Early Voting on The Huffington Post

Yankees-Angels Game 4: A-Rod, CC Sabathia Bring New York To Brink Of World Series With Win Over Los Angeles

2009-10-21T00:23:56Z

ANAHEIM, Calif. — When Derek Jeter recalls the last time the New York Yankees got this close to the World Series, he gets chills down his spine that have nothing to do with the cold he's fighting.

"If you have the opportunity to get something over with, you'd like to do it," the New York captain said. "It's not always going to happen."

Jeffrey Feldman: "We Need Help!": The Health Care Clip Every American Should Watch

2009-08-27T15:31:24Z

As the battle heats up to pass meaningful health care reform with a robust public option, a video has emerged that captures the raw emotions of Americans suffering under the cruelty of the current system. More than any video I have seen, this short clip amplifies the moral imperative for reform capable of freeing us all from the health insurance nightmare where nameless, faceless bureaucrats routinely tosses our loved ones in the trash heap at the precise moment we need the most care--a system that has come to symbolize the banality of evil in our time.

On August 25, CNN's Rick Sanchez introduced a video recorded at a town hall meeting in Oklahoma hosted by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK). In the clip, a constituent begins her question with a desperate plea, "Senator Coburn, we need help!" Her voice is then overwhelmed by the kind of choking tears that reveal a person reduced whose frustration and suffering has brought them to the last possible chance to save the life of the person they love more than anyone else in the world. She then explains her situation:

My husband has traumatic brain injury. His health insurance will not cover him to eat and drink. What I need to know is, are you going to help him so he can eat and drink?

As the questioner's courageous voice fades into heaving sobs, Senator Coburn calmly responds,"Yeah, we'll help. The first thing we'll do is see what we can do individually to help you through our office." Initially, Coburn seems headed towards a reassuring resolution: a woman asks a representative of government for help and he responds that his office will act. But then he concludes with the following:

But the other thing that's missing in this debate is us as neighbors helping people who need are help. We tend to--the idea that government is the solution to all our problems is an inaccurate, a very inaccurate statement.

Coburn answers an American's desperate plea for help to care for her husband, in other words, by repeating the anti-government mantra of the Republican Party. The political calculus in Coburn's words hang in the room room like an icy cloud.

In an unfortunate quirk of timing, the tragic passing of Senator Edward Kennedy created a tidal wave of media coverage that has all but buried this powerful video clip from gaining the kind of viewership it truly deserves.

But in an age where YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and good old fashioned email can often broadcast a video faster than traditional media, it really is possible for every American to see this clip.

Since watching the video of the Oklahoma town hall I have forwarded it to thousands of people. Spreading the call for reform has never been simpler.

But by showing the video, we do much more than shine a light on the banality of health insurance evil, we also do our part to tip the narrative towards a more American set of values.

Until now, the health care debate has been pushed as a larger story about "government run insurance will take away our freedom." The opponents of reform insist that a public option will lead to tyranny and the end of America. The tears in this video bring us to a new big picture: "Americans are not free so long as they can be deprived of care by a cruel industry." Those who advocate passionately for a public option can now insist with clear evidence that an America without health care reform is an America broken by fear.

One woman's tears and the courage to stand up and tell her story could give an opportunity to us all to push the kind of change this country so desperately needs. And all we need to do is show this video to everyone we know.

Dan Dorfman: The Nastiest Four-Letter Word

2009-03-30T11:01:44Z

Wall Street may have gone wild over Uncle Sam's plan to buy $1 trillion of bad bank assets to help energize the economy, but some investment pros argue that the ballooning amount of debt at all levels -- especially in the consumer sector -- plus the public's determination to honker down and borrow less -- remains a lingering economic killer.

If that's true -- and it seems to make sense -- the end result of the debt debacle appears inevitable: job firings, consumer spending and home foreclosures will continue to mount, while stocks, though off nearly 50% from their October 2007 highs, should once again go down for the count.

Granted, the whopping stimulus packages -- $3 trillion and counting and the purchase of toxic bank assets -- should help inject big bucks into the economic stream. But serious questions remain whether financially-strapped consumers, under great economic stress, will take that money and hop aboard the spending bandwagon. The latest savings rate -- a jump in January to 5%, the highest level in 14 years -- suggests not, rather that the consumer has become much less of a spendthrift. That's an ominous sign since debt expansion -- not debt contraction -- is what economic growth is all about.

What makes it all so relevant is that the overwhelming amount of debt raises serious questions about the vigor of Washington's rescue packages. It also casts heavy suspicion on Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke's recent sunny forecast on 60 Minutes that the recession will probably end later this year and the market rally that followed it. He made a similarly poor prediction in early 2008.

The way Wall Street veteran Thornton Oglove figures it, Bernanke might well heed the words of Abraham Lincoln, who aptly once said, "Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."

That's essentially his assessment of Bernanke's latest prediction. He also belittles the Fed chairman's forecasting record, noting that Bernanke hasn't made an accurate prediction on an economic turning point in seven years.

Oglove is convinced that the current recession will spill well over into 2010, in large part because of what he calls "the triplets of financial hell." These are an across-the-board credit crisis (a reflection of bulging debt-loads and the refusal of lenders to lend), the crashes in the stock and real estate markets and growing unemployment.

Speaking of unemployment, the latest monthly figure shows a rise to 8.1%. But O'glove figures if you factor in the various categories of unemployment -- namely the actual unemployed, discouraged workers who have given up looking for a job and part-time workers who would like to be employed full time -- the jobless number probably approaches 15%. Given no letup in the economic turmoil, he looks for the ever growing increase in unemployment to have a "horrific effect" on the price of homes and most segments of debt. Heightening the consumer's woes is a $300 billion drop in wages and salaries on an annualized basis.

A former banking and insurance analyst and now a San Francisco investment consultant, Oglove made a name for himself on Wall Street between 1968 and 1990 as a crack investigator of balance sheets and the quality of earnings.

There's no doubt that debt -- more specifically, too much of it -- is probably the nastiest and most worrisome four-letter word right now in the economic vocabulary. The debt numbers are frightening. The average consumer household, for example, is in hock for 140% of its annual income or, in its entirety, for about $14 trillion.

Included here are $700 billion of sub-prime mortgages, $4.7 trillion of prime mortgage debt, a fair amount of which is becoming increasingly suspect because of the recession, $1 trillion of auto loans, and credit card debt of $1.1 trillion, coupled with about $4 trillion of credit lines. Those credit lines, though, are dwindling fast as credit card companies, stung by soaring debt defaults, are slashing the numbers of their potential borrowers. By year end, O'glove calculates, "we should have another credit debacle on our hands."

Adding to the financial impotence of consumers was last year's wealth devastation. According to the Federal Reserve, the average U.S. household, rocked by wicked declines in the value of its stock portfolio and its home, lost about 18% of its net worth, or in total $11.4 trillion.

Government debt also figures into the equation. Currently close to $11 trillion, up from $9.4 trillion a year ago, Oglove figures the number will rise to $20 trillion in four years. That, of course, would be a harbinger of higher taxes.

Noting that the total U.S. stimulus package to date, including government monies lent, spent or pledged, now totals almost $12 trillion. O'glove reckons hyper inflation undoubtedly lies ahead because of the inevitable need to speed up the printing presses even more. By year end, he believes, most economists are likely to be more worried about inflation than deflation. He notes, in fact, that inflation is already presently growing at a rapid rate in such areas as food, medical costs and college tuition.

