Americans voting as never before

WASHINGTON - With eight days left, Democrats and Republicans are mounting a desperate drive to persuade their voters to go to the polls in a presidential election increasingly overshadowed by charges of intimidation and attempted vote suppression by both parties.

"Go and vote and we're going to make sure your votes get counted," Terry McCauliffe, the Democratic Party chairman, urged supporters of Senator John Kerry yesterday, as he referred to reports that Republicans plan massive checks of voters at polling stations in Ohio and other battleground states.

Despite high passions on both sides - and a years-long effort by Republicans to mobilise conservative Christian voters - the rule of thumb remains that the higher the turnout, the better for Democrats.

Every sign is that record numbers of Americans will vote, certainly more than the 106 million in 2000.

Today Democrats wheel out their most effective get-out-the-vote weapon, in the person of Bill Clinton in his first campaign trail appearance since undergoing heart surgery in early September.

Republicans are sending Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California and their most glamorous national figure, to Ohio.

Americans are casting early ballots in record numbers. According to the Washington Post, over 1.3 million people had voted by Saturday in eight of the swing states. Some analysts believe that up 20 per cent of all votes may be cast before election day next Wednesday (NZ time).

Yesterday Kerry stressed his faith and values during a visit to Florida, while President George W. Bush scoured New Mexico for votes, and said it was "up in the air" if the US could ever be safe from terrorism.

That drew a quick rebuke from Kerry, who said, "It's not up in the air. We will win the war on terror".

Kerry visited a black church and later delivered a speech peppered with doses of Scripture, Bible references - and criticism of Bush.

"Today, America's great middle class is in danger because of leadership that doesn't share their values and won't fight for their way of life," the Massachusetts senator told supporters in Fort Lauderdale.

Bush scoffed at Kerry's argument that Iraq had diverted resources from the war on terror.

He pointed to Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and asked: "If Zarqawi and his associates were not busy fighting Iraqi and American forces in Iraq, what does Senator Kerry think they would be doing? Peaceful small business owners? Running a benevolence society?"

- INDEPENDENT, REUTERS