Out and about snapping photos for our election issue (hitting the streets tomorrow) this morning, I encountered this man in Deering Oaks Park. I didn't have a notebook or anything with me, but here's a sketch of who he is: He lives in Portland, and those are his flags. He brought them to the park, along with the chair he's leaning on as he prays, after several of his Yes on One signs were stolen -- he's keeping vigil (since Thursday!) over the new crop that's shown here.

With one week left before Election Day on Tuesday, November 3 (HOW is it almost November?), activists on all sides are pulling out their last-minute strategies. And local media outlets are overflowing with opinions too. (You can see our election coverage in this week's issue.)

At 10 a.m. tomorrow, Governor John Baldacci will speak in Bangor in favor of gay marriage and against ballot question #1.

Good morning! As voting gets going around the state, here are some early updates from Portland and South Portland.

But first, here's how to be prepared in case you run into any problems voting.

South Portland - the Community Center parking lot was completely jammed at 8 am, with traffic just starting to back up in the streets nearby.

There are two things to do to minimize the likelihood of having problems voting:

Rule 1) Bring a cell phone to the polls, and make sure it's fully charged. That way, you can call any of the voter-support hotlines right away if need be. Don't rely on a friend or a pay phone, because of Rule 2:

Rule 2) Don't leave the polling place until you are certain your ballot has been cast properly, and that it's for the people you intended to vote for.

In a report from the field, intrepid investigator (and Portland voter) Deirdre Fulton texts in that the line for voting at Portland City Hall is an hour long, most of the time. (So we can guess when she'll be back to the office, then...)

Word on the hall is that mornings are better - voting begins at 9 am. Something to consider if you're intending to vote before Election Day.

Todd Palin shows up in a GOP mailer sent to rural Maine...making Al Diamon's October 22 column even more relevant.

Jeff Inglis adds:

While the flier suggests that the next president will have control over whether snowmobiling is allowed in national parks, it's certainly difficult to argue that snowmobile access is the most important decision the next president will make.

Portland Phoenix managing editor Jeff Inglis will be on National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation program this afternoon from 2:40 to 3 pm, talking about the importance of voting and taking calls from listeners.

Inspired by a piece I wrote about "RickeyPAC" (see "Who's Your Rickey?", October 17), and based on the effort of a group of friends of mine to convince another friend to vote, NPR is including our effort in their coverage of the run-up to the presidential election.

Republican vice-presidential nominee has blamed the Alaska state troopers on her gubernatorial protection detail for her family's continued persecution of her ex-brother-in-law, Alaska state trooper Mike Wooten, which has turned into "Troopergate." She did so last week, in a segment of an interview with a reporter from WMUR, the ABC affiliate in Manchester, New Hampshire.

There’s an important use for the Obama campaign’s text-message database that’s not being discussed, and it’s a way to help prevent the Republicans from stealing the election.

We know that Barack Obama’s campaign has done a much better job at getting people’s cell-phone numbers, from his various text-message initiatives (including the contest at the DNC to see which state would send in the most text messages).

What with John McCain suspending his campaign and all, it’s a good time to explore what his campaign is really thinking. Let’s do that through the lens of the letters his campaign and the Republican National Committee sent out last week, begging for money. In the process, he and the RNC demonstrated how thin their grasp is on reality, truth, and integrity.

There's not much to say about yesterday's primary that hasn't been said already. Here are the city's numbers.

Some other odds and ends:

-- I caught a thought-provoking (and perhaps prescient) quotation on the AsMaineGoes forum: "I hope Charlie can turn all those Cote votes into his votes."

-- Also, I was entertained by this PPH Ethan Strimling quotation, given his rabid anti-Pingree rhetoric during the campaign: "She will be a great standard-bearer for us."