What does it all mean as far as investors go? "Much lower equity prices, possibly down to Dow 5000," says O'glove, "because the market is now predicting the U.S. is entering a mini-depression."

Dandordan@aol.com

Remittances To Latin America, Caribbean Nations To Decline This Year After A Decade Of Growth

2009-03-17T08:56:24Z

WASHINGTON -- The slumping global economy is slowing the amount of money that migrant workers send home to their families in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a new survey that suggests a troubling trend in a crucial source of revenue for many nations in the region.

Early Voting Turnout Light In Emanuel Replacement Race

2009-02-19T15:18:24Z

The first three days of early voting in the 5th Congressional District special primary featured only 839 Democratic ballots cast in Chicago.

Shannyn Moore: Stolen Election from Alaska?

2008-11-06T04:39:59Z

UPDATE: Alaska On eBay? Election Numbers Update

Original post:

Something stinks. Not just an ordinary low tide smell. Not like something you'd blame on the dog. It smells like an infection. For me to plug my nose, I'd have to overlook some curious facts.

In Alaska, more people voted for George W. Bush in 2004 than for Sarah Palin on Tuesday despite an identical 61-36 margin of victory. Yes. Only four years ago 54,304 Alaskans got off their sofas and voted for Bush, but decided to sit home and not vote for Palin in 2008. In turn, I have to ignore the 30,520 Alaskans who felt progressive enough in 2004 to vote for John Kerry, but weren't inspired to vote for Barack Obama. I would have to glance past the 1,700% increase in the Democratic caucus in February, the 20,991 newly registered voters, and the three largest political rallies in Alaska's history. I would also have to forget the people I stood in a long line with to early vote. It would be helpful not to know every other presidential election since Alaska began keeping records has had a larger turn out than the one we just had with our own Governor on the ticket. Try not to remember 12.4% more Alaskans showed up for the August primary as compared to four years ago, before the Palin nomination. Don't think about the Lower 49's record voter turn out this year either. Try to delete the memory file, though difficult, that 80% of us approved of Sarah Palin just two months ago.

Something stinks. You don't care? Obama won. Yes. He. Did! Free at Last! Wait. Democracy demands all of the votes be counted...if you can find them.

In the balance hangs the fate of Alaska's Senate and House seats. We still don't know if we have elected the now convicted felon Ted Stevens, or Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. We still don't know if Don Young and his million dollar legal problems will defeat former State Representative Ethan Berkowitz and his dreams of Washington DC. Alaska hasn't had Democrat representation in Congress since Mike Gravel lost his senate seat in 1980.

Four years ago, 313,592 out of 474,740 registered voters in Alaska participated in the election-a 66% turnout. Taking into account 49,000 outstanding ballots, on Tuesday 272,633 out of 495,731 registered Alaskans showed up at the polls; a turnout of 54.9%. That's a decrease of more than 11% in voter turnout even though passions ran high for and against Barack Obama, as well as for and against Sarah Palin! This year, early voters set a new record. As of last Thursday, with 4 days left to vote early, 15,000 Alaskans showed up-shattering the old record set in 2004 by 28%! Consider the most popular governor in history-and now the most polarizing-was on the Republican ticket. Consider the historic nature of this race; the first African American presidential candidate EVER! The second woman to ever make a presidential ticket; and she's one of our own. Despite that, we're supposed to believe that overall participation DECREASED by 11%. Not only that, but this historic election both nationally and for Alaska HAD THE LOWEST ALASKA TURNOUT FOR A PRESIDENTIAL RACE EVER!!! That makes sense. REALLY??? Something stinks.

But wait, there's more...

Pre election polls had both Mark Begich-D and Ethan Berkowitz-D solidly beating incumbents Senator Ted Stevens and Congressman Don Young by at least 6-10 points. Stevens is currently ahead by 3,353 votes with 49,000 ballots left to count. Berkowitz, however, is behind by 16,887 votes; a 51-43 margin.

Are we to believe Don Young came from an 8 point average polling deficit to win by 8 points-a whopping 16 point turnaround??? Remember how historic the pundits thought Hillary Clinton's come from behind New Hampshire Primary victory was? She trailed Barack Obama by 9% in the pre primary polls and ended up winning by 2 points. It was called the most "stunning comeback in political history." On Election Night, Don Young topped Hillary Clinton's startling and unprecedented comeback.

Furthermore, there were nearly three thousand Alaskans, (2,783) that voted yet left the hotly contested congressional race blank. In the highly publicized senate race, complete with a nationally covered trial that ended with seven felony convictions for the incumbent, 1,392 Alaskans submitted a ballot and failed to register a vote in the senate race. I'm not sure statistically what that means, but it strikes me as odd that well over a thousand Alaskans would wait in long lines and not cast a vote in either the senate race or the congressional race-especially since there was only one ballot measure. In addition, this particular election had an extra high degree of local interest with Governor Palin on the national stage.

McCain-Palin was ahead in Alaska pre election polling by as much as 55-40. The Haysresearch Poll that came out Sunday indicated that gap had closed to 2.7 points! That poll was certainly consistent with Palin's reverse meteoric fall in popularity within the state of Alaska. In that same Haysresearch Poll released on November 2, Question 2 addressed Governor Palin's positive-negative rating. 11% of Alaskans surveyed said their opinion of Palin had become more positive while 37% indicated they were more negative towards Palin. Yesterday's vote contradicts those polls. McCain-Palin won Alaska 61 -36! A 25 POINT SPREAD!!! An identical point spread as the 2004 Election.

Alaska has certainly had our share of election hanky panky. Check out this link to our 2004 election results. There are 40 districts in Alaska. The Anchorage area districts run from District 17-District 32. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and pick any district from 17-32. Pay particular attention to the 3rd column labeled % turnout. Hit the back arrow and select another district. There are more precincts with voter turnout over 100% than under 100%. In other words, many more people voted in Anchorage area precincts than there were registered voters. Clearly, this is not possible.

In 2006, the Democrats filed a lawsuit against the Alaska Division of Elections to release public records needed to verify the 2004 election results. The Democrats also sought to have the Alaska Division of Elections release the raw data for the 2006 election. The State requested several deadline extensions and eventually refused to release the "central tabulator data file" taken from the Diebold-supplied computer used to run the "GEMS" (Global Election Management Software) application. A lawsuit was filed in Superior Court seeking release of the records. The Court eventually forced the State to release the 2004 database. The software was found to contain hundreds of edits after the 2004 election, including as late as July of 2006, prior to the release of the data.

With all that history, and the bizarre anomalies in polling and voting and reports from the field of ballots not being scanned on-site due to broken machines, could this election have been stolen?

The world is watching Alaska's US Senate race. When President-Elect Barack Obama is sworn in on January 20, he will be greeted by a Senate with at least 57 Democrats-three shy of a filibuster-proof majority. And, there are still three hotly contested US Senate races that are too close to call; Georgia, Minnesota and Alaska. Just when we thought we were out of the national spotlight...

I've always said if Democracy was a religion, voting would be the sacrament. I'm wondering if someone stole the body and blood of this election. I'm wondering if the wine isn't poisoned. Take a few whiffs. Breathe deeply. See if you don't come to the same conclusion. Where are the votes? Something stinks at the Alaska Division of Elections.

