and so, i think we ought to keep on the track that we are on. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. on the broadcast tonight, from our election headquarters here on democracy plaza. final push, with less than 24 hours to go, it is down to the wire for president obama and governor romney making their last minute sprints through the battleground states. tonight, the closing arguments and what to watch for as voters go to the polls. also, misery, so many still struggling after hurricane sandy. we'll look at its possible effect on turnout tomorrow. and would you believe the threat from the next storm on the way, a nor'easter threatening for mid-week. the storm, and the election, our coverage, nbc nightly news begins now.

good evening, and we can tell you it is almost over now, after a couple of years and a couple of billion, on the eve of decision 2012, we are very close to knowing the first indications of how this race is going to break. heading into election day, by all accounts this election is a statistical dead heat, the latest national head to head has this as a 48-47 race, while state polls vary and while the battleground states call for a lot, you can tell how tight the race is by watching the two campaigns, positively barnstorming the battleground states, battling it out, based

on the hope of converts here. all this, while the whole region of the country sits in the dark and watches the profound plaza h peter alexander traveling with the romney campaign in columbus, ohio. peter, good evening. >> reporter: brian, good evening to you. late today, the romney campaign announced it has tacked on two more last-minute stops for tomorrow. so after governor romney vot in his home state of massachusetts, he will now fly to the states of ohio and pennsylvania to thank volunteers, aides say. a rare move for any candidate on election day. mitt romney today punctuated the end of a long journey with an optimistic promise. >> tomorrow we begin a new tomorrow. tomorrow we begin a better tomorrow. this nation is going to begin to change for the better tomorrow. >> reporter: but with the polls showing the president clinicing to a slight advantage in the

final hours, each stop is strategically selected. >> your voices are being heard all over the nation, loud and clear. thank you. >> reporter: this rally in rural virginia to motivate the party's conservative base with a sharp critique of president obama. >> let me tell you why he fell so short of what he promised. it's because he cared more about a liberal agenda than he did about repairing the economy. >> reporter: and the affluent suburbs of northern virginia where mr. romney needs to slice into the president's lead to win. >> i'm looking around to see if we have the beatles here. >> reporter: since saturday, 14 stops in 7 states, including democratic leaning pennsylvania that romney advisers claim is now in play. >> we're going to give america the hope of the earth with your help, pennsylvania. >> reporter: a deliberate focus on bipartisanship. governor romney arguing he'll be able to break the gridlock in washington. >> i'll endeavor to find good democrats and good republicans who care more about the country than they do about politics. >> reporter: and an increased

use of the teleprompter, aides say, to avoid exhaustion-induced mistakes. advisers are confident their argument has been made and heard. all that's left, they say, is driving their supporters to the polls. >> i need your vote, i need your work. walk with me. let's walk together. tomorrow is a new beginning. >> reporter: and brian, even at this late hour, romney advisers remain exceedingly confident they will win this election tomorrow. they dispute polls that show them trailing and cite strength of support among independents and a more enthusiastic base. >> peter alexander starting us off with the romney campaign. and now over to the obama campaign, the president's final push also rode through ohio today. his final stop tonight in iowa, however. nbc's kristen welker with us tonight from des moines. kristen, good evening. >> reporter: good evening. president obama is spendsing this day defending his midwest firewall. last stop right here in ohio, a

state that holds special meaning and also crucial electoral votes. it's the last push. today the president travels more than 1,000 miles through the three midwestern battleground states which he sees as critical to re-election. from wisconsin -- >> are you fired up? >> audience: yes! >> reporter: to ohio where he continues to capitalize on the auto bailout. >> i'm proud we saved the auto industry, but i'm even prouder that we're making better cars now. >> reporter: before wrapping the day in iowa. between stops, he's conducting ten interviews aboard air force one, targeting specific media outlets whose audiences include young voters, african-americans and latinos, emphasizing the vital importance of turnout. >> we have come too far to turn back now. we have come too far to let our hearts grow faint. now is the time to keep pushing forward. >> reporter: he is also enlisting high-wattage supporters. bill clinton campaigned in

pennsylvania while bruce springsteen and jay-z rallied. >> president obama ran last time as a man of hope and change. and you hear a lot of talk about how things are different now. things aren't any different now. they're just realer. it's crunch time now. >> reporter: whatever the future holds, this is the president's last day of campaigning for himself, ever. a day mixed with urgency and nostalgia. >> we'll win this election. we'll finish what we started. >> reporter: he holds his final event in des moines, iowa with the first lady, ending it in the state that gave him his first major victory. where it all began, four years ago. now obama campaign officials say they are feeling confident tonight, based on their internal polling. once president barack obama wraps in des moines, he'll head to his hometown of chicago to watch election night returns. aides tell me the president has an election day tradition, playing a game of basketball.

