LOS ANGELES - Even a Yankees-Red Sox playoff game was no match for the TV audience's interest in the final debate between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry.
An estimated 51.2-million viewers watched the candidates in Wednesday's debate, according to Nielsen Media Research figures released Thursday.
That exceeded the 46.7-million who watched the second debate on Oct. 8 but fell short of the 62.5-million who saw the Sept. 30 match.
The first two debates, however, were carried by seven networks, including the cable news channels, while the third was only on six. The Fox network was broadcasting American and National League championship games.
Fox aired the New York Yankees vs. the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals vs. the Houston Astros in different parts of the country, drawing a total of 15.2-million viewers.
Last year's league championships, between the Chicago Cubs and the Florida Marlins and the Yankees-Red Sox, drew 18.4-million viewers.
Compared to the 2000 election, there was a surge of interest this year. The three debates drew a total of 160.4-million viewers, compared to the 121.9-million who watched the three Bush-Al Gore debates.
Ohio judges says citizens can vote in wrong precinct
TOLEDO, Ohio - In a victory for the Democrats, a federal judge ruled Thursday that Ohio voters who show up at the wrong polling place on Election Day can still cast ballots as long as they are in the county where they are registered.
U.S. District Judge James Carr blocked a directive from Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, a Republican, who announced that poll workers must send voters to their correct precinct. Blackwell quickly filed an appeal.
The judge said voters who show up at the wrong polling place after moving without notifying the elections board, and those whose names cannot be found on the registration rolls, should be able to cast provisional ballots there.
Denying any voter the right to a provisional vote will erode confidence in the election and lessen the incentive to vote, the judge said.
The decision is a victory for the Ohio Democratic Party and a coalition of labor and voter rights groups, which said Blackwell's order discriminates against the poor and minorities.
