Remember, these are anecdotes, some of it might even be erroneous! So try not to use them to confirm your hopes or fears. They are what they are.
In Kentucky, I've heard reports from both the Conway campaign and DFA field organizers that turnout is much higher than expected statewide, but it's good in Louisville, and at presidential levels in Lexington. A local radio station confirms that the state's best turnout is in those two big urban areas. And there's this:
In Fayette County, several polls had to replace malfunctioning voting machines. in one precinct, Meadowthorpe, both machines had to be replaced so there was no voting for about 45 minutes.
"Everything was down at Meadowthorpe," said Kitty Ware, spokeswoman for the Fayette County Clerk's office.
Machines also had to be replaced at Sayre Village, Boone Station and Stone precincts, Ware said. And at least five precincts called for an extra machine because of long lines of voters.
Conway has to rock those areas if he wants to offset Rand Paul gains in the rest of the state. And really, in this day and age, why are people still having to stand in line to vote? Vote by mail! It's great, it's democratic, it's inclusive, and it doesn't discriminate against people who live in urban areas (the ones most likely to be stuck waiting in line to vote)
For the pessimists:
A key endangered Democratic incumbent admitted Tuesday that "turnout isn’t where we need it to be" if he's to win re-election.
Rep. Steve Kagen's (D-Wis.) campaign manager emailed supporters to warn them that turnout numbers were flagging, and that they needed more voters to make their way to the polls.
"We have just been going over the morning voting numbers – and turnout isn’t where we need it to be in our strong areas," campaign manager Julie Heun wrote in an email. "This race is going to be a squeaker - and every vote will count."
GOTV the fuck out of the day!
Ben Smith has fodder for both the pessimists and the optimists.
A tweet from the Oregon division of elections:
As of 10:30 this morning, 61% of Republicans, 57% of Democrats, and 38% of those Not Affiliated with any party have returned their ballots.
Come on, Oregon Dems, pick it up!
St Louis, MO:
St. Louis County's Democratic elections director, reports voting is a bit heavier than expected this morning -- most notably in western and northern parts of the county.
(West county is Republican territory, while north county is heavily Democratic.)
Update: And more--
Colorado:
Republicans are boasting an early vote advantage in Colorado's nail-biter Senate race.
But a small anecdote has Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet's campaign optimistic.
Colorado State University, located in Ft. Collins, ran out of ballots this morning, according to Bennet spokesman Trevor Kincaid. "More had to be delivered. Good sign," he e-mailed.
Nonsense, responded Ken Buck's camp.
"Voters today are standing in line in El Paso County. No lines in Denver. Good for Buck, bad for Bennet," said Buck adviser Walt Klein.
The latest tally out of Larimer County, home of Colorado State University, still shows a GOP advantage. Republicans have cast 30,701 ballots there compared with 22,449 Democratic ballots, according to figures provided to POLITICO by the Buck campaign.
Ohio:
The Ohio Democratic party say they're hitting their GOTV numbers so far today. Locked in a tight gubernatorial race, party officials say "turnout in Cuyahoga County is on track with our projections" and they claim "the Republican stronghold of Butler County is projecting turnout to be 5 points lower than 2006, when enthusiasm was on the Democratic side."
Boy, that's not even anecdotal, more like spin. But here's hoping they're right.
National:
For better or worse, the weather is always a big factor in elections. Historically, high turnout helps Democrats, mostly because many poor people (who are generally Democrats) do not have cars and have to walk to the polls. In a storm, they are less inclined to do so. However, today Democrats luck out as the weather is bright and sunny throughout much of the nation. The only stormy area is the lower Mississippi Valley, where there aren't any competitive races. Whether the lack of a meteorological storm can offset the political storm on the horizon remains to be seen, however.