STOLEN ELECTION? – AT 7:39 P.M. ET:  The late comedian, Red Buttons, used to feature a segment on his TV show introduced by a song called "Strange Things are Happening."  And they are, right here in America, a week before a major election.  Investor's Business Daily Reports:

'It can't happen here," most Americans would say about the chances of voting one way and seeing your votes recorded the opposite. But that's what happened in early voting in North Carolina's unfortunately named Craven County last week.

Voter Sam Laughinghouse of New Bern found that "an electronic voting machine completed his straight-party ticket for the opposite of what he intended," the New Bern Sun Journal reported.

Laughinghouse "pushed the button to vote Republican in all races, but the voting machine screen displayed a ballot with all Democrats checked," the local paper reported. "He cleared the screen and tried again with the same result."

Election personnel eventually straightened it out, but clearly a less observant Republican voter would have inadvertently voted for every Democrat on his ballot.

And...

In Boulder City, Nev., meanwhile, where voters use computer screens, another disturbing episode was reported by Fox News. When voter Joyce Ferrara and her husband went to vote for Republican Sharron Angle, they — and several others, according to Ferrara — found that Democratic incumbent Harry Reid's name was already checked. The county registrar's explanation: The high-tech voting screens are sensitive.

The Nevada case is especially disturbing because the seat of the most powerful Democrat in the Senate is at stake.

COMMENT:  There are many, many close races to be decided next week.  Late polls today show a number of races tightening, with Democrats making some, but limited gains.  The temptation to cheat is great.

Remember the recent charge that Eric Holder's Justice Department is refusing to prosecute voter fraud cases when the defendant is a minority?  You can be sure that charge has been absorbed by politicians in some big cities, where fraud can often decide an election.  We think especially of St. Louis and Chicago, with a bit of Philly thrown in.  What risk is there of cheating, when you know you won't be pursued by the Justice Department?

The issue of voter fraud should be taken very seriously.  The man in the White House reperesents a notorious big-city machine.  I would not be shocked if cries of "fraud" are heard across the political landscape next Tuesday night, possibly in the tight Illinois race for Obama's old Senate seat and in the tight Senate race in Pennsylvania.

October 26, 2010