Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Voting Underway in FL Election; Supreme Court Takes Up Mail-In Ballots Dispute Before Midterms; State of Talks with Iran Remain Unclear; Iranian Sources: U.S. has Reached Out but No Full Negotiations. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired March 24, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: You will never have an honest election if you have mail-in ballots. And it's time that the Republicans get tough and stop it. Because the Democrats want it. It's the only way they can get elected.

The problem I have with Colorado, one of the big problems, they do mail-in voting. They went to all mail-in voting. So, they have automatically crooked elections. And we can't have that.

Corrupt mail-in ballots. We're the only country in the world that does it that way. Corrupt as hell.

You know, brought to my attention today that we're the only country that does mail-in voting. Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating. I call it mail-in cheating. And we got to do something about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Let's go live to CNN's Randi Kaye. She's on the scene for us in Florida right now. What are you hearing on the ground where you are, Randi?

KANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been interesting, Wolf. As you said, today's election is between Republican John Maples and Democrat Emily Gregory. She's a business owner, a military spouse, and a first-time candidate. He is a former council member from a nearby town.

But it's important to note here, Wolf, that President Donald Trump won this district in 2024 by 11 points. And so, the question is, how much of a factor will he be in this race? As you said, the Democrats are certainly hoping to flip this seat from red to blue. That would just be adding to a string of nationwide victories. And we were able to confirm that President Donald Trump did vote by mail, according to the Palm Beach County records. Now, as you know, yesterday, he called mail-in voting mail-in cheating. So, it's interesting that we were able to confirm that he did vote by mail.

He is one of 180,000 residents here in District 87 that can vote today in this special election. There are others that voted by mail, others that took part in early voting. But the White House has said, in regard to his vote by mail, they issued a statement to CNN saying, as everyone knows, the president is a resident of Palm Beach and participates in Florida elections. But he obviously primarily lives at the White House in Washington, D.C. This is a non-story.

Well, we've been talking to voters here all morning, both Republican and Democrats, not only about the election, but also about President Trump's influence in the election, as well as the fact that he voted by mail. And here's some of what we heard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's no reason to do by mail.

KAYE: So, do you think President Trump shouldn't have voted by mail?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Correct. I think he shouldn't have. If he's against something, why are you doing it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think voting by mail is fine. So, you know, he seems to talk out of both sides of his mouth about it. Like he doesn't like it if it's not going to help Republicans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, all we can do is vote, right? So, vote and pray.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Now, Donald Trump did endorse John Maples, the Republican in this race, calling Maples a very successful businessman and civil leader who is known and loved, adding that he will be a terrific legislator. When I asked some of the voters here, again, both Republicans and Democrats, whether or not Donald Trump is a factor in this race, many of them said they didn't even know that he had endorsed John Maples and that wasn't really a factor for them, while others did say that was important, that whatever President Donald Trump says, they will do.

So, the polls are open here in Florida until 7:00 p.m. tonight, Wolf, and we should have some results after that.

BLITZER: All right. We'll see how that unfolds. Randi Kaye on the scene for us. Thank you very, very much. Also happening now, President Trump's ongoing battle against mail-in voting may soon be decided. The U.S. Supreme Court is now considering limits on ballots received after Election Day in a critical case that could significantly reshape the upcoming midterm elections. The case could have major implications for deadlines in other states as well that include a grace period.

CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig is here with me in the Situation Room. So, what was your assessment of the arguments that were made at the Supreme Court yesterday?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER STATE AND FEDERAL PROSECUTOR AND FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK: Well, Wolf, a lot of people across the country who vote by mail ought to get ready to send their ballots in earlier this coming election than they have in the past.

Now, at issue yesterday was a Mississippi State law that gives people a five-day grace period. It says it's OK as long as your ballot is postmarked by Election Day, it can still be counted if it's received up to five days after the election. Now, Mississippi is one of about 14 states across the country that has these grace periods. They can range from one day up to 21 days. It's not a red or blue state thing. For example, Mississippi has laws like this, as does Texas. On the other hand, so does California, so does Washington, D.C.

Now, the gist of the argument yesterday from the challengers, which the six conservative justices seem to agree with, is that Election Day is Election Day. If you allow votes to be counted after the fact, that can lead to confusion, that could even potentially lead to fraud. On the other hand, Mississippi defended its law and the liberals seem to agree by saying, no, as long as ballots are postmarked by Election Day, states can allow extra time in which to count it.

But it sounded to me, Wolf, like this is headed towards the common six-to-three split, and it sounds like these grace periods are likely to be struck down.

[10:35:00]

BLITZER: Interesting. The Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said the issue comes down to who decides the policy, the states or the Congress. About 30 states have a grace period that counts ballots mailed by Election Day. Could the states lose power here?

