Stumping goes down to the wire

In an odd election year, the campaigning finished somewhat quietly, with no major downtown rallies or the hoopla that usually marks the final day.

This is a so-called blue moon election, which happens every 12 years. There are no races for governor, U.S. Senate or president to attract voter attention.

But with all 13 U.S. House and all 170 state legislative seats on the ballot, some North Carolina politicians stayed busy trying to help colleagues.

In the 8th Congressional District, Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole spent the day campaigning for incumbent U.S. Rep. Robin Hayes of Concord. Democratic Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue stumped for Hayes' Democratic challenger, Larry Kissell.

Kissell reprised his best gimmick -- selling gasoline at $1.22 per gallon, the price when Hayes took office.

U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne campaigned in the 11th Congressional District for Republican U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor, who is being challenged by Democrat Heath Shuler.

Voters in the 13th Congressional District received an automated telephone message from former Raleigh mayoral candidate Carolyn Grant asking them to vote for Republican Vernon Robinson in his bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Brad Miller.

It was payback time for Grant, who lost to Miller in an acrimonious race in 2002.

The Miller campaign had a recorded message from Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker asking voters to back Miller.

In the Wake County school bond fight, bond supporters used recorded phone messages from two former governors, Democrat Jim Hunt and Republican Jim Martin, to urge support. Hunt's message went into Democratic homes, Martin's to Republican and independent homes.

Dems swap funds

Arizona Democrats' need for money to bolster federal candidates created a $33,200 windfall for the N.C. Democratic Party, campaign finance records show.

Last month, the Arizona Democratic Party gave North Carolina's Democratic Party $258,200 to use in legislative races this election, in exchange for $225,000 the N.C. Democratic Party sent to Arizona for its federal elections.

If you are wondering why Arizona didn't just use the money it had on hand, here's the explanation from N.C. Democratic Party Executive Director Caroline Valand: State and federal campaign finance laws are not the same, which means that money raised for state races could run afoul of federal law, and vice versa.

As a result, state political parties segregate contributions for state and federal races so no campaign finance laws are broken. That's why Arizona could not use the $258,200 for federal races, and decided to cut a deal with the N.C. Democratic Party, which had funds available that met federal law, Valand said.

"Why did we do it? Because we made a profit," Valand said.

But the money swap reportedly has Arizona GOP officials hot. The Arizona state party has asked the Federal Elections Commission to investigate what GOP officials say was an illegal transfer because some of the money came from Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jim Pederson. They say federal law prohibits candidates for federal office from giving their party money to indirectly help them in elections.

The Arizona Democratic Party set up a political action committee in North Carolina to set up the transfer. There are only seven donors contributing the combined $258,000, with Pederson giving the most -- $94,000. Some of those donations were recorded as received seven days before the PAC was organized, according to its PAC report.

Vote and vaccinate

Two precincts at the Cherokee Indian Reservation in Western North Carolina will allow voters more than a chance to cast ballots today. Flu vaccine clinics will be set up and free shots will be offered to members of the Cherokee tribe. Other voters from Swain and Jackson counties who visit the two precincts can get shots for $25.

The $8,000 vaccine effort is paid by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It is the only such effort in North Carolina, but 24 cities in 16 other states have similar programs.

Complaints forced one program to be shut down, however.

In Houston last week, according to The Associated Press, the city stopped offering free flu shots at early voting sites after Republicans alleged it was a ploy by the mayor to lure more Democrats to the polls. The vaccinations had been offered at early voting sites in predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Health officials said they were targeting medically underserved areas, not Democratic neighborhoods, the AP reported.