UPDATE: Alaska On eBay? Election Numbers Update

SEE UPDATED ELECTION INFORMATION STORY

Erik Ose: Yes We Can, Said Barack Obama, And We Did

2008-11-05T20:09:48Z

The day after the 2008 election of Barack Obama, our first African-American president, it is a truly historic time to be an American. Slavery was one of the United States' original sins, practiced and tolerated even as the country declared our independence from England in 1776, and part of the national fabric for nearly a century afterwards. The violent overthrow of Reconstruction in the South and imposition of Jim Crow laws relegated most black Americans to second-class citizenship for another eighty-odd years, until the civil rights movement smashed the legal underpinnings of segregation and the 1965 Voting Rights Act finally gave the power of the vote to all.

The wounds borne of such a long struggle against racism, hatred, and enforced economic servitude remain with us today. Less than a year ago, the concept of a black American president was still considered fantasy to many, or, as Bill Clinton swears he was misquoted in January, "the biggest fairy tale" imaginable. Some thought Obama's presidential run was destined to fail for this reason alone.

Yet he won in Southern states like Virginia, capitol of the old Confederacy, and North Carolina, cradle of the sit-in movement in 1960, by mobilizing the same multi-racial coalition that first swept him over the top in South Carolina's primary early this year. And Obama carried Florida, with a big assist from his early vote strategy, the state where elections stolen from black voters shut down Reconstruction in 1876 and led to our current national nightmare under George W. Bush in 2000.

A wave of euphoria gripped the country starting on election night, with Americans dancing in the streets from coast to coast. Today, newspapers sold out their entire press runs and rushed to print more copies to meet demand for the celebratory headline, "Obama Wins." The eminent Duke University historian John Hope Franklin confirmed the national mood, calling it "one of the most momentous, if not the most historic moment in the history of this country."

Obama's victory does not spell the end of racial disparity in America, but it is a ringing sign of progress, a triumph on the road to greater equality and realizing the Dream that Martin Luther King, Jr. revealed to us.

Earlier this afternoon, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. delivered a stirring commentary on NPR's All Things Considered (originally written for TheRoot.com) in which he compared today to the day after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, and shared the reaction of Frederick Douglass,

"the greatest black orator in our history before Dr. King Jr., (who) said that the day was not a day for speeches and 'scarcely a day for prose.' Rather, he said, 'it is a day for poetry and song, a new song.' "

Erik Ose is a veteran of Democratic campaigns in North Carolina and blogs at The Latest Outrage.

Read more reaction from HuffPost bloggers to Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election

Theresa Darklady Reed: Focus On the Family Foresees Unrestricted Porn with Obama Presidency

2008-11-04T17:53:27Z

The few adult industry professionals still wondering who to vote for in Tuesday's presidential election might take a tip from anti-porn evangelical bully boy Focus on the Family, which assures an anxious electorate that an Obama presidency could well bring about a host of liberal evils, including the fact that "porn will be available practically everywhere with no restrictions."

While those who prefer to traffic in content that features consenting adults likely won't be pleased with an utterly "no restrictions" industry, if what James Dodson's mouthpiece says is true, it will certainly be a welcome change for those who create within the erotic landscape.

In Focus on the Family's hypothetical, futuristic "Letter from 2012 in Obama's America," the organization attempts to whip up the fear within its base by insisting that a future under a president Obama "could" see an end to the world as they wish to know it.

Among the litany of terrors the organization hysterically lists as likely are same-sex marriage in all 50 states, a socially liberal Supreme Court, the disbanding of the Boy Scouts, "compulsory training in varieties of gender identification in Grade 1," the eradication of religious adoption agencies, the banishment of religious programming as illegal "hate speech," the liberal poisonings of home school educations, gays serving openly in the military, the assurance of abortion rights, the forced participation in abortions by medical providers who are morally opposed to them -- and the end of all obscenity laws."

"In the 2011 decision," the fictional evangelical from the future explains, "the Court essentially found that any pornographic work had some measure of 'serious artistic value,' at least according to some observers, and thus any censorship of any kind of pornographic material was an unconstitutional restriction on the First Amendment freedom of speech and freedom of the press."

The news only gets rosier for erotic expression and gloomier for those opposed to it, as the missive continues. "In addition, all city and county laws restricting pornography were struck down by this decision. As a result, pornographic magazines are now openly displayed in gas stations, grocery stores, and newsstands (as they have been in European countries for several years."

And we all know about those "European countries" and their godless ways.

In addition to sexual excess that nearly rivals that of fallen conservative religious leaders and their GOP supporters, the tirade assures readers that al Qaeda operatives quickly flooded into unoccupied Iraq, the end of Bush's domestic wiretapping scheme led to massive terrorist attacks throughout the nation itself, Russia repeatedly breached its neighbor's boundaries, Communist countries enjoyed tighter domestic ties to the U.S., and an Iranian nuke attack was successfully launched against Israel.

Not bad for two years.

But the horrors don't stop there. With all medical insurance fully nationalized, nobody was able to get in to see a doctor, leading to a massive rise in both personal taxation and citizen mortality. With gasoline at more than $7.00/gallon, who could afford to get to the doctor, anyway?

Since this is a call to action, the writer doesn't place the fault for all these woes at the feet of a sinful pornography and sensuality-loving populace. Instead he assures his readers that "Christians share a lot of the blame."

Their crime? Having been influenced by a desire for "change" that was nurtured and encouraged by a foolish attraction to Obama's reasoning power and thoughtful nature.

The world has one more day before America learns whether the events that "A Christian from 2012" warns about will begin to unfold. The world will learn whether Americans chose an angry, unfocused man with a life-long dream of power and his divisive, ill-informed, drums-of-war beating running mate -- or a man whom even his most bitter enemies admit is diplomatic, eloquent, reasonable and thoughtful.

As "A Christian from 2012" reminds, Jesus is quoted as observing that "You will recognize them by their fruits."

November is harvest time.

Don't forget to vote.

Natasha Chen: Obama's Support in Suburban Texas May Help Down-Ballot Dems

2008-11-04T15:44:39Z

One of the most Republican areas in Texas may have as much as 45 percent support for Barack Obama today. Electing Obama in Williamson County is a big stretch, but the fact that it is even possible is astounding in this place, the fastest growing area of the state. More importantly, this suburban area northwest of Austin is a bellwether for political winds sweeping through Texas, where Democrats need only five seats to win back control of the state house of representatives.

Williamson County, which includes the cities of Hutto, Round Rock, Georgetown and Taylor, is seeing most of its growth from urban populations moving out of the city, creating a much more diverse community than just a few years ago. This movement is seen in many other areas of Texas as well, according to state demographers.

Early voting in Texas took place from Oct. 20 through Oct. 31, which included both mail-in ballots and in-person voting at polling places. Just in those 11 days, 113,000 ballots were cast. That's only 10,000 votes shy of the total ballots counted from Williamson in the 2004 presidential race. But as of 2:00pm CST on Election Day, turnout has been pretty light.

Campaign staff from both parties are knocking on doors and calling residents today, but no one knows what the results will be, because no public polls have been done recently on the presidential race or otherwise in Williamson County. The only data from which to predict is from the primaries, where Democrats came out in unprecedented numbers and chose Obama over Clinton.

"I think Obama - if not really close, he'll be within three or four points. Remember, we have cities out there that are solid blocks of Republicans," said Richard Torres, chair of the Williamson County Democratic Party. "A lot of people are focusing in on Williamson County because we're such a red county and they're starting to see the movement to be more purple. There are 26 precincts that we won [in 2006]."

