Berlingske Tidende - ... kongresmedlem William McKinley og fik ham valgt først til guvernør i Ohio og i 1896 ... parti i New Mexico var han også medlem af ledelsen i American Center for Voting Rights ...

Berlingske Tidende - ... kongresmedlem William McKinley og fik ham valgt først til guvernør i Ohio og i 1896 ... parti i New Mexico var han også medlem af ledelsen i American Center for Voting Rights ...

Lexington Herald-Leader - Cy Young Voting. With first-, second- and third-place votes and total points on a 5-3-1 basis ... Urbana at Cedarville, Ohio, TBA. TOP 25--No. 3 Memphis vs. Oklahoma at New York, 9:30;

It is a Tuesday in 2008 so Americans are Constitutionally required to hold an election. Up today: Vermont Rhode Island Ohio and Texas. Fortunately less states are voting than on Super Tuesday. Unfortunately today's contests will be just as complicated and inconclusive. [ ] One thing is clear: people will look back on this election's horrible results and blame women. [ ] No wait: people will look back on this election's horrible results and blame Ohio's geography and Democratic leaders. [ ] Unless people have "a game-changing event" to blame instead. [ ] Barring Clinton losing miserably in every state including Rhode Island she will press on. [ ] Heavily contested primaries for House seats in Ohio and Texas point the way to a lively general election. [ ] After five years of war Iraqi youths are fed up with extremist religious nuts. [ ] Even when mortgage aid helps it hurts. One critic of the U.S. Treasury's mortgage assistance initiative says it could leave aid recipients with higher total costs in the end. [ ]

both the the Ohio and Texas Democratic primaries (in Texas a primary/caucus) are too close to call: UTICA New York ??? The Democratic Party presidential primaries in Texas and Ohio remain too close to call between Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois with momentum sloshing back and forth a new Zogby International poll for Reuters/C-SPAN/Houston Chronicle two-day telephone tracking poll shows. As voters in these two big states prepare to wrap up their voting tomorrow neither candidate has been able to break away from the other. The two delegate-rich states with elections on Tuesday are among the last of the big states left in the primary election season and both candidates stand to split the delegates under the party???s proportional delegate apportionment scheme. [...] In the Democratic race in Texas Clinton and Obama saw stability set in among the key demographic groups. Obama leads among men and the two are essentially tied among women. Clinton continues to enjoy a sizable lead among Hispanic voters but Obama has made gains in the last day among white voters where the two are now tied. Obama continues to enjoy a two-to-one lead among voters under age 30 while Clinton leads 54% to 31% among voters age 65 and older. Obama continues to lead in the Dallas and Houston areas while Clinton leads in more rural areas including southern Texas. But in the key swing area of east Texas Obama has surged into a tie with Clinton. While he trailed her 45% to 38% just a day ago it was Obama 45% Clinton 44% in that area at the end of yesterday???s polling but the numbers in that region have been volatile. In Ohio there is very little movement as the Democratic candidates have solidified their support among those groups that have come to be familiar supporters of each. Obama leads Clinton among men by a 54% to 39% margin while Clinton leads Obama among women by a 51% to 42% edge. The Obama increase in support among men is likely what has m The predicts 42.9%/49.3% Obama/Clinton while the is a whisker`s breadth with 46.5%/46.8% Obama/Clinton. Hillary Clinton leading by a mere .3%. As fellow OTB front page poster Alex Knapp has frequently pointed out the idiosyncratic primary/caucus structure in Texas would seem to give something of an advantage to Obama. But it`s really too close to call. I`m going to go out on a limb and predict that Sen. Hillary Clinton will eke out a narrow 5% victory in Ohio and an even narrower .1% victory in Texas. That`s not enough to regain the difference between Sens. Clinton and Obama in pledged delegates but it`s enough that I think that the Clinton campaign will declare her the `Comeback Kid`. Heck I think they`ll do that over anything other than a complete rout. Perhaps my fellow OTB-ers can chime in with their own predictions for tomorrow`s primary/caucus contests.