in fact, he e-mailed former body man reggie love last week and asked him to start setting up that game. >> kristen welker, in the heart of des moines, iowa tonight, where it's going to get wild later on there this evening. kristen, thank you very much. our political director, chief white house correspondent, chuck todd is here with us. across democracy plaza from us. and chuck, you're the keeper of the numbers. you have our last way of polling information before going into this thing. and also what can you discern about the crazy travel schedule of both of these campaigns? >> actually, the schedule told us a lot. i'm going te you, the president went to these three states right here, ohio, wisconsin and iowa. and mitt romney hit these four. one state, of course, overland. let me show you why they chose that path. it's pretty simple. the fastest way to 270 electoral votes for the president, where we have them is ohio. 18. iowa is 6. and wisconsin's 10. gets him there pretty quickly,

gets to 277. doesn't need iowa. he could lose that. but that would be the fastest way. two of those three, including iowa and, of course, wisconsin. well, mitt romney, his fastest way to 270 is where he went today. florida's 29, virginia's 13, throw in new hampshire's 4. and then, of course, he needs those 18 in ohio he would like to get. and that would get him right at the number, right up there, brian, at 270. so the schedule told you everything. >> and the battle ground state numbers, chuck, tell us more. >> they do tell you more. but there's something else i want to show you about what -- how to watch election night tonight and that is going to be all of the polls that close at the -- before 9:00 tomorrow night. look, it's all on the east coast. and we're going to learn something very quickly. are the southern states too close to call by 9:00, brian, or are we calling them for romney quickly, or are the industrial states going to be called quickly for obama.

that will tell us how the night is going. >> chuck todd with something of a viewers' guide to tomorrow night. when we will see him next. chuck todd across democracy plaza from us. and with us here in the studio, moderator of "meet the press," david gregory and andrea mitchell. i took notes during peter alexander's report. the romney campaign, exceedingly confident. what makes them say that? >> well, some of it is just argument. some of it is they argue there is something happening out there that is kind of a gauzy argument to make. but it's about gop intensity in battleground states. they say 2008 is not the comparison. the gop brand was battered after president bush. mccain was not the candidate under the conditions we see today. and there is going to be something of a wave that carries governor romney. they also make the argument that romney was not disqualified by president obama. and that was the intention. the favorable numbers about equal to where president obama is. he's in this thing very much winning among independent voters. you put all of that together, they think pennsylvania is real.

that's the case they make. they do realize that in a lot of these swing states, they're slightly behind. so something bigger has got to happen. and andrea mitchell, what a fascinating ground game, especially for all those of us who have been at or near this business for so many years. >> for the team obama, this is a science. they have been working on this for years. it's all computerized. and i talk to people in pennsylvania who have done poll-watching and poll work for decades now. they say that they are not really needed. they're not being pulled out. they have been receiving calls, they even got a call from david plouffe and from the president. but they're not organizing it the way they are experienced in campaigns, and we see bill clinton going there tonight to philadelphia, two events there, two events across the state. they say this is just to not leave anything on the table. but you have to believe that they have got to be on some level a little bit nervous about pennsylvania. and it's hard to understand why. >> i don't think at this point anybody thinks they have any money in the bank. but this is -- it's down to the last couple hours.

andrea, affidavdavid, thanks. much more tomorrow night. speaking of voting, there are already some troubling scenes from polling places where people are trying to cast their vote early. our own pete williams is heading up our making your vote count team, tracking reports of any irregularities at the polls across the country. and as he tells us tonight, the legal battles in two of these big battleground states are already under way. >> reporter: in florida, legal skirmishes have already broken out over a form of early voting. picking up and immediately casting absentee ballots in person going on today in south florida. >> there's got to be a better system. for early voting. and for absentee voting. i can't imagine why everyone is voting today for -- on an absentee ballot. >> reporter: on sunday, democrats rushed to federal government after polling places

