I HOPE TO LIVE-BLOG THE ELECTION RETURNS TONIGHT, SO STAY TUNED….
But if you want to follow the returns yourself, the WSJ has a great checklist (PDF format) with tips on what to look for.
I know. I usually don’t get revved up about midterm elections either. But this one is important, because we need people in Congress to act as a impediment to the Bush spending-and-war-run-amok government.
This is a vote for OVERSIGHT. For ACCOUNTABILITY. Right now, we have an out-of-control White House and a compliant Congress content to rubberstamp anything — from invasion of privacy to torture.
And if you have the opinion that they’re "all" corrupt liars, then you get the government you deserve. In fact, that’s why we have the government we have now.
So find your polling place and vote.
How about 19 troops killed in November so far?
It takes a few minutes. You’ll feel better. You could be doing worse things today, like going hunting with this guy.
HOW’S IT GOING SO FAR: Hmmmm. Problems….
— Programming errors and inexperience with electronic voting machines frustrated poll workers in hundreds of precincts early Tuesday, delaying voters in Indiana and Ohio and leaving some in Florida with little choice but use paper ballots instead.
In Cleveland, voters rolled their eyes as election workers fumbled with new touchscreen machines that they couldn’t get to start properly.
We got five machines _ one of them’s got to work," said Willette Scullank, a trouble shooter from the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, elections board.
In Indiana’s Marion County, about 175 of 914 precincts turned to paper because poll workers didn’t know how to run the machines, said Marion County Clerk Doris Ann Sadler. She said it could take most of the day to fix all of the machine-related issues.
Election officials in Delaware County, Ind., planned to seek a court order to extend voting after an apparent computer error prevented voters from casting ballots in 75 precincts there. Delaware County Clerk Karen Wenger said the cards that activate the machines were programmed incorrectly.
Josh Marshall is all over this. Better than the mainstream media.
BUT WAIT — THERE’S MORE: MSNBC is reporting that the FBI is investigating GOP voter intimidation in Virginia. Man, how low will these guys go to win? Here’s how they’re doing it:
HOW BAD ARE VOTING PROBLEMS SO FAR? The website that tracks voting complaints has crashed.
TBOGG’S PREDICTIONS are the best I’ve read:
Here are some things that will happen:
- No matter how many seats the Democrats take in the House it won’t be enough to keep the Republican echo chamber from pointing out that it most certainly is not a mandate, while all the time whining about the loss of control of the commitees.
- Joe Lieberman is going to win and it will somehow translate as support for the war and civility and common sense…and nobody in the media will point out what a sleazy campaign he ran.
- There will be at least one upset that the polls didn’t predict and that will be held up as evidence that all polls are always wrong…except when they side with your candidate.
- There will be reports of brown people voting which will cause Michelle Malkin to go off the rails. Okay. Farther off the rails.
- Several Republican congressmen with ethical clouds hanging over them will be re-elected only to have to step down later when indictments are handed down.
- Matt Drudge will hype something completely trivial unless Madonna does something to distract him which makes him take his eye off of the ball.
- Within a week, embargoed news about the war will be released and people will find out things in Iraq are even worse then we suspect.
- Win or lose, George Allen’s national aspirations are finished. Fertig! Verfallen! Verlumpt! Verblunget! Verkackt!
- Lots of recounts.
- Michael Steele will lose..but that won’t stop Republicans from touting him to run with McCain in 2008 because they believe that they are just one Negro away from perpetual electoral domination.
- Harold Ford will lose because he is a lousy candidate who is transparently phony.
- If either Marilyn Musgrave or JD Hayworth loses I will be one happy boy.
- You will see one politician elected who does not represent your district or state and you will wonder what the hell is wrong with the people of that district or state. That politician will probably be Tom Tancredo.
- You should probably TIVO Katherine Harris’ concession speech so you can play it later at parties.
- Pelosi fever! Catch it!
- The most banal no-content election blogging will come from Mary Katharine Ham who, while under the delusion that she is teh hot, will provide the kind of political insights one might expect from the assistant night manager down at Wet Seal.
- Your best source for a sense of what is happening will still be at Kos and MyDD. The best post-mortem will come from Digby. As usual.
- Dick Cheney will be spending election day hunting with his daughter who will not get shot in the face because she is quicker on her feet than a 78-year old man. Besides , it’s not lesbian season in South Dakota …yet.
- Blogger will go down throughout the day.
- I will be around, Blogger permiting.
Meanwhile, I present the graphic of the day. Fox News ran a poll which showed that people favor Democrats over Republicans this election. But if you look at the screen capture below, they just can’t bring themselves to admit that Dems are more popular the Repubs.
"One Party"? Which party would that be, Fox?