Return to Transcripts main page

CNN LIVE EVENT/SPECIAL

First Election Day Votes Cast In 2020 Race; Election Day Underway in U.S.; Nearly 100M Early Ballots Cast, 73 percent of Total Votes in 2016; Texas Clerk to Close Nine Out of 10 Drive-in Polling Places; Top COVID-19 Advisor Warns Pandemic Entering New, Deadly Phase. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired November 3, 2020 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[00:00:00]

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

(CROSSTALK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: -- the state overall --

CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS EDITOR AT LARGE: -- yes --

CUOMO: -- has voted with the popular vote --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: -- but like 0.37 --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: -- it lost the election but she won the popular vote.

CILLIZZA: That's right, extremely, extremely close in 2016 and is a state that is considered, broadly speaking, a swing state, although, most people, myself included, would be surprised if Joe Biden doesn't end up winning.

I will tell you --

CUOMO: Ballots are going in --

CILLIZZA: -- I have been to exactly where they are. That guy has the most New England sweater, ever, as a guy from Connecticut, the reindeer, that sweater, my dad had one of those.

CUOMO: Strong.

CILLIZZA: I have been there. We used to vacation up there and I have been right towards where they are casting the votes. It's a really cool tradition.

CUOMO: I like it. And you do the research, every four years, right? We always look into this. And, well, they are the smallest and they do it up more than Millsfield. There is a third place that does it, also. They're not doing it this year because of COVID. They have a bigger population, too, they have 41 people. So they were a little bit more conscientious.

So they're putting the votes in right now. Once they all get in, then we're going to hear it. So let's bring in Gloria Borger, also.

Thanks for rolling off from Anderson to us, to begin this. This is big. Neither of us. For all the experience, forget about Dixville Notch. The idea that we have 100 million votes in, already, Borger, with your experience; Cillizza, with that encyclopedic memory; me, who wears the same thing every night, nobody has ever seen anything like what we are experiencing right now in terms of the activism of our democracy.

And I love that we are starting with this ceremony.

But, Gloria, to you, as we start here with the unofficial start of Election Day, the first votes cast in the country, midnight, they will be reading them in a few minutes. And when they do, we will give you that whole part of it.

What does it mean that we've had more voter activism, already, than you or I have ever seen before?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, first of all, I think it's remarkable. In the middle of a pandemic, in the middle of an economic crisis, in the middle of a country that's been rocked by race relations issues, that so many Americans have decided that they needed to vote.

And that they ought to vote and, maybe, one thing we have learned from this pandemic is that the secretaries of state made it easier for people to vote because they could do it from home. They could do it by absentee ballot and that they were home and they decided, you know what, they made my civic duty, actually, easier for me.

And these are issues I care about. So on the one hand, it was more convenient. On the other hand, this is an important moment in American history.

And I think there are a lot of people watching this election, who understand that the choices are very stark and very different, that these are men who are the polar opposites of each other in many ways, who see the country in completely different ways, who talk to the American people in different ways.

And I think people were paying attention. And I think they decided they -- that this was a moment that they had to step up to the plate and do it.

And, you know, a lot of people are saying, tomorrow, we should expect -- or today, I guess --

CUOMO: Today.

BORGER: -- we should expect shorter lines. I'm not so sure. I think there are an awful lot of people in this country who like to go out and vote on Election Day. And we'll have to -- we'll have to, you know, see how it -- how it turns out.

But no matter what, people have to believe -- and this is sort of the important point after what we've been hearing from the president -- people have to believe that their votes will be counted and that this is a valid election and that it has been fair and free.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Well, the only reason they have to question that. The only reason to question it is what's coming out of the president's mouth.

BORGER: Exactly.

CUOMO: We have no indication of anything else. There is no jump rule that was just instituted in the last few days or even weeks. There's been litigation. We've been following this, all along.

Hey, Cillizza, let me bring you back in here.

What happens if everybody doesn't vote in Dixville Notch at midnight?

What if somebody's like, why do I have to come at midnight?

I'm not a railroad worker. I'm not coming in.

CILLIZZA: Chris, I think, given it's hallowed tradition and the fact that we are covering it live on cable television, I think that pretty much ensures regular attendance.

But --

(CROSSTALK)

CILLIZZA: -- Gloria's point about turnout, look, 1908, highest turnout in the modern era, in the 20th century, 65.7 percent of people came out and voted for William Howard Taft over William Jennings Bryan, FDR -- excuse me, Theodore Roosevelt's successor.

Could we get there?

You are talking about 150-plus million.

