remember, join the abc . you're watching the station that works for you. now, good morning maryland. >> the election day is finally here. president obama and governor romney spent the last few months trying to persuade voters and now the choice is yours. >> question 4, 6 and question 7 all major initiatives on your ballot. you know what they mean? we will have a report explaining every thing you need to know before heading to the polls. >> the polls opened and closed in one new hampshire town. we will tell you which candidate is winning the race as of now on this tuesday november 6th it's election day good morning i am charley crowson. >> i am megan pringle. now a end to the ads you are probably tired of seeing and we will let you know everything you need to know as far as the election but you need to know

what to prepare for as you go out the door. >> go out to the polls. lynette charles is standing by with a check of the forecast. >> more of the same where we dropped off yesterday. it's cold outside. look at temperatures. 33 degrees in glen burnie. ijamsville at 24 degrees this morning. we are in the 20s so because of this, we are dealing with the freeze warning once again until 9:00 for the areas shaded in the purple color. basically everywhere except along the eastern shore. we need to bundle up especially as you head to the polls today. you can have long waits in the lines. and as we look at maryland's most powerful radar, the good news is you don't need the umbrella until we head into tomorrow. that's when we talk about the nor'easter. but this is your plan he for the rest of the day. cold through the morning, and as we go into lunchtime chilly. 45 degrees but we will get plenty of sunshine before the clouds start to move in as wehead throughout the day. let's check the abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook good morning. >> reporter: good morning. bring on the sunshine. we can use it. traveling on 95 this morning in

white march thereby are no delays heading into the city. marsh there are no delays heading into the city. as far as 83 as we look if you are useing that to get into the city this morning, 11 minutes from towson to downtown baltimore. 695 going to be in great shape as we check in and take a look on the west side at liberty road every thing is moving along no delays heading down to 95. and this is what the belt we looks like in parkville at harford road no delays heading up towards toeson. that's a look at your abc2 timesaver traffic. now over to you. election day is here and today voters head to the polls to pick the next president of the united states. and after months of campaigning, both candidates can now see the finish line that race to the white house. >> the president will hold his election night party in chicago. we have details on what both candidates are doing today to prepare. >> reporter: # this election is upon us after -- this election

is now upon us following 7 months campaigning three presidential debates and record political spending of 6 billion dollars. now it's in the voters hands. president op.m. and mitt romney made a final pitch in the 11th hour swing. >> we prosper when everybody gets a fair shot and everybody is doing their fair share and playing by the same rules. that's what we believe and that's why you elected me in 2008 and that's why i am running for a second term. >> we hope president obama would lib up to his promise to bring people together. and to solve problems. he hasn't. i will. >> reporter: the romney campaign will keep it going today. the republican candidate will make stops in must win ohio and also in pennsylvania. >> change can't be measured in speeches. it's measured in results. >> reporter: the president finished his night in iowa before flying to his home base in chicago where he will spend

election day. today's magic number is 270. that's how many electoral votes are needed to clinch a victory most of the states are easy to predict. but the critical swing states from nevada to wisconsin to florida and others in between will determine who occupies the white house next january. throughout the election, neither candidate has managed to take a commanding lead in the polls. over the past few weeks, it tightened up. so it makes for what could be a very long election night. in chicago, tory dunnan now back to you. >> voting is underway in the first presidential election results are in for those living in dictionville notch new hampshire. for the first time in the small town's history there was a tie. president obama and his republican rival governor romney each received 5 votes. middle of the night voting has been a tradition in dictionville notch since 1960. another town also voted at

midnight obama beat romney in that location the results 23-9. the people in dictionville notch may not be able to pick awinner but kids in baltimore had no problem deciding. more than a thousand students cast ballots and the president won by a landslide. students in hamilton conducted a mock election as part of the voters of tomorrow initiative. >> it's election day and heading to the polls there are very important questions that you need to vote on. >> one of them question 6 and whether or not to allow same sex marriage for couples here in maryland if it passes, it will make history not only in maryland but here in the united states. abc2 news sherrie johnson is here with more on the developing story. >> reporter: voters will head to the polls to cast the ballot on the ballot it's question 6 it tackles the issue of same sex marriage. maryland could become the first state to legalize same sex marriage through a ballot referendum if it passes. emotions are high on both sides and we caught up with folks at rock city church in towson

during an all night prayer service. bishop spent time educating parishioners and urging them to vote against question 6. they collected more than double the number of signatures required to push it to a referendum. meanwhile governor o'malley says granting same sex couples a marriage lies seans civil right and marylanders should vote yesch the measure allows clergy to on the out of marrying same sex couples. >> you tell me what i do with my grandchildren when they seamen with boys and then a man goes -- see men with boys and then a man goes to jail because there's men with boys. >> proth it protects religious freedom. and every child's home called justice and fairness. >> reporter: voters appear split on the issue that has the nation watching maryland polls. if passed it would make maryland the 7th state in addition to the district of columbia to approve marriage

