ELECTION DAY, NOT ELECTION WEEK...:

Three states may keep us guessing about midterm results after elections (Chris Cillizza, 9/27/10, Washington Post)

Everyone agrees that the House majority will be in play 36 days from now. But what if we don't know who won the House on Nov. 2 - or even Nov. 3 or Nov. 5?

It's a very real possibility, given the heavy use of voting via mail in at least three West Coast states: California, Oregon and Washington.

Oregon conducts its election entirely via mail , and any mail-in votes received before 11 p.m. Eastern time on Election Day will be counted. In California, registered voters have until Oct. 26 to request a mail ballot.

In Washington, a state that votes almost entirely by mail, ballots need only be postmarked by Election Day - making for very long nights (and usually many days) of counting ballots. [...]

Arizona and Colorado also cast a majority of their votes by mail and there are no fewer than half a dozen targeted House seats in the two states.