a rare election night twist both clinton and trump are not only holding their campaign parties in the same city but they are also just we'll go live to both election parties in new york city coming up a little later in this newscast. >> thank you. it's a race that could decide the balance of power in the the united states senate and it's happening right here in wisconsin. >> all eyes will be on the rematch between johnson and fine gold. the final poll found the democratic challenger fine gold

begin live with the johnson camp in oshkosh >> the campaign setup continuing here at the oshkosh convention haven't. this will be one of the mostly watched senate races in the nation. ron johnson hoping to pull up what many across the country would consider a major upset. he trails fi finegold until narrowing the gap it shows this as juan-point race and johnson told supporters last night in his final campaign rally that this race hinges on heavy turnout in that republican stronghold. >> we need not only a good turnout we need a record turnout. if we're going to save this country. >> i talked with a member of the johnson team a few moments ago.

optimistic but they believe this race will be decided by a razor thin margin and for a look at how things are going on in the feingold campaign. >> he's hoping to regain the senate seat he's held for 18 years until 2011, a when he fell victim to the tea party. feingold spoke last night on the scene. >> you've got to make sure they get a united states senate that they can work with and the only way that can happen is by making sure the democrats pick up four seats. >> this senate race is very important in the national picture as to who holds congress

of course, and millions of dollars have been spent by each campaign as well as outside lobbying groups. a lot of attention being paid in this race not only in wisconsin but across the nation. live in middleton, wisn 12 news. >> the wisconsin senate race could help potentially flip the balance of power in the united states senate. right now there are 54 republicans and 44 democrats with two independents. 34 senate seats are election. right now there are 246 republicans and 186 democrats and three vacant seats. after this wild scene just a few months ago marquette university made some changes to their polling sites. students waited hours during the primary to cast their ballot. >> reporting from campus on the changes made so things run more smoothly. >> we're inside the third floor ballroom here at marquette university. this polling place one of the

>> at marquette university, wisn 12 news. >> still ahead, the presidential nominees plan their big celebration. what hillary clinton and donald trump are doing that hasn't been done since world war ii. >> can paul reinhold on to his job as house speaker once the dust settles. 12 news goes one-on-one about his future. >> temperatures are dropping. how low will we go before we

>> our big story election coverage continues. matt is keeping an eye on things from news chopper 12. >> we're buzzing around town looking for lines. everything appears to be moving orderly. no line getting into the building so you've got time to beat that 5:00 rush as more folks get out of work. we expect the lines to i'll continue to keep an eye on it. very little waiting here at the municipal building. back to you. >> much of the focus has been on the race for president. >> paul ryan is being challenged in the first district in. strict fourth democratic congresswoman glen does not have a republican opponent but is facing libertarian on the ballot.

>> district six, running for a second term facing democratic newcomer sarah lloyd and a race that's not in our viewing area but could influence the balance of power in congress is in district eight in the fox valley area. the republican is giving up his seat and retired marine mike gallagher are vying to replace him. >> paul ryan is expected to win re-election. >> however, the eyes political nation are on the speaker as we await the outcome. adrian is live at the ryan camp in jamesville. >> a lot of national attention here. you can see some of these

some are from the national media. ryan's seat is really in question -- is not really in question. we're expecting him to win. the big question is if he'll keep his job as speaker. it's no secret he's had a difficult relationship with the republican nominee for president donald trump. in fact, he said he doesn't agree with everything trump says. but then at the end of the day he did vote for him. we've seen ryan recently campaigning hard for the republicans. wisconsin senator ron johnson. that's where our political reporter caught up with him and asked him if his job was in custody. >> we've offered an agenda to save this country and fix our problems. i want to execute that agenda.

right now with the ryan camp. of course, we'll bring you the very latest all night and we'll also give you reaction from ryan. for now, adrian, 12 news. >> a lot of attention on that rice. mike will be with me throughout the night keeping a close eye on all the races. let's start with speaker ryan's future and how his campaign has affected his political fortune. >> it may take weeks he's refused to defend some of trump's past comments in. recent days, again, he's been urging republicans to come home to trump, but there are still trump supporters, some of them in the house of representatives who think paul ryan should have done more to help the g.o.p. nominee. so if ryan wins tonight, but if trump loses it will be interesting to see what if any repercussions there are for ryan. we should know about whether there is any serious move to replace ryan as speaker in the

