Bush, Kerry battle down to wire

The biggest prize in American politics and the most powerful job in the world is up for grabs today, and both President Bush and his Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry, can see a path to victory in the presidential race.

Millions of voters already have cast ballots amid Democrats’ charges of voter intimidation and Republicans’ accusations of voter fraud. Both parties have prepared major efforts to monitor the polls today and have teams of lawyers ready to begin the challenges tomorrow.

Polls show voters are just as evenly divided as in 2000, when Mr. Bush lost the national popular vote to Democratic Al Gore by fewer than 550,000 votes, but won the presidency through the Electoral College, after the Supreme Court halted a recount of votes in Florida.

The anti-Bush sentiment that developed among Democrats was halted temporarily by the September 11 terrorist attacks. But it was back in full force by the Democratic primaries, fueled by Mr. Bush’s decision to go to war in Iraq, and has given momentum to the man who emerged from the bruising primary season, the junior senator from Massachusetts.

“This is the choice, this is the moment of accountability for America,” Mr. Kerry told a rally in Florida yesterday. “It’s a moment where the world is watching what you’re going to do. All of the hopes and dreams — all of the hopes and dreams of our country are on the line today.”

He has offered voters his 20 years in the Senate and his record as a decorated Navy lieutenant in Vietnam, along with a heavy dose of criticism of the president’s record on the economy and his management of the war in Iraq.

Mr. Bush, son of a former president and the former governor of Texas, claims two major tax cuts, his federal education policy overhaul and his decision to fight terrorism as reasons to vote for him.

“I’m confident we’re going to win,” the president told reporters yesterday at a Pittsburgh airport. “The finish line is in sight, and I just want to assure you I’ve got the energy and the optimism and the enthusiasm to cross the line.”

Both men had rallies planned to last into today’s early morning hours — Mr. Bush in Dallas and Mr. Kerry in Wisconsin.

In addition to the presidency, all 435 House seats, 34 Senate seats and 11 governorships are up for election today.

Most politicos expect Republicans to keep their majority in the House, thanks in large part to big gains in the redistricted Texas, but their continued control of the Senate is much less certain. With five open Democratic seats, three open Republican seats and one or two vulnerable incumbents on each side, either party can see a path to the majority.

Voters in 11 states also will decide on ballot questions to establish their definition of marriage as the union between a man and a woman, measures which are expected to boost conservative Christian turnout and help Mr. Bush.

Michigan and Ohio, two critical states in the presidential race, are among those.

Courts in Ohio yesterday ruled against a state law that would have let the parties post election watchers at polling places to challenge potential voters’ qualifications. Republicans have said they will appeal the ruling.

The University of Pennsylvania’s National Annenberg Election Survey found that just 62 percent of registered voters are “very confident” that their vote will be counted accurately.

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