Election Day 2012: Obama wins (LIVE BLOG)

Washington and Colorado legalize marijuana for recreational use

Washington state's voters approved a measure to legalize recreational use of marijuana, setting up a showdown with the federal government, which outlaws the drug, AP reported.

While pot taxes could bring in millions of dollars in revenue each year, sales won't technically start until legislature to govern the legal weed industry is implemented.

“The victories in Colorado and Washington are of historic significance not just for Americans but for all countries debating the future of marijuana prohibition in their own countries,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, in an emailed statement. “This is now a mainstream issue, with citizens more or less divided on the issue but increasingly inclined to favor responsible regulation of marijuana over costly and ineffective prohibitionist policies.”

Oregon is also voting for similar measures.  

For more about the burning questions of legalizing marijuana, visit Globalpost's in-depth series.  

Maine residents vote in favor for same-sex marriage

In a historic vote, Maine residents have voted to legalize gay marriage, three years after voting against the measure.

According to the Associated Press, Maine is one of four states voting on same-sex marriage. While Maryland, Maine and Washington all head up-or-down votes on the ballot, Minnesota had a proposal to ban gay-marriage in the state constitution.

Karl Rove blasts Fox News on Fox News

Karl Rove criticized Fox News for calling Ohio for President Obama, calling the decision "premature," Politico noted.

Fox News' Chris Wallace noted that the Romney campaign does not "believe Ohio is in the Obama camp," with a top Romney aide telling him that the campaign disagreed with the network's call.

"I think this is premature,” Rove said. “We’ve got a quarter of the vote. Now remember, here is the thing about Ohio. A third of the vote or more is cast early and is won overwhelmingly by the Democrats. It’s counted first and then you count the election day and the question is, by the time you finish counting the election day does it overcome that early advantage that Democrats have built up in early voting, particularly in Cuyahoga County."

The Romney campaign has not yet conceded.

Obama wins Ohio, CNN calls election for Obama

The AP, along with other networks, has reported that Obama has won the battleground state of Ohio, leading CNN to report that Obama has been elected for a second term.

CBS News also reported that Obama has been projected to win Ohio, which gives the President more than 270 electoral votes.

News outlets project wins in multiple states

The AP and CNN have projected that Obama has won in California, Washington, Minnesota, and New Mexico.

Romney has been projected to win Idaha, North Carolina, and Missouri.

Richard Mourdock concedes in Indiana

Obama wins Maine, Romney wins Arizona

Obama has won all four electoral votes in Maine, the AP reported, while Romney won Arizona. Arizona, which has 11 electoral votes, has a long history of supporting Republican candidates for president.

Maine is also one of four states with a same-sex marriage question on the ballot. However, according to the Boston Globe, while three years ago the same initiative failed in Maine, there's chance that yes votes have an edge this time around. The President had also won Maine in 2008 with 57.6 percent of the vote.

Obama wins NH, Romney wins Utah

The New York Times has reported that Obama has won the battleground state of New Hampshire, while Romney has won in Utah.

Though New Hampshire only has four electoral votes, it's one of the most competitive states in the nation. It's the only state that Former President George W Bush won in 2000 but lost in 2004.

According to CBS News, both Ohio and Nevada are also leaning towards the president.  

Joe Donnelly defeats Richard Mourdock in Indiana

Democrat Joe Donnelly has defeated Tea Party-backed Richard Mourdock for the Senate seat in Indiana, AP reported.

Though Mourdock was initially the favorite in Indiana after he beat 6-term Senator Dick Lugar in the primaries, he began slipping in the polls after stating that pregnancy from rape is "something God intended to happen."

The Hill blog reported that Mourdock's loss bodes well for Democrats, dimming Republican hopes to retake the Senate, which had seemed likely earlier this year. 

Read more: Richard Mourdock makes controversial rape comment; Romney distances himself

Kristen Gillibrand wins Senate seat in NY

New York Senator Kristen Gillibrand has won her bid for reelection, defeating Republican challenger Wendy Long, the AP reported. 

This will be Gillibrand's first full, six-year term in the Senate. Gillibrand has had to face voters twice in two years, after she replaced former Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2009.

