Why I am voting today

This election is indeed about George W. Bush — and the Congressional majority’s insistence on protecting him from the consequences of his mistakes and misdeeds. Mr. Bush lost the popular vote in 2000 and proceeded to govern as if he had an enormous mandate. After he actually beat his opponent in 2004, he announced he now had real political capital and intended to spend it. We have seen the results. It is frightening to contemplate the new excesses he could concoct if he woke up next Wednesday and found that his party had maintained its hold on the House and Senate.

Amen.

Alright, two reasons why:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry has drawn criticism from rival candidates for saying he agrees non-Christians are condemned to spend eternity in hell.

Perry was among some 60 mostly Republican candidates for Tuesday's midterm election attending a Sunday service at San Antonio's Cornerstone Church, where pastor John Hagee said in his sermon non-Christians were "going straight to hell with a non-stop ticket," The Dallas Morning News reported.

Afterward, Perry told reporters there was nothing in the sermon he could disagree with, prompting quick condemnations from opponents.

And why it's going to be ugly; because even the small things count:

Missouri's chief elections official said Monday she was asked for photo identification at the voting booth despite a court ruling striking down the requirement.

"I'm guessing this may be happening in other parts of the state," warned Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, a Democrat who had opposed Republican efforts to mandate a photo ID in Missouri.

She said that a worker at the St. Louis Election Board asked her three times to show photo ID when she went to cast an absentee ballot Friday.

Carnahan said that she tried to explain a photo ID was not necessary, but that the election worker replied that she was instructed to ask for one anyway. Carnahan said she eventually was allowed to vote without displaying a photo identification.

"To have that experience personally was very troubling," she said.

The Missouri Supreme Court last month upheld a lower court's ruling overturning a law that would have required voters to show a photo ID issued by the state or federal government.

Scott Leiendecker, the Republican director of the St. Louis Election Board, said he immediately addressed the issue after Carnahan told him about it. The employee said she had asked Carnahan for a form of identification and indicated that a photo ID is typically what people show, but did not demand a photo ID, Leiendecker said.

"I respect the secretary very much, she's a very nice lady, but I'm sorry about what she seems to think of us," he said.

St. Louis election workers are trained to mention a photo document as one option for identification, Leiendecker said, but not to require it.

Quick update:

Yup, real ugly:

Voting machines began wreaking havoc the minute the polls opened Tuesday, delaying voters in dozens of Indiana and Ohio precincts and leaving some in Florida with little choice but turn to paper ballots instead.

On the upside, I think voting by computer has pretty much run its course now. My boldest prediction is that these machines are history. After 6 years, even NPR is talking about the voting problems of 2000. Second great prediction: Diebold stock is gonna tank.