Twenty-six precincts may not seem like a lot, considering that they have 99 total precincts in the county, but Torres compares this accomplishment with having only two blue precincts in 2004. Torres said that from studying the previous records of this year's early voters, he can tell that about 45 percent of them voted Democratic in the past, nearly 30 percent have records of voting Republican, and the remainder did not have any previous voting records and thus were labeled Independent. Texas does not have official party registration.

Bill Fairbrother, chair of the Williamson County Republican Party, said that he still expects John McCain to win easily, despite the light turnout thus far. His volunteers have also been going door-to-door, putting out signs, and phone banking.

The goal for Democrats in the county was to turn out at least 70 percent of the voters who came out in the Democratic primary. But by midday today, Torres said that probably would not happen. Still, he is optimistic that even if the county elects John McCain, the high level of support for Barack Obama will positively benefit Democratic candidates down the ballot, including a race for the open state house of representatives seat between Democrat Diana Maldonado and Republican Bryan Daniel.

The Republican incumbent, Mike Krusee, is not running for re-election. Krusee won in 2000 with 84 percent of the vote, and in 2004 with 91 percent of the vote. This time around, the two candidates have raised almost equal amounts of money, with the Republican raising about $40,000 more between January and the end of October, according to the Texas state ethics commission.

This is one of the five seats Democrats would need to win to take back control of the state house. The Democrat, Diana Maldonado, is predicted to win by Texas blogs, is endorsed by the Austin American Statesman, the Austin Chronicle, and the Williamson County Sun, the latter which the Maldonado campaign manager doesn't think has endorsed a Democrat "since God was a boy."

Maldonado at a rally

The Maldonado campaign manager, Genevieve Van Cleve, also said, "We have run out of people to flyer, talk to, block walk, etc. Anyone that understands campaigns will know what that means - We have run out of turf!... If nothing else, we have done everything humanly possible to win this race and I'm incredibly proud of Diana's staff, volunteers, and family."

Laura Jackson, the campaign manager for the Daniel campaign, said that Daniel has been advertising heavily in the last few days, which may sway the results in his favor. "He's on the radio, and she's not," Jackson said.

Regardless of Williamson County's choice of president, voting trends over the last decade show this area may be turning purple. It might not be today, but tighter races for a variety of contests show change is in the air.

Adrienne Birecree: Every Morning Voting in Rural VA

2008-11-04T12:18:38Z

My husband and I got up at 5am this morning so we would be at our polling place before it opened at 6am. We definitely knew where we were going. If we had any doubt, I had the benefit of numerous e-mails received from both campaigns over the past three days urging me to vote and providing my polling location, some with maps included, and its hours. We left the house about 5:30 am in the dark and drizzle and headed into town.

We arrived at the Floyd County Rescue Squad headquarters, the polling place for the Little River precinct, the largest in Floyd County, at 5:45am. It was decked out with campaign signs (pretty evenly distributed between Democratic and Republican candidates) like it was Christmas, the most elaborate display I've seen in my ten years here. There were 17 people already in line when we took our places at the end. The line grew quietly and steadily. At 5:55am as the rain was getting heavier they decided to let us into the building.

By the time the polls opened at 6am there were about 50 voters on line. The majority were middle-aged white, working class men. Most were in their work clothes, some with their names or companies embroidered on their shirts. During our 20 minutes on line people remained very quiet, whispering to one another inaudibly. No one seemed in the mood to talk. They seemed singularly focused - to vote quickly and get on with the day, this one important task accomplished. I overheard a few comments indicating that some were ready "for this election to be over." I did perceive a quiet unspoken anticipation/nervousness in the air.

The poll workers moved the voters through the process very efficiently. There was only one individual who had a problem voting while I was there, naturally it was my husband. We have touch screen voting and he accidentally touched the button for (Right in the middle of this sentence a volunteer from the Obama campaign called to encourage me to vote and ask if I needed a ride to the polls!) McCain-Palin. He first asked one poll worker who was handing out "I Voted" stickers what to do. She didn't know but called over another who took care of the problem in no time. My husband doesn't trust our voting system. My bet is that he did this on purpose to see if they knew what they were doing.

When we left the polls at 6:10am there was now someone directing the traffic in and out because cars were backing up onto the main road. We arrived back home at 6:30am. The entire adventure had only taken an hour. Oh, the joys of the rural life. It certainly was disappointing in terms of any Election Day incidents, however. I went by our polling place and the one at the Floyd County High School between 7:30am and 8:00am. Cars were regularly driving in and out but there were no lines outside. Evidently, the morning rush was already over.

I drove by the gathering place where Obama supporters were meeting for volunteer work. It looked deserted except for three or four cars with Obama bumper stickers. The only one I found there was the Obama campaign's director for our region, Drew. He was sitting at a table busily going through a list of names and addresses. I told him that I was there to help take voters to the polls. He told me that the first carload of voters had just left.

He had one important project today, he continued. Someone had to pick up a young voter who lived in Roanoke an hour away, bring her to Floyd to vote and then take her back to work in Roanoke - a total of four hours traveling just to vote! Every vote certainly does count in Virginia this year. I told him I would be happy to help and he took my number and said he'd call me later. I asked if they needed any help hanging door tags. Nope. The door tags had already been distributed and hung. It was only 8:10 am. Now that's a well-oiled campaign machine. I suspect that the Obama campaign actually has more volunteers than it even needs around here.
While turnout so far appears to be light in Floyd County compared to other places across the state and the country, remember that it is a rural county. Even though the number of registered voters in the county increased 5 percent this year, there are only a total of 10, 103 votes to be cast in five precincts. Furthermore, Virginia voters had the option to vote early.

Approximately 500 voters had already cast absentee ballets by October 23rd. Many others (I don't know how many) also cast early ballots.

Most likely, if there are any unusually long lines, they'll appear between 5pm and 7pm as voters rush to vote after work before the polls close as they most often do here. Turnout is expected to be high, especially among Democrats as there has been so much enthusiasm for the Obama campaign. The real question that remains is how strong the Republican turnout will be. The difference in enthusiasm levels for the two candidates may just put Obama over the top and a Democratic presidential candidate may win in Floyd County. Now that would be historic.

Phil Trounstine: Extended Voting Mitigates the Weather and Delivers Democrats

2008-11-04T09:13:58Z

In following the implementation of extended voting throughout the country, most attention has been paid to the long lines that people were forced to endure because systems were not yet adequate to handle the influx of voters seeking to ensure that their ballots were counted.

But that is a temporary condition that can be easily addressed in time for the next cycle of voting. What has gone almost unnoticed is this: extended voting mitigates a key factor in shaping the electorate -- weather.

A brilliant new paper by political scientists Brad Gomez, Tom Hansford and George Krause -- The Republicans Should Pray for Rain: Weather, Turnout, and Voting in U.S. Presidential Elections -- based on gathering and analyzing a massive amount of voting and weather data since 1948, shows that weather has historically had a profound effect on electoral outcomes.

Had there been rain instead of clear skies in 1960, the authors demonstrate, Richard Nixon would have defeated John Kennedy. Had weather been nicer in the Florida Panhandle in 2000, they show, Al Gore would have triumphed over George Bush.

These are not insignificant effects. The weather really matters, by preventing lower-income people and minorities who depend on public transportation from making it to the polls. Weather can significantly determine who votes on election day.

