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U.S. Election Day weather nice overall

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Forecasters predicted light rain throughout Tuesday in the Mid-Atlantic states as voters splashed to the polls to select a new president.

But skies over most of the nation's mid-section, including most key battleground states, were clear with a chance of drizzle in Pennsylvania and gusty winds in Nevada.

The temperature was expected to reach a Springlike 72 degrees in Chicago and remain warm and clear in Arizona.

The National Weather Service expected less than an inch of rain and not much in the way of wind in and around Washington, D.C. However, Accuweather.com said a storm developing off the coast potentially could keep some voters at home.

George Krause, a political science professor at the University of Pittsburgh, told Accuweather that rain tends to be a bigger deterrent for many voters than cold temperatures.

"Many voters are more willing to stand in line on a cold, clear day," Krause said. "That is not the case if it is raining."

A winter storm was bringing an inch or more of snow to the Colorado mountains while the Pacific Northwest and parts of Southern California picked up some light rain during the morning rush-hour.

Sen. McCain casts vote in Phoenix

PHOENIX, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., voted Tuesday morning in Phoenix, quickly slipping in and out of the polling place at Albright United Methodist Church.

The Republican presidential nominee did not address the crush of international media gathered at the polling place nor did he address the line of voters waiting to cast their ballots.

McCain planned to spend the remainder of the day campaigning before settling into the Biltmore luxury resort in Phoenix to watch the election results.

It is the same hotel where he exchanged wedding vows with his wife, Cindy, in 1980.

Obama votes on Election Day

CHICAGO, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama cast his ballot Tuesday in an elementary school in his South Side Chicago neighborhood.

Some 50 people were on hand at Shoesmith Elementary School when Obama, his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters made an appearance. Applause broke out as the candidate finished voting for himself, WBBM-AM, Chicago, reported. It took him about 15 minutes to complete the lengthy ballot.

"I appreciate you. I appreciate you," Obama told those on hand, several of whom admitted stalling just to get a glimpse of the candidate. Obama mingled with the crowd, shaking hands on his way to the door.

The Dallas Morning News, whose reporter was part of the pool covering the candidate, reported former Weather Underground figure Bill Ayers showed up to vote shortly before Obama. Republicans tried to make an issue of the former 1960s radical because he and Obama served on the Annenburg education project together. Ayers declined to say for whom he cast his vote.

The election comes one day after Obama's grandmother died. Obama interrupted his campaign Oct. 24 to visit her in Hawaii and at the time said he didn't know if she'd make it to Election Day.

After voting, Obama headed for a rally in Indianapolis.

Many U.S. expats in Canada have voted

MONTREAL, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Many U.S. citizens living in Canada had cast their absentee ballots for Tuesday's presidential election but others scrambled to cross the border.

News organizations across Canada reported on U.S. expatriates and those with dual citizenship voting in advance, but by election eve, several U.S. students in Montreal were scrambling to get home in time to vote, a Boston Globe correspondent reported.

Concordia University students Emily Burns and Carmen Carterfield, both of Massachusetts, told the Globe they hadn't received absentee ballots, and were begging for rides home to vote.

To the east in Kingston, Ontario, home to Queen's University, the Whig-Standard newspaper said the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa had asked the school weeks ago to advise some 250 U.S. students how to get their votes in.

In Regina, Saskatchewan, dual citizen Cassandra Vanthuyne told CJME Radio she had voted by absentee ballot for the first time, and would be glued to the television Tuesday night.

The U.S. Embassy estimates there are about 1 million U.S. citizens living in Canada, with about one-quarter of them in the province of Ontario.

Iraq: U.S. considering SOFA amendments

BAGHDAD, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The United States is developing a response to Iraq's changes in the proposed Status of Forces Agreement and will deliver it soon, an Iraqi official says.

Sami Askari, an adviser to Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, told CNN Tuesday Washington has signaled it is seriously considering Iraq's proposed amendments to the agreement, but al-Maliki has yet to receive an official response.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Monday the Bush administration will make its official response in the coming days, telling reporters, "We are working towards responding to the Iraqis. Our negotiating team led by Ambassador (to Iraq Ryan) Crocker is finalizing that and we expect to be talking with the Iraqis over the next week."

The agreement is meant to replace a United Nations mandate governing the legality of U.S.-led coalition troops in the country, which expires Dec. 31. A draft of the agreement reportedly sets a goal of 2011 for all occupying U.S. troops to be out of the country, CNN said.

Some observers contend President George Bush is waiting until after Tuesday's U.S. presidential elections in order to include the president-elect in the negotiations.

Medvedev unlikely to call for spending

MOSCOW, Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is not expected to announce much new government spending during his inaugural State of the Nation speech, officials say.

Unlike his predecessor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who announced big capital projects, Medvedev is faced with dwindling revenues because of plunging oil prices, ballooning expenses and, in general, effects of the global financial crises, the Moscow Times reported Tuesday.

Oksana Dmitriyeva, a senior State Duma deputy with the pro-Kremlin A Just Russia party, held out some hope Medvedev could order funding for efforts aimed at stimulating the economy and weening Moscow from its over-reliance on oil and gas revenues, a goal that Putin supported, the newspaper said.

Ivan Melnikov, a Communist deputy speaker of the Duma, predicted to the Times that there would be efforts to increase spending, but added, "The question is whether the favors will be extended to the banking lobby or the real sector."

Medvedev's speech, after being delayed twice, is set for Wednesday.