complorn mid ten vote. first, the president seemed a bit confused. >> this is my card. i am going to be going back.

scan this one? this one? come on. help me out, somebody. >> seers hundreds of thousands of american troops and members of the diplomatic corps, a an e-mail from the u.s. ambassador to thailand. >> if you are like me, you are an american citizens living overseas. you need to recommending sister to vote and to get your absentee ballot. >> back in the united states, candidates in both parties have been urging voters not to wait. >> in 2012, when mitt romney lost, he lost because republicans didn't early vote. we can win this election. miami dade, only 23% of americans veerltd. we have to get out and vote. >> joining us from los angeles issays's michael schur and in studio in new york is merna perez, voters rights. welcome to both of you.

micheal we will start with you. early voting s, is it bigger for republicans or democrats? >> well, to say it's a bigger deal, it's a bigger deal for republicans because it's such a big deal for democrats. and, you know, i think what you have seen in previous elections, for example, in 2012 during president obama's rely campai e re election campaign, a third of the people voted prior toly day. you saw the early voting was a big concern for democrats. without it, it becomes more difficult for their typical. after church, churchgoers to go to the polls. after work, workers could go to the polls. students especially could go to the polls. it's a big deal to both parties. in iowa, republicans are filing a lot of the people voting early are republicans.

more so than have in the past. >> merna, are you seeing issues or problems so far with early voting? >> we are. as many of your viewers may know, the texas allowed a law which was found by a trial court to be first-degree murderly discriminatory in terms of its application, the texas photo id law is going to be allowed to be into effect for thisly. people are going in to texas with this discriminatory law in place. we are hearing from voters and campaign workers pretty much every day that there are people that do not have the kind of id that is now required. i think it's really difficult for us as a country to understand why it was that the supreme court has allowed a law which a trial court has found to be enacted purposely to discriminate against minority voters to be in effect. >> in addition to the voter id lawyers, michael mentioned younger voters. the republican state legislature tried to move precinct locations away from college campuses. are they allowed to do that? >> north carolina has had a number of trouble with restricting the right to vote.

after the supreme court issued a decision lifting it up of the federal protection requiring that anily change that they enact not be discriminatory, we saw them enact an omnibus that enforced voter id and cut back on same day registration. there is a battle for the right to vote happening in north carolina. students are on the front line. >> in north carolina, there is a con ceph 2i6 group trying to sign of voters away from kay hagan by promoting a third-party candidate who might somehow by people voting for them, that mate help tom 'tilis because they are not going to kay hagan and the third party candidates cares most about marijuana legalization? >> more weed. let war. get ha. get high. >> what do you make of that and the republican efforts in north carolina to make voting more difficult for students? >> well, i makes a, that it's a

great ad. it's a very memorable campaign ad. but what's happening there with marijuana is a different dine agic than you will see with marijuana in other states. it's a more conservative state, north carolina. you have kay hagan running for rely who is not in favor of legalized marijuana nor is tom 'til 'til is. you have this one candidate trying to attract the marijuana voert. the sink issue marijuana may go there but he is at his hard a libertari libertarian. the tendencies for the voters to leave a libertarian. libertarians sort of stand fast with the libertarian candidate generally speaking, but it is certainly a good tactic because there is no way that either candidate can co opt the marijuana vote. there is a ballot initiative inay on minimum wage. the republican there, tom cotton has said, you know, i think we should raise the minimum wage. i am in favor of that. it takes that ammunition away from mark pryor in arkansas. you can't do that in north

carolina with marijuana now. >> as far as voter confusion, does it tend to help democrats more than republicans although you might argument it hurt in bush v. gore in 2000 but have things changed. >> i think what merna is pointing to is the reason why. it hurts everybody. it doesn't just hurt republicans ordrafts. it's easy to talk about it in those terms, but it hurts everybody when people are confused about how to vote. it should nn't be difficult. people are coming into the polls without the right id. people who don't know how to get id, who haven't had it for a long time, usually affecting the elderly or the poor. and that's a big problem in this country. so, yes, i think that when you talk about voter confusion, it tends to hurt democrats because it's usually newer voters voting for democrats and, of course, i am generalizing, but statics support that. it does hurt the republicademoc than the republicans. >> if anybody is confused when they show up on voting day, what

what are supposed to do? >> if they call 866 ourvote, it's a non-partisan voter hotline there are trained volunteers to answer all the questions they can. >> is that the case for early voting? >> you could call right now. >> michael, a lot has come about because of concerns about election fraud, voter id fraud. have there been any documented cases of that in recent years? >> unless you think that because there have been a few shark attacks in america that there is a big shark problem, no. ten cases were reported between 2000 and 2012. it's not a problem in our country. >> in texas, it was found two two casesn between 2000 and 2012. >> thank you myrna and our al jazeera political editor. only day, some results will co come.