in miami dade county temporarily shut their doors and reopened. in ohio, lawyers for the state are battling democrats over what happens when voters don't have the right kinds of identification. late friday, the secretary of state said voters must cast provisional ballots and fill out this form showing how they proved who they were. no form signed by the voter, says republican secretary of state jon husted, the vote won't count. the democrats say, in the past, those forms were filled out by poll workers. they're urging a federal government to rule that the requirement amounts to a further burden on voters. lawyers have also challenged florida's new rule for absentee ballots, comparing the signatures on them to what's on file from voter registration records which can be decades old. no match, the ballot is tossed out. brian? >> pete williams in our d.c. newsroom. we'll stay on this on through tomorrow evening. still ahead tonight, as we continue, after sandy, even though it's been a week, families still not able to return to what's left. it's an awful sight for those

who are able to return. and then there are those being asked to leave their homes again, because of the next storm on the way. jim cantory of the weather channel will talk us through what may be coming. decision 2012. brought to you in part by nissan. innovation that excites. [ male announcer ] wouldn't it be cool if you could combine the capability of a pathfinder with the comfort of a sedan and create a next-gen s.u.v. with best-in-class fuel economy of 26 miles per gallon, highway, and best-in-class passenger roominess? yeah, that would be cool. introducing the all-new nissan pathfinder. it's our most innovative pathfinder ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪ throughout our lives. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multi-vitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age.

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coverage of the aftermath of superstorm sandy along the east coast, as you know, the jersey shore was hardest hit, all 130 miles of coastline, new jersey governor chris christie got a big surprise today when during the phone call with the president, the president put bruce springsteen on the phone with the governor. he happens to be his hero, as we saw today what he was campaigning. well, tonight we focus on the north jersey shore, specifically a spot where a lot of us spent our youth, a tiny community of seabright, new jersey, so badly damaged many are getting their first look of what is left. it is where nbc's katy tur is. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian, the house behind me is considered to be a five out of five, meaning it needs to be torn down as soon as possible. and in a small town of about 15 hundred people there are about

50 structures that look like they are about a five. today we got a look at the damage as people prepare for yet another storm. a week after the storm, the first real look at seabright, new jersey, and just how destructive sandy's storm surge was. you can see how high the water was, residents like bob and amy kelly were allowed back in with empty suitcases and garbage bags to recover what they could, as the next storm approaches. >> we don't know when we'll get back in. >> reporter: inside, a rush of emotion as they look at the damage to their three-generation home that they cannot now inhabit. >> danny, and he -- is safe, and that is all that manners. >> reporter: just south, in the devastate ed manoloking, now the is a dam being built to keep the ocean water out of the bay.

>> it feels like it is not real. >> reporter: this man points out a familiar place along a littered landscape, of a changed coastline. in atlantic city today, all casinos re-opened. the crowds were small. monday morning meant back to business for much of the garden state, but not without delays. hundreds waited in lines for trains, buses, and the lines grew longer in the gas lines as the rationing went into effect. and more than 800 customers are without power, including hundreds of schools, later, the mayor promised a comeback. >> we'll rebuild it in a smart, sustainable way. >> reporter: in a conference, the governor spoke to the children of new jersey. >> keeping you safe, getting you back to school, making sure you feel like you're taken care of. >> reporter: for bob and amy kelly, rescuing pictures is a priority, memories nearly lost in sandy's flood, they won't risk again in what could be

round two later this week. the coastal communities will have a day to prepare for this storm, this town is very nervous because it sits between the river and the ocean. the nor'easters are always bad here, they almost always flood. they worry that the storm here could devastate what little they have left. >> boy that is hard to watch, katy tur there in seabright, thank you, and let's bring our friend, jim cantore. with the weather channel, jim, after this storm the last thing we dreamed is we would ask you about a next one, but what is setting up right now? >> we have a storm that could impact, no question about that. several days i was at the battery talking to you when the water came up. history was made, this storm, first of all this is not coming through the tropics, this is the storm, it will be energized with the jet stream, causing a lot of

impacts such as rain, coastal flooding and possibly snow. first of all, here is tuesday of the it won't just show up on tuesday, wednesday, florida could feel the brunt of it, including the thunderstorms throughout the day. i don't think it will be an issue for virginia, most of the polls will be closed. but here we are into wednesy, the low pressure will track, pretty much up the north carolina coast, and the virginia coast, we'll watch how close it is to the coast, because there will be a band of 50-70 miles an hour winds on the western side of that. as if this is not enough, how about changing the rain over to snow possibly as far south as washington, d.c., some of the models actually putting out six to 12 inches. so worse case scenario, we're talking about adding to the power outage woes, the best case scenario, we're talking about longing the power to over a million people. >> we can't even imagine, we'll stay in close touch with you,

jim, thank you. update next after a break, and making a difference after sandy, tonight, some extraordinary acts of kindness and generosity. follow the wings.