(CROSSTALK)

[00:05:00]

CUOMO: Hold on. Hold on. I think they put in all the ballots. Hold on. I don't want to miss it. All right. He's opening up the box.

And I'll give you a quick answer. We should be at 65 percent and with good reason. All right. He's taking the ballots out, now. Five. Lean year in Dixville Notch.

2010 census had the population at 12. They're telling in the control room, only five ballots. Percentage, that's a huge decrease in population. It's over 50 percent.

So they do primary and general, right?

There were -- there were five votes in the primary, also. So it's consistent, from that race to this.

I don't understand what he is saying. Anybody who hears anything that he's saying.

I guess he's calling out the names, right?

CILLIZZA: Chris, he's just going through the -- he's going through the names of the people on the ballot, if I'm not mistaken because I think I just heard the Libertarian candidate. So I think he is just going through it and then saying who the vote was for. But I'm not entirely sure, to be honest.

BORGER: I heard a Biden there.

CUOMO: 3-1 to Biden?

Three went to Biden, so far.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: McCormick, Collins, Kelly.

CUOMO: Remember, there's a whole slate of candidates running for different offices. So they're marking them all down. You heard Collins there, as in Senator Collins. Tough race there in Maine.

I heard Biden, again.

BORGER: That'd be four.

CUOMO: Mathematically impossible for the sitting president to win at this point. Picture's frozen. We'll wait. Sound's back. Here we go.

Oh, yes. Susan Collins is Maine. This is New Hampshire. This is a different Collins.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Biden.

CUOMO: I heard Biden, again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shaheen.

CUOMO: Five for Biden.

If it is all five votes for Biden, Cillizza, you better start doing some typing and tell me when's the last time you had a sweep.

(LAUGHTER) CILLIZZA: That's why I got the computer out, right now. Just to your point, they're going -- they're just going down the ballots. Obviously, the presidential race is at the top. But Senator Shaheen is up for re-election, not a contested race but that's what you are hearing those names as they go down the ballot, state rep and that sort of thing.

CUOMO: And again, Collins is not Susan Collins for Maine. This is New Hampshire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have the results.

CUOMO: Here it is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For president, we have five votes for Joe Biden. For governor, we have four for Sununu and one for Feltes.

CUOMO: So Biden, did you find Biden, Cillizza, did you find out?

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: -- a sweep?

CILLIZZA: Looking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senators, we have four for Shaheen and one for Messner.

CUOMO: Anybody else gets the answer before Cillizza I would love --

CILLIZZA: No, I have the fastest possible Internet connection.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: Again, to remind people.

[00:10:00]

CUOMO: In 2016, Clinton won, I think, it was like 4-2 or something like that. And there was one I think for Governor Johnson.

CILLIZZA: That's right. 4-2.

CUOMO: And she won New Hampshire by under a percentage point, 0.37. Of course, lost the election. New Hampshire as a bellwether, as a state, pretty good on going with the candidate who wins the popular vote.

Dixville Notch does not have any significant correlation to outcomes. But it is a quaint way to begin what has become such a complicated process. Imagine if all vote tabulation, everywhere it was going on, was as simple as this.

BORGER: It would take a long time, though, Chris.

CUOMO: It would take a long time but it would be accurate, I'll tell you that.

And who cares how long it takes, if it's right?

You know, if there's one thing you learn as a journalist with any of these breaking events, being right is everything. Being fast is almost meaningless especially when it comes with any kind of discount effect to accuracy.

So, Gloria, here you go; 5-0 for Biden. Now we will start the real voting. And it is unusual inasmuch as Cillizza still has nothing on when's the last time --

CILLIZZA: I am working on it.

(CROSSTALK)

CILLIZZA: -- Dixville Notch facts.

CUOMO: Well, great. I tell you what.

While you're telling us that, why is it called a notch?

What's the difference between it and the rest of the township?

BORGER: Mountains.

CILLIZZA: So Dixville Notch, the notch is in between the two mountains. There actually --

(CROSSTALK)

CILLIZZA: -- was a longtime -- there was a longtime hotel there called The Balsams that went into disrepair that is in Dixville Notch, that was bought by Les Otten who ran for governor of Maine but has moved to New Hampshire as the fifth New Hampshire resident of Dixville Notch. He has bought The Balsams but has not refurbished it as of yet.

Fun fact. As a child, the young Chris Cillizza vacationed at The Balsams with my parents. Boom.

CUOMO: When is the last time it was a clean sweep?

BORGER: There you go.

