Okay, I'll get my criticisms out of the way first: Those who watched Hacking Democracy last night got equal parts journalism and activist propaganda in the HBO documentary on the dangers of electronic voting machines. Now, far be it from me to dismiss journalism with a viewpoint – obviously, that is The Austin Chronicle's bread and butter. But still, I felt manipulated. Bev Harris and her cohorts are portayed as noble knights who have never made a mistake; I would like to have seen the instances when she went to an elections administrator or corporate voting machine executive and said "Gotcha!" and then, when shown an error in her logic, she said "Oh. I see. Sorry." Having done some investigative journalism myself, I've had the occasional moment like that. And maybe it just bugs me because I'm a print media guy, but I could have done without the Da Vinci Code-esque music intended to get my pulse racing. Nevertheless …

Okay, you just lost your last excuse for not voting. Capital Metro says:

"AUSTIN, Texas, November 3, 2006 – Central Texas voters will have an easy option for getting to the polls on Election Day. Capital Metro will offer free rides on all bus routes on Tuesday, November 7. 'We are proud to offer Central Texas citizens a convenient transportation option on Election Day,' said Capital Metro President/CEO Fred Gilliam. Destination signs on all buses will include a message about the free rides as a reminder to passengers. Customers can plan their route to the polls using Capital Metro’s convenient online trip planner at www.capmetro.org, or by calling (512) 474-1200."

...judging from this clip.

(p.s. If you're at work, you might want to put your headphones on.)

Travis County's early voting numbers spiked even higher today; Friday, the last day of early voting, could be a little crazy. After averaging only about 5,000-6,000 per day last week, numbers climbed this week up to 11,828 today. Combined with mail-in ballots, a total of 79,503 votes have been cast, or 14.31% of registered voters.

County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said long lines were reported at voting sites today, and she encourages everyone to take advantage of the last day of early voting on Friday, so as to avoid the possible madness on Election Day. “Voters who think they may have schedule conflicts next Tuesday definitely should take advantage of the final opportunity to cast a ballot on Friday,” DeBeauvoir said.

The Humane Society Legislative Fund released its Congressional Scorecard last week, tracking federal legislators' voting records on major animal-welfare policies. Those policy issues included: a bill banning the transport, possession, purchase, sale, or USDA-funded inspection of horses to be slaughtered for human consumption; legislation creating felony-level penalties for dogfighting and cockfighting and related interstate commerce; the Downed Animal Protection Act prohibiting USDA certification of meat from livestock too injured or sick to walk; a bill restoring a prohibition against using tax dollars to slaughter wild horses and burros; and the PETS act, requiring local authorities to consider pets and service animals in disaster planning. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson was the only Texas official to score a perfect 100, but with a score of zero, Republican Sen. John Cornyn was not alone in the worst of the worst, joined in shame by Texas Reps. Louie Gohmer, Ruben Hinojosa, Randy Neugebauer, and Ted Poe. (On Wednesday, the HSLF announced that it endorses Lloyd Doggett in District 25)– Dan Mottola

I went to a press conference this morning by VoteRescue, an activist group dedicated to ridding our nation of electronic voting machines and going back to paper ballots. More on that press conference later, but in the meantime, keep the 8pm time slot open tonight (Thursday, Nov. 2) so you can watch the documentary Hacking Democracy on HBO. I'm told that if you aren't alarmed by computer voting yet, you will be after you view it (read this preview in today's Salon.com). In fact, if you head down to the Fox and Hound Tavern at 401 Guadalupe, you can watch it with the VoteRescue folks. They'll meet at 7pm for a training session on video documentation of irregularities in this year's election (bring your video camera if you're interested), and then watch Hacking at 8pm.

Carole Keeton Strayhorn today took a rolling pin to Gov. Rick Perry for referring to her as "Mrs. Corrupt Comptroller Politician Woman" in a radio spot. Calling an opponent "corrupt" is one thing, but a "politican woman" is a whole 'nother kettle of fish, according to Strayorn. "You don’t single out a candidate’s gender in political attack ads," the indie candidate said.

The anti-Strahorn spot, called "Feats of Corruption" is a musical ditty modeled after a Bud Light commercial. The Perry campaign launched a similar Chris Bell jingle, calling the Democrat "Mr. Way too Liberal for Texas Guy." (Note to self: Ask Bell if he has a problem with "guy.")

Strayhorn had no complaints about another Perry attack number, titled "Grandma's Attic," because she's rather fond of the "Grandma" handle. At a press conference in Austin before heading to San Antonio Thursday, Strayhorn challenged Perry to "come out from behind his attack ads and meet me on the campaign trail." Not gonna happen. Hear that jing, jing, jing-a-ling? Perry is "Mr. Way Too Busy Prepping for VP Boy."

The eight-day-out campaign finance reports are in with the city clerk. There's not too many surprises: Will Wynn's chickenscratch scribbles as UNITY PAC treasurer reveal his wilder side, while the Nancy Pearls over at Libraries for Austin PAC were the only people thoughtful enough to type up their report.

But the sums are nothing to sneeze at. Read them below the fold...

Democrat Chris Bell said today he has filed an ethics complaint against Health and Human Services chief Albert Hawkins, charging that the commissioner violated the state's ban on conflicts of interest by also serving as a trustee of the Texas Health Institute, a nonprofit organization that has reaped contract work and grant money from his agency. The Statesman reported last week that Hawkins failed to provide this information in his personal financial disclosure statements filed with the Texas Ethics Commission. Bell blamed his Republican opponent, Gov. Rick Perry, for not enforcing conflicts of interest laws within his administration. Hawkins, a Perry appointee, also served as budget director for former Gov. George Bush.