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man oh low k mantolok . as we have seen during the suffering here in new york, sometimes all it takes is one person with a good idea and a good heart to make a lot of lives better and make a difference. we get one man's story tonight from nbc's ann thompson. >> you got to make sure about that bread for tomorrow. >> reporter: 264 packages of cockies and 500 loaves of bread, from his bakery, he heads to the peninsula, his childhood playground devastated by sandy. in line at the houses are those without heat and food. what does the bread mean to you? >> a lot, a lot for the kids, a lot. >> reporter: he knows nobody personally but he knows their story, his giving, he says,

comes from a childhood of not having. >> i was also a person for the underdog, i am an underdog myself. >> reporter: today, his compassion is contagious. >> they all need milk. >> reporter: they delivered cases, one of thousands of new yorkers pitching in to help their neighbors. they know they can't solve all the problems, there is simply just too much. instead, they just want to give people a starting point from which they can rebuild. these cousins are working, combining the resources of three family businesses, they're offering their services for free, via facebook. >> within 20 minutes, half an hour, i had 60, 70, text mess e messages. >> reporter: jake has no power at his home in pennsylvania, but says he has to be here. >> this stuff is not useful. >> reporter: a day's work that has never been more rewarding. ann thompson, nbc news, rockaway

park, new york. and back with more from democracy plaza right after this. why they're always there to talk. i love you, james. don't you love me? i'm a robot. i know. i know you're a robot! but there's more in you than just circuits and wires! uhhh. (cries) a machine can't give you what a person can. that's why ally has knowledgeable people there for you, night and day. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

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could've had a v8. as we take one more look around democracy plaza, one last

reminder, we're on the air here at 7 eastern time tomorrow, 4 on the west coast, we'll find out the election results together. right now we're staying put here to offer a second is half hour of special coverage tonight, while most of our nbc stations will be carrying it. if yours is not, you can watch the broadcast streaming live on our website, for now,

as we said at the top of our first half hour tonight, if you want to find out what is important to win this this election, trace the itineraries of the campaign in the last 24 hours, today, they basically crossed while on the ground, while on the taxi way, and in the air because they don't call them battleground states for nothing. mitt romney barnstorming through four states today, florida,

ohio, virginia and iowa, making his argumentarguments. >> this is a campaign about america, their children, we ask you to stay all the way until we win tomorrow night, we got to have your vote. >> reporter: and for his part, president obama was shoring up what his campaign has optimistically called his midwestern firewall, and in wisconsin and iowa, making his final appeal. >> you know where i stand, you know i tell the truth. and you know i will fight for you and your family every single day, as hard as i know how. >> reporter: now, here is what we have done tonight, we have deployed our team across all that territory and will swing through some of the swing states tonight, beginning with mark potter in tampa, florida, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you, brian, florida is a political prize with the 29 electoral votes, making it a

rich, diverse state, making it a political bellweather for much of the country. today, many voted after sometimes waiting in long lines. early voting at the polls ended saturday officially, but many still lined up today to fill out absentee ballots. today, governor romney was near orlando, florida, yesterday, president obama was in south florida. both are trying to energize their bases and engage the independents here, who are particularly strong in central florida, the democrats say they have the better ground game. the republicans say they have a stronger economic message here in a state hit hard by unemployment and foreclosures. >> mark potter, in florida, and tom costello with us from richmond, virginia, tom, good evening. >> reporter: hi there, brian,

this state with the 13 electoral votes used to be republican, but of course went for president obama in 2008 and it is still very much in play here this year. we can also tell you that it was not a coincidence, of course, that governor romney chose norfolk, virginia as place to unveil his vice presidential running mate, paul ryan, both of them were here today. here is the latest, the wall street journal poll for virginia, showing president obama ahead by just a single point, the same margin, rather, in our national poll. obama is counting on a big voter turnout in fairfax, county, in the voter-rich areas of northern virginia. he is also hoping for a turnout in loudoun and prince william counties. meanwhile, mitt romney is hoping to make inroads there, while insuring that his base, the red states come out to vote for him. we also have a very close senate race to tell you about, two are