of course, ryan is staying on as speaker would depend on republicans retaining control of their majority in the house. that's likely. >> as we saw, all those satellite trucks the country is watching that race as well. >> one of the highest profile republicans in the country right there. >> like we mentioned earlier in the newscast, both clinton and trump's campaign parties are in new york city. just a mile and a half away from each other. clinton's headquarters is at the javitz convention center in manhattan. that's where we find sally kidd bureau. what will the campaign be watching for as the polls begin to close for an early indication of how the night might go? >> early on, the campaign manager robbie telling us that they are going to be watching virginia, a battleground state and a bellwether for how the rest of the battlegrounds might go. that was a state that was leaning in clinton's favor the polls close in 45 minutes. back to you.

what is the clinton campaign most concerned about this evening? >> they are concerned that people won't show up at the polls, especially in some of these critical battle grounds, north carolina comes to mind, that's a state that was considered a tossup heading into today. it's been very close there. obama won that state back in 2008 but then lost it to mitt romney in 2012. they put a lot of mon focus in north carolina. >> we're looking at blue states like pennsylvania. some of these battle grounds, it's important to get voters to turn out. we'll go the donald trump's party coming up in the next

sprinkles. >> you'll want to grab a jacket if you're heading out to the polls. >> we're cooler than we've been. it's not hard to believe. a warm start to november. record warmth but now we'll have to deal with a little cooler air. still 55, but the thing is there is some wind, we did have some clouds in the air but now it looks like it will be a nice sunset at 4:36. we're not that far away. from milwaukee to the third ward, you see traffic moving along there. this is kind of a cool shot here. 54 degrees. some wave action out there. not a surprise, with a northwesterly wind. that's 17 miles per hour. temperatures still above average. 50. we got to 59 today, which is kind of a bummer because if we had gotten to 60 that would have been eight days in a row in november that would tie the recovered set back in 1975, but we only got to 59 and we won't get to significant as we head throughout the rest of the evening. you can see the wind.

we head throughout the evening. 22 mile per hour wind gust in milwaukee. 24 currently in racine. the rest of your election day forecast for this evening partly cloudy skies, temperatures around 50 at 6:00. 49 degrees at 7:00 and mostly clear skies as we head into the later evening hours. again, polls close at 8:00. if you're still in line at that point, it's not going to be a problem. you'll gate chance to put in your vote. you can sho into the 40s. we're going into this forecast for the rest of this evening okay. any rain is long gone. it's going to be okay. so things are looking all right for this evening and wait until you see the extended forecast. we've got more 60s on the way. >> thank you. there is breaking news on the interstate. >> there is a full freeway closure on i-94 westbound near 121st street. let's go to matt in news chopper 12. >> we just got an eye on it. there is a downed power line

lanes and one eastbound lane. it looks like they were working in the construction zone when the line came down. it's sitting across the westbound lane of i-94. all lanes are completely blocked eastbound down to one lane in the construction zone. check it out. the delays are horrendous. solid westbound 94. eastbound, i looked over my shoulder. those are extending from calhoun road and brookfield all the way into the milwaukee county line. we'll keep an eye on it and let you know when they get the road reopened. back to you. >> if you've already voted or plan to vote stay with us as selection day unfolds. >> we're going to be here throughout the night. >> we are. we've combined our resources with abc news to bring you the latest information as the polls begin to close around the country. >> and we're also keeping a close eye on the races here in

throughout the night, hoping to make sense and analyze the results as they do roll in tonight. >> once the polls close here in wisconsin at 8:00 you'll be able to see the results scrolling along on the bottom of the screen. you can coverage our coverage on wisn.com. we hope you will join us. >> still ahead, millions of taxpayer dollars are also on the line this election day. >> next, where voters are being asked to

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i don't think so. say yes to more. calnow. >> we'll c freeway closure near the milwaukee county line. >> this is a downed power line? >> that's right. they had one lane open but they have closed that. the sheriff's department is on the scene. big delays in both directions. it been fully closed, that goes all the way back downtown. they have a crew on the scene trying to reach the pole, maybe

westbound lanes. the left eastbound lane dropped but all lanes are blocked. starting to slide it out of the way. just got a headlined of it. should be able to get this reopened. the last trailing pieces of that downed wire that wire has cleared. pulling back some of the barrels on the eastbound lanes that should be opened momentarily. a solid delay. a parking lot from downtown right out to the county line. back to you. >> this en evening rush. we just learned 40 minutes right now. voters in several communities today are also being asked to decide on school referendums. >> here's a look at the school districts in the milwaukee area. heartland, franklin and germman town. >> germantown is asking for $84 until to upgrade schools.