HONIG: Yes, for sure. So, I think people are familiar with the concept that the Constitution, Article I, Section 4, says that the states get to choose. Here we see the states may choose the time, place, and manner of holding elections. That's for the states.

However, you have to read on here, because the second part of this provision says, but the Congress may at any time by law or alter such regulations. So, it's up to the states unless Congress acts. And a key argument yesterday was when Congress enacted Election Day back in the 1870s, the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, did that mean everything has to be over, including the counting, or did that just mean the ballots have to be cast?

And again, the conservatives seem to read that as that means everything. That means the casting and counting of ballots. And that's why I expect these grace periods are going to come to an end. So, if you vote in one of those states, get ready to send it in a little earlier.

BLITZER: Yes, better get it in before Election Day in order to make sure it's going to be counted. If the rules do change, though, will that go into effect by this November's midterms?

HONIG: Yes. This was specifically addressed yesterday. Justice Kavanaugh asked the challengers, if we strike down these grace periods, are you going to be able to enact them by this midterm? And the answer was yes. We just need about 45 days' notice. Even if the Supreme Court rules at the very end of its term, that'll be in June. That's plenty of time for November.

So, these rules could change, and this will impact hundreds of thousands of votes, could impact hundreds of thousands of votes in these midterms coming up November 26th.

BLITZER: All right. We'll see what the Supreme Court decides, although you have a good sense of what they will decide. As always, Elie Honig, thank you very, very much.

HONIG: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Still ahead, oil prices are back up this morning despite President Trump's optimism about talks to end the war with Iran. So, what does all of the uncertainty mean for the rapidly rising price of gas? We'll make it -- we'll try to make it make sense after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, the price of gas nearing $4 per gallon. According to the AAA, the average price of a gallon of a gas this morning is $3.98. All of this despite oil prices easing a bit after President Trump suggested that ongoing talks between the United States and Iran could end the war.

Let's go live right now to CNN Business Senior Reporter David Goldman. David, make it make sense for us today's question, how will $4 gas affect you?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Wolf. Everyone wants to know when is this price going to go down? It's hurting so many people at the pump. It's $3.98. We're on the verge of $4. And you can see, it has gone up almost -- well, more than $1 since the war started, and it's gone up almost $0.20 just in the last week.

This is really, really causing a lot of pain. And you can see that because look at all of these price that go up because of the price of gas. You've got perishable goods, like dairy, meat, produce. But I want to circle these in red because these are the ones that really matter. Look at shipping, look at travel, look at airfare. All of these are all ready higher. We are already seeing higher plane tickets. It costs more to travel. And everything that goes on a truck, that means that that diesel price that's over $5, that's getting added to your costs.

Now, how high is gas going to go? Well, in 2022, the last time that we had gas prices this high, look at this, $110, and gas went up to $4.65. We're not there yet. Right now, well, this was yesterday at $98 a barrel, and we were at $3.96. There's a lot more room to run here. Now, $10 gas increases equal $450 for the average American family. You do the math, because we've gone up $30 since the start of the war, and $0.24 for the price of gas per gallon. We're up way more than that, so this could get pretty ugly pretty fast.

Now, one of the things that you could do about this is lower the gas tax, and that has happened already in Georgia. It had a pretty high gas tax at $0.33 per gallon, $0.37 for diesel. It's not the only one. Look at these gas taxes, $0.70 in California, $0.59 in Washington. It's not the only place. Even in the Midwest, $0.66 in Illinois.

But economists don't love this. The reason is it creates artificial demand when you lower these gas taxes. Politicians, on the other hand, they might see this. They might want to give some of their citizens a break, and a lot of that is because of that high gas tax. Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. Good point. David Goldman, thank you very, very much. If you would like David to help you make it make sense, email your question to makeitmakesense@cnn.com.

Coming up, President Trump says the U.S. and Iran are in negotiations. We're going to bring you the very latest developments that we're hearing from Iran. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:45:00]

BLITZER: All right. There's important breaking news coming into the Situation Room. We're now learning from a senior Iranian source that there has been an outreach between the U.S. and Iran. The source tells CNN that this was initiated by Washington.

With us now, CNN military analyst, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton, and CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier. Kim, what do you make of this development?

KIM DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: The U.S. just blinked. I mean, we already saw it in the series of changing tweets or truths from President Trump. You know, one day he's like, the war's about to end. The next day, we're going to obliterate your energy facilities. And then the next day, we think there are talks.

From the perspective of the Iranians, this means the U.S. has capitulated. And I think they're going to have a hard time getting much more at the negotiating table than they had before this whole war was launched.

BLITZER: Colonel Leighton, at this point, does Iran win simply by not outright losing this war?