Consider this your friendly neighborhood March 4 prediction thread - Todd OK enough with the hyperbole. We're all Democrats around here. Let's predict what happens in each state including percentages and delegates. Add in any extra commentary if need be. Here's mine: Ohio Hillary wins 54-46. She's consolidated her support among working class white voters particularly in Cincinnati and Dayton. But the ice storm in northern Ohio will hurt her turnout more than it will Obama whose urban base doesn't have as long to drive to polls. Of 141 delegates Hillary wins 76 and Obama wins 65. 11 delegate pickup for Hillary. Texas Obama wins 52-48 based on heavy crossover voting and early voter turnout. Hillary holds her Latino base and older white voters but Obama gets major support in wealthy Houston and Dallas suburbs and does surprisingly well in San Antonio. Delegate apportionment is tricky based on Senate districts. Of 126 delegates granted in the primary phase I predict Obama wins 68 and Clinton gets 58. Austin DFW and Houston give Obama the edge. Hillary's strength in South Texas doesn't turn into delegates. In the caucus portion Obama's organizational advantage gives him a 57% advantage among the 62 delegates awarded. He gets 35 delegates and she gets 27. Obama's total Texas margin will be 10 + 8 = 18. Rhode Island This is easier. Hillary wins 55-45. Of 21 delegates Hillary wins 12 and Obama wins 9. Advantage Hillary by 3 delegates. Vermont Obama blowout for sure. He wins with 65% of the vote. But only 15 delegates are at stake. Obama wins 10 and Hillary gets 5. Obama up by 5. MARCH 4 TOTAL: Obama wins the night by 9 delegates mostly because of Texas's screwy primary-caucus system that turns a close race into a wide delegate margin. If Hillary wins Ohio by 10 - as SUSA has called it - then she wins by closer to 13 instead of 11 (OH also has a weird delegate apportionment system that prevents delegate blowouts in any direction). In that case Obama ends the night up 7 instead of 9. So what will happen next? Hillary will declare she is the comeback kid and the media will believe it at first as they bought her "big states" win on Super Tuesday. But on Wednesday Bill Richardson will do what he promised and will endorse the delegate leader at that point in the race - Barack Obama. Other superdelegates will continue to trickle to Obama. Hillary will vow to fight until PA. They'll both rake in more cash. Then she'll lose big in Wyoming caucuses and even bigger in Mississippi. On March 12 lots more superdelegates will flood to Obama and Hillary will get pressured to leave the race by top party people who want to start unifying the party for the fall. I have no idea what will happen at that point. So what are your predictions? Tags: ( )

The new voting system that Cleveland and its suburbs will use in next Tuesday`s primary election has serious flaws that risk greater voter error say members of a research team from the Universities of Maryland Rochester and Michigan who conducted a comprehensive analysis of the technology over the past five years. Cuyahoga County - which encompasses Cleveland - will retire its touch screen voting machines on March 4 in favor of a paper/optical scan system. The ballots will be counted at a central location. One of the potential problems is that voters will not get a chance to run their ballots through a scanner before handing them in - a step available in some other jurisdictions with optical scan systems say the researchers. This scan provides an important opportunity for voters to catch mistakes. `This is not an auspicious debut ` says University of Maryland political scientist who led the research team. `Voters will go to the polls Tuesday without a safety net. They should be very careful to avoid stray marks and to review their ballots closely. If they want to make changes they should ask for a new form instead of erasing. Colorado dropped this particular configuration of the paper/optical scan machines because it eliminates this important accuracy check. The ballots are computer forms similar to those used in standardized tests in which voters register their choices by filling in small ovals with a pencil. Herrnson and the research team of political and computer scientists conducted a five-year comparison of the usability of several electronic voting and verification systems. The study is the most comprehensive of its kind relying on data from field tests with more than 1 500 subjects laboratory tests and expert reviews. The results and recommendations are reported in the January 2008 book published by the Brookings Institution. Among the research findings on the paper ballot/optical scan system: users sometimes `overvote` - select too many candidates in a single race disqualifying the vote. Erasures or stray marks may be read by the computer as overvotes. `The worst mistake of all is accidentally voting for the competitor in the race ` Herrnson says. `In effect that`s two votes against your own candidate. With central count optical scan there`s no review screen to help a voter catch such an error.` When voters finish with the ballots they put them in a collection box in the precinct. Then the ballots are taken to a central location for scanning and tallying. This central count approach poses potential security problems Herrnson adds pointing to numerous examples of U.S. election fraud involving paper ballots. `It`s ironic that Cuyahoga County is replacing touch screen machines with paper ballots ` says research team member a University of Rochester political scientist. `Based on our research I`m convinced that the right kind of touch screen machine could be better than paper.` `The very act of changing the machines can cause problems ` says research team member a University of Maryland political scientist. `Both voters and election officials will be on unfamiliar ground Tuesday. Everyone needs to stay on their toes.` Additional study findings and recommendations are .