It is too early to fully analyze, state by state, the impact of extended voting - by comparing the results of the vote before election day to the vote on election day. But it is likely that analysis will demonstrate that extended voting will have significantly boosted the number of lower-income, low-propensity voters whose participation has historically been most sensitive to weather.

In other words, by mitigating the effect of weather, extended voting has altered the electoral landscape. No wonder Fred Barnes and other conservative Republicans are so upset about early and extended voting: it robs them of an unfair advantage they have long enjoyed.

Extended voting is not, by any means, the only significant change brought about by the 2008 election. As Adam Nagourney observed in the New York Times, this election has "rewritten the rules on how to reach voters, raise money, organize supporters, manage the news media, track and mold public opinion, and wage -- and withstand -- political attacks, including many carried by blogs that did not exist four years ago."

But as important - perhaps even more so - is the effect of extended voting, without which all the voter-registration drives and voter contact might never have been able to deliver.

Read more Election Day Liveblogs, Reaction and Analysis from HuffPost Bloggers

Could Voting Meltdown Happen Again?

2008-11-03T18:08:03Z

In 2000, the presidential election was marred by hanging chads in Florida. Four years later, it was malfunctioning machines in Ohio. With record numbers of voters expected yet again, the fundamental question remains whether the country's embattled election machinery will stand up to the pressure.

This year's unprecedented primary turnout has already exposed cracks in the infrastructure. In Texas, lines stretched for hours and ballots ran out. Voters in Virginia were told to submit slips of paper -- which were later disqualified -- when ballot deliveries didn't arrive, and overwhelmed poll workers in Washington, D.C., hid electronic machines because they were afraid of the contraptions.

Swing State Dems Talk Up Obama's Ground Game

2008-11-03T16:33:37Z

In 2000 and 2004, more Republicans voted early than Democrats in Florida -- to the tune of more than 100,000 ballots in both elections.

According to some newly crunched numbers by a Florida Democrat who spoke to the Huffington Post on Monday, Democrats stood Monday with an early voting edge of nearly 360,000 early ballots. The operative credited a strong ground game with creating such a dramatic reversal of fortune. On the last day of early voting on Sunday, the operative said the Democratic advantage outpaced the average of all the previous days. "Early voting only occurred in a handful of counties across the state yesterday, and often only for limited hours. As such, only 83,000 total ballots were cast, with 54 percent coming from Democrats," the strategist told the Huffington Post.

Time and again during conversations with swing state Democratic operatives on Monday returned, the ground game was touted. In the surprisingly competitive state of North Carolina, a party operative sang the praises of a text-messaging campaign that targeted 13,000 Democratic voters during that state's early voting process. Of course, text messaging is not the predominant way of reaching voters in elections. But the North Carolinian claimed that strategy -- along with other new online tools pioneered by the Obama campaign -- helped Democrats vote early at a higher rate than in 2004.

Over the weekend, 21,000 Democratic volunteers working out of 50 offices in North Carolina knocked on more than 400,000 doors, the operative said. Looking ahead as to which areas could prove critical as results trickle in Tuesday night, the operative said Mecklenberg county (including the city of Wade) and Guilford county (including Greensboro) would be critical -- in addition to the northeastern corner of the state, which features a large African-American population. "Though, of course we hope to see strong Obama-supporter turnout throughout the state," the operative added, fulfilling the campaign's apparent requirement to concede not a single vote in any area of the country, no matter how traditionally red.

And in Colorado, an Obama staffer said the Denver convention -- in which local citizens came to watch Obama accept the nomination in exchange for their cell phone numbers -- resulted in a highly successful text-messaging program that has broadened the campaign's reach in the state. "With the 80,000 people who were able to get information on how get involved [from the convention], we have in turn been able to reach out to a lot more volunteers with the text messaging program. ... So we have been actively campaigning in all 64 counties in the state." The staffer said Arapahoe, Adams, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties could be of particular interest on Tuesday -- in addition to Pueblo county's trove of Latino votes. "So far we've been really excited by enthusiasm from Latino voters, not just in Pueblo. And we'll obviously be working hard for every last vote."

In Ohio, meanwhile, 20,000 volunteers knocked on nearly 780,000 doors over the weekend. "Our GOTV program is focused almost wholly on person-to-person contact," an Obama aide in the state said Monday. "We're certainly incorporating a new media strategy, and are constantly updating the Ohio for Obama website for voters so that they can find information," the aide said. The official campaign offices are not as filled with bodies as they were even a week ago. "We've emptied out the state headquarters," the aide added, suggesting that more campaign workers were out canvassing on the playing field -- trying to ensure that the months of planning and ground game infrastructure are realized tomorrow night.

Padma Atluri: Voting Early May Be Smart, But Is It Sexy?

2008-11-03T15:26:03Z

I do it for the sticker. That's partly why I opt against registering for an absentee ballot. And mostly why I revel in going to the polls. The rush from determining a candidate's fate aside -- let alone a nation's -- you just can't wear satisfaction on your lapel without the sticker. I've tried. No one notices.

But this year getting an "I Voted" sticker on Election Day is considered decadent. Political ploys have become increasingly unscrupulous and so there's pressure to get votes in. Early. Thanks to robocalls and the ever constant, ever slanderous television ads, Americans (especially those without Tivo) are tired, confused and weary -- leaving campaign officials to fear the fate of November 4th.

Even the Obama Camp, with its pundit predicted lead, refuses to be seduced by the polls. And so now, in a time where an "I'm voting for Obama" response will no longer do, volunteers like myself go door to door in swing states and bait voters. Almost taunting them, as if to test their allegiance. Subtext: Prove it. Vote. Now.

During these visits I'm often met with hesitation. So I find myself reassuring voters that their ballot, though cast early, will not be lost, but rather counted and secured. Doing so can even alleviate a potential system overload, given the possibility -- or should I say hope -- of an unprecedented voter turnout. I can't help but entice them with the promise of shorter lines; the hope of a smaller margin of error this time around. And, of course, there's still the sticker.

When that doesn't work, I suggest that voting early could put an end to volunteers like myself relentlessly knocking on their doors. In fact, "we update these lists daily," I tell them. That gets their attention. Suddenly, they reassure me that they do in fact recall their closest polling place; and that they'll even venture there later that same afternoon. And I believe them -- until I am there again, knocking on some of their same doors, the following weekend.

That drill, however, changed with Juanita. With her, there was no negotiating. Rather, within seconds of opening the door, she refused to vote early.

Immediately, I was alarmed. Not as much by her words, as I was the frailty of her eighty years. At her age, I knew every day mattered. But soon thereafter, I discovered that something else mattered even more to Juanita.

An African American woman, born in South Carolina in the late twenties, Juanita had moved to Pennsylvania just so she could vote. And she did. She voted for Kennedy then. And -- upon first seeing him on Oprah -- she was voting for Obama now. The only two elections, in her opinion, that really mattered.

When Juanita eyed my "Smart Women Vote Obama" button, she smiled. "Doesn't it feel good to vote for a candidate?" she asked me. "And not just against one?" I took a moment. I hadn't thought of it that way. But she was right. I had vehemently voted against Bush twice before. And now, unequivocally, I was voting for Obama. There was a difference.

"My vote means something" she went on to say, countering my pleas. "So I don't care if I wait in line for hours. I don't even care if it's raining. I'll still stand there, proud, waiting as long as I have to for my voice to be heard on that day."

