Voted Today and of course some controversy, other voter reg news, polls and counterpunches

This morning seventeen Obama supporters showed up before 8:00 AM at the El Paso County Clerk's office and in the presence of KRDO's Channel 13 camera's cast their ballots. Naturally there was some controversy in that we all were dressed and decked out in Obama garb and the Elections Department Supervisor took issue and said we needed to cover them up or take them off. Of course there were no 100 foot signs BECAUSE THERE IS NO POLLING GOING ON, MERELY the receiving of ballots being hand delivered. But that does not mean that Balink and his incompentent staff got another legal instruction incorrect. Maday and I informed the Obama team to contact the lawyers who will be meeting with Mr. Balink today. KRDO's story quoted Mike:

The first El Paso County votes have been cast in this election. A group of eager voters got their ballots over the weekend, filled them out and showed up early at Centennial Hall Monday to turn them in. "It's exciting, and I think we're part of history," says Mike Maday who cast his ballot Monday, "this election is going to make history and it's great to be one of the first people to cast a ballot."

More than 120,000 mail-in ballots are already in the hands of El Paso County residents. More people than ever are choosing to mail in. "Every ballot will have at least 42 items," says El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Bob Balink, "it'll take a voter longer than ever to vote this ballot."

"With the initiatives on the ballot, it takes a lot of time, maybe 45 minutes, to vote your ballot," says Maday, "we wanted to get it done early, we wanted to hand it in early so we don't have to worry about that." Now, the Clerk and Recorder's Office is busy processing the final voter registrations and the mail-in requests that will continue coming in until the end of the month.

A piece of information for Mr. "Bob" Balink, you are on the national spotlight for any and all voter suppression, voter intimidation or voter misinformation. No more game Mr. Balink.

VOTER REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Other news regarding voter registration is that any currently registered voter who needs to update (address change or name change in case you got married or legally changed your name or want to declare a new party affiliation), any update you have until October 28th to submit that form, the same for requesting a MAIL-In Ballot. If you did already submit a new registration but think it was done incorrectly due to a clerical error, you should contact the Obama Campaign Office---all is not lost.

POLLS

Today the USA TODAY released a stunning poll that insinuates a fundamental shift in the electorate where young voters are registering in record numbers and supporting Obama almost 2-to-1.

USA TODAY/MTV/Gallup Poll of registered voters 18 to 29 years old shows Democrat Barack Obama leading Republican John McCain by 61%-32%, the most lopsided contest within an age group in any presidential election in modern times. Obama's margin is overwhelming across four groups of younger voters, divided by their engagement in the election, their optimism about the future and other factors.

Some Republicans fear that whatever the outcome Nov. 4, movement of this generation to Obama could set political views through their lifetimes, reverberating in future elections.

"This is the equivalent of the Reagan brigades, where a whole class of people identify with a politician," says Dan Bartlett, a veteran of the Bush White House, calling it "a real wake-up call" for the GOP. Bartlett, 37, grew up during Reagan's presidency, which begat a generation of young conservatives.

Also MSNBC First Read are holding that Obama how has 264 electoral votes banked and the entire map is moving in his direction.

Obama at 264: A week after Obama's poll numbers spiked in battleground states and after McCain's campaign announced it was retreating from Michigan, Obama has opened up a nearly 100-point electoral-vote lead, according to NBC’s new map. Obama now has a 264-174 advantage over McCain, up from his 212-174 edge last week. The changes are all in Obama’s direction: We’ve moved Michigan, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin from Toss-up to Lean Obama. Also, every single Toss-up state is now a red state, and we are close to moving another red state -- Missouri -- to the Toss-up column. But let's remember: This is where the RACE IS RIGHT NOW, not where we expect the race to be in a month. And we move a state into lean when we believe there's significant evidence based on our reporting and a few of the public polls (we trust) that a candidate has a lead of five points or more.

• Likely Obama: CA, CT, DE, DC, HI, IL, ME, MD, MA, NY, RI, VT (157 electoral votes)
• Lean Obama: IA, MI, MN, NH, NJ, NM, OR, PA, WA, WI (107 votes)
• Toss-up: CO, FL, IN, NV, NC, OH, VA (100 votes)
• Lean McCain: MO, MT (14 votes)
• Likely McCain: AL, AK, AZ, AR, GA, ID, KS, KY, LA, MS, NE, ND, OK, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, WV, WY (160 votes)

Other polls that are notable come from battleground state Virginia & New Hampshire. With each of these revelations based on the MSNBC and FOX News Map essentially begin to put the nails in McCain's Campaign coffin in that with Virginia Obama is now over the top.

• Virginia Survey USA Obama 53% McCain 43%
  
• Virginia Suffolk Obama 51% McCain 39%
  
• New Hampshire Survey USA Obama 53% McCain 40%
  

COUNTER-PUNCHES

You bring up the BS of Ayres connection and Obama counters with the real Keating 5 and a 15 minute online documentary. Here is the link to keatingeconomics.com. Talking Points Memo describe the McCain campaign theme as total slime and sleeze.

McCain rallies start in referring to Obama as Barack Hussein Obama.

Late Update: We're here at TPM World HQ listening to McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds be interviewed by Andrea Mitchell. And the subtext of even Mitchell's questions seem to be that McCain is pretty much wall-to-wall sleaze at this point. One interesting thing to consider is that we may be on the verge of seeing McCain not only lose the presidency but his entire reputation as well. He'll lose everything but the houses and the fancy lifestyle. Joe Klein has a run-down on all McCain's latest sleaze.

And this little tidbit fell out of the drawer in the McCain Campaign---CUTTING MEDICARE AND MEDICAID! McCain adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin tells the Wall St. Journal that McCain would pay for the tax credits in his health plan with deep cuts in Medicare and Medicaid.

John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government programs.

I told my mother this on the phone today and she went silent.