HOUSTON — Barack Obama sought a knockout against rival Hillary Rodham Clinton as voting began Tuesday in crucial contests in Texas and Ohio where the former first lady desperately needs a win to salvage her once-powerful candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. Both expressed confidence in their chances the previous night which they spent in the same Texas city. But both teams also acknowledged that split decisions and close votes could prolong the battle for at least another month _ or more. "We know this has been an extraordinary election. It continues to be. We're working hard to do as well as we can " said Obama who planned to await Texas returns in San Antonio. "I'm just getting warmed up " Clinton told reporters a clear sign that she expects to press the campaign on beyond Tuesday no matter the outcome. She planned to opening Election Day in Houston and Dallas but then head back to Ohio for more campaign events. She will await results in Columbus before returning to Washington Tuesday night. Polls show tight races in both Texas and Ohio. The Obama campaign saw Texas as their best opportunity while the Clinton campaign saw Ohio as theirs. Texas offers 228 delegates Ohio 164. "Your voice can win an election " Obama told a noisy late-night rally in Houston. Repeating a signature election refrain he shouted: "I have only one question for you: Are you fired up? Ready to go?" When the crowd roared its approval he added: "Let's go change the world." His wife Michelle had a more subdued message for the cheering supporters: "We have a lot of work to do." Obama spent Monday campaigning in Texas emphasizing his readiness to take over as commander in chief. But he was dogged by allegations that he had overstated his opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement to win votes in Ohio; and his ties to Chicago businessman Antoin "Tony" Rezko on the day that jury selection began in the political corruption trial of the real estate developer and fast-food magnate. "Tony Rezko was a friend and supporter of mine for many years. These charges are completely unrelated to me and nobody disputes that " Obama said at a news conference in San Antonio. Obama did receive a $10 000 contribution made by a Rezko associate that is mentioned in the indictment. But Obama's campaign has long since sent the money to charity. "There's no dispute that he raised money for us and there's no dispute that we've tried to get rid of it " Obama said. Meanwhile Clinton waged yet another marathon day on Monday shaking hands in the chill pre-dawn darkness with workers at a Chrysler factory in Toledo and winding up in Texas. She predicted a strong showing in the primaries and said she was looking ahead to contests down the road like Pennsylvania on April 22. She sounded a populist economic theme as she courted voters who have suffered with the decline of manufacturing in the industrial Midwest and Ohio. Then in military-friendly Texas Clinton broadened her theme to include veterans' issues and to trumpet her backing from a string of top military officers. Clinton worked to underscore her core campaign theme that she's the more experienced on the issue. She held a one-hour town hall meeting where she strode the stage surrounded by a friendly audience and took questions selected from the thousands that were submitted on issues ranging from health care to education to veterans issues. Her campaign purchased time on a sports-oriented cable network to broadcast the event around the state and the event was streamed on the campaign's Web site. Both Clinton and Obama launched new television spots in Texas and Ohio to make their closing arguments. Clinton ended her day with a rambunctious rally in Austin before flying to Houston. Obama campaign manager David Pollute called Tuesday "the last big window of opportunity" for Clinton noting that "enormous leads" she enjoyed as recently as two weeks ago had dwindled or evaporated. Still he said Obama was mindful that "this could go on for some time. We're prepared for whatever situation occurs." Republican presidential contenders John McCain and Mike Huckabee also campaigned in Texas though voter interest centered on the closer Democratic race. ___ Associated Press writer Mike Glover in Houston contributed to this report.