up by three points now. so in the end, this state could make a big difference on who wins the white house. >> all right, tom costello, now to the hard fought state of wisconsin, ron mott, at the end of a long campaign is in milwaukee, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian, wisconsin has been blue over the last several presidential elections, although 2004 was a nail biter, we could have another one on our hands, this is purple, in no small effort to paul ryan, who was a big hit among conservatives. that is why perhaps we saw the president and governor romney campaigning here over the past three days. the president is holding a slight three-point lead in the latest poll, three point, 49-46, a much tighter race we saw here four years ago when candidate obama beat senator john mccain

by 14 points. and of course, he is no stranger, just look at this earlier this year, the bitterly fought gubernatorial race, which republicans won. >> ron mott, in wisconsin, thank you, and now out to colorado, which cost the campaigners so much in jet fuel and television ads, because of the long flight. >> reporter: good evening, brian, yes, here is how important both sides think that colorado and the nine electoral votes could be, counting the running mates, the obama team and mitt romney have made 47 visits here. it is basically a toss-up. the nbc wall street journal poll has a 48-48, could not be closer. now, good news for republicans, early voting, huge, 1.7 million votes already cast. self-identified republicans slightly out number democrats, on the obama side, one said they are meeting or exceeding all the

goals, especially among hispanics. what both sides agree on if there is not a projected winner by the time the counts start in colorado, this could be a key state, if not the key state. >> mike, thank you. now, to what is widely believed to be the most important single prize tomorrow night. that is the state of ohio, john yang is in cincinnati, good evening, john. >> reporter: good evening, brian earning early voting ended here at 2:00 this afternoon, after some very long lines in places like cleveland, columbus, and right here in cincinnati. at the county board of elections, people waited in lines, hundreds waited in line for up to three hours to vote. the first people showed up in sub-freezing temperatures hours before the office opened. now, the obama campaign has been pushing early voting here, so campaign workers were on hand with food and drink for the people in line. across ohio, 1.6 million ballots have already been cast.

that is about 30% of the total turnout in the last presidential election. brian? >> all right, john yang, from cincinnati tonight. john, thank you, and let's do a deeper dive on the state of ohio, with us for that, our political director chief white house correspondent, chuck todd. and chuck, i know it is kind of popular in the political business to say ohio, which is such is interesting territory has given us eight american presidents, after all is more like five states, in and of itself. >> reporter: they joke about it. it is the five ohios. so let's break it down, here it is cold country, and you see from the 2008 county map, of course the map that president obama won. you see he did well up there in the northeast part of the state. but even made some inroads here in cold country. this is where romney is expected to do really well. then you have this part here in northeastern ohio, this is where cuyahoga county and where

democrats get a majority of their vote when they're doing well, or even when they're not doing well. it all comes out of here. that is sort of the second ohio, then we have the auto belt here, if you will. think akron, toledo, a lot of the areas bucking up against michigan. and then the two swing areas, the fastest growing part of the state which is the columbus area, growing in population, frankly while the rest of the state is shrinking. and finally, cincinnati, swinging the most, 2004, bush carried cincinnati, 2008, obama carried it. that is how it works. and watch how they put the math together tomorrow night. the real issue is the auto belt, why mitt romney is coming back to cleveland tomorrow because he has been under-performing with basically working class white guy guys. think of the ones working in the plants, the president has been doing well with white men in ohio than he has all over the country. and it is why the president is

performing well in ohio, more than mitt romney or any other generic republican would, when you think about the demographics of ohio. >> all right, chuck todd, the one prize tomorrow that could actually be like five states, thank you, chuck, we'll see more of you. of course, ohio is not the only one at stake, there are a lot of senate races going on, our look at that. >> reporter: the power struggle for control of the u.s. senate runs right through massachusetts, where democrats see a big chance to gain ground with elizabeth warren, harvard consumer advocate. >> i see a lot of enthusiasm and momentum, people coming up to me and grabbing my arm, saying girl you got to win this. >> reporter: up against a well-liked republican, senator scott brown, who won ted kennedy's seat two years ago, the rare republican who expresses his cooperation with