equality. the polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8:00 tonight. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. the other major initiatives to know about will include questions 4 andp. question 4 is the maryland dream act and question 7 is for gaming expansion. the dream act will allow children of undocumented immigrants to pay instate tuition in public universities. if voters past the gaming expansion table games will baed to casino and a new casino will be built in p.g. county. we are work for you everything you need to know as far as questions and the issues out there for you. abc2news.com is your spot. we have complete voters guides on the website to check out. for seniors it can be hard to get to the polls but one business wants to make sure they can have a chance to vote. wiley funeral home offers seniors limo rides in polls today. throughout the day limousines will pick up people in the harlem park and wood lawn and

owings mills communities. astronauts can vote. mission control at the johnson space center can e-mail a digital version of the ballot and people living in the international space station once they can cast the ballot they can vote and the vote of the ballots come back down to earth on the same path they are voting authorities. there are two americans at the iss both opted to vote on earth before heading into space. that right there distance is not a problem when it comes to voting and weather shouldn't be a issue. >> especially when you have lynette who can prepare you as you head out the door. >> you will need the big coat. don't think a light jacket is going to suffice. you need the coat with the fur and also if you are waiting in the lines, bring something to put on your head like a hat, maybe some earmuffs because if you were waiting in line it's going at thattic atoll. temperatures in the -- take a toll on you. temperatures in the 20s. we have a few high thin clouds in the area.

mostly clear skies and the winds are calm for the most part this morning. that's why we are dealing with the radiational cooling with the heat from the day escaping into the atmosphere and allows the temperatures to drop like a rock. looking at the big picture and we are looking at this system this is the one that's going to move up the coast and this is what we are dealing with heading into tomorrow. we have a nor'easter but i have good news. change is happening. models now showing this could tay a -- stay a little further off the coastline. this is good news for us. i will break it down a little more as we go into time. but for right now, temperatures are coming in the 20s. 25 degrees in could beiesville and emmettsburg 26. jefferson at 26 as well. havre de grace 33 and 33 in sparrows point. we have some freeze warnings out this this morning as well. let's go back to megan and charley. a week ago today people up and down the east coast were dealing with the worst of sandy. >> the storm is gone but people are feeling the impact.

we will show you how thecleaning efforts are going. >> $30 a gallon is how much some people are paying in the wake of sandy. why the high prices are not bothering anyone. >> november 6th is election day but thanks to sandy not all polling places are ready for the crowds. will those living in the places destroyed by the storm get a chance to vote?>> reporter: everything is up to speed on 97 just south of the beltway. i will let you know what traffic looks like on 95 and 83 coming up on good morning maryland. you are looking live at new york's times square where cleanup following sandy continues in manhattan and also new jersey. we will have all the details coming up on good morning maryland.

piffles garbage to the growing list of problems facing people affected by sandy. this is what it likes like in in staten island.

in some cases it is difficult for volunteers to deliver food, water and other needed supplies. and when it comes to that cleanup, many people have no choice but to throw most everything away. the food and drug administration says you need to toss any food that came in contact with flood waters. and you also know where water was. the same for anything that cannot be disinfected. like many children's toys, carpeting, books and drywall. in the wake of sandy gasoline is a hot commodity in new york and new jersey and some people are turning to craigslist to cash in on prices advertised on the website there were gas prices as high as $30 a gallon. but some drivers they would rather pay more than wait in those long lines we have seen. over the past few days, consumers braved long hours in the long lines at gas stations to get the fuel for their cars or power for the generators. the gas gouging is illegal in

both states. despite a tough economy people across can't try pulled out the -- across the country people pulled out their checkbooks to donate money. so far the american red cross brought in about $65 million. that's more than double the amount that they have raised through friday morning. the red cross say they are using the money to operate shelters, offer food, water, relief supplies to all the storm victims. after an exhausting week of making sure we had powers dos of bge workers are wake up in new jersey. they are stepping in and hundreds of thousands of people to help them out and they are spending those long nights in freezing cold homes. many of the bge workers will miss important dates for jamar harris he will be in new jersey and miss his son's 9th birthdayp we shared the story on the facebook fan page and thousands gave it a thumbs up and liked the story and commented on it.

one of the comments actually came from jamar thanking everybody for their thoughts and prayers and the praise you are giving him and his coworkers for making the sacrifices they are making. just hours left until the polls open and it's a scramble for voters living in towns and neighborhoods destroyed by sandy. in rockaway beach tents are set up replacing polling places andsome places machines are wrapped in plastic as board of election workers try to figure out the next step. there's another layer of confusion to all of this mess. new york's governor issued an executive order allowing anyone living in declared disaster county to vote at any poll in the state of new york. there is concern about getting that message out to those affected by the storm and then there are those cleaning up not only homes but small businesses. for them taking time to vote is a luxe they don't necessarily have. >> i would love to -- luxury they don't necessarily have. >> i would love to but to leave my business i just can't leave to go vote. >> megan there's one more thing

to keep in mind in a county in new york that has less than 25% of voter turnout officials could ask the state board of election for a second day of voting that's something that has never been done before. >> all right. thanks. one of the things i wanted to mention earlier we said the red cross bringing in 65 million. it's 85 million collars. and when you hear stories about the linemen who work outside they worked so hard in our community and now they are heading back up there and makes you feel good about where you live. >> it does. but also there's another storm coming in. they will need the help and good because we have got more models and looks like they are more in agreement that this nor'easter will stay more off into theatlantic it could be a delmarva event. new england will get in on some of the bad weather. so we are talking about lots of rain and snow potential and beach erosion. you name it. they are going to get it. now right now, temperatures coming in at 33 degrees in glen burnie. we are very cold this morning.

