do stay with us. we will see you tonight for election coverage with all the >> today is our independence day. [cheering] >> after months of campaigning, election day is here. >> i really believe it's the most important election of our had a clearer choice. >> candidates criss-crossing the country overnight making a last minute push for support. >> real change also means restoring honesty to our government, so the first thing we should do let's get rid of hillary, ok? >> we face the test of our time. what will we vote for, not just

we have live big story coverage as you get ready to head to the polls here in wisconsin. good morning and welcome to "wisn 12 news this morning." i'm ben wagner. melinda: and i'm melinda davenport. it's 4:30 on this tuesday, november 8th. let's start with a check of your election day forecast. meteorologist sally severson is in the weather center. good morning, sal. sally: good morning, this morning the temperatures are 48-55. 55 is in where we airport on a southwest breeze and a cool front is coming through and a couple of showers associated with the boundary rolling through. we will see a few showers lingering this morning before big high pressure begins to build in. the election day forecast, for today the temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. this morning a few showers are lingering. especially in the southern counties.

throughout the afternoon. temperatures once we get after sunset the readings going down to 50 and then soo into the 40s overnight. melinda: when you're on the go, take the weather watch 12 forecast with you. just download the wisn 12 news app. it's free for your smartphone or tablet. >> election day is here. polls in wisconsin open at 7:00 this morning. ben: many of the candidates are still working to earn your vote. hillary clinton held a star-studded rally in philadelphia last night with the obamas in all, she was in four different states yesterday. donald trump visited five swing states. the republican presidential nominee wrapped up his final day of campaigning overnight in grand rapids, michigan. >> another big race is happening right here in wisconsin. democrat russ feingold is fighting to win back a senate seat from republican ron johnson. it's their second contest. johnson defeated feingold in 2010.

one percentage point. this race could help decide which party gets control of the senate. polls in wisconsin will be open today from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. there are some important things to know before casting your ballot. you will need a photo id to cast your vote. if you don't have one, you can fill out a provisional ballot. you will need to prove you have a photo id by friday for that vote to count. you can register at the polls just before casting your vote, and remember, no campaign gear is allowed at the polls. that means no t-shirts or buttons supporting a certain candidate. ben: don't be surprised if you see police officers hanging around your polling place. mpd officers will be on patrol today to make sure the election goes smoothly. officers will make sure that no one is interfering with the election. there's no demonstrating allowed within 100 feet of a polling place's entrance. and demonstrators aren't allowed to block voters' paths. the justice department will also have representatives in town

anyone who sees a problem should report it to the on-site inspector, your clerk's office, police or the election commission. if you're not sure where to vote, we can help. visit wisn.com and the free 12 news mobile app to find your polling place. we have a link to the election commission which also lets you view a sample ballot. melinda: the polls don't open in most states for a few hours, but tim, some votes were already been cast today. tim: the small town of dixville notch, new hampshire voted at midnight eastern time. all eight residents cast their votes. eight people. melinda: most are employed at the tv there. the midnight vote is a tradition there. the winner there, hillary clinton. she took home four out of eight votes. that's a landslide victory in dixville notch. trump got two votes, libertarian

nominee, earned a write-in vote. two more small towns in new hampshire voted soon after dixville notch. in both towns donald trump won. ben, we'll see what happens later today. >> tim, thank you. ben: stay with wisn 12 all day for full election coverage. we're partnering with the power of abc news to bring you the latest results. our special election coverage begins at 4:00 p.m. and continues all night long. wisn 12 news time is 35 other local headlines. melinda: milwaukee police are asking for your help finding a hit and run driver. five-year-old rickyia langham killed near hampton and fond du lac on sunday. the driver left the scene. now police have released surveillance footage. they're asking anyone who recognizes this vehicle to come forward. there's a vigil honoring rickyia planned for tonight. ben: police are investigating after a woman was hit and killed by a car on the north side of milwaukee. this happened last night near 60th and norwich.

crossing the street at the time. the driver is cooperating with police. melinda: a controversial county plan gets the green light. the milwaukee county board voted yesterday to approve a wheel tax proposal. drivers in milwaukee county will pay a $30 registration fee each year. that's half what was originally proposed by county executive chris abele. it's all part of the 2017 county budget. >> wisn 12 news time is 4:36. a free ride on election day. ben: the company that wants you to bike to the polls and thhe vote. melinda: plus, a california voter cries foul. the missing ballot that caused problems at the polls and what he learned when he turned up to vote.

