11/4 Roundup: Holy Cow We're Finally Here

Obama Voting- Citizen, take note! Today is Election Day, and if you haven't yet, you ought go cast your ballot, post haste.  I was up early this morning talking to friends overseas. One had sent her absentee ballot with stamps bearing the visage of King Muhammad VI, because those are the only stamps available in Morocco. In an act worthy of the most stalwart democrat, another friend shipped his Illinois ballot via DHL, at a cost of $60, from Khartoum, Sudan. This election is shaping up to yield the biggest turnout in history.

- Naturally, this is causing problems already. Voting machines are down in Richmond, VA, Fairfax, VA,  Willingboro, NJ, and probably elsewhere too. Stories abound of 3, 4, even 5 hours waits at the polls-- not all that surprising considering it's been that way for a week in Florida and other early voting states. Ezra Klein points to smart commentary from MSNBC's Rachel Maddow: Long lines at the polls should not be taken as a sign of healthy democracy, rather, as a sign of people being disenfranchised.  Not everyone can afford to take half a day off work to stand in line at a polling place. It's pretty silly that, more that 200 years later, we still haven't figured out a way to make it easy for everyone to vote.

Voting Line- Karl Rove predicts Obama will take home 338 electoral votes. The Hill publishes the predictions of a number of pundits and celebrities, including Simon, who projects 353 for Obama. Instead of a number, Fran Drescher offers Barack a compliment on his hotness: "If I wasn't married, I'd do him."

- Simon was also quoted on NPR, talking about how the new Democratic strategy: "The map Democrats are using to win is a 21st century map. It looks like no other they've ever used to win before, one that itself is the first great map of the post-Southern strategy era of American politics."

- Echoing some of NDN's analysis, Adam Nagourney writes that this election represents a sea change in American politics. The demographics of the electorate have changed, the way campaigns are orchestrated has changed, and these changes are here to stay.  NPI founder Joe Trippi is quoted: "It has all come together for one guy, Barack Obama. But now that it’s happened, it’s a permanent change."

- John Dickerson offers prognostications of what to look for throughout the day, and at your returns-watching party tonight.

- The Editorial Board of the NY Times speculates that the immigrant (Hispanic) vote could be huge today. Also adopting NDN's ideas is Jose Antonio Vargas who wrote in the Washington Post about the influence of social networks in this election. 

- Millenials, too, are a new, powerful force in this election, as the Carolina Reporter wrote yesterday, quoting NDN Fellows Michael Hais and Morley Winograd: "Active participation and involvement is ingrained in Millennials. It is what they do. It is who they are."

- Today, of course, marks the end of early voting, which was radically more popular this year than in the past.  In Florida, more than a third of voters cast their ballots early, and in Colorado, it was more than half.

- Sadly, Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, died early yesterday morning in Hawaii after a battle with cancer and a broken hip.  Obama eulogized her in a speech yesterday, which you can watch here.

- This might sway your vote: Sarah Palin has been cleared of wrongdoing by an Alaska ethics board.

- Last, not sure how to vote? Chris Rock fills you in:

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