(CROSSTALK)

CILLIZZA: I was too busy telling you that information.

(CROSSTALK)

CILLIZZA: Gloria's going to handle the rest.

BORGER: There were ticket splitters there because there was Sununu, I think got four, red, and Biden five, blue.

CUOMO: What's your read on that, Borger? BORGER: Who knows?

What was interesting, I mean, Sununu's popular. I think that, you know, people who might be Republicans might have voted -- I don't know their affiliation -- could have voted for Joe Biden.

CUOMO: Gloria, what do you make of the fact that neither the president, nor former V.P. Biden, spent any time in New Hampshire recently?

BORGER: I think that Biden probably felt he spent enough time there.

(LAUGHTER)

BORGER: I -- I -- I don't know -- you know, it seems to me that it's just not a state they spend a lot of time in because you assume it's going to go one way. And the electoral vote tally is now high and it's not worth their time when you have all these battleground states you got to deal with.

And also, don't forget, Joe Biden wasn't traveling a lot because of COVID.

CUOMO: Right.

BORGER: And Donald Trump wasn't going to pick up and spend a lot of time in New Hampshire.

CUOMO: So the last time you had a clean sweep was in 1960, which was the first time that Dixville Notch did this, not the first time that this little triad of small places did it; 1948 was the first time. However, all nine votes went to President Nixon, 1970 --

CILLIZZA: Chris, if I could break in --

CUOMO: -- Candidate Nixon. Kennedy won in 1960. Candidate Nixon.

CILLIZZA: Chris, Chris, the last time was 1960. I found it.

CUOMO: Thank you.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: You say the part about candidate right and you still win.

BORGER: It's indicative of nothing, by the way.

CUOMO: True.

CILLIZZA: Gloria, Gloria did note, by the way. Look. George W. Bush has won this little vote here. So it's not just all a bunch of Democrats, just for the record. Again, not indicative of anything.

But this is not like, you know, Bernie Sanders and his closest relatives voting. This is people who -- Les Otten was a Republican. So at least what we know about these people, we should be at least noting the fact that it was a clean sweep for Biden because it was 4-2 for Clinton in the past. And, again, four plus two is six. It doesn't mean anything.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: I would argue this. You guys are right but it means a lot because it means we have begun.

CILLIZZA: It started.

CUOMO: That's what it means. We are now after midnight. This is Election Day. And we have -- we get excited every Election Day because it's an exercise of democracy that was literally a whisper of a dream when this country was founded, that we would have situations like this.

But I've never seen an election with this kind of buy-in by the American people, early on, especially, in a time of such division. There were people, like me, by the way, that, when the early-voting aspects were introduced months ago.

[00:15:00]

CUOMO: I was a seller on the proposition.

I was like, how many people are going to vote early?

Everybody's upset. The president's always saying everything's rigged. He is telling nobody to do it. Probably won't be a big deal.

Boy, was I wrong and thank God for that, Gloria. The idea of buy-in of 100 million people, already.

BORGER: Unbelievable.

CUOMO: What?

Almost 65, 70 percent of the overall vote from 2016.

BORGER: Yes.

CUOMO: You have had, just with early voting.

So let me ask you this, Mr. Big Brain, what does that suggest in terms of what kind of vote overall turnout we could have?

CILLIZZA: Yes. OK. So 1908 is our landmark. Obama, in 2008, was about 63 percent. The number to look at, I think, is north of 150 million, you're starting to approach around two-thirds of the electorate voting, which, candidly, 10 years ago, five years ago, Chris, if you told me that that would happen, I would have been very surprised.

You and I went back and forth on your radio show debating 2018; 50 percent turnout of eligible voters in a midterm.

CUOMO: Very high. CILLIZZA: Very high. Maybe, that was a leading indicator of this. The

fact that you have had more votes cast in Texas and in Arizona, already, than were cast in the entire election in those states is -- I mean, it's a stunning statistic that I don't think you can overlook.

The question, of course, is, does turnout on Election Day, on today, does turnout on that day, in person, match anything close to what we've seen in early vote?

There are 46 million early votes cast in 2016. We're obviously up at 95-plus million, at this point.

How many more votes are there out there?

Can we get to 150 million?

And then, the bigger question, the one that really matters, who does that benefit more?

I tend to think it benefits Biden, a larger turnout because you know the Trump people are definitely coming out no matter what --

CUOMO: Depends where they are.

CILLIZZA: -- but -- but we don't know that, yet. I mean, that's the real thing.

CUOMO: Gloria?

(CROSSTALK)

CILLIZZA: -- it's a huge number.

