Voters go to the Polls in Alabama
DOUG JONES (D), ALABAMA SENATE CANDIDATE: I think they've seen in Doug Jones a partner for a long time and they sure don't see a partner in Roy Moore if you look in the history of what he has said about slavery, secessionists, getting rid of amendments that were passed right after the Civil War. It's only natural, I think, that the African-American community rally around someone who was there for them and prosecuted a heinous crime that occurred decades ago.</s>QUESTION: Sir, following up on the question about Roy Moore, if the day doesn't go like you're hoping and he wins, should the Senate immediately --</s>JONES: I am not going to -- I'm not going to answer that question. I mean I, you know, look, that's not going to be me. First of all, I don't think we're going to get that. You know, we -- in Alabama, we have come so far with too many things. And there's this saying, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. Alabama is not going to let that shame happen again.</s>HARLOW: He is betting clearly that he is going to win today. With us, Bill Britt, editor and chief for the news site Alabama Political Reporter. Someone who has interviewed Roy Moore many times, including the last -- really last interview he did over the weekend. Thanks for being with us, Bill.</s>BILL BRITT, EDITOR-IN-CHEF, ALABAMA POLITICAL REPORTER: Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be with you on -- it's a cold morning here in Alabama and it's going to get colder.</s>HARLOW: Spoken like a true Minnesotan, you know nothing about cold, but I'll give that to you. It is election day in Alabama. What will decide the victor tonight?</s>BRITT: Well, it's going to be turnout. I mean if turnout is 800,000 or less, Roy Moore wins. If it's a million or over, I think most experts would agree that Jones did get out the vote and they'll win. A lot of enthusiasm on both sides. The momentum right now is looking in Mr. Jones' favor. But, again, this is Alabama. Nothing is a given.</s>BERMAN: You know, some of the prognosticators are looking at some of the absentee ballot requests in some of the countries that are up or way up.</s>HARLOW: Yes.</s>BERMAN: Tuscaloosa, Madison, Lauderdale, Franklin, Morgan, Limestone, Montgomery. Anything that you see in some of these? I know Montgomery is a more Democratic area. Tuscaloosa might be a student area. What do you see here?</s>BRITT: Well, yes, and the other fact is that Montgomery is holding a special election to replace a house -- a state house seat and a state senate seat. And those are both -- seats are going to be won by African-Americans. So that will help with the turnout. As far as what we're seeing in Jefferson Counties, you know, that's going to go Jones' way. I think we have to look at Shelby County, which is a suburb of Birmingham, a Jefferson County suburb, and see what happens there. I think that's the place to watch. Mobile County is a place to watch. The rural counties. If voters show up in the rural counties, it's probably all over for Jones.</s>HARLOW: The polls were wrong, needless to say, in the general election, and there turned out to be what the Trump team had said there was going to be and the sort of secret Trump vote. Is there a secret Roy Moore vote right now in Alabama?</s>BRITT: I tend to think so. I mean we have spent the weekend in Etowah County, which is the home of Roy Moore. My wife, you know, is from here, of course. And we talked to folks at the grocery store and at the filling station. And by and large, if people will talk at all, they say that they are -- they are voting for Moore. Now, this is just one small county and people here do know Roy Moore for years and years, but people say they're leaning that way. Again, it's going to come down to, can Mr. Jones motivate the African-American community.</s>HARLOW: Yes.</s>BRITT: I mean Hillary Clinton did not motivate them very well in the general last year.</s>BERMAN: So there have been outsiders coming in. Steve Bannon has been in there campaigning. Charles Barkley, who's not an outsider, is actually from Alabama, was campaigning for Doug Jones. There have been phone calls in from each side. Does any of that have an effect?</s>BRITT: Well, you know, John, I've said this a million times, we're the</s>BERMAN: Hopefully that was the first wave of exit polls coming back, someone telling you where things stand at 9:47 Eastern Time. Bill Britt, great to have you with us. Thank you for walking us through this Alabama election. We think this is the final one today for some time, so we'll talk to you soon, Bill, thank you.</s>BRITT: All right, thank you. You, too. You all have a wonderful day.</s>HARLOW: You too.</s>BERMAN: All right, a Colorado family faces a heartbreaking choice, pay their mortgage or pay for their son's medicine. Why? They depend on the Children's Health Insurance Program, which Congress has not renewed.