The AP also reported that Democrats have also won Senate seats in Minnesota, and Michingan and the GOP has won Senate seats in Texas and Wyoming.

An eyeball referesher: hand-drawn election coverage from NPR

If you're already sick of looking at polling maps, here's a refreshing take on covering the election. Artist Wendy MacNaughton is sketching scenes of NPR's election reporting in action. Here's an example: 

Moving back to the maps, ABC News is reporting that Obama has taken New Jersey, which was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy.

NYT Blog keeps an eye on Virginia 

The New York Times' FiveThirtyEight blog is looking to early Virginia results, where just over three-quarters of the vote has been reported in Chesterfield County, Va.

So far, Mitt Romney leads President Obama 54 percent to 45 percent, and if the trend continues, "Romney’s performance there would match almost exactly Senator John McCain’s margin of victory in Chesterfield County in 2008: 53 percent to 46 percent," the NYT reported. 

It still remains too early to call the state. 

NPR calls Maine and Illinois for Obama; Mississippi for Romney 

Obama has taken two more states and Romney has grabbed one more, according to tweets from NPR. 

CNN, meanwhile, has Obama ahead in electoral votes 64 to 56, with Romney winning the popular vote so far at 52 percent to 47 percent. 

A slew of state projections rush in

Polls have closed in 25 states across the country, and results have been called in some of them. Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Illinois, DC, Delaware, and Connecticut have been projected for Obama, according to CNN. Romney has been projected to win Oklahoma, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, according to CBS News. 

Republican House leader projected to easily win his race

Early results show House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia had won his race, the Associated Press reported. 

The first 15 Representative races called by the AP, all were won by incumbents — three Democrats and 12 Republicans. Only 60 contests for the 435 House seats are expected to be competitive. 

Romney projected to take West Virginia, South Carolina 

Romney has taken West Virginia and South Carolina, CNN reported, bringing his total number of electoral votes to 33. Obama's votes remain at 3 so far.

Ohio voters urged to STAY IN LINE

Ohio voters, who have the fortune/misfortune of living in one of the crucial battleground states, are in for the micro-battle of waiting on line to vote for hours and hours. 

Everyone from Obama himself to the Roots' Questlove are urging voters to brave long lines despite the polls closing at 7:30 p.m.; those in line will still be allowed to cast their votes. 

And a slightly harsher warning:

New Jersey extends deadline for email ballots to Friday

Overwhelmed by New Jersey voters’ requests for email ballots, officials in the storm-battered state announced late this afternoon that they were extending the deadline for email voting until Friday, Nov. 9, the Associated Press reported.

Over the weekend, Gov. Chris Christie said voters displaced by Hurricane Sandy could vote via email ballots, using a system usually reserved for Americans living abroad, Politico reported. 

Hudson County Deputy County Clerk Janet Larwa told the AP that by 3 p.m. today, her county had received 4,000 requests for email ballots. "It's a different kind of nuts," she said.

GlobalPost has more right here. 

Obama takes Vermont; Romney grabs Indiana, Kentucky

The first results are trickling out, with Obama projected as winning Vermont for 3 electoral seats and Romney taking Indiana and Kentucky for 8, Google News, CNN, Wall Street Journal and others are reporting.  

Obama's got two speeches — still no word on Romney's second

It's officially closing time in Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and New Hampshire, and Obama is ready for both outcomes, he told FOX31 Denver political reporter Eli Stokols. 

“You always have two speeches prepared because you can’t take anything for granted,” Obama said. “It is an extraordinary privilege to serve the people, whatever the office. I have served as a state senator, a US senator and now as the president. And each and every time I’ve been reminded that it is the people where power ultimately resides; and I’m their representative, I’m their servant." 

“My hope is that after four years of working as hard as I can every single day to help working families all across Denver and all across America, that people will decide that this is someone who works hard for me and cares about me and I want to make sure that he can finish the job.”

Romney has yet to prepare a concession speech, according to the Washington Post. 

Speaking of taking exit polls with a grain of salt...

Several sources are reporting early exit poll results. Taegan Goddard's Political Wire is reporting the following, sourced to "Republican staffers" and "provided for your enjoyment only. It's probably best to ignore them." 