BORGER: Well, I think the question is what motivates people and change motivates people. So if I were guessing it, in the early vote, I would guess -- and you have seen it in a lot of places; in Florida, it didn't turn out that way, the way that Democrats would want it.

But when you -- when you want change and you're mad about the way things are working and you want a different president, quite frankly, you may be more -- more motivated to come out and vote rather than, you know, say, oh, I'm really going to vote because it's a vote of affirmation for something.

Now it may change today -- can't believe I'm saying that -- today, on Election Day because the people who may be more motivated to come out, people who normally vote on Election Day, who don't like what they have seen, perhaps, in the early voting, who are motivated, perhaps, by the president's rallies, for example and, who may decide that they're going to -- that they're going to come out today.

Whether that can match what we've seen, who knows?

But don't forget, it's not a popular vote that determines the president. It's the Electoral College. And so, you have to look at those votes in the battleground states. CUOMO: Now I keep telling everybody ignore the noise, focus on poise.

There's going to be a lot unresolved at the end of tonight, unless you have some very big moves with this which, you know, less likely than not.

What two states, Gloria, are you keeping your eyes on?

Chris, same question to you after Gloria answers. And then, we'll wrap it up -- Gloria.

Well, the -- obviously, look. We're all keeping our eyes on Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania. Tonight, I'll keep my eye on Florida because, if we know a lot about Florida early on and we have an idea of who's going to win in Florida, that's either very, very good for Joe Biden if he were to win it or very good for Donald Trump, if he were to win it because it gives him more momentum at the -- in the rest of the map.

But if Biden were to win Florida, then you would know that he would be on his way to the presidency.

CILLIZZA: Yes to --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Hold on a second. I'm going to give you last word. And also, remember, give people context, Chris, about how important Florida is for Republican presidential candidates.

But we got Millsfield in. I told you this, Dixville Notch, there's Millsfield, which I think had 22 people. This time, had 21 voting. Complete opposite result. It wasn't a clean sweep but 16-5 for the president, Donald Trump. So Dixville Notch, the ceremonial beginning of the election, 5-0 for Biden. He matched his five votes in Millsfield. But 16 for Trump. So there you go on those --

BORGER: It's a divided country.

CUOMO: So what do you see, 16-5 for Trump in Millsfield, now Florida.

What does it mean for Republicans?

And what do you think?

CILLIZZA: Sure.

[00:20:00]

CILLIZZA: Florida, first. No president -- no Republican has been elected president in 96 years without winning Florida. That is not an accident and this is going to be the case. If Donald Trump can't win Florida, it's not determinative. But, boy, does it get a lot harder.

The two states I would watch, I'm with Gloria, Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan. But I would, also, add Iowa and North Carolina for -- for a couple reasons. They're both very competitive, at the presidential level, right?

But they, also, both have really competitive Senate races. We haven't talked about it but the battle for the Senate majority is going to be a huge storyline later today and --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Will we know Senate?

CILLIZZA: -- I think we will, yes.

BORGER: We might.

CUOMO: Without the two Georgia races?

CILLIZZA: -- well, remember, Georgia, if no candidate gets 50 percent, it's a runoff in January.

CUOMO: Right.

CILLIZZA: So we may not. But I think there's at least a 50-50 chance we will. And I will tell you, if you see a sweep, if Democrats win North Carolina and Iowa in the Senate or if Republicans win both, I think that's going to tell us a lot about where it's headed.

If Republicans win both, they may hold the majority. If Democrats win both, I think they are going to win the Senate majority. If it's split then, Chris, we may be waiting until January to see how they pan out.

BORGER: Or if Democrats win Arizona, that could also tell you about the Senate seat there.

CUOMO: That's my second state. Florida, for all the reasons you guys laid out beautifully; Arizona, second. My main reason is going to be I like quick outcomes. No matter who wins, I like quick outcomes. Arizona, you'll have to wait because of the time delay but they're in early voting -- early count vote.

And that is a state -- so they should have their eggs in a row -- eggs in order. And that's a must-win for nobody. But if Biden wins, it really changes the calculus. So I am going to be looking that and Florida, early on, just as a predictor of how long this night will go. Gloria Borger, Chris Cillizza, thank you for living history with me. Appreciate it.

BORGER: Drink some coffee. You will need it.

CUOMO: No need. I'm built for this. We have been waiting years for this.

What is better than to see people decide their own fate?