At first glance, this was a woman who didn't seem to grasp the threat of voter caging, election fraud or even electronic failure. And I sensed, even if I told her, she wouldn't care -- at least like campaign officials would. Somehow, voting on Election Day, counted as much, if not more, than the vote itself.

To Juanita, voting early didn't have the same cache. It wasn't sexy. Or at least sexy enough to make the statement she wanted to make -- that she wasn't just casting a ballot, she was embarking on a civic journey that could only be fulfilled on November 4th.

This was the journey of a woman inspired.

If talking to voters has taught me anything, it's that inspiration moves people towards meaning. It moves them towards hope on Election Day. And it leads Americans to yearn to be a part of something on one of the most critical days of our lifetime.

Is that selfish? Maybe. Is it risky? Perhaps. But is it worth the adrenaline rush in the end? Evidently so.

So what do you say to the woman who tells you her vote means something? And that she's going to cast it on her terms?

I wanted to say, but you're eighty. And you live in Nevada. Which is why your vote matters, even more than mine. I wanted to say please don't risk this for us all. But I didn't. Instead I watched her move slowly, somewhat reassured of her health -- by the mere fact that she was soon heading to a rhythmic drum class at her church.

"I used to be like Oprah," Juanita told me. At first, I was unsure of this connection -- until she confessed, "I couldn't dance before. But I've got rhythm now." I watched her then beam with pride.

And that's when it hit me. Be it a feeling -- or be it a sticker -- Americans have their reasons to vote. And they just want to vote their way. And live their way.

Remaining hopeful, I figured if Juanita could find her rhythm at eighty, then America could still find its way home after eight years of economic distress, pain and war. Sure, Juanita's vote refused to recognize a tainted political system. And while that may not ease the minds of campaign officials this week, ultimately it doesn't matter. Her vote, through her own process, still had impact. It counted. To her. And quite frankly, just witnessing that, made a difference to me.

Huge Early Voting Crowds Draw Fire Marshals

2008-11-03T13:41:19Z

Election officials counting ballots throughout Illinois say the state has set a new record of more than 821,000 early votes cast.

Authorities say that includes almost 484,000 early voters in Chicago and suburban Cook County.

The previous state high was set during the February primaries, when about 220,000 people voted.

Cook County Clerk David Orr says election judges alarmed by large crowds called fire marshals to several polling places Thursday.

Orr attributes the turnout to enthusiasm for Illinois Democrat Barack Obama. He calls it the "Obama effect."

There are 7.7 million registered voters in Illinois. This is the first time early voting has been an option in the state for a general election.

Ari Bendersky: Make the Right Choice on Tuesday: Go Vote!

2008-11-03T13:22:00Z

This weekend, I volunteered to support Barack Obama and call voters in Virginia -- one of the battleground states in the presidential election -- to help encourage people to head to the polls on Tuesday. This is the most important election of our time, an election where we can either choose to continue down a path of corruption, massive war debt and a growing fear of a global economic downturn or we can elect to make a change. A McCain win may take our country in a different direction, but likely will follow the path of the last eight years. An Obama win will, hopefully, lead our country in a direction of change, toward a rebirth of America. That's why I called people this weekend; I believe it is every American's responsibility to head to the polls and make their voice heard. Not only is it a responsibility, but it's also an honor.

So it shocked me when I called an 80-year-old registered voter in Virginia. When the woman who answered informed me the man wasn't home, I asked her if she was planning to vote. Surprisingly, almost adamantly, she said no. I asked her why and explained that we all have the right to choose the direction we want our country to head. This woman, who sounded old enough to have voted countless times, responded that she has never voted and wasn't voting on Tuesday. "I just don't vote," she said. She seemed annoyed that I would ask her about this. To me, I just can't understand why anyone able to vote wouldn't exercise that right.

In 2004, more than 215 million people were eligible to vote in that year's presidential election, however only a little more than half that number turned up at the polls to make their voice heard. This year, the number of eligible voters has jumped to about 230 million -- and early voting results have indicated this election could turn out the largest number of voters in U.S. history. So why would anyone choose to not be in that group?

What is it that causes someone to elect or not to elect his or her officials, to select the person who best represents how they feel on the issues? Three weeks ago I voted early in Chicago. As I ticked the boxes on the new electronic voting machine, I overheard a woman (who looked to be in her late 30s) tell one of the polling place volunteers that it was the first time she was voting. Ever. In her life. I'm glad she was participating in this election, but what caused her to stay away all this time? Personally, there aren't many things that make me as proud as walking out of a polling place after I vote.

So please, go vote. We have the power to choose who will lead us for the next four years. Whether that's Obama (hopefully) or McCain, you have to make a choice. You can either choose to stay home (or at the office or the mall) and ignore one of your most powerful rights in this country. Or you can choose to head to the polls on Tuesday and select the man who will be the next leader of the free world. What will you choose?

Free Coffee, Ice Cream And Sex Toys For Voters

2008-11-03T12:28:31Z

Just when you thought it was safe to focus on the issues in this historic election season, a chain of sex toy shops has joined retailers, restaurateurs and other businesses across the nation in the time-honored tradition of rewarding Americans who go to the polls.

Babeland, with stores in New York, Los Angeles and Seattle, is offering a pair of self-gratifying incentives for voters who present their registration cards, ballot stubs or "word of honor" that they voted next Tuesday.

The rewards are no-so-subtle reminders of this year's campaign rhetoric. For men, it's the "Maverick," a "sleeve" for self-pleasuring. According to a press release, "He's always there to lend a hand, he works for every man, and he bucks the status quo." Women can choose the "Silver Bullet" mini-vibrator, which is "a magical solution to difficult problems" and "a great stress-reliever during these troubled economic times!" The promotion lasts through Nov. 11.

Erik Ose: Early Voting Flood in Swing States Predicts Obama Tsunami

2008-11-03T12:07:19Z

Beyond election-eve polls, the best indicator of how this election will turn out is to look at who has already voted. Early voting has now ended across the country, and the results are very good news for Barack Obama and the Democrats. In four swing states - Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and North Carolina, the early voting period has seen numbers equal to at least two-thirds of all ballots cast in 2004. More than half of the '04 totals have been surpassed in Florida (54%) and Georgia (60%).

More Democrats than Republicans have early voted in these states - in some by big margins. In most, this is a sharp reversal from the early voting edge Republicans enjoyed four years ago, when Bush won all six battlegrounds.

Just as Team Obama out-hustled Hillary Clinton by devoting time to organizing the caucus states, they have soundly beaten McCain-Palin on the early voting front. And they were helped by McCain's cash-strapped, strategy-challenged, demoralized, disorganized campaign. True to form, McCain dropped the ball. Judging by turnout figures, the GOP had no early voting plan.

Early voting in Charlotte, N.C.

For example, in North Carolina, where 2008 marks the third presidential cycle early voting has been made available, 2,573,899 voters cast early or absentee ballots, or 41% of the state's 6.25 million registered voters. This is an astounding 259% increase over the 992,231 early and absentee votes cast during 2004.

52% were Democrats this year, versus 30% Republicans and 18% unaffiliated, a 22-point Democratic advantage. In 2004, the Democratic Party also made early voting an integral part of their GOTV game, but only managed to gain an 11-point advantage over Republicans (48.5-37.5%) in a much smaller early voter universe.