sally: we are getting a live look, you can see the water street bridge not driving across it. the dew point at 46. the winds are shifting from the northwest as we look at a cool

and the dry returns. 50s and 60s most of the week. briefly cooler on friday. we look at what is happening for the weekend, we are talking about it coming up in a moment. >> thank you, sal. melinda: wisn 12 news time is 4:40. several companies want to make sure you can get to the polls today. ben: bublr bikies is offering unlimited, free, 30-minute rentals on election day. there are currently more than 50 bike stations across milwaukee and wauwatosa. users should use the code 1776 at the bike station to get a free rental today. melinda: get it? ben: there's also a special promotion today that's being offered by zip-car. melinda: more than 20 zip-cars in milwaukee will be free tonight from 6:00 to 10:00. the company says this will help last-minute voters get to and from the polls here in southeast wisconsin. people can head online or download the official zip-car app to rent a car. melinda: election day freebie, some other businesses are also offering deals today to get you excited about voting. ben: here are just a few, 7-eleven is giving away a free cup of hot coffee in any size to

marcos pizza is giving away coupons for a free medium one-topping pizza online. and bel-air cantina is offering a free margarita to those 21 years and older if you're wearing an "i voted" sticker. plenty of deals. melinda: i voted early, can i wear the sticker? ben: do you have it? melinda: yes. >> a traffic tie-up in downtown milwaukee. melinda: the holiday mission that closed ben: plus, a police chief caught napping. where he decided to take a

what greases the gears in washington? money. and ron johnson fits right in. six years ago,

went to washington, then voted to protect $21 billion in tax breaks for the world's biggest oil companies. $21 billion. a wisconsin senator, protecting tax breaks for oil companies. that's ron johnson. that's washington. and he fits right in. end citizens united is responsible for the content of this ad. russ feingold: in the senate there's a choice- you can go along withited the rigged system,sible or you can stand for something that matters. i stand with wisconsin working families. i know how hard you work and how wages aren't keeping up. senator johnson stands with ceo's -tax loopholes for billionaires, tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. i'll take on the rigged system. and work to build an economy that works for everyone. i'm russ feingold and i approve this message because you deserve a senator who stands up for you. hillary clinton: i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. vo: in times of crisis america depends on steady

more about isis than the generals do, believe me." vo: and calm judgment. donald trump: "and you can tell them to go fu_k themselves." vo: because all it takes is one wrong move. donald trump audio only: "i would bomb the sh_t out of them." vo: just one. >> wisn 12 news time now is 4:44, tuesday, november 8th. the clouds filled in yesterday and a little light rain on the radar this morning. early on raining in fond du lac and dodge and sheboygan county and jefferson county as well. this rain is associated with a cool front and it is coming

light showers near the cool front and the temperatures mid 50s. we stay dry for much of the rest of the day after drying out. melinda: it's finally here, election day. polls show a tight race with hillary clinton ahead by four points in the latest abc poll. clinton and donald trump both rallied support late last night. abc's elizabeth hur has more from washington. >> dueling rallies kicking off decision day in america. >> so it's now officially tuesday, november 8th. >> well, i got to tell you this is sure worth staying up for. >> just after midnight, more famous friends joining hillary clinton at her final rally in north carolina. clinton getting celebrity support from lady gaga to jon bon jovi and bruce springsteen

while donald trump made his closing arguments in michigan with running mate mike pence arguing they don't need any big names to win pointing to his standing-room-only crowds. >> today is our independence day. >> election day voting officially kicked off at the stroke of midnight in the small community of dixville notch, new hampshire. this morning trump and clinton, after criss-crossing the country, are back in their home state of y two of the least liked candidates in history now leaving everything to voters. >> we will make america safe again! we will make america great again! >> there is no reason, my friends, why america's best days are not ahead of us if we reach for them together.

focus is on 270. that's the number of electoral college votes needed to win the white house. elizabeth hur, abc news, washington. ben: some key local elections are on the ballot today too, including the senate race between ron johnson and russ feingold. tim, what can we expect from that race? tim: the latest marquette poll has the candidates neck-and-neck just one point apart. feingold is fighting to win back the senate seat he held for ron johnson defeated feingold in 2010. it's a race that the entire country is watching. it could help decide which party takes control of the senate. all eight of wisconsin's congressional districts are up for grabs today, along with some state senate seats and all state assembly seats. several communities have referenda on the ballot today. and remember, polls are open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.