mcconnell stands to be senate mainth liter and if republicans get six seats to become the majority. polls show his democratic challenger has pulled into a statistical dead heat and this week former president bill clinton entered the fray. at as grimesral she had ripped mcconnell for saying the passingage of campaign. >> that was worse than 9-11? that was worse than the day we had the biest crash since the great depression? i can think of a thousand things that were worse. and i am not mad. i am sad. don't you think it's sad. wouldn't you feel sick if you spent 30 days and the worst day of your life was when there was an honest attempt to limit black bag operations from buying your eliction. >> this race comes down to whether connecticutianstion are more willing stroet against barack obama who is not on the ballot or mitch mcconnell who is.

republican groups across the country continue to try to make president obama the central issue in dozens ofly campaigns. in the iowa senate race, bruce brailey is locked in a battle with joni ernst getting help from spots like this: >> bruce braillee and barack obama teamed up to give us obamacare and trillions in wasteful spending. >> for her part, the republican earnest is comparing washington to a pig sty. >> it's a mess, dirty, noisy and it stinks. not this lot. i am talking about the one in washington. too many typical politicians. >> meanwhile, democrat brailey is painting ernst as wheeleden to wealthy corporate special interests. >> i with a lost tens of thousands of manufacturing jobss yet joni earnest wants to give tax braiingz brakes to companies that shift jobs overseas. >> the issue of out sourcing has taken center stage in new hampshire. scott brown, a former

massachusetts senator is under fire for a whopper he delivered in response to a question from democratic senator jeane shaheen in a recent debate. >> why in the world would you support outsourcing american jobs overseas? >> thank you for your question, senator. i have never voted to outsource jobs. it's interesting when you are looking at -- >> there was laughter because on september 28th, 2010, scott brown voted against a bill that would have closed tax loopholes for companies shipping u.s. jobs overseas. however, in that same new hampshire debate, senator shaheen was laughed at, a question about president obama. >> do you approve of the job president obama is doing? now, there will be a chance to follow up but this is a "yes" or "no" answer. do you approve? yes or no? >> in some ways, i approve, and some things, i don't approve. >> check on -- >> like most questions that we deal with as policy makers,

there aren't simple answers, yes or no. >> pretty good recovery but that may not help her. in the colorado senate race where incumbent mark udall is trying to hang on amidst cory gua guardne. democratic groups are trying to drive up voter concerns about gardner on education and social issues. >> have you checked the record? cory gardner voted to cut education and job training nearly in half. voted to cut student loans for 150,000 coloradoans, and voted seven times to essentially end medicare. >> from professional and effective political ads like that one to the amateur hour, the michigan republican party is now running an ad that several news organizations are calling the worst of 2014. it's an attack on democrat senate sharknado theme. >> connected to a loan shark ring run by an international gangster who also contributed to

peters' campaign. uuuh. >> that shark burped and volumeited and the michigan g.o.p. paid money for that ad. michigan, dave trott is perhaps the most brutal, the longest foreclosure mil and hundreds of thousands of eviction notices after the housing bust. bobby machine kins e has turned trott's record into this. >> foreclosure king dave trott made millions for closing on michigan families, profited from human misery astentions of thousands were evicted from their home, like 101-year-old mrs. hollis thrown out of her home of 50 years and left on the street. foreclosure king trott, he has caused too much misery to represent us in congress. >> brutal. republican strategists say it

has likely crushed hisly chances whoever controls the u.s. senate will have power over the federal courts and the judiciary has reached a critical point. >> i have seen estimates that indicate billions of dollars are lost in our economy every year because cases lag ain the court system. >> we have an intriguing in-depth report. plus, in mayor politics we will take you to the elections coming to tunisia that inspired the arab spring. that's ahead after this. >> i am richelle carey at the top of the hour, three states take the initiative in enacting ebola quarantines to tstop the spread of the virus. key scleeblingsdzed for sunday.

>>electionsed for sunday. >>. >> new airstrikes targeting isil and the effort to restore the american movie palace to its original spledor. all of that, keep it herendor. all of that, keep it here

sdmrfrnl for the attention on taxing, spending, healthcare and jobs, there is one issue that could be impacted more, the federal courts. whoever controls the u.s. senate has enormous power over judicial nominations. as the politics in washington have intensified, the log jam has gotten worse. randall pinkston reports. >> reporter: judge john jones was nominated to the federal district court in pennsylvania in february, 2002. he was confirmed six months later and handled two to 300 cases per year. then, two judges left the bench. what kind of case load did you have when there were vacancies

on the court? >> case load was basically doubled at that time. so, we were up over 400 cases per judge. >> in texas, he retired federal judge william royal ferguson confirmed in four months in 1994 never expected it would take years to appoint his replacement. >> it's taken six years to fill my spot. i think we have two republican senators and one democratic president. and they don't necessarily see eye to eye on these matters. >> most americans are familiar with high profile battles over supreme court nominations like this one for nominee kagan. >> do you agree with the characterization that you are a legal progressive? >> senator sessions, i honestly don't know what that label means. >> but nomination fights did not always tensioned to district court judges. >> judge jones says times have chang changed.

