karl rove went on fox news this morning with his election predictions. he said obama will collect 310 electoral college votes, far more than he needs to win.

i've just deleted three paragraphs about how paranoid that makes me feel. how it seems that the only plausible reason for him to boost the other side so much is to encourage complacency. who knows? nothing to do now but VOTE.

we in nada surf, and virtually everyone we know, are fervent obama supporters. but our dismay about the state of voting in this country goes beyond party-centric worry. it is about basic fairness. voter suppression, malfunctioning machines, eight-hour lines caused by often deliberately under-equipped polling sites: these things are shameful. we will not be a true democracy until voting is easy, sure and practical* for everyone, until we show that we actually care about each vote being counted.

we urge you to do whatever you have to do to have your voice heard tomorrow. head out as early as you can. take something to eat and drink. take the day off from work or school if you have to.

i sincerely hope there is never again an election as imporant as this one.

if we are to deal intelligently and adequately with the many problems that confront us — imploding economy, worldwide unrest, the ever-ticking time bomb of fanaticism and, most importantly, the deadly issue of climate change — we cannot afford to stumble along with the wrong administration, as we've been doing for eight years. the results have been more than disastrous.

please, do not assume that all will be well tomorrow, that everyone else will do the winning for you. every single person must stand in line for as long as they have to. if it helps to motivate you, look at it for what it really is: an honor. let's all get out there and hopefully it will turn out to be one of the best days of our lives!!

all the very best,
matthew


*do you know why we've voted on a tuesday in each election since 1845? because saturday was for farming, sunday was the Lord's day, monday was required to travel to the county seat where the polling places were, tuesday you voted, wednesday you traveled home, and thursday it was back to work. why do we still vote on a tuesday? don't know. but it sure makes it more difficult for people who may not be able to take enough time off work without endangering their jobs.