we are dealing with 20s from glenwood to ijamsville and we have the winds on the calm side that's why temperatures are able to drop off this morning. let's talk about the storm because this is the impact you are wondering we had sandy and what's happening as we go through tomorrow. so tomorrow was the time frame we can see this is the storm right here. and it's pushing over georgia right now. and also florida. and it will go up along the coast as we head through tonight also tomorrow and leek i said, now, the models are in agreement that it will stay further off the coast. the center of the storm will stay further off the coast which means the delmarva they will be getting the worst impacts of the storm. we still will be seeing and feeling breezy conditions and also getting some rain. i wouldn't rule out maybe a wet snowflake but all in all most of the impacts will head along the delmarva and the eastern shore. so things much better than it could be if the system was further along land. this is what's going on heading through future trend.

i will step out of the way this is the system getting its act together. the center is well off the coastline. that's good news but also snow early in the morning as we go into thursday morning. that's more likely than what we will see tomorrow. let's go ahead and get a check of the traffic now with lauren cook. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we are certainly off to another cold start, but fortunately 95 looking nice and clear. no delays right now heading down to the dc and it's going to take you 12 minutes right now traveling northbound from columbia all the way to downtown baltimore. and if you are traveling in howard county interstate 70 is nice and clear from columbia pike over to 695. and as we check in and take a live look at the beltway the northwest corner, moving right along from old court road to route 40 and this is what the harrisburg expressway looks like in hunt valley at shawan road, looking at a 22 minute ride altogether from the maryland pennsylvania state line to the beltway. that's your abc2 timesavertraffic now over to you. one year after a massive fire destroyed it, mount

washington cavern is opened and ready for business. >> find out when you can go back to the favorite watering holes to a bar and restaurants. >> that looks nice. and if you are flying you may have to shell out big bucks to check a bag. we are talking huge. which airline is get egg rade to charge -- getting rade to charge a triple -- ready to charge a triple digit fee for bags.

thanks for joining us here are the top stories we are work on for you this morning -- working on for you this morning. there could be another case linked to the worker spreading hepatitis c. test results are similar to the infinkss linked to the person who inspected 30 people with the disease. this is not your trip cal drug bust. police found drugs in a home but they also found an alligator. you heard me right a 3-foot alligator in the house of 32-

year-old michael golden. police say that he has a history of drug use but they were caught off guard when they saw gator besides who wouldn't be. it's illegal to own an exotic animal as a pet. animal control was transporting it to an exotic animal zoo in western maryland. i guess the gator is i've and sounds. police are searching for this guy who walked into a bb and t bank on bel air road in false stone dressed as a construction work her. he got away with an unknown amount of crash. if you in anything about the suspect call the police 410-879- 2101 extension 319. news time 4:52. a lot of kids are out of school today and they might want to get outside and play so we have to find out what the weather is like. you are probably heading to the polls. >> what he going on out there -- what's going on out there? >> they will get outside and play. temperatures creasing clouds. it's going to be chilly. so make sure to dress accordingly. and as we head through tonight, the temperatures really are

going to drop off around 34 degrees. clouds are inwill be-- will increase and that's the scenario for today. it's going to be cold just like it is this morning. and although the clouds will be out there so it won't be as cold but it still is going to be cold. the big coat will be needed. so for today, 47 degrees is what i am going with. we will have the chance for some mixed showers meaning snow and rain especially as we go into thursday morning. be prepared for that with ure c degrees. let's check the abc2 timesaver traffic with lauren cook. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. i've had enough of this cold weather and it hasn't startedyet. bad news out there. if you are traveling on 83 no delays to talk about just north of 695. it will remain nice and clear as you head into the city. as far as 95 is concerned, this is what it looks like in downtown baltimore. traffic moving right along at 395. it's going to take 15 minutes right now to get from white marsh into the city. notice beltway is going to be

in great shape this is an 11 minute ride no delays on the outer loop from 95 up to 83. and the west side will remain clear taking 11 minutes as well to travel that outer loop from 795 down towards 95. megan and charley over to you. five things to know as you head out the door. mount washington tavern is set to open tonight at 5:00. it's been a little over a year since the fire burn it to the ground and it will be open for normal business hours beginning tomorrow. >> it will get more expensive if you want to check bags beginning today spirit airlines will charge up to $100 for carry on bags in most cases the fee goes up about 5 bucks but if you want to wait to check the bag at the gate teas when you will be shelling out the benjamins. the ravens take the day off from the practice field and deliver coats and helping mission up the homeless shelters. this is a 9th year for the give away distributing coats and warm weather gear to baltimore men in ne