>> the $84 million would pay for improvements to six german town schools. among the items on the wish list, an auditorium, a pool and fieldhouse. it would also add ramps for students with disabilities and upgrade classroom technology. voters we spoke with have mixed reactions about the extra money. >> i don't care if it's in the inner-city or it's in the suburbs. it the people and the teachers who make a difference. i don't think buildings make any difference whatsoever. >> our our schools are very important. we need to update the schools. i would love to have a pool back in the high school. >> now, if the referendum is approved taxpayers can expect to pay an extra $400 per year for a value of a home of $250,000. that's just one of the items on the ballot, though. we'll be keeping an eye on it through the evening. >> here's a look at the other referendum. voters in watertown are being asked to approve $7.3 million to

library in. burlington,ed 5.4 million is on the line for a new community pool. st. francis is asking voters to define the role of their mayor as c.e.o. and establish a city administrator. voters in the city are facing a resolution regarding campaign spending and in the town of wilson residents will decide whether to aprauf a fee for garbage collection. >> there is more to get to. our special election coverage continues. >> next we'll go live to downtown milwaukee for an upda the city and on this very election day. >> two presidential parties, one big city. you already heard from the clinton campful we'll go live to the trump campaign to find out what is in store on this

i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. donald trump: i could stand in the middle of 5th avenue and shoot somebody and i wouldn't lose any voters, okay? and you can tell them to go f--- themselves! you know, you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of r wherever... you gotta see this guy. ahh, i don't know what i said, ahh. "i don't remember."

>> we want to check back in on the full freeway closure. the downed power lines have just been cleared. have they reopened? >> they opened and then they closed the left two lanes again for some reason, at this point it's unclear. they did reopen eastbound completely, and right now i'm

still have westbound. there is still significant back-ups coming westbound leaving downtown pretty much all the way from the market interchange out to the county line. a big delay. well over half an hour, as you guys mentioned, up to 40 minutes. still trying to figure out why the sheriff's deputy has two lanes blocked. we'll let you know as soon as we have an update. back to you. >> back to our election coverage, a historic day as voters goo casting ballots. hutchison is live from downtown milwaukee where the election commissioner just gave you an update. >> we did just talk. >> there were more than 52,000 early ballots cast in milwaukee a. lot of that momentum has continued today into the evening apartment lot of people going to the municipal building to cast their ballot. and for the most part there have been some lines but everything

valid i.d. they have been in and out. we did just speak with the executive director. they have been working with voters to get the proper i.d.s. >> we have some voters that have some pretty profound challenges around, either meeting the proof of residence requirements or the photo i.d. requirements at their polling places and we're working one-on-one with those individuals to try over to the dmv provisional ballot so their ballot can still be counted. >> we have seen a lot of people coming in and out of the building. the polls will close at 8:00 but they are expecting a post work crowd to come and vote. in downtown milwaukee, wisn 12 news >> voters were also out in force earlier this morning.

checked out there. >> of course, it is election day, a day a lot of people have been working for. we're on greenfield avenue in brook field and there has been a steady stream of voters all morning long. vote inside the gym. arrow pointing inside stretching all the way out here into the lobby. we went inside gym to see just how long that line really was. at one point, the election officials told us that it was at least a 20-minute wait to get that ballot to cast your vote. some people we spoke with say it was about a 45 minute way. but for other people things were

>> it was good for me. i was out in two seconds. >> surprised. i was surprised. i thought i would be waiting a long time. >> got my vote in and that's all that matters. >> some people had to wait a while. some people not so much but everyone can agree, they were hoping this would get done quickly so they could get outside and enjoy this beautiful november day. >> tim telliott, wisn 12 news. >> it's been a nice day. to a hot topic on the campaign trail. the future of the affordable care melinda davenport spoke on an expert on what to expect from both candidates. >> a lot of changes. i'm here with a doctor from marquette university to explain it all. if trump wins, what could change with the affordable care act? >> donald trump has pledged to repeal the affordable care act

unclear. he hasn't proposed a really specific replacement plan, and so, as far as we can tell, just repealing the law would increase the number of uninsureds, premiums would probably increase, and in general, it would be kind of chaos in the individual insurance marketplace. >> what if hillary clinton >> it's unclear whether or not a president clinton and a clinton administration could do some of the things that she want to do to stabilize the individual marketplace without congress taking action. if you think back -- the obama administration's negotiation with the auto industry right after the great recession, there was the dimension of the white house kind of negotiating directly with the industry.