president obama. >> i was just named the least partisan senator. i take pride in that, trying to work with others and getting things done. >> reporter: the voters are deciding 33 senate races, and for much of the year the were are as believed they had a good shot to pick up the three or four seats needed for the majority. but controversy slowed their majority, republicans banked on wins in missouri and indiana, until todd aken and richard mourdock made decisive comments about rape. >> and that could be enough to cost them control of the senate. >> reporter: in connecticut, they hoped that the former world wrestling ceo linda mcman could up seat, but polls showed her behind, and tommy thompson is locked in a nail-biter with democratic congresswoman tammy baldwin, who could become the

first openly gay winner. the new senate could be even more divided than it is now. kelly o'donnell, cleveland. and as we continue, one of the big wild cards going into tomorrow night. that is young voters. are they going to turn out in numbers anything like last time? tom brokaw joins us with that story. and here in the northeast, why some are at the breaking point a week after sandy came ashore. charlie rose: will you endorse president obama?

colin powell: yes. when he took over we were in one of the... worst recessions we had seen in recent times... close to a depression. and i saw, over the next several years, stabilization... come back in the financial community. housing is starting to pick up. the president saved the auto industry. and the actions he's taken with respect to... protecting us from terrorism have been very, very solid. and so, i think we ought to keep on the track that we are on. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. we are back now with more on the aftermath of this hurricane across this massive region, and the difficulty of getting back to normal in some of the hardest hit areas, including here in new

york city. nbc's stephanie gosk is with us tonight from brooklyn, stephanie, good evening? >> reporter: good evening, brian, we're in a place called the red hook initiative. it has become really a life line for the people in the community. we have been speaking with them all day long and they tell us after a week they are frustrated because there has been little improvement. there is no overstating the importance of a hot meal in red hook, brooklyn. a week after sandy hit and very few people in this low income neighborhood have electricity, and no one has heat. >> we just need power back, that is all. >> reporter: have you ever had to live like this? >> no. >> reporter: she lives just down the road, today, the power company was working on her house, but the water was the real problem. the basement was pumped three d days ago and then spilled again, until the power comes back. >> a long way to go, i'm on the

last floor. >> reporter: she and her daughter, who struggles with asthma, have to hike up 18 floors of stairs, without power. >> no heat, no water, it is just daily needs we don't have. and they're not telling us anything. >> reporter: mayor michael bloomberg estimates as many as 40,000 people in this city may need temporary housing. >> it is a big challenge, but i want to ensure everyone that everybody who needs a place to live and a roof over their head is going to have one. >> reporter: and tonight it will feel like winter. >> overnight tonight, these are temperatures dropping like a rock after the sun goes down. >> reporter: the suburbs will be the coldest. >> i have been wrapping up with three blankets, sleeping with jackets, you can see your breath in the house, it is like being outside. >> reporter: even with the challenges, new yorkers tried today to get back to normal. 94% of new york city schools opened again, but dozens had no heat or water. and transportation is improving.

most of the subway lines are up and running. but daily life for those who live in the hardest hit areas is still difficult. hundreds have to wait in long lines just to get food and blankets, many worry that the recovery is going to take a long time. we spoke to a local councilman here, brett lander, who said they have only just started to talk about possible temporary housing options. he then added, it is difficult, we have never done this before. >> yeah, stephanie, thank you for being all day today and telling the stories, just as bad tonight as it was a week ago, not like folks in breezy point, or rockaways who were living the live of ease before this, so it is just not easy to watch. thank you, stephanie. this could have of course a political effect tomorrow, and that is the effect, of course on who can get to the polls and where the polls have gone. let's go to jersey city, ron all

allens, at fire engine nine. >> reporter: yes, the life just came back on in this neighborhood, literally about 30 minutes ago. and that will make things a lot easier here for the folks at option innine, in addition to all the things they have been doing. tomorrow it will be backed up by a generator, the polling places backed up by generators so people can come and vote. the officials are trying to do everything possible to make it easier for people to cast ballots. already, there are unprecedented measures in place. throughout the week, and in county courthouses voters have been allowed to come in and vote early. today, new york's governor took that order -- took that measure even a step further, saying that tomorrow, voters can vote anywhere that they want, regardless of where they live. here in new jersey, you could even vote by e-mail, or vote by fax. the bottom line, they say, that they want to make the process easier. they're concerned about fraud but say they're doing everything possible to protect the integrity of the system.

