Flooding is such a problem in Southern Ohio that at the request of the Secretary of State, the courts have issued orders allowing voters to cast provisional ballots at their county board of elections. Here is the order for Perry County (pdf)and here is the one for Adams County. (pdf)

Buckeye State Blog is tracking the orders. I agree that this could result in lower voter turnout which would hurt Hillary who is favored in Southeast Ohio. (Bill Clinton carried these counties in the 1992 and 1996 general election, which resulted in his winning Ohio, while Gore and Kerry did not and lost Ohio in the general election.

Obama could be adversely affected by such an order in Athens county, home to Ohio University and it's tens of thousands of students.

Hopefully the candidates' ground operations are prepared for this and have volunteers with vehicles to get people to the polls.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports lots of Republicans are voting in the Democratic primary.

By Big Tent Democrat

Scott Lemieux writes:

[U]nder different rules Obama might have campaigned in a way that would have maximized his vote rather than delegate count. You can't assume that a small vote advantage would have held up under a different set of rules, and under the rules we have whoever wins the delegates wins the state, period.

As Lemieux tells it, the current system is not designed to pick the nominee who gets the most votes from actual voters. And I agree. But frankly, I do not understand what Lemieux means when he infers that delegate maximization is not connected to voter maximization. Sure the way the delegates are alloted dilutes the will of the voters. But that does not mean the candidates could do anything to address that fact in their campaigns. At least not in a primary. The horribly flawed Texas system that grants some voters more say than others is not a feature of the system, it is a horrible flaw and there is nothing either candidate could do to adjust to that.

Jury selection continues in the Anton Rezko jury trial in Chicago.

Here is the witness list. Barack Obama's name is not on the list. This is not surprising, as I wrote yesterday. And, in fact, today Rezko's lawyers denied they intend to call Obama.

Obama does have someone in the courtroom taking notes.

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only.

I am hesitant about raising this because, in my view, Senator Clinton needs to win the popular vote in both Ohio and Texas to have a reasonably legitimate narrative for winning the nomination - to wit, Obama has not won any contested big states key to the general election. And I do not think she will win both. But I proceed intrepidly.

Everywhere you go that is pro-Obama, places like NBC and TPM, you hear about the delegate math. Clinton trails Obama by some 160-odd pledged delegates and she will have to win around 65% of the remaining pledged delegates to retake the pledged delegate lead. Of course this accepts the Obama camp's spin that the pledged delegate result is the final word on who the nominee is. And that is simply not true. There are 700+ Super delegates who will decide who the nominee is. That is just plain fact. Neither candidate will reach the 2025 mark. But it also ignores two big pieces of the puzzle. Florida and Michigan. Under the current results, the now excluded Michigan and Florida delegation would give a net gain for Clinton of 76 pledged delegates. But of course this is not going to happen that way. But a revote could happen if Clinton wins both Texas and Ohio tonight. Why? Because it would likely be to the advantage of the Democrats, the DNC, Clinton AND Obama if Clinton sweeps Texas and Ohio tonight. I'll explain why on the flip.

As we're waiting for news of today's election, here's a first-hand account I received from a Texas voter. All of you who voted today are welcome to post your stories in the comments:

Just wanted to write in and let you know what's going on here today in Houston. (FYI, I'm white, male, in my 30's, and support Clinton)

I went to vote this morning in the Meyerland/Bellaire area of Houston. (The area has a real mix of people - different ages, races - and is very much a middle to middle-upper income.) When I left, I was stopped and asked to participate in an exit poll survey sponsored by all of the networks and major papers. This is the first time I've ever been asked to do this.

As I entered my polling place wearing a Clinton button, Obama's supporters (about 6 of them) literally gave me dirty looks and turned their back on me. Other voters were greated with hellos, good mornings, and hope you'll vote for Obama. The attitude of Obama's campaigners to me was rather nasty. It was a real turn-off to me, and if he's the nominee, I'll really have to think twice about voting in the general election.

