'Perfect Storm' of Problems Forecast for Missouri Polls

Missouri is one of several states anticipated to have voting problems next week, but nobody is sure just how big they might be, the Boston Globe reports. The potential is huge, though, in a sharply divided state where John McCain and Barack Obama are polling dead even and a legion of new voting laws and machines await testing.

Although its 11 electoral votes make Missouri less a prize than Ohio or Florida, the state has voted for the winner in every presidential election since 1960. With early-voting stations in St. Louis already swamped, many locals foresee problems, from exhausting lines to insufficient ballots. Just in case, both campaigns have lawyers already on the ground, ready to challenge a close result. (More Election 2008 stories.)