Across the battleground states, the "change election" has already come in the hours before the polls close. Shifting poll numbers, early voting results and the prediction of huge turnouts have caused local columnists to rexamine their hometowns' place on the political landscape even bofore the final votes have been cast.

From Rob Christensen in the Raleigh News & Observer:

North Carolina has been a three-ring circus, with whip-snapping races for president, governor and the U.S. Senate. In some ways, Obama has already won his Tar Heel gamble. Even if McCain carries North Carolina, Obama has succeeded in making McCain vigorously defend a state that Republicans have taken for granted in the past.

In Virginia, the story is similar. A state that was once deep red is now (at least) solidly purple. But the Richmond Times-Dispatch's Jeff Shapiro writes that his state's change of political hue came with a change candidate that wasn't named Obama:

None of this just happened. The population changed. Tastes changed. Democrats changed with them. Kaine, big-city liberal, became a big-picture centrist. Buddy-boy style notwithstanding, Kaine is a keen competitor who knows cash is king. Without money, no one hears your message. Without a message, your base atrophies. When your base atrophies, you become the Republican Party of 2008.

Even in states where battleground status is nothing new, early voting results have made it clear that an entirely new population is engaged in politics for the first time. Writing in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Lynn University professor Robert Watson reports on how record early voting turnout in Florida could be upsetting the balance in one of the state's most solidly GOP constituencies -- Cuban Americans. GOP congressmen, brothers and Cuban leaders Mario and Lincoln Diaz-Balart are facing tough reelection bids, which Watson says indicates the chance for a fundamental change in the Cuban community:

The vulnerability of Lincoln and Mario represents the possible coming of age of the Democratic Party in and a political transformation of Florida's Cuban-American community. Democratic challengers Raul Martinez and Joe Garcia are both powerful Cuban-American leaders and are tapping into the "new wave" of younger Cuban-American voters interested not simply in a hard-line stance on Cuba but in education, the economy and our state's insurance crisis. This election will be one for the history books. When it is over, Obama will likely get credit for energizing the process and doing a better job of registering new voters than any other campaign. This election is partly about him. However, it is also about President Bush, who has been so bad for democracy in so many ways that, ironically, he may end up being good for democracy.

A state that some are calling a new Western bellwether, Nevada's early voting results have seen a strong break for the Democrats, leading some Silver State progressives to see a blue future in Nevada. From the Las Vegas Sun:

Here’s why: The long campaign leading to the January presidential caucus culminated with a surprising turnout of more than 100,000 Democrats, which was followed by a general election campaign that has moved thousands of Democrats to volunteer for the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama. The result: The state is for the first time home to thousands of energetic liberal activists well trained in sophisticated techniques of political and community organizing.

The nation's other newly christened bellwether, Colorado is also witnessing a change in local attitudes. According to Ft. Collins Coloradoan columnist Kevin Duggan, some of what may have changed in Colorado hasn't come only from the young:

"After many years of having no interest in politics, Mary Kluyber of Fort Collins decided the time had come to get involved in the process. She registered to vote for the first time and has already turned in her mail-in ballot. What makes Kluyber an unusual first-time voter is her age: She'll turn 82 the day after the election.

Kluyber said for most of her life she never paid attention to politics and didn't care to hear others talk about it. That changed this year in part because of the energy and interest of others ... Her prime motivation to vote after so many years of indifference was concern about the country and where it's headed, Kluyber said. She's concerned about what the future holds for her children and grandchildren. "I decided it was time to start paying attention," she said. "Maybe one vote will make the difference."

(EVAN McMORRIS-SANTORO)