That's what I love about this. The outcomes are going to be what they're going to be. You don't really control that. You just control your part. And I am so proud of my country, that you had 100 million of you, almost, come out. Pandemic; ugly political environment; so little to, kind of, have reason to believe and be filled with optimism and positivity that just sends you on a cloud of this expectation of better.

And yet, you did it. You grinded it out and we'll see how it goes today. It's a huge day. But just what brought us here to this moment, to me, is amazing. Now that is a solid known and I hope it's a source of pride for everybody.

But we have so many unknowns. That's why I'm saying you have to ignore the noise, focus on poise. Focus on balance and what you know versus what you're waiting for.

What will we know, by the end of the night, tonight?

Election Night, which states, which races, therefore, should we be watching most closely?

The Wizard of Odds has good indications -- next.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:25:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CUOMO: Hey, I'm Chris Cuomo and welcome to the beginning of Election Day in America, if you are in the East Coast. If you are on the West Coast, I'm going to give you some advance notice. We just had the quaint little ceremony of the first votes cast in this country. Happens in New Hampshire, right?

Dixville Notch. Got to pay attention, every four years. Small, little place. Just five votes this year. They went 5-0 for Biden. Now it's actually a little triad up there. It's Dixville Notch, Millsfield and then, a place called Harts Location. It has like 40-something people; they have the biggest population, not doing it this year, because of COVID.

Millsfield did it and Dixville Notch. I gave you the result there, 5- 0. Millsfield, 21 votes, 16-5 for Trump. So those are the little wows of the beginning of this election in America.

Now the huge wow, the shocking wow and a tremendous source of pride, I hope, for every American man and woman. Nearly 100 million of us have, already, voted for this election. A million have been cast. Millions more are expected in these next hours, today. But what a thing, what an accomplishment, in the middle of a pandemic.

Can you imagine what this country is capable of when activated?

Even though, it's not like you got a lot of beautiful things going on in your life right now, right? It's not like you are riding on a wave of soaring rhetoric. It's not like someone's given you such profound beauty and reason to believe that you just can't not vote. We're not in one of those moments. We're divided. It's toxic, literally and figuratively.

And yet, 100 million went out to say, I want a hand in the fate of my future. Beautiful, just for that. Now let's see what happens today.

What do we know from what we've learned with this 100 million?

Glad you asked. The Wizard of Odds, Harry Enten, is with me.

Thank you very much. So let me ask you what I asked Gloria and Chris.

Who are you watching?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I tell you what I'm watching. I am watching the 10 closest states that Donald Trump won in 2016. You obviously know some of those. You know Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, Arizona, North Carolina. But beyond that, Georgia, Ohio, Texas and Iowa.

All of these states have been fairly competitive. Obviously, the ones towards the top of the list have been most competitive. But I am watching all of these. Joe Biden has a legitimate shot to win in all of them so all of these are on the board.

[00:30:03]

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: When? Let's deal with the when and the what. Let's start with the what. What will we know tonight?

ENTEN: Sure. So you know, we've spoken about this over and over and over again. Record vote by mail, record early vote. And if you look at the six closest states that Trump won in 2016, you basically see a divide, right?

Before election day, the absentee ballots and the vote by mail have been pre-processed in places like Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, and in Michigan, some of the big cities started earlier on Monday.

But then, on or after election day, the rest of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. So we will have a much better understanding in the Sun Belt in those six -- of the six closest swing states in the Sun Belt. That's where we'll have the most understanding, in places like Arizona, Florida and North Carolina. While Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, we may very well have to wait a long while to know who's won that vote, because there's such a difference, we believe, in the vote by mail and the people who are voting election day, who they're choosing.

CUOMO: So you don't think we find out the winner of Pennsylvania tonight?

ENTEN: It's possible that we do. If --

CUOMO: What has to happen for it to be possible?

ENTEN: I mean, essentially, one of the candidates has to blow the other one out, and it's probably Biden, who'd have to be blowing Trump out, right? Because --

CUOMO: Why?

ENTEN: Because Joe Biden is doing much better, we believe, and certainly the Democratic registration that's been so far voting by mail in Pennsylvania leads us to believe that's more of a -- much more of a Democratic vote, and that's going to be counted, probably, later.

So even if Trump is up after the first votes are counted in Pennsylvania, that doesn't necessarily mean very much, because there's going to be such a wide partisan split, at least by the numbers that we've seen so far.

CUOMO: Is it the case that you will know how many more votes there are to count so that people can do, you know, some math in their head, and you know, analysts like you will be doing it for them?

So let's say Trump is up by "X" votes at 10 p.m. tonight. Won't you know the partner statistic, which is how many votes they need to still count over the succeeding three days?