in a sense, do an end run around congress to make some of those reforms happen because, as it looks to be the case right now, congress is pretty unlikely to enact a potential clinton administration pick for the affordable care act. >> a lot to be decided. thank you so much. from marquette university talking to us about it. back to you. >> thank you. >> still aheel goes interactive. how you can share your experience with other voters. we'll go live to the trump campaign party. the plans for tonight and how both camps are making history in

>> first the freeway was closed, open and then partially reopened. >> it was a downed wire over the freeway. it and now i'm happy to report everything has been reopened. all other available lanes that are supposed to be opened here are open in both directions. however, there is still some lingering delay because of the back-up. east 94 still heavy from brook field pushing back towards barker into milwaukee county and westbound 94, although it's reopened completely we still have delays very heavy from downtown.

news. >> this is the first presidential election since 1944 in which both party candidates are spending election night in new york. >> now we're coming to you live from the trump campaign. set the scene for us. what's happening right now? >> patrick, we're waiting for trump supporters to fill this room. midtown manhattan in new york city, we're in a ballroom a lot of media but supporters aren't here yet. this election party begins at 6:30 p.m. eastern time. in an hour we'll have people behind us, in the stage behind us, where we presume donald trump will come out and either accept the victory or concede the election. the trump campaign is feeling good tonight. it says it likes the turnout so far in some key battleground states and we're watching several of them including florida and north carolina. two states seen by many as must wins for donald trump, but again things are starting to pick up

packed. >> you mentioned some states. which states should we be watching as the results come in. >> well, those two, florida and north carolina, do have polls closing at 7:00 p.m. eastern. florida has two different time zones to deal with, so some of the polls will be closing at 7:00, not all. north carolina is ending earlier in the night. so those are the two states that are closing polls earlier that we should be watching. both seen as critical for trump. georgia is an interesting state to watch because it's been leaning republican for the past presidential elections since 1992, that was the last time they voted democrat but this could be a red state that turns blue tonight. polls have been showing it's a tight race in georgia, so watch for that. ohio is a state that the trump campaign is hoping to win but florida is the biggest prize when it comes to the swing states. 29 electoral votes up for grabs. if florida gets called for

night for him. >> what is trump saying about tonight's results? will they accept them? >> well, you know, we have heard from donald trump throughout this campaign, especially at the last debate that he may not accept the election results if he loses. today eric trump, one of his sons said that his father will accept the results if they are fair. so how do we know if it's fair after the results come down? we don't know. his family is saying he'll accept if the results are fair. but donald trump, as soon as yesterday, was saying that this election is rigged. so we've been hearing that message from him. it's hard to tell exactly what he'll do tonight if he'll come out on the stage. his son according to eric trump saying his father will accept the results if they are fair. >> live at the trump campaign in new rk city, thank you. >> our tempes arrature actually above average.

the warmest that we've ever had around here, it's tough to take when temperatures get in the 50s. we've gotten used to temperatures in the 60s and the 70s. with reality kicking in, it's still above average. sunset at 4:35 officially tonight. it was a gorgeous one. the great colors are going away. there is still limited cloud cover around that will last for maybe another hour or so and then this will start to break up. skies will clear out and we've got another big amount of sunshine in i want you to understand, it's november. we don't usually get these long stretches of sunny skies but that's exactly what's happened. temperature 55. winds are the story here as well. north-northwesterly at 16 gusting to 22 it's blustery. 53 currently in west ellis. most temperature coming in around the 52 to 53 degree mark.

this is not unusual at all for this time of year. average high temperature is 59. i wanted to get to 60. if we had gotten 60 we would have gotten our eighth day in a row in november being 60 and that would have tied a record set way back in 1965. 53 was the low. this is still the warmest eight day stretch of november that we've ever had around here. there it is. eight days in a row finally cooling down. that will stay at eight. back in 1975, we still have a chance with 13 days. probably pushing it to get to 60 but we do have 60s in the forecast. i'll have more on that coming up on 12 news at 5:00. stick around for that. >> the 2016 presidential election is making history in more ways than who is on the ballot. >> we'll show you how you can share your election experience with your fellow voters.