Early voting turnout already represents 72.5% of all the 3.5 million votes cast in North Carolina during 2004, which skewed 56-43.5% for Bush over Kerry. Black voters are overrepresented in the statewide early vote numbers, accounting for 26.5% of the total. 2006 Census Bureau figures estimate North Carolina's African-American population to be 21.7%.

Research on early voting shows that it "disproportionately rewards campaigns that are better organized," according to UCal-Riverside political science professor Benjamin Bishin, who has studied early voting in Florida, because it requires campaigns to roll out more complicated GOTV efforts. It also may benefit Democrats because it "lowers barriers to participation," especially for working class voters who can't afford to take time off to vote on the Tuesday of Election Day.

Early voters in Fort Lauderdale, FL on Sunday, Nov. 2

The Obama campaign's early voting advantage was evident around the country. Celebrities and rock stars streamed into battleground states and drew crowds to rallies held during early voting hours, usually located close to early voting sites.

In Florida, Matt Damon and Jason Alexander headlined a string of early voting rallies. In North Carolina, Ashley Judd and Chris Rock held events in the vote-rich Triangle region during early voting's final days. Judd and Rock have also hosted rallies in Missouri and Florida for the campaign, and Colorado saw Kevin Costner pitch early voting. James Taylor returned home to North Carolina to play five free concerts across the state that doubled as early voting events.

Interviewed by the Miami Herald, Jason Alexander summed up why it made sense for the campaign to deploy stars at GOTV rallies:

"I don't think people like to be proselytized to because someone's been on a television show," he said. "It doesn't give us special powers . . . the key reason for a celebrity surrogate is to create an environment where people come out and then go early vote."

Even absent celebrities, Obama offices organized community marches to early voting sites. In Florida, 27 such marches were held statewide on October 27th, one march for each of Florida's electoral votes. Drum-line marches were staged in Miami's black neighborhoods. In North Carolina, early voting marches organized by students at the state's historically black colleges drew thousands to the polls on the very first day of early voting.

Early voting march in Nevada, Oct. 18

Banking base voters early is now allowing the campaign to focus its energy in the home stretch on independent and undecided voters. "You're simply able to throw that much more at the people who haven't voted yet," said Bishin. And Obama volunteers were sent not only to greet early voters at pollsites and arm them with information about each state's ballot design and down-ticket Democratic races, but to provide bottled water to voters when lines backed up.

This all builds on the historic gains in Democratic voter registration that the Obama campaign has engineered in the battleground states. Since 2004, voter rolls have surged by 946,000 in Florida (up 9%), 737,000 in North Carolina (up 13%), and 375,000 in Nevada, a 35% increase.

Democratic registrations have increased the most in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and shockingly competitive Arizona. Republican registrations declined in Colorado, Florida and Pennsylvania but were up by 16% in Nevada (compared with a 39% jump for the Democrats).

More about the actual early vote totals. In Colorado, 56% of the state's registered voters have cast 1,477,836 early votes or mail-in absentee ballots. Democrats have outnumbered Republican early voters by 37.7% to 35.9%, with 26.4% declaring other or no party affiliation. This is up from the 48% of registered Coloradoans who voted early or absentee in 2004, or 913,222 early votes out of 2,148,036 total.

Early voters in Colorado

Four years ago, Republicans led Democrats in early voting by a 42-34% margin, on their way to carrying Colorado for Bush with 51.7% to Kerry's 47%. In 2008, the number of votes already recorded during the early voting period in Colorado is equivalent to 69% of all votes cast in that state in the 2004 general election.

The Obama GOTV operation in Colorado has gotten out more of the core Democratic vote than its GOP counterpart. In the state's Democratic strongholds of Denver and Boulder, early vote turnout ran higher than in rock-solid Republican El Paso County, home to Colorado Springs. Enough votes have already been cast in Denver County to equal 58.7% of its 2004 totals, and 62.7% for Boulder County, versus 52.6% in El Paso County.

In Florida, Democratic voters have cast 46% of the state's eye-popping 4.1 million early votes and absentee ballots, versus 38% for Republicans. During 2004, GOP voters led Democrats in early and absentee balloting by 44-41 percent. Florida's early voting turnout this year represents nearly 54% of votes cast in 2004 (7.64 million), when Bush beat Kerry by 52-47%.

African-American turnout is sharply up in urban areas. Through last Thursday, black voters had cast 39% of all early ballots in Broward County, 30% of votes in Miami-Dade and Orange counties, and 36% in Duval County. As of 2006, African-Americans made up an estimated 15.4% of Florida's population.

Early voting rally in Nevada

Early voting is here to stay, and Democrats adapted to the new environment first, culminating in this year's Obama-led nationwide early vote effort. Its success marks the clearest indicator seen so far that Tuesday night will bring a Democratic landslide in the wake of Obama's tsunami.

(To report voter suppression tactics at the polls, call the nonpartisan Election Protection Coalition toll-free at 1-866-OUR-VOTE, or visit their website to see the latest reports from your state.)

(UPDATE 11/5 - En route to his historic victory, President-elect Obama carried most of the battlegrounds his campaign targeted, helped enormously by his early voting leads in states including Florida, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico. With 100% of precincts reporting and only provisional ballots still to be counted as of Wednesday morning, McCain trails Obama in North Carolina by slightly over 12,000 votes. Defeated Republican moderate Rep. Chris Shays of Connecticut summed up the election:

" 'There was this tsunami throughout the country,' said Rep. Christopher Shays, a 21-year House member from Connecticut and the last Republican in the New England delegation, who suffered defeat at the hands of Democrat Jim Himes.")

Erik Ose is a veteran of Democratic campaigns in North Carolina and blogs at The Latest Outrage.

High Turnout May Add To Problems At Polling Places

2008-11-03T11:10:08Z

Millions of voters will encounter an unfamiliar low-tech landscape at the polls on Tuesday. About half of all voters will vote in a way that is different from what they did in the last presidential election, and most will use paper ballots rather than the touch-screen machines that have caused concern among voting experts.

But the change does not guarantee a smooth election day, as the nation's voting system remains untested for what is expected to be an unprecedented turnout. Six years after the largest federal overhaul in how elections are run, voting experts are still predicting machine and ballot shortages in several swing states and late tallies on election night.

Elizabeth Austin: Larry David, You Can Relax

2008-11-03T11:08:21Z

Like Larry David and so many other anxious Democrats, my husband has been going nuts over the past couple of months worrying that Something Might Happen to keep Barack Obama out of the White House.

Then, one morning last week, we were heading toward downtown Chicago when we saw an unusual cloud pattern. I don't know whether it was a conjunction of vapor trails or an odd cirrus formation -- but whatever it was, there was a giant X cloud hanging in the sky, roughly over the Hyde Park neighborhood.

My husband turned to me with a sudden smile of relief. "God is an Early Voter," he said.

Rachel Maddow Decries "The New Poll Tax," Long Lines

2008-11-03T10:43:10Z

MSNBC broke with tradition and had live Sunday-night programming last night, including a special edition of Rachel Maddow's show. Maddow has gotten a lot of attention and praise lately (the latest from this week's New York magazine), but this is what I hope gets a lot of attention: Her invocation against what she's identified as "the new poll tax."

Maddow rightly notes the long wait times at early voting stations — and worries not only about what that bodes for election day, but about who is getting disenfranchised because of it:

This is a poll tax. How much do you get paid for an hour of work? Do you have the kind of job that would be delighted to give you an hour, a half-day, a whole day off work because you were waiting in line at your precinct? Even if it won't cost you your job, can you afford to not work those hours? Are you elderly or disabled, do you not have the physical stamina for this kind of exertion? This is a poll tax... Who is not in those lines — because they can't afford to be?