one last thing, even emergency workers here in the state helping out, from out of town will be able to vote in new jersey, they're bringing ballots all week for fema workers who have been here all week helping out. >> ron allen, in jersey city, of course a lot of folks want to vote by e-mail, that would be an indication we have power or a charger, ron, thank you very much for that important thing. the important thing is everybody f try to get to the polls, this time as opposed to last time, and tom brokaw is here for that.

we're back, let's talk about who goes to the polls tomorrow, let's assume everybody gets to vote that wants to vote, and

let's talk about large numbers of people who voted for president obama before. more on how young voter could factor in, or not, tomorrow night. >> reporter: brian, you remember the town hall debate, they said to the two of them, what are the prospects we'll get a job, from either one of your administrations, they really didn't have an answer for them. the numbers in the country, between 18 and 29 are made up of people who are the young people, who are really facing enough times. half the college graduates now cannot get a job. so we went out to find out what they think about the election this year as opposed to four years ago. >> reporter: four years ago, young voters were on fire for barack obama. but now, the young have cooled off considerably. >> i feel like he forget about our age group. >> reporter: this senior, at hofstra university, voted for the president in 2008. >> i mean, he has not really

focused on us as well. but i think that obama thinks he already has the young vote. >> reporter: and you don't like to be taken for granted? >> no, i don't. >> reporter: a poll released showed half of the generation said they will definitely cast a vote tomorrow, down from 63% at this time four years ago. >> they distrust not only the presidential candidates but they distrust and have a lack of faith in the entire system. >> reporter: it is what this 30-year-old ohio barber hears every day. >> i think they care about us when they have to in the public eye, but personally, i don't think they care about us, really. >> reporter: in suburban atlanta, 26-year-old ashley flood has an engineering degree. but she takes two buses to get to her coffee job after being laid off from a high-paying job two years ago. >> i feel like my generation is just holding on for the ride. i feel like we are hoping for things to get better.

>> reporter: the young still drive the popular culture. and in that, they are not forgotten. >> obama 2012. the first african-american president ever to be up for re-election, historical. >> dude, that is not happening this year. nobody is that excited. >> reporter: the president is trying to re-connect with the young on the comedy circuit. >> this all dates back to when we were growing up in kenya. >> reporter: humor, it turns out, is the way to reach younger voters if it is applied properly. >> they don't want them to make fun of the issues, but they do want them to be able to poke fun at themselves. >> reporter: for all their angst, what the young do have is a lifetime ahead of them and determination. >> i'm an optimistic person, so i like to think they have my best interest at hand and they really still discuss what is best in my future. >> reporter: all three of those young voters have is told us

that they will vote tomorrow, but it doesn't end for them tomorrow. they still have their future and are looking for more answers than they're getting at this point, brian. >> let's just hope by the close of business tomorrow we have an answer on this thing. >> reporter: i don't think so brian. >> bring your pajamas, settle in and get comfortable. tom brokaw will be with us tomorrow for our coverage, we'll be right back with more after this. anncr: which do you believe? what mitt romney's tv ads say about women? or what mitt romney himself says? mitt romney: do i believe the supreme court... should overturn roe v. wade? yes. and it would be my preference that they, that they... reverse roe v. wade. hopefully reverse roe v. wade. overturn roe v. wade. planned parenthood, we're going to get rid of that. i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. anncr: no matter what mitt romney's ads say.

we know what he'll do. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.

as we take one more look around democracy plaza, one last reminder, we are on the air at 7:00 eastern time, tomorrow night, that is 4:00 on the west coast. that is when election night coverage gets under way. and as we go along, we will find

out the results together. for now, however, that is going to be our broadcast on a monday night, as we thank you for being with us. we want to remind everybody, so many people along the east coast of the united states are heading into another very cold night, without power, without a lot of the necessities of life. they will factor in to tomorrow night's coverage, as well. and we'll see you tomorrow evening for nbc nightly news, as we go into what is a very important night for our country tomorrow evening. good night for all of us here in new york. charlie rose: will you endorse president obama?

colin powell: yes. when he took over we were in one of the... worst recessions we had seen in recent times... close to a depression. and i saw, over the next several years, stabilization... come back in the financial community. housing is starting to pick up. the president saved the auto industry. and the actions he's taken with respect to... protecting us from terrorism have been very, very solid. and so, i think we ought to keep on the track that we are on. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message.