Other information: At my polling place there were TONS of Obama signs all over the place, not a single Clinton sign. As I mentioned, about 6 Obama people outside, not a single Clinton person. Inside the polling place, it looked like 2 of the 10 or so machines were off-line (a tech was there working on them), but there was no wait. (A precinct judge said it was very busy at 7am).

More...

By Big Tent Democrat

Josh Marshall writes:

It's hard to say just what issues are responsible for the shift in momentum. It's hard to believe the NAFTA stuff hasn't played a role. The Farrakhan/Muslim/anti-Semitism stuff, which Clinton has pushed in concert with key press outlets, also probably plays a big role.

(Emphasis supplied.) I guess I missed it but I do not remember any Clinton campaign materials on Farrakhan, anti-semitism or Obama being a Muslim. Is Josh talking about Steve Kroft asking Hillary if Obama is a Muslim? Did Farrakhan and anti-semitism come up too? Anyone have any info on this? Do you know what Marshall is talking about?

By Big Tent Democrat

Here's mine:

Clinton by 10 in Ohio. Clinton by 14 in RI. Obama by 30 in Vermont. Obama by 2 in Texas.

The first three are fairly conventional. But why do I think Obama wins in Texas? Because Zogby said Clinton would win Texas. Kidding. I'll tell you why. Because I think African American turnout will be through the roof, swamping every other factor in its path. That's the reason.

What are your predictions?

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only.

Some Left blogs have discovered a concern about using Republican talking points against our Democratic candidates for President. For example, Chris Bowers writes:

Still, I find stuff like [Clinton's experience] quote repugnant, and it strikes me as a bad strategic move regardless of who wins the primary. McCain is very dangerous and building him up as experienced, with the implication that he's ready to lead our military, is, shall we say, a bad thing.

I agree. Though I think the notion that McCain will not be viewed as experienced is rather ridiculous. Still, no Dem should help with that. That said, I do not recall Chris or any other blogger agreeing with my denunciation last October of John Edwards, Chris Dodd and Barack Obama for their attacks on Hillary Clinton's character and honesty. For example, last October the Barack Obama campaign launched an all out assault on Hillary Clinton's honesty that continues to this day:

By Big Tent Democrat

Speaking for me only.

I like to laugh at John Zogby and the outfits that cite him as a serious pollster. And this post is no different. So in his final polls Zogby has Clinton up 47-44 in Texas, a 3 point rise for Clinton and a 3 point drop for Obama. In Ohio, Zogby has a tie, which reflects a 3 point drop for Obama. So, according to Zogby, the last minute trend is all Clinton. I would be worried if I was in the Clinton camp.

Talk about anything related to the campaign, not just polls. Today should be an exciting day.

(Washington Post Photo)

Dana Milbank has a great article in today's Washington Post about how the mainstream media reporters came out of their stupor today to grill Barack Obama -- on NAFTA, on Rezko, on whether he will lose the Jewish vote and on his record. (Transcript is here.)

It took many months and the mockery of "Saturday Night Live" to make it happen, but the lumbering beast that is the press corps finally roused itself from its slumber Monday and greeted Barack Obama with a menacing growl.

The day before primaries in Ohio and Texas that could effectively seal the Democratic presidential nomination for him, a smiling Obama strode out to a news conference at a veterans facility here. But the grin was quickly replaced by the surprised look of a man bitten by his own dog.

Obama was clearly flustered. [More...]

A new poll by the Washington Post and ABC News finds 2/3 of Democrats believe Hillary Clinton should stay in the presidential race if she wins either Texas or Ohio. The poll results are here.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

The Goo Goo Dolls:

My favorite version: The Goo Goo Dolls at the 9/11 Concert for NYC for the firemen who died, it starts at 5:00 in, but watch John Rzeznik dance across the stage around 7:20. What a face, what energy. It also has a great shot of a fireman in the crowd just loving it (around 6:10.)

The Goo Goo Dolls have done fundraisers for both Hillary and Obama, two months apart.