Waiting on democracy: Charlotte Kendall stands at the front of the line along with other folks waiting to vote early at the Supervisor of Elections office in the 501 Building in St. Petersburg on First Avenue N and Fifth Street on Tuesday. At times, the wait was an hour long. On Monday, officials said 854 people voted. Early voting continues through Monday.
DENVER - A federal judge Tuesday left it up to the voters to decide on Election Day whether to change the way Colorado distributes its electoral votes for president.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Babcock dismissed a lawsuit that challenged a proposal on next week's ballot that would alter the Electoral College system in Colorado. He said that it is a state issue and not a federal one, and that he lacked jurisdiction.
The measure would scrap Colorado's winner-take-all system for distributing its nine Electoral College votes. Instead, presidential candidates would be awarded a share of the electoral votes based on their proportion of the popular vote.
The change would begin with this year's presidential contest - potentially complicating the election if the race between President Bush and John Kerry is close.
Schwarzenegger hits campaign trail in Ohio
VACAVILLE, Calif. - Announcing plans to campaign for President Bush in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger offered one of his strongest statements in support of Bush's anti-terror efforts, comparing them to former President Reagan's battles against communism.
"This reminds me of the days when Ronald Reagan was in office and he was fighting communism," Schwarzenegger said. "There were some people out there criticizing him, saying "This is crazy, he's a warmonger' and all of this kind of criticisms. And in the end, he proved right. He wore them down because he showed great leadership, and communism fell apart.
"That's the idea. George W. Bush is in the same position today."
Elsewhere . . .
MICHIGAN: A federal appeals court ruled that provisional ballots cast outside the precinct where a voter resides cannot be counted in Michigan. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling that said provisional ballots should be counted as long as they are cast in the right city, township or village.
OHIO: The Supreme Court declined to put independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader on the ballot in the battleground state of Ohio. On Friday, Nader asked the high court to review Ohio's decision to remove him, arguing that a state law that requires people who collect signatures on candidates' petitions be registered voters violated free speech rights. The justices denied the request without comment Tuesday.
SALES TAX: House Democrats plan to attack GOP candidates nationwide on their support of a national sales tax proposal, hoping the issue will help their attempt to take over the House. Democrats think a national sales tax, which has been suggested by some House Republicans, would mean that lower-income families will pay more of the country's tax burden and have been running advertisements attacking GOP candidates for supporting the idea. "We think that Republican candidates and Republican incumbents who are supporting this legislation must respond to their constituents about how they're going to deal with moving the tax burden," said Rep. Robert Matsui, D-Calif., head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
