I e-mailed this thought to a friend. I'm certain it's not original, but it announced itself as I collected some of the items below: Isn't it interesting that the best complaint Republicans can float against Democrats is that Dems have signed up potentially ineligible voters, which - even if true - represents an attempt to open the electoral process to as many as possible; whereas the Republican tactics are all about blocking and restricting access to voting -- by challenging registrations, moving polling locations, distributing misleading flyers directing people to vote from the wrong place on the wrong day, or hinting that they will be arrested for outstanding parking tickets, etc. Now, which side looks like they're really interesting in spreading democracy?

• Look at this mindblowing round-up of the voter suppression tactics being perpetrated by Republican fraudsters in battleground states. The GOP has mounted so many suppression efforts in Ohio, there's now a whole blog devoted to them.
  
  
• And this is a glimpse of their desperation.
  
  
• But I sure hope Palast is overstating this estimate of votes already stolen.
  
  
• Jerome Armstrong explains Rove's "challenger" strategy:

  Their strategy is to establish doubt surrounding what is likely to be more than the difference between Kerry and Bush in the state. The Republicans are creating 'a margin of doubt' or 'a margin of fraud' in numerical terms of actual registered voters that they've challenged. If the Kerry margin of victory is within the total of the challenged voters, the Republicans will cry that those votes should not be included. They hope to suspend the counting of those votes, through provisional means or otherwise, separating the challenged votes from the other votes counted. And if they manage to show that Bush leads without those challenged votes being counted, a 'theft of the election' will become the Republican cry if the challenged votes are counted.

• Early voting is breaking toward Kerry, but don't get complacent; Republicans read the same news, and will be more motivated to get out their vote and hamper Dems.
  
  
• Two different reporters on Good Morning America this morning, the self-identified "security mom" Claire Shipman (a couple months ago she referred to the so-called "security mom" demographic and explained that they are [paraphrasing, because I didn't get it exactly] "women like me, who have children and are concerned about security"), and some guy whose name I forget. Claire Shipman was reporting from Ohio and the other guy, I think, was in Florida. Shipman reported that the newest poll has the candidates "basically tied" with (ready?) Kerry at 50%, Bush at 46%, which she said was "still basically within the margin of error." Now, I happened to look up at that moment and see the graphic on screen, showing the margin of error as plus-or-minus 3. Security Mom, maybe, but I hope she's not helping the kids with their math homework. Then the guy in Florida came on and reported another poll that had "Bush slightly ahead" with 49%, and Kerry at 48%. Pick your strange ABC reality: Bush "slightly ahead" at 49 to 48; or Bush "basically tied" at 46 to Kerry's 50 with a MOE of 3. Do they think we're as dumb as they are?
  
  
• The inimitable James Wolcott takes a wild stab at how the press will behave during a Kerry presidency:

  If Kerry wins, do you think conservative Republicans are going to take to their beds for soul-searching? They have no souls to search, most of them. No, they'll be scheming to ratfuck a Kerry presidency, and if history is a reliable guide they'll have allies in the elite media who can't wait to start snarking over Teresa as First Lady and the timidity of Kerry's cabinet picks, whatever. Reporters and pundits who've paid scant attention to the casualties and carnage in Iraq will suddenly find their consciences tucked away in a file drawer, and start wondering when Kerry will show the strength and resolve we expect from our leaders. They will hound him about Bin Laden in ways they never did Bush.

  OK, folks... I have another midterm tomorrow morning, then I'll VOTE, then work (updated; I forgot that part...dangit), and then I'll be glued to the returns, like everyone else. You probably won't hear from me until The Day After. Think Reformation!