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OHIO: A DAY AT THE POLLS [Kevin Holtsberry 11/02 06:15 PM]

Today was a very typical day here in Columbus, Ohio: rainy, grey, basically the same color all day. But while the weather was typically bleak - and getting worse as the day went on - the circumstances were not. Obviously today was Election Day, in a Presidential year, in a key swing state, in a very tight race. After all the talk and legal wrangling things seemed to go smoothly in the two polling places I was in today. The lines were large but cordial and orderly. Civility is not dead if what I saw today is any indication. This crossed party lines. I know of at least one occasion where a Kerry "Poll Flusher" (volunteers who check posted voter rolls at specified times and then relay that information to the campaign for GOTV calls to those that haven't yet voted) helped a Bush volunteer in order to make the process move faster.

It took me about an hour to vote (that is from walking in the door to walking out). Lines across the state were said to range from practically no wait to up to three hours. These lines seemed consistent throughout the day. Obviously this indicates high, possibly record, turnout. Conventional wisdom usually holds that high turnout helps Democrats, but remember that the GOP has had an unprecedented registration and GOTV program of their own. The Bush campaign had "flushers in every precinct in the state. They had transportation for those that needed it. They had volunteers manning the phones practically around the cloc (I got a autmoated call this evening myself). They had people on street corners ecouraging any and all to turn out to vote for the President. Record turnout in key districts could mean just as much for President Bush as for Senator Kerry.

As if Ohio's central role wasn't clear, President Bush made a last minute stop here this morning. Ironically, the traffic jam created by his arrival at the BC Headquarters prevented me from getting to see the President. But I know it was a big boost for the dedicated volunteers working so hard for his re-election. It is hard to describe the massive volunteer effort going on in the state, but millions of calls have been made in the last few days and hundreds of thousands of doors have been knocked on. The Franklin County GOP and the BC team have been working round the clock to insure that Bush wins this key county and thus the state's 20 electoral votes. They will be working until the polls close at 7:30 tonight and they can head over to the Victory party and nervously await the verdict.

I sincerely hope they can go to sleep tonight knowing that their efforts paid off.