ENTEN: We should have a pretty good idea. Obviously, it depends on some of the counties. Some of them are counting much more slowly. This is something, you know, we've sort of spoken about. Some of them are just saying, We have too much to do. We're not going to even count our mail-in votes starting until Wednesday. So it really does depend from county to county.

We'll have some idea, right? But I really do think we need to be patient, patient, patient. It's so more important to be right than to be fast.

CUOMO: Do you think you'll know the state of play in any change in the Senate?

ENTEN: Yes. I do, in fact, think we may know that some of the state of -- the change of the state of the Senate. And, you know, I'm basically looking at these states. Right? These are potentially Democratic pick- up opportunities, and Republican pick-up opportunities.

And those five Democratic seats -- Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Maine and North Carolina -- they do pre-process their mail-in votes before election day. So we may, in fact, have a much better idea of what's cooking in the Senate than we do necessarily in the presidency. So there is sort of that split there.

CUOMO: Why do I keep reading that we're not going to know because of Georgia, and you need one or both of those Senate seats? And by state law, if you don't have 50 percent, you have a runoff, and it doesn't look like either winner will have 50 percent?

ENTEN: Right. So if it gets to Georgia then we may -- CUOMO: Hypothetical at this point, right? We haven't counted the votes. But you know.

ENTEN: Right. If we get to Georgia, then we may not, in fact, know because Georgia has that 50 percent plus one rule, both in the special and in the regular election. And there are more than enough candidates in both of those, especially in the Senate, in order to potentially have that runoff all the way in January, I will note.

But the fact is there are enough seats that are out there that the Democrats could, in fact, get the majority, or it could be the case that Republicans hold on and we don't even need to see about Georgia.

Obviously, we have to wait and see. But there's still a lot of unknowns in this election at this point, even at 12:33 in the East on election day.

CUOMO: And just if this is the first time you're hearing it. You know, Georgia has, I think Louisiana also has this, but we don't expect that to be a factor, they're not in contention the same way.

Georgia has a rule in the state that, if you don't win in the Senate race -- this is not in the presidential race -- if you don't get 50 plus one in terms of the split, it goes to a special election, and then you don't find out until January 5, because I think the January Senate runoff is the 3.

ENTEN: So we don't find out until the fifth who -, this is going to take all the way till next year if we, in fact, have to do these --

CUOMO: Right.

ENTEN: -- runoffs, and that essentially, means that we could have a-- you know, the Senate may be seated, and then -- you know, on January 3, and then we'll actually have to wait two days to actually find out who has control.

So it could be the case that the Senate is decided tonight, or we have a very good idea of what's going on, or it could be the case that we have to wait all the way until January, which of course, is just another development in a bizarre election year that just finally seems to maybe be coming to an end, or maybe not.

CUOMO: One of them is a special election, right, so that's dicey. Or to get 50 percent, because you have five candidates --

ENTEN: Correct.

CUOMO: -- there. Now, the regular election is Senator David Perdue, Republican; John Ossoff is the Democrat. And then you have Shane Hazel. Ossoff has been making noise. He did well in the debate. Purdue, did you see any change in the polls after he mangled Senator Harris's name? You know, presumptively on purpose.

[00:35:08] ENTEN: What I will say is that race has tightened significantly over the last few months. You know, it's obviously hard to assign things to one particular event, but Joe Biden closed very strongly in Georgia. And if there's one state sort of outside that top six that I'm watching, it's -- it's that one.

Obviously, Biden went down there. They thought they had a real shot to win at the end, and obviously, if Biden does win, he would be the first Democrat to win a presidential race down in the Peach State since Bill Clinton did in 1992.

CUOMO: Harry Enten, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

On our watch, we have some breaking news about the state of play of what votes will count and what won't in Texas. Literally, a decision that just happened and what happens next. Let's discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Breaking news on our late-night election watch.

The Texas county at the center of multiple legal challenges is reducing the number of polling places just hours before the polling places opened. Why? They're playing it safe to preserve as many votes as they can in the face of pending litigation.

[00:40:05]

We're talking about Harris County. Leans Democratic, home to more people than we have in about 26 other states.

Our Ed Lavandera is live in Houston, the seat of Harris County.

Ed, I had Chris Hollands, the county clerk, on earlier. We actually discussed how the judge at the district court level, while not putting in an opinion, but saying he wasn't going to change anything. He said, I'll tell you what, though. If this was about that drive-in voting, tomorrow I would've said it was not legal.