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photos of your voting experience with us. this is a photo from washington county, the first people in line this morning. this picture was posted from our friend, a little guy wearing a super man costume standing in line. and just a reminder, no photos or selfies are allowed inside the voting booth. social media and the internet play a big role in the leeks. i'm joined by digital director b.j. to talk about some of the features that we have on our web server. >> obviously tonight's election returns are super important, in addition to the results you'll see on the bottom of your screen. a great interactive map, you can keep tabs on the races that are important to you. follow along. you can see how many electoral votes goes to each state. you can change your focus on the map. you can see the senate race

and feingold. you can change the view to see congressional races. if you want to take a deep dive go down to the county and you will see the numbers as those precincts come in. of course, the local races that are super important to the viewers in our area, school referendum, those municipal races. the live wire, with other election coverage, this has been fired up since yesterday early yesterday morning offering continuous coverage from our reporters in the field. on the internet can be a very busy play and it will continue as the results come in. in addition to watching 12 news and abc news, viewers can fire up the second screen and the live wire will automaticallially refresh, as we post new updates. if you're going to be away from your tv download the mobile app. we'll send information on important races and don't forget

and twitter and join in on the conversation. >> i just want the show that. that's something, the type of thing you will see on live wire. you'll go along for the experience and those numbers on the map will be updated throughout the night. you'll want to follow along. still ahead, what happens in

over 80,000 wisconsin jobs lost to unfair trade. bud with corporate interests, calling for even more unfair trade, for corporations shipping jobs overseas, costing taxpayers billions. and johnson's been exposed for using what looks like an offshore tax shelter for himself. ron johnson's just not for us. senate majority pac is responsible

>> here's a video from an elementary school, a steady stream of voters turned out while our camera was there. republicans are trying the keep their majority in both houses. all 99 assembly seats are on the ballot. 63 republicand 36 democrats. 16 of the 33 seats in the state senate are up for grabs. right now there are 18 republicans and 14 democrats and one vacant seat. >> while the state senate make-up isn't expected to change the u.s. senate could. mike joins us. >> the battle for u.s. senate has been intense. most observers think it could go right down to the wire either way. the senate race here in wisconsin between incumbent ron johnson and feingold will play a key role for fight for majority control.

insiders in the last 24 hours and most believe this race can very tight and could go into the night. >> some of the things we're looking for are counties, what about russ feingold, will he do very well as democrats often do in the city of milwaukee. further north, in the green bay area rketmabrown county, winnebago county, all of those johnson has been doing better in polling in those counties. feingold cannot afford to get blown out in order to keep the race close. i'm thinking late night. most people are seeing razor thin margin. that's their phrasing. could be that way >> it's been a trend in the last couple of weeks when we talk about polling. >> a move towards johnson in the last few weeks. we'll see what happens. >> you have fancy equipment here. >> i've got all of this. all kinds of toys and tools that

operator. >> this is a poll that you can't beat a sweet way to predict who will win the race for the white

>> tonight and tomorrow morning, our team will be on half an hour early to cover the overnight developments in the race for president. >> come uph try to predict who will be our next president. >> national bakery on the south side has created hillary clinton cookies along with donkey and elephant shaped cookies. >> after looking at a lot of images of both, sales have mostly been even but recently

>> i think we've done that. people look at them, laugh, take firstture of them. >> at last check, the 2016 presidential cookie poll has dells in the lead. >> we're just getting started. our election coverage continues. 12 news at 5:00 starts right

patrick: we are monitoring every angle. toya: we start tonight with the white hous newsroom. >> both candidates cast their ballots in new york this morning. the democratic presidential nominee with bill clinton at her side shook hands with the crowd. if hillary clinton wins, she will make history as the first female u.s. president. >> i know how much

on the outcome of this election, what it means for our country, and i will do the very best i can if i am fortunate enough to win today. joyce: donald trump cast his ballot, joined by his wife and daughter. the gop nominee is confident his campaign will come out on top. gopthe latest abc news poll shs clinton with a four-point lead over trump. back to you. toya: both candidates are holding election night parties in new york. patrick: the polling places have been packed, including downtown milwaukee. that is where ben hutchison is live tonight. ben, you just spoke with the head of the city's election commission. >> people were getting in and out within five minutes, but we