(3) Trump says he voted for DeSantis, predicts "great night" for GOP - CNN

Former President Donald Trump talks to the media with Melania Trump, aft voting connected November 8, successful Palm Beach, Florida. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Former President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday that helium voted for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, predicting a "great night" for Republicans. 

"Yes, I did," Trump told reporters erstwhile asked if helium formed a ballot for DeSantis extracurricular a polling determination successful Palm Beach wherever helium voted. 

"I deliberation we're going to person a precise large nighttime and it's exciting," helium added. 

Trump formed his ballot soon aft 11:30 a.m. ET astatine the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center successful Palm Beach, conscionable minutes distant from his Mar-a-Lago property wherever helium plans to ticker predetermination returns this evening with dozens of aides, allies, and section Republicans. He arrived with erstwhile archetypal woman Melania Trump and concisely took questions extracurricular aft voting indoors.  

The erstwhile president's governmental aboriginal whitethorn mostly beryllium connected Tuesday's midterm outcomes, arsenic helium looks for his handpicked and endorsed candidates successful key federal and statewide races to prevail. Major losses for Trump-backed candidates could make obstacles for his 2024 statesmanlike campaign, which Trump is eyeing to denote 1 week from today. 

At a rally successful Pennsylvania connected Saturday, Trump referred to the Florida governor as “Ron DeSanctimonious.”

Attorney Lin Wood tells CNN helium volition look earlier the peculiar expansive assemblage that is investigating efforts by erstwhile President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia arsenic a worldly witnesser time morning. 

The Special Purpose Grand Jury that is being led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis returns time aft taking a astir one-month hiatus astir the election.

Wood, a staunch Trump supporter, is simply a seasoned defence lawyer who focused connected civilian litigation and has worked connected high-profile cases successful the Atlanta-area.

He pushed a bid of cases aft the 2020 Presidential predetermination that were rapidly dismissed by the courts, and described arsenic disinformation by authorities predetermination officials.   

Investigators are besides funny successful proceeding from Wood astir a gathering helium held astatine his South Carolina location with different supporters of the erstwhile president moving connected predetermination challenges aft the 2020 election.  

CNN has reached retired to the Fulton County DA for comment.

The prima rises astatine the US Capitol successful Washington, DC, connected November 8. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

You mightiness perceive that connection — "wave" — thrown astir this week if Republicans instrumentality immoderate powerfulness from Democrats connected Election Day. They'll reason they person been fixed a mandate from American voters.

Republicans could earnestly underperform their potential, considering President Biden's support standing and the humanities precedent, and inactive prime up 5 seats and the House majority.

Is that a wave? Power volition person changed dramatically. But it feels person to a people correction than a large alteration successful government. Here's a full database of House bulk changessince the commencement of the modern enactment strategy conscionable earlier the Civil War.

Sean Trende of RealClearPolitics and the American Enterprise Institute argued backmost successful 2018, conscionable earlier Democrats reclaimed the House from Republicans, that it's a question predetermination if determination is "a sharp, unusually ample displacement successful the nationalist equilibrium of power, crossed aggregate levels of government." You'd request GOP victories successful aggregate governor's races and a Senate bulk to marque the alteration successful powerfulness beryllium reflected crossed aggregate levels of government. 

Trende added immoderate statistical criteria to reason an predetermination is simply a question predetermination if it is extracurricular the displacement successful powerfulness during an election. It mightiness beryllium easier to enactment a circular fig arsenic a baseline and reason a plaything of 50 oregon much House seats is simply a wave.

By the 50-seat rule, the 2010 midterm predetermination was surely a Tea Party question with a alteration of 64 seats successful the House. The 1994 Republican gyration was a question erstwhile the GOP gained 54 seats. 

The 2006 midterm wherever Democrats gained the bulk with a 32-seat summation would not beryllium a wave, adjacent though it made Nancy Pelosi talker of the House and gave Democrats a Senate majority. Trende argued 2006 could beryllium viewed arsenic a question successful conjunction with 2008, erstwhile Democrats gained an further 21 seats successful the House.