And Chris Hollands at the time said, Look, we're not playing that game. Our tents are buildings. Now, a couple of hours later, a change. What do you know?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let me -- let's back up a little bit here. The bottom line is there was a great deal of concern among tens of thousands of voters here in Harris County who have used these drive-through sites to cast your ballots in the three-week early voting period. That's about 127,000 votes.

Essentially, all of the legal maneuvering that has gone late into the night tonight, those votes will count. If you cast your ballots in those drive-through locations, you have nothing to worry about at this point.

But county officials here in the Houston area had these 10 drive- through locations that were still going to be operating tomorrow on election day. That Republican group that was trying to shut these down and appealed the judge's ruling earlier today, to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, that motion and that ruling came down just a short while ago, and that was also denied.

But in the meantime, since you had Chris Hollands on earlier tonight, he sent out a series of tweets tonight, saying that they were -- essentially, Harris County is going to voluntarily shut down nine out of the 10 drive-through locations here in Harris County out of -- in his words, out of an abundance of caution, because there's so much wrangling over exactly how these drive-through locations have been set up.

And essentially, this boils down to, according to Texas election code, these drive-through election polling sites must be in a building or a structure. And this was coming down to the definition of exactly what is a structure.

And the judge today in Houston was very skeptical about whether or not a tent that cars could drive through and into would qualify as a structure.

So because of that and out of -- out of an abundance of caution, the one site -- the one drive-through site that will be open on Tuesday is the site at the Toyota Center. This is where the Houston Rockets play basketball. So that is a building. That is a structure, and because of that, they felt confident that it could withstand any legal challenges.

And Chris Hollands is saying that he's doing this, because he says he can't, in good faith, have people go out to these other locations and risk their votes not being counted on election day.

So essentially, even though the courts have ruled with Harris County all day long, essentially, this Republican group is getting most of what they want. They wanted these drive-through sites shut down. And essentially, that's what they're getting tonight.

CUOMO: Well, but they also wanted those other votes not to count.

LAVANDERA: Right.

CUOMO: And they didn't get that. But it is really interesting. You're right. It had a chilling effect, just the attempt. Because it wasn't a decision, but just the attempt did part of the trick, at least.

Ed Lavandera, thank you very much.

Let's dive more into the legalities and what is happening in Texas and what it means by extension. We have Jessica Huseman here to help us sort it all out, reporter with "Pro Publica."

It's great to have you. Thank you very much.

JESSICA HUSEMAN, REPORTER, "PRO PUBLICA": Thank you.

CUOMO: So you had the district court and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals say we're not going to go with you on this. And yet, it was still enough, the threat of that litigation, to change the rules for today, election day in Texas. What's your take?

HUSEMAN: You know, I think that this is a really tricky move on the part of Chris Hollands, who has kind of overnight become one of the more household -- like, one of the more famous household names in the country, which is very exciting from an election administration perspective.

But you know, I think that -- that at the end of the day, what's more important is maintaining the votes and making sure that the votes that are cast will count. And so, since we're certainly looking at quite a bit of litigation after this election, I think he made the safest call that he could have.

It is unfortunate that those 10 polling locations had to be closed down because we're still arguing about what a structure is, but at the end of the day, I think he made the most responsible choice.

CUOMO: Why do you think -- or what do you think is the best argument against having the multiple polling structures?

HUSEMAN: You know what? I don't have one. And I think that that's -- that's really part of the problem, is that the Texas Republicans are doing things that are objectively suppressive.

And I think that that's starting to backfire on them. I mean, we're watching earth-shattering turnout in Texas right now. And I was born and raised here, and I have never seen anything like this.

[00:45:08]

And so I think that there's a lot of voters in this state who are watching the objectively suppressive actions from the GOP and going out to vote against those -- those platforms. And -- and I think that's going to be a really powerful thing for people to watch on election day, regardless of how it plays out.

CUOMO: Do you think Hollands should have rolled the dice, given that the district court and the circuit court were with him so far, and kept them open to maximize the volume?

HUSEMAN: You know, I think that he probably did make the correct choice, given the sort of hesitancy with which the initial judge looked upon those tents as structures. I think that the only rational thing to do was to just make absolutely sure that, if somebody was going to come and cast their vote tomorrow, both the county and the voter could be absolutely sure that that vote was going to count.

CUOMO: Jessica Huseman, thank you very much. Everything is happening in real time here. And Texas is going to matter, like you said, maybe more than ever. Appreciate you very much.

HUSEMAN: Thanks so much.

CUOMO: All right. Here we are, living history together. Election day has arrived at long last.