[10:50:00]

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST AND U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): Yes, absolutely. I think that's certainly from the Iranian perception, that's exactly what's going on, because they need to just outlast the United States. And we have to remember, they've been around for well over 2,500 years in one form or another as an empire, and then now in its latest form as the Islamic Republic. And that is going to be the key. They have outlasted the United States and basically told not only their own people, but the region as a whole, that they are here to stay, and that their influence is going to be paramount once again in the Persian Gulf region.

BLITZER: And amidst all of this, Kim, it's interesting -- did you want to make a point?

DOZIER: I was just going to say the region as a whole could be what pushes back. From Israel to Saudi Arabia, they don't want Iran to have ballistic missile capability that it has right now to reach both. And I think they're going to drive a hard bargain with Washington saying, from the Israeli point of view, we're not going to stop fighting. And from the Saudi point of view, they're going to quietly urge continued pressure on Iran because they need them defanged.

BLITZER: And the Saudis and the Israelis and other Gulf Arab states, they don't want Iran to have any kind of nuclear capability.

DOZIER: Absolutely. And now, the question will be, is the U.S. going to walk away and leave that nuclear material that was buried in a previous U.S. strike inside Iran for Iran to some point excavate, or are they going to drive a hard bargain and say that's got to come out?

BLITZER: What do you think?

LEIGHTON: And one of the key things -- you know, I agree absolutely with what Kim is saying. The other thing to look at is all the war aims that were originally talked about by the administration and by various elements within both the Pentagon and the White House. All of those need to, we need to basically have a checklist. Which ones have been met? Which ones have not been met? And my bet is that a lot of them will not have been met. Maybe all of them will not have been met. And the nuclear one being a key element there.

BLITZER: If they can get that uranium out of there somehow. And it may require ground troops or whatever, but that's clearly an objective.

LEIGHTON: It is an objective. And the question is, will they go for that objective? Will they actually try to realize that objective, or will they give up and let the Iranians keep that enriched uranium?

DOZIER: But estimates of what it would take to get that material out under fire, it would take it like a couple of weeks of excavation. So, the U.S. would have to send in a large number of ground troops to secure the site while digging it out. It would be much better if this was some sort of negotiated solution.

BLITZER: We'll see if that happens. Iran is threatening, Kim, to strike Israeli forces in Gaza right now, and northern Israel for that matter, if what it calls crimes against Palestinians and Lebanese continue. Do you see a scenario where the U.S. can settle its conflict with Iran, but Israel, on the other hand, will continue its war against Iran? DOZIER: Absolutely. And if Israel continues, then Iran might also continue its semi-closure of the Strait of Hormuz and harassment of the Gulf countries, which are closer. And it also shows you that despite this amazing air campaign, Iran has maintained the capability to threaten countries in the heart of Israel.

BLITZER: Parts of Israel. And Tel Aviv is coming under a lot of Iranian attack right now. And we all thought the Iron Dome was so great, but it looks like it's not necessarily 100 percent perfect.

LEIGHTON: Well, that's right. And we always have to keep in mind, we have some great systems, as do the Israelis, the Iron Dome system, plus the David Sling and the Arrow system, which are all part of that whole picture of air and missile defenses that the Israelis have. Those are not totally impenetrable. And because they're not impenetrable, at least in this case, at least 8 percent of all missiles and drones that the Iranians lob against Israel are getting through. And all it takes is one to create some major damage.

BLITZER: Do you think Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump, and I know they spoke this week, are on the same page as far as ending this war?

DOZIER: A statement by the Israeli prime minister yesterday, it was very kind of anodyne and careful, but it mentioned that Israel would continue to act in its own interest to protect its people and its territory. I think that was a diplomatic signal that the U.S. might be done with this fight, but Israel knows it faces a constant existential threat, and it'll do what it has to do.

BLITZER: What do you think?

DOZIER: I agree, because I read the same statement that Kim read, and the thing that the Israelis are saying, basically, is this is a battle between the state of Israel and a theocracy in Iran. Way back before the revolution, there was a very close relationship between Israel and Iran under the Shah. That, of course, is part of history and no longer the case.

But the thing is that with Israel, they are looking at this as an existential issue. The Iranians are also looking at it as an existential issue. And because of that, that conflict is going to continue, no matter what happens between the U.S. and Iran.

[10:55:00]

BLITZER: Good relationship between Israel and the Shah of Iran. That was, what, almost 50 years ago?

LEIGHTON: That's right.

BLITZER: That's a long time. All right. Guys, thank you very, very much. We'll continue this conversation down the road.

Coming up, the National Guard is now on the ground in Hawaii after that state got hit with some of the worst flooding it's seen in decades. We'll speak live with Hawaii Governor Josh Green about the cleanup and the recovery that's coming up in our next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:00]