Just wanted everyone to know that we will be liveblogging the election returns here in the comment thread today. Please feel free to join us and take part in what should be a fun evening.

Update: Good quote from La Shawn Barber: "I’ve been less than impressed with national Republicans, and I don’t see a big downside to having a Democratic Congress. That’s how jaded I am. I’ll be surrounded by liberal bloggers tonight, so if Democrats gain control, I’ll have to deal with the gloat factor, which will be unpleasant. Other than that, what’s the difference?"

Update: I'm already hearing some voting irregularity/conspiracy stuff already

Update: Amusing quote from the BBC's Gavin Esler:

"The Democrat campaign seems to boil down to one phrase: "We're not George Bush." And the Republican campaign is similarly taut: "We're not George Bush either.""

Update: Very interesting poll out today:

"Sen. John Kerry's gaffe that Americans who do not do well in school end up in Iraq has triggered deep doubts among some independent voters about voting Democratic in the elections, according to a new Pew poll."

It will be interesting to see if this bears out.

Update: Glenn Reynolds is absolutely correct on this assessment:

"IN A WAY, IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW IT TURNS OUT: The message for the Republicans -- and the Democrats -- is that they need to do much better. The GOP, as I noted before, made a number of "unforced errors" that took them from a strong to a weak position -- not because they spent political capital, but because they squandered it. They were too busy stuffing their pockets and taking their base for granted, and -- whether or not they lose big or lose small -- they could have done beter, without sacrificing any of their principles, if they'd had a bit more self-restraint.

Meanwhile, the Democrats, even if they take both houses, will have to actually discover some governing principles -- and if they'd had those on display, they'd be running away with this election right now.

I've written before that technology, diminishing voter loyalty, and new media make a third party a lot more feasible than it used to be. The two big parties are depressingly inept, each arguing that the other is worse, and both make a strong case. . . .

Update: Andrew Sullivan thinks this may be an election where young people make a big difference. I can't see that as this election season and past few years could make a cynic out of almost anyone....except me. :)

Many of you have read about my consideration to run against Cynthia McKinney for Congress. As I investigated this idea, I came across one specific obstacle to making this a reality. And that is the issue of ballot access, particularly here in Georgia.

In considering whether or not to run against McKinney, I realized that the best opportunity to beat her would be for a strong Independent candidate to run against, without the baggage that running as a Republican would entail. (On top of the fact that I have plenty of problems with the Republican party and don't see that they are much different from Democrats).

So I started investigating how one gets on the ballot here in Georgia. I found plenty of information on how to run as a Republican or Democrat. In order to get on the primary ballot for either party, one simply has to pay a filing fee of about $4,800 for a Congressional seat race. Nothing else is required. Not a single signature.

However, the situation is quite different for an Independent to get on the ballot. Not only does one have to pay the same filing fee but one has to gather signatures. And lots of them. read more »