The president is still campaigning. His final rally is in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the same place he ended his first presidential campaign in 2016.

No social distancing, no real widespread masks, because his campaign is, What pandemic?

Now, will it work? Let's discuss when our special coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:50:40]

CUOMO: One of, if not the biggest reason that this election will matter is because we are living in the middle of a crisis. What course we take with this pandemic over the next four months, let alone four years, makes all the difference for our kids, our businesses and our way of life.

So the choice that you make today or made leading up to today will matter, because these two men do not have the same take on what to do.

The president has shown how serious he takes the virus, by showing how seriously he doesn't take it. Cases are only trending in the right direction currently in five states. Everyone else is holding steady or climbing. Just follow the colors. OK?

The U.S. just set yet another record for the highest seven-day average of daily new cases. More than 81,000. It's nearly double what it was last month as a pace. And we're climbing back up to nearly 1,000 deaths per day.

And we can forget about the it doesn't really affect anybody, or this is just a trickle. A thousand deaths a day is unacceptable with something that could benefit from better planning and more of an attack.

Rounding the corner? Only if you want to describe a death spiral. That's the only kind of rounding that's happening here.

His own COVID task force coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, sounds warnings. And in a new internal report today, according to "The Washington Post," Birx writes, quote, "We're entering the most concerning and most deadly phase of this pandemic, leading to increasing mortality. It's not about lockdowns. It hasn't been about lockdowns since March or April. It's about an aggressive balanced approach that is not being implemented."

Do you know what that's proof of? Why you're hearing from Dr. Scott Atlas and not Dr. Birx. This president goes not with who knows, but those who say what he wants.

Let's bring in Dr. Lena Wen. Thank you very much, Doc, especially at this time. Appreciate you. Welcome to election day in America. The idea of Birx is wrong, things go up and down, but we're trending

in the right way. Some states are good. Some states aren't so good. That's the way it goes. Many believe that who are going to the polls today. What do you want them to know?

DR. LENA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, I want them to know that it's completely wrong, Chris, because every metric that we have such shows that we are going in exactly the wrong direction here in the U.S.

I mean, we've added 1 million new cases of coronavirus in the last 14 days. And we're going to add a million more in less time than that.

We have hospitals in many parts of the country that are already at capacity. There are patients, especially in rural hospitals, who need a higher level of care, who are now having to drive hundreds of miles away for that care, and these hospitals may soon not be taking any patients anymore. I mean, this is a really concerning phase of the pandemic that we're in.

And the last thing that we should be doing is downplaying the virus, as the president is. Actually, we should be talking about the steps that we all need to be taking in order to prevent lockdowns from happening in the future.

CUOMO: The next argument is, look, you can't control this anyway. So the idea that I need to vote for Biden because it'll be better than Trump, there is really no better, because you can't really control it. It's got to work its way through, which is why the lockdowns were such a waste. What do you say to that perspective?

WEN: It's just not true. We know that there are simple interventions that can save a lot off lives. For example, something as simple as mask-wearing.

Right now, only about 50 percent of the country is doing universal mask-wearing. If we can get that number to 95 percent, we will save over 100,000 lives this winter, which is twice the number of people who died from breast cancer this last year.

So there are targeted measures like that that we can implement, but if we do it too late, then hospitals are going to be overwhelmed.

And you can imagine, it's not just patients with coronavirus. What happens if patients with chest pain, who are dying from heart attacks, can no longer get care in an E.R.; when healthcare workers -- there just aren't enough hospital workers all around the country, and patients just cannot even call 9-1-1 to get paramedics to pick them up? At that point, lockdowns may be inevitable. And we need to prevent our hospital systems from that kind of strain.

[00:55:06]

CUOMO: We have a report from "The Washington Post" that the president plans to hold a 300- to 400-guest event at the White House, indoors, to watch the election returns. You've got to give him this much. Consistency. He wants people to know he does not believe that COVID is a threat. It doesn't matter what the numbers say.

But what does matter, Dr. Lena Wen, is what the people say. And we will know a lot more about that today and tonight.

Thank you for joining us. And thank you for the straight talk.

All right. Election day.

WEN: Thanks.

CUOMO: Can you believe it? I can. This has taken a long time. We've been watching this for a long time. The president, though, he's still burning that midnight oil in Michigan. Our special live coverage, ELECTION DAY IN AMERICA, has begun. Let's get after it. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome to ELECTION DAY IN AMERICA, certainly if you're on the East Coast. I'm Chris Cuomo. And we're back with continued live coverage here on CNN.