7:00 - Virginia - Tied

7:30 - North Carolina - Romney +1

7:30 - Ohio - Obama +4

8:00 - Florida - Romney +1

8:00 - New Hampshire - Obama +3

8:00 - Pennsylvania - Obama +4

9:00 - Colorado - Tied

9:00 - Minnesota - Obama +4

9:00 - Wisconsin - Obama +4

10:00 - Iowa (wave 1) Obama +3

10:00 - Nevada (wave 1) Obama +5

The Drudge Report is also calling early exit polls, reporting that North Carolina and Florida have gone to Romney, while Obama has snatched up New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Nevada. Ohio, Virginia, Colorado and Iowa remain toss-ups.

All of this taken with that heavy grain of salt mentioned earlier. 

Mitt Romney had victory on the brain Tuesday as he took his final election flight from Pittsburgh to Boston, writing a victory speech but no concession speech, the Associated Press reported. 

"I feel like we put it all on the field. We left nothing in the locker room. We fought to the very end, and I think that's why we'll be successful," Romney told reporters aboard his plane as he flew to Boston to meet up with Paul Ryan for his election night event. 

Wall Street Journal blogger Rex Nutting reports that the first couple polls are leaning towards Romney: 

In addition to Virginia, polls in Vermont, Georgia, South Carolina, Indiana, Kentucky and some of Florida close at 7 p.m. ET. But Virginia is the nail-biter of the bunch, having been staunchly Republican until electing Obama in 2008. Salon.com says its now "one of the swingingest of the swing states." 

Exit polls are as exciting as they can be misleading, and the last thing a news outlet wants to do is get tripped up by inaccurate data.

“It’s an interesting contest of peek-a-boo,” Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup Poll, told the Washington Post. “The only people who have access are the paying clients. Everybody else can only see what those clients leak out or report. It’s a bit of a game in that sense, depending on what comes out, like reading tea leaves when the Vatican is choosing a new pope.”

Enter the Washington Post Wonkblog’s guide to watching the exit polls. 

Among the cardinal rules: Ignore any polls that come out before 5 p.m. ET, and take early exit polling results with a “giant grain of salt." Oh, and keep your eye firmly on the demographics, says David Flaherty, CEO of the right-leaning Magellan Strategies: they might be the greatest indicator of which way a state is leaning. 

The Wall Street Journal has also rounded up a list of the 10 things pollsters are probably keeping from you. 

The first polls are beginning to close in Indiana and Kentucky at 6 p.m. ET, thoughts turn to the results...and to dinner. Restaurants around the country have been offering up deals and special meals to celebrate the election. 

Everyone from Tim Horton's (as in, the Canadian donut shop and cafe) to Hooters (yep, really) is offering freebies and discounts to people who flash their "I voted" stickers, the Christian Science Monitor reported. 

Food blog Menuism also has a round-up of Election-inspired meal deals across the country, and bartenders are having their fair share of fun too.

The Policy Restaurant and Lounge in Washington D.C., for example, has whipped up two cocktails, one for each candidate. The Basil "Barack" Berry features blueberry Stoli, orange blossom simple syrup, muddled basil and lime, soda and blue curacao. The Pomegra "Mitt" mojito mixes pomegranik Stoli, cranberry juice, simple syrup, muddled mint and lime and soda, WTOP reported. 

The best part? When the presidential winner is announced, the winning cocktail will be offered for free during happy hour 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday. 

International election observers heard the message loud and clear last month: Don't mess with Texas.

Iowa, too, told foreigners to stay out of the election in their state.

So on Tuesday, international observers in Texas were "keeping their distance from polling stations after the state's attorney general threatened them with arrest," the Guardian reported. In Texas, the monitors have to stay 100 feet away from polling places; in Iowa, the distance is 300 feet.

Michigan also reportedly blocked observers from monitoring polling stations.

Texas Governor Rick Perry defended his state's decision in October, tweeting:

But the irony is pretty thick, coming from citizens of a country that routinely sends democracy trainers and monitors to virtually every corner of the globe. And, considering they've been a routine part of US elections since 2002 (remember who was president then? A hint: they hailed from Texas.)

Read more about the history on international observers and US elections in this piece from GlobalPost's Jean Mackenzie.

Watergate II, much?

Dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez says Cuba has 'never been so dependent on US'

GlobalPost's Venezuela correspondent Girish Gupta caught up with Yoani Sanchez, the blogger behind Generation Y and author of "Havana Real," to get her thoughts on the US Election. 

Sanchez says that while Cubans keep mum about their own elections, they are "very attentive" to those in other countries, especially America. Why? 

The government here says that the revolution allowed Cuba sovereignty. I don’t think Cuba’s ever been as dependent on the US as now. If the White House says yes, Havana says no. If the White House says red, Havana says green. If the White House says east, Havana says west. We've never been so dependent on US politics as we have an obsession with doing the opposite. I’d prefer to live in a sovereign country that wasn't constantly following the political agenda of a foreign country ...

Well, Obama's got one vote from Africa for sure: Sarah Obama says her grandson, Barack, will get a second term.

The 90-year-old grandmother to the POTUS, speaking from the village of Kogelo in Kenya, said that his charm and personality are what will pull him through. 

“His style of leadership skills which he has used to unite all the races in the US is the reason why he is liked by many,” Sarah said in the village of Kogelo, Xinhua News Agency reported.

GlobalPost correspondent Tristan McConnell, who is at Sarah's home and will be filing detailed reports from Kenya, confirms: 

Ohio is already a hotly contested state, but voting in the Buckeye has gotten even more attention after its courts have ordered that voters, rather than polling station officials, fill out provisional ballots, which are used to record votes from voters' whose eligibility may be in question. 

Provisional votes are still counted, but also leave open the possibility that improperly filled out ballots be discarded, CNN reported. Local election boards get 10 days to figure out if those people who cast provisional ballots were eligible. 

As GlobalPost's Election correspondent Jean MacKenzie reports from Ohio: 

Ohio requires a potential voter to show ID. Those without adequate identification can file provisional ballots, and then have to prove their eligibility after the election. Provisional ballots will only be counted in the event of a very close election requiring a recount.

“I sure hope we have a clear result tonight,” sighed one poll worker, who did not give her name because she was not authorized to speak with the press. “If not, there will be multiple lawsuits. I would hate to see Obama start a second term under that kind of a cloud.”

Over 200,000 people used provisional ballots in Ohio during the 2008 election, and roughly the same amount will be cast this time around. 

"We are going to watch those ballots closely," Obama senior adviser David Axelrod said on CNN's "Starting Point." "We want to make sure that everybody's voice is heard in this election."

Romney's camp has also said they will be "ready" for legal intervention in the state if necessary. 

For everything you ever wanted to know about provisional ballots, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted has you covered. 

No election is complete without the infamous monitoring maps tracking how the country leans and ultimately votes. RealClearPolitics' latest incarnation is showing Obama ahead in electoral votes with 201 to Romney's 191, with 146 "toss-ups" in the grey zone, literally. 

CNN's map remains safely blank until the first polls close at 7 p.m. ET, though they're also planning a takeover of the Empire State building, which will light up with meters in blue and red to illustrate who is winning the race to the clinching number of 270 electoral votes. To each their gimmicks, right? 

Meanwhile, the New York Times is playing the nostalgia card with a look back at its old front-page sketches of how the country voted, state-by-state. Their new take is pretty nifty, if not a little dizzying. 

And if you're sick of reading all your friends' admonishing Facebook posts, you can always turn to the social media site's map tracker, which is working off data based on people clicking on an Election Day 2012 prompt on the site. Perhaps not the most accurate, but definitely better than the political brawls playing out on walls across the country. 

Follow more of the conversation here.

Irregularities reported in two key states and hard-hit New Jersey

Irregularities have been reported in Ohio, New Jersey and Florida today, according to a round-up of reports by the Washington Post. In Florida, there were reports that automated phone calls erroneously said that polls were open until 7 p.m. Wednesday, rather than Tuesday.

In Cleveland, Ohio, some voting machines were jamming and malfunctioning, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. That didn't help voters speed through the long lines that were also reported there.

Some of the most widespread issues, however, were reported from the areas hit hardest by superstorm Sandy last week. In New Jersey, the e-mail and fax voting system that was implemented specifically to aid displaced voters didn't seem to be keeping up with demand, with voters who requested ballots via e-mail or fax saying they did not receive ballots back, according to NJ.com.