On Friday, she foreshadowed the piece, writing on MSNBC.com's NewsVine: "What does it cost you to wait eight hours? Is this the way our democracy works now? We're a country where only people who can afford to give up 20 percent of a week's pay are allowed to vote?"

Never mind that there are forces at work trying to deliberately disenfranchise voters — "Democrats vote on November 5th" anyone? — but the fact that this is still going on after the horror shows of 2000 and 2004 says a lot about just how far the election-day process in this country hasn't come. Check out here smart — and important — commentary below:

2.5 Million In North Carolina Have Voted Early

2008-11-03T10:08:11Z

More than 2.5 million N.C. voters cast their ballots early this year, more than doubling the previous record of 1.1 million, set in 2004.

That's an astonishing turnout of 41 percent of the state's registered voters - before Election Day.

It comes in a year when North Carolina has down-to-the-wire races for governor and U.S. senator, not to mention the Barack Obama-John McCain battle for the state's 15 electoral votes.

Voting Lines Stretch To Eight Hours

2008-11-03T09:41:24Z

Send us your Election Day stories here. Read letters from HuffPost readers at our On The Ground page.

Early voting has reached record numbers this year. Including absentee ballots, 27 million people have already voted. That's in spite of lines that stretch on for hours.

"Six hours is ridiculous in terms of waiting in line," one Ohio voter told CNN. "I still haven't had an opportunity to vote," said a Florida reader after waiting in line for three hours. "It seems crazy."

Related: Could Virginia Become The Next Florida?

Rachel Maddow discussed the long lines -- eight to ten hours in some places -- on MSNBC last night. While she admitted that images of people waiting hours to vote was inspiring, she reminded viewers that not everyone has the time to do it. Long lines, she argued, are a new kind of poll tax. Watch:

North Carolina has extended early voting hours, and so did Florida. Read more about voting and voting problems. Tell HuffPost about your experience at the polls here.

Bob Franken: No Tweedles This Time

2008-11-03T09:27:14Z

Who knew that the person who waited till Election Day could be considered a procrastinator, a "last minute voter"? With so many taking advantage of early opportunities, those who line up on Tuesday might be feeling a bit old-fashioned.

Be not embarrassed though. If it helps, think of yourself as fashionably retro because this time, it's really important to endure any confusion and lengthy delays at the polling places.

"This time"? By that, I'm addressing the lethargy that for so long has kept the percentages of those who actually cast their ballots way low in this country.

Some who stayed away contended that by doing so, they were actually voting...voting "No". They were registering their dissatisfaction with a choice between "Tweedle Dee Dee and Tweedle Dee Dum." With some justification they had concluded the differences between candidates were essentially non-existent.

That argument has absolutely no merit this time. Obviously, the opposing sides all promise to restore this damaged country. But they come from opposite directions.

Democrats, in a nutshell, believe the repairs begin at the lower and middle class levels and work their way upward. Republicans, as a general rule, operate on the assumption that prosperity works its way down.

John McCain makes no bones about that when he charges Barack Obama with planning to "spread the wealth". His hope is the accusation resonates with Americans who have always been taught we should celebrate success and reward it. Anything else is "class warfare".

The retort is that for too long the rich have gotten away with waging that "class warfare" on everyone else, by gaming the system. So now it's time to make sure the game is played with rules and that the rules are enforced.

Neither philosophy is presented in absolute terms. But there is a clear difference in emphasis. It will be up to us to choose one or the other. The excuse that a vote really doesn't matter is just that...an excuse. For laziness.

It's encouraging so many have decided to do the deed early in an attempt to reduce the chance of a screw up so their choice is really counted. The rest need to make sure they officially stand for what they're for, or even against, on Tuesday. This time the future is depending on all of us.

Read more: Early Voting, Voting, Politics News

Maegan Carberry: Lessons From the Long and Windy Early Voting Road

2008-11-03T01:56:18Z

If someone had told me this morning when I exuberantly set off to cast my early vote at the Los Angeles County registrar's office in Norwalk that I'd be standing in line for SEVEN HOURS, I might have 1) packed a lunch or 2) reconsidered!

Despite the state's best efforts to corral the enthusiastic voters of one of the country's largest cities into a tent that wouldn't have accommodated a fraction of the town of Wasilla at Bristol and Levi's impending wedding, it was still one of the best days of my life. I couldn't sleep last night I was so overwhelmed with emotions about the historical significance of my participation in this particular election, and when my roommate, Shannon, and I arrived on site, huddled under our umbrellas hiding from the rain, no obscenely long line could undercut the electric feeling in the air. We knew that even if we had to wait all day (even without the incentive of a whirl on Space Mountain at the finish line), we were going the distance.

Fortunately, the people waiting with us concurred. At 9am, we were strangers, but by 2pm we were the best of friends. After dispatching Shannon to McDonalds (which was so packed with herds of hungry would-be voters she actually had to wait in line for almost an hour there!) to fuel up for our never-ending voyage, we were swapping stories about our vastly different lives, sharing resources to build a makeshift camp of our chairs and jackets, and filming impromptu videos with our camera phones to upload later on YouTube. We were having such a hoot that an intrigued NBC reporter stopped by to interview us, a motley crew consisting of a dad from Altadena, a mom and son from Inglewood, a couple of sisters from Hawthorne, a dad and his young son still clad in his Halloween Spiderman costume, a recent college grad from Manhattan Beach, and Shannon and I from hipster gentrified Highland Park.

I was reminded, yet again, this election season how capable and committed Americans are. Some people following my day on Twitter sent me messages asking whether many people were leaving the site in frustration, and the answer was no. Virtually everyone was in it to win it, with an exuberant attitude too. By the time we all made it into the tent, where we were assigned three digit numbers and asked to sit in chairs for more than an hour while we waited to be called, we might as well have been on "The Price is Right." When a new person's number was announced, surrounding seatmates would erupt into applause, high fives abounded as the chosen ones walked down a line to claim their ballots, and every ten or fifteen minutes a good-natured voter would yell "Bingo!" Somehow, that joke never got old.

Probably because no matter how aggravating and inefficient the process was, it was a day to feel blessed and proud to be an American. Looking around at the different color faces, thinking of everyone who had sacrificed before us so that we could all have the luxury of being bored together under that tent, I thought of how bold and audacious Americans have been in their pursuit of defending our founding principle of equality. As far removed from checking Sunday football scores on iPhones as it might have seemed on any given Sunday, the spirits of the cotton fields, tunnels of the underground railroad, the Woolworths counters, freedom riders, Dr. King, and the Kennedys were not old lessons from history books today. When I finally stepped into the voting booth, I stopped to say a prayer of thanks that I was given an opportunity to realize those dreams.

Tonight my prayer is that on Tuesday, every American who wants to experience this pride on election day will be able to cast his or her vote fairly. It's alarming that the City of Los Angeles was not able to accommodate our voters with more than a single place to cast our early ballots, and I worry that polling stations will not be equipped to handle the inevitable turnout surge that is about to descend on counties, bigger and smaller, throughout the country. I implore everyone to be patient and positive, and most importantly to remember that we've waited a lifetime to vote in an election like this. We can wait another hour. Or seven.

*NOTE: If you experience problems on election day, consider using the Voter Suppression Wiki.