But the 2018 midterm, erstwhile determination was a 42-seat change, would not person been a wave, adjacent though it restored Pelosi arsenic House speaker. In immoderate event, with this year's election, Republicans look poised to erstwhile again instrumentality backmost power of the House.

While the White House is bracing for imaginable Election Day loses, Vice President Kamala Harris woke up this greeting successful rainy Los Angeles aft telling a groups of organizers Monday nighttime that Democrats would “see victory.” 

Harris started Tuesday with her mean routine, a elder Harris advisor tells CNN, maintaining her regular greeting workout and attending her mean meetings, which means receiving immoderate signifier of the president’s regular briefing portion successful Los Angeles.

The vice president volition person regular updates connected predetermination news throughout the time from a big of unit successful California, the Executive Building successful DC, portion aides enactment connected with officials astatine the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and different Democratic Party officials who way midterms results closely.

Harris is scheduled to walk Election Day calling into vigor stations for speedy interviews meant to thrust turnout astatine 11:00 a.m. ET and 4:30 p.m. ET portion her husband, 2nd man Doug Emhoff, joins NARAL Pro-Choice America for a virtual governmental lawsuit connected reproductive rights.

Aides are besides actively discussing if and however Harris could marque an in-person and nationalist Election Day halt determination successful L.A., but are cognizant of however the vice president’s ample footprint could impede crushed organizers during important voting hours. 

The vice president and 2nd man voted by filling retired mail-in-ballots, which Emhoff said helium would driblet disconnected aft a rally connected Monday.

In the evening, Harris volition ticker the returns travel in, but her determination to ticker instrumentality remains successful flux and aides would not disclose precisely what the options are.

Alex Erby fills retired his ballot portion voting astatine a polling presumption successful Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, connected November 8. (Mike Segar/Reuters)

Voting rights advocates successful cardinal states said the archetypal hours of voting successful Tuesday’s midterms appeared to beryllium going smoothly with lone isolated problems reported.

“What we are seeing are things that we usually spot connected Election Day,” said Susannah Goodman, manager of predetermination information astatine Common Cause. “Sometimes voters are going successful and 1 of the voting machines isn’t moving oregon lines are a small longer.”

The cardinal battleground authorities of Pennsylvania is “not experiencing thing systemic,” Khalif Ali, enforcement manager of Common Cause Pennsylvania, told reporters precocious Tuesday morning.

He said determination were a fistful of calls astir polls opening precocious successful eastbound parts of the authorities and immoderate isolated incidents of electioneering occurring excessively adjacent to polling places successful Allegheny County. He said canvass workers rapidly addressed the occupation by moving the radical farther away.

A cardinal contented successful Pennsylvania remains the thousands of mail-in ballots are hazard of being rejected due to the fact that of missing oregon incorrect dates connected the instrumentality envelope. Ali said helium does not cognize however galore ballots are affected statewide.

In Florida, Common Cause’s Amy Keith said much than 15,000 mail-in ballots had been flagged crossed the Sunshine State for signature problems oregon different issues arsenic precocious past week.

Under authorities law, voters person until 5 p.m. ET Thursday to hole problems with those ballots. But Keith encouraged voters to spell online to way their ballots and rapidly resoluteness immoderate issues earlier imaginable disruptions from tropical tempest Nicole, which is bearing down connected the state.

An predetermination authoritative successful Philadelphia connected Tuesday told CNN astir 3,600 mail-in ballots hazard being rejected due to the fact that of incorrect information, missing dates oregon missing secrecy envelopes.

The summation of astir 200 ballots was added implicit the weekend. Roughly 250 of the 3,600 mail-in ballots person been cured. People who weren’t capable to cure their ballots astatine metropolis hallway tin inactive ballot provisionally today. 

On Saturday, predetermination officials successful Philadelphia said much than 3,400 mail-in ballots risked being rejected due to the fact that of incorrect information, missing dates oregon missing secrecy envelopes.

Philadelphia City Commissioners’ Chairwoman Lisa Deeley released the affected voters’ names and urged them to instrumentality contiguous steps to get replacement ballots.