Long voting lines across US

Thousands of Americans waited in line to vote today, with Florida reporting some of the longest lines, followed by Virginia, New Jersey, and New York.

New York voters faced confusion at the polls, with officials shuttling voters to provisional polling booths, after the superstorm Sandy destroyed or flooded polling stations.

GlobalPost spoke to Nathan Storey, co-founder of the app VoteScope, which helps voters find their polling stations. Read the Q & A.

One Chicago mother-to-be didn't let going into labor deter her from voting. Once Galicia Malone finished voting (with her contractions coming five minutes apart), she headed to the hospital to deliver her baby. More on that here.

Elsewhere, this happened...

GlobalPost foreign correspondents ask people around the world about the US election 

A look at the election through the eyes of those interviewed by GlobalPost's far-flung correspondents. Follow them on Twitter for more:

Tristan McConnell from Nairobi, Kenya: 

Erin Conway-Smith from Johannesburg, South Africa:

Initiatives to legalize the medicinal — and even recreational — use of marijuana have cropped up as major state ballot items in this year's general election.

Six state ballots include measures concerning marijuana, according to Bloomberg. Three of those states — Colorado, Oregon and Washington — are weighing whether to make marijuana legal for recreational use, which would be a first for the country.

Montana, Arkansas and Massachusetts initiatives would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, which is already permitted in 17 states, Bloomberg reported.

The measures are projected to pass in Montana, Massachusetts, Colorado and Washington and to fail in Oregon and Arkansas, according to the Guardian.

Read more here.

Welcome to the vote, West Coast

Polls opened just minutes ago throughout the West Coast, with voters queuing up in California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, said Al Jazeera. 

But Californians aren't exactly jumping out of bed to run to the polls, said the Associated Press, citing a field poll saying the percentage of mail-in ballots there is expected to reach 51% in what would be the first time mail-ins would overtake in-person votes.

Sunny state voters can't exactly blame their disinclination on the weather, particularly as many of their fellow voters on the Eastern seaboard, still reeling from storm Sandy, have to slog out to inconveniently-located polling booths in order to cast their votes. 

The study also said turnout is expected to be way lower -- as much as one million less than the number that voted in the last presidential election. What's up with that, California? 

What's in a number?

New York Times writer and reader of statistical tea leaves Nate Silver's popular FiveThirtyEight blog currently lists a 91.6 percent chance of reelection for President Barack Obama, with a +/- 14.2 percent margin of error.

So, the win's in the bag for Obama, right? Actually, no, cautioned Silver, in a clarifying tweet:

IMPORTANT: That we have Obama as a ~90% favorite does NOT mean we're predicting a landslide. We expect a close election.

— Nate Silver (@fivethirtyeight) November 6, 2012

What explains a close election when a candidate's chances are said to be nine to one? The fact that those odds still amount to a probability game. But as Salon points out, Silver predicted the 2008 election "nearly perfectly" — which gives him some clout this time around.

The 51st state?

While continental US citizens are lined up at the polls, their focus set on selecting the next commander in chief and members of Congress, there's a different issue highlighted on the ballot in the US territory of Puerto Rico: statehood.

Could 2012 be the year Puerto Rico petitions Congress to become the 51st state? If so, it would gain 9 electoral votes and be subject to federal income taxes — and end its "century-long colonial relationship with the United States," as Politic365 wrote.

Since 1967, according to Reuters, Puerto Ricans have voted to retain the status of their island as a territory of the United States. But support has been dwindling over the years.

Also on the ballot are the options of independence of becoming a "Freely Associated State," according to Deutsche Welle.

Voting day is over in these New Hampshire towns

In two tiny New Hampshire towns the presidential race is already over.

In Dixville Notch, a village made up of 10 registered voters, each candidate received five votes — the first tie in Dixville Notch history, according to USA Today.

In Hart's Location, Obama won with 23 votes, Romney received 9 and Libertarian Gary Johnson received 1 vote. Both towns have held their first-vote status since 1948.

The end of a long, strange trip...

You made it to the end of the campaign trail! Celebrate with a look back — way back — at the most memorable moments of the presidential contest.