ben: election day turnout is expected to be high among college students. marquette university's polling site has historically been one of the busiest in milwaukee. during april's primary, there were long lines and delays. so the election commission has increased the number of staff and relocated one of the three voting wards. officials say they've done a lot to make the process run more smoothly. >> community groups, the election commission, the themselves really worked to get students registered in the last 3 months, or 2 months since school came back in session, but then they also began issuing photo id, student ids that meet the photo id requirement. ben: students voting at school can use a photo id issued by their college or university. but it has to meet certain requirements. it must also be accompanied by

showed up to cast his vote only to find out that someone had already voted using his name. justin coletti had requested a mail-in ballot but then lost it. it turns out someone filled out that ballot and mailed it in posing as coletti. he was able to vote. poll workers confirmed that the signature on the mail-in ballot was not coletti's. he had to sign a federal affidavit confirming his identity and filled out a provisional ballot. coletti says he's learned a lesson. >> unless you go down and vote yourself you never know what is actually going to happen. melinda: election officials will tally up provisional ballots after the normal ballots. those are handed out to people who had issues with their regular ballots. melinda: right now women voters are thanking susan b. anthony who fought to give women the right to vote. they're decorating her grave with i voted stickers, flowers and notes. anthony is buried in rochester,

women didn't get the right to vote until 14 years later. ben: wisn 12 news time is 4:50. new from overnight, a sign of the season in downtown milwaukee. crews were out along wisconsin avenue early this morning starting to put up holiday decorations. workers are expected to be out every night until the project is finished. quite the project it is. >> do you think the lights are tangled up them away nicely. you know, good for them, this is greet weather to do it. we look at very warm november weather and the trend is continuing for us. a couple of showers this morning on this election day. breezy and cooler. the temperatures are in the low to mid 50s. a narrow band of showers rolling

front. now what is going to happen for us the cool front is going to exit and pull the showers and clouds with it. i do anticipate a little sunshine later. big high pressure influences our weather and it is keeping us in the 50s tomorrow. we have a little bubble of warm air on thursday. overall temperatures well above normal. this morning 50 watertown. 52 west bend. 52 sheboygan. the showers are going to move out of here and dryer and sunshine by 10:00 in the western portion of the state. the winds are coming out of the north. we keep the dry look going in the froft throughout the evening and overnight and lows tonight dipping down in the neighborhood of 40 degrees. we talk nothing but the sunshine on wednesday. the temperatures in the upper 50s for today and tomorrow. we get a bubble of warmer air 63.

friday. a wind shift pushing the temperatures back to the 50s on saturday and near 60 again on sunday. >> sal, thank you. a special day in court for dozens of protestor in north dakota. tim is live in the news room with new information. tim. >> the court held a session yesterday just for the pipeline protestor. 51 people arrested last month for taking part in the protest ov t the influx of the protestor is overwhelming the cou system and the attorneys are coming in from out of state to get through the legal system quicker. the protestor are facing a number of charges and some say they expect many of the charges to be dropped but the protestor are returning to court next year. >> tim, thank you. a woman hears an explosion inside of a house and salad

wyoming and heard pops and realized the the bottle of the dressing exploded. >> pop, pop, pop, and i looked up and it was a disaster and going crazy and shooting up to the air and to the side. that dressing was under recall because of bacteria that causes it to fizz up. she said it caused damage when exploded. >> a police chief in ar an is in trouble after caught napping in the patrol car. the chief took a nap but wasn't duty at the time. the mayor is defending the chief and the department is short

working overtime. >> a crowd eager to see an nba player out in person getting out of hand. they gathered to brown. but when the event didn't start on time the crowd got rowedy and knocked over the barriers and people too. the mall was evacuated. six teenagers were arrested. >> the presidential race and what you need to know before casting your vote.

>> new this morning using flavored e-cigarettes could increase the smoking in teens in the future. >> the teens said they planned to smoke compared to regular e-cigarettes and 20% that never tried them. the flavored e gret users are

tobacco is dangerous. >> working six hours a day is good for you and your boss. i like this idea. if you are watching, chris, listen to this story. productivity is the highest the lower number of hours worked. the study looked at a number of countries. >> we would be done. a study found that activity trackers by themselves didn't lead to people walking or exercising more, but given the fitness tracker and cash rewards for likely to boost the activity levels. i like this too. who is giving us the cash though. >> two new studies suggest that people that bike regularly to work or for fun are less likely

biking a half hour a week provides protection. the news continues right now. >> we are hours away from a once in a lifetime change, we are going to have real change, not obama change. >> i want to be president for everyone, we all have a future. >> the candidates for president burning the mid night oil in efforts to win the votes. good morning, it is 5:00 on lejz election day november 8th. >> months of campaigning ends today. donald trump and hillary clinton up past mid night with rallies in michigan and north carolina.

covering the races and what to bring to cast your ballot, which could include an umbrella. now to sally severson. >> the showers are lighted and scattered, but we are wet this morning across fond du lac and sheboygan and beaver dam is reporting the showers. here is a look at the big picture. you can see especially in the north counties, sheboygan and fond du lac and west bend all of this associated with a cool front coming through. after the cool front rolls through, it takes the showers and the clouds with it. the temperatures this morning not bad 50 at beaver dam and watertown and 57 at port washington. we hold in the 50s. sunrise 6:36. showers will end and much of the balance of the day dry. now to matt for the traffic.