The enactment by Deeley came aft the authorities Supreme Court past week barred section predetermination officials from counting ballots with missing oregon incorrect dates connected the instrumentality envelope.   

Pennsylvania’s request that voters motion and supply a handwritten day connected their ballot instrumentality envelope has been the taxable of litigation for months. And connected Friday, respective Pennsylvania groups, including the authorities branches of the NAACP and the League of Women Voters, filed a lawsuit successful national court, challenging the state’s program to not number undated ballots.

The suit calls a missing oregon incorrect day “a meaningless technicality” and argues that throwing retired a ballot connected those grounds violates national civilian rights law.

People hold successful enactment to formed their ballots during aboriginal voting successful Mableton Georgia, connected November 4. (Carlos Barria /Reuters)

As voters caput to the polls connected Election Day, much than 45 cardinal pre-election ballots person already been formed crossed the 47 states wherever figures were available, according to information from elections officials, Edison Research and Catalist.

Pre-election voting has been up of the 2018 gait crossed the states wherever information is disposable for the past 3 cycles. However, it’s inactive excessively aboriginal to cognize if wide turnout volition scope 2018 levels, arsenic voting patterns whitethorn person changed successful the past fewer years. 

Texas inactive has the astir pre-election votes, with much than 5.4 cardinal ballots cast. Florida has had much than 4.9 cardinal ballots cast, and California has much than 4.7 million. Georgia, with much than 2.5 cardinal ballots cast, and North Carolina, with much than 2.1 million, are the lone different states with much than 2 cardinal ballots formed truthful far. 

The fig of ballots formed volition proceed to summation arsenic much message is delivered, voters driblet disconnected their ballots and predetermination officials update their tallies. 

Some elector information comes from Catalist, a institution that provides data, analytics and different services to Democrats, academics and nonprofit issue-advocacy organizations and is giving insights into who is voting earlier November.

Lavonne Cobb voted contiguous with her economical aboriginal successful caput – and that’s wherefore she said she formed her ballot for Democratic candidates.

“Social Security is simply a large contented erstwhile it comes to voting,” said Cobb, 50, pausing to speech for a infinitesimal arsenic she near the region civic halfway successful Marietta, Georgia. “I came retired to marque definite that I enactment successful my ballot truthful that my procreation volition person immoderate benignant of information successful the future.”

For each the millions of dollars successful TV ads – astir a 4th cardinal successful the Senate contention unsocial during Georgia’s superior and wide elections – Cobb expressed exhaustion and excitement astatine Election Day.

“It’s entertaining,” she said of the barrage of ads, “but I americium truthful acceptable for it to beryllium over.”

She supported Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, arsenic she did 2 years ago.

“He hasn’t seemed to fto maine down,” Cobb said. “You cognize erstwhile you spell to a restaurant, you instrumentality with what you know, past you don’t person to interest astir being disappointed? I stuck with what I know.” 

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 Some check-in machines astatine voting centers successful Bell County, Texas, are not moving owed to synchronization issues tied to Sunday’s clip change, according to an official.

“Some of our check-in machines … did not automatically update to the clip alteration and arsenic a result, due to the fact that of the information progressive with these things, they were not allowed to travel online due to the fact that the machine detected there’s a synchronization issue,” Bell County Public Information Officer James Stafford told CNN Tuesday morning. “Out of security, they were not allowed to travel online, truthful we weren’t capable to cheque radical successful astatine those locations."

Stafford stressed that the contented lone affected check-in machines and not immoderate voting tablets oregon voting tabulators, helium said. 

Check-in machines astatine 8 of the county’s 42 voting centers were affected by this contented earlier polls opened, Stafford said. Two hours later, aft polls opened, determination are 2 voting centers inactive having this issue, helium said.  

Voters successful Bell County whitethorn ballot successful immoderate of the 42 voting centers successful the county. People who came to locations affected by the check-in instrumentality issues were told astir alternate locations nearby, Stafford said.  

CNN’s Caroll Alvarado contributed to this report.