>> in my experience, there were very few district court nominees that were controversial. i can't give you an avenue time for con farmingsz but i don't think that there was anything that compared to what it became. >> even when the senator from the state where the vacancy occurs and the president agree on a no, ma'am nay, there is no guarantee the vacancy will be filled because it has to be approved by the judiciary committee and a vote of the full senate. at every step, a delay derail confirmation. >> historically, spoipts to the trial court's son son appointments in thave not been fraught. >> was there a water is shed year when you noticed the untic? >> usually the first year a president takes office there is an uptick in vacancies. that happened in 2005 as it happened for pusher pufsh and

president -- president bush before him. >> number didn't go down for five years. >> number actually increased and stayed above 60 vacancies. >> last year, senator majority leader harry reid initiated the so-called nuclear option allowing a simple majority of 5 win instead of 60 votes to confirm presidential appointees excluding supreme court nominees. mitch mcconnell denounce did the move. >> this is not a very proud day in the history of the senate. >> with the new rule, the democratic controlled senate confirmed more judges. but they are still more than 60 court vacancies, 16% of them in states with two democrat snaishths, between 2% in states where there is a democrat and a republican and 43% in states where there are two republican senators. >> form, we have seen politics come ahead of the interests of the courts in those states as well as the individuals and businesses that rely on those courts.

>> judges say the vacancies are having an impact on the administration of justice causing extended, expensive delays in lawsuits involving business disputes. >> i have seen estimates that indicate billions of dollars are lost in our economy every year because cases lag in the court system. resolution doesn't come and people just sort of sit there spinning their wheels. >> ultimately judge jones says vacancies impact everyone waiting for their cases to be heard. >> we justed net have this many vacancies on the federal courts. they are allocated, funded, full-boat district judgeships and they ought to be filled. the appellate seat should be filled as well. i think we feed to take a step back and look at its effect on real people who want access to the courts. >> whatever the outcome of the mid-term elections, judge ferguson and judge jones agree: both parties must find a way to

make the judiciary work. randall pinkston, al jazeera, harrisburg, pennsylvania. >> now, to their politics, it was four years ago and protests in tunisia launched the arab spring. the north african country has crucial parliamentary elections this they are the first since tunisia approved a constitution this year and another step towards full democracy. a report from tunisia's camtol. ♪ -- /*pitol. ♪ -- /*. >> the music is about poverty and unemployment. this group is recordinglies in tunisian slang, doubled over a french cartoon. they have a huge audience on social media. the message of this sketch is don't vote unless you know why you are taking part in the elections. >> when you watch television campaign adverts, they don't

reflect the streets. they are not aimed at tune easeians. you see the upper classes and people running forly driving a porscheisians. you see the upper classes and people running forly driving a porsc porsche. one of many graduates who can't find work, she travels to this job center every day. did he ha the education system hasn't changed for countless number of years. it's just becoming more and more mediocre. >> jobs and dignity were among the slogans of the uprising in 2011. so there is frustration that unemployment keeps rising. >> when you speak to young people in cafes like this, many will tell you they don't know if they are vote okay sunday. they feel like the parties aren't taking the issue of unemployment seriously and they also don't trust many politicians. >> tunisia's government sizit's trying to create jobs but the economic uncertainty has led to many young people travel to go

europe illegally. it may have partly contributed to what the minister of interior says is 2000 tunisians in armed syria and iraq. but some say voting this time can make a difference? >> we saw the regime that we revolted against did nothing for the jobless and for the last three years, people in charge haven't achieved anything. >> that's why we are pushing our youth to be part of the elections. ♪ >> this is what the young are connecting with, rapper humani talks about inequality and poor living standards. it's had 14 million hits. somely campaigners can only dream about that number. young people were at the heart of tunisia's revolution. now it seems many feel let down

by the democratic process. al jazeera, tunis. when power politics returns, sun flowers and photo shop. we will look at how some campaigns creative licenses might have been too ce i have a. some folks in nebraska don't have very nice things to say about the iowa nice guy. >> he belongs in jail >> but it was not case closed... >> it was a cult >> allegations of intimidation... >> amish people were frightened >>torture... >> were you put into an animal pen? >> yes >> and worse >> is sam mullet sexually abusing people? >> yes >> the shocking untold story revealed for the fist time. an america tonight exclusive investigation rouge amish only on al jazeera america

>> tot today, we start with the expenses governor's race, tom corbett is on the defensive after he was caught photo shopping the african-american woman into a campaign image. her image with the color i

wanted differently is from a stock available called talking to a financial advisor. after inquiries from reporters, he seemed to acknowledge that everybody in his campaign photos sitting next to the governor was photo shopped in. photo shop became an issue this week for kansas incumbent republican pat roberts. on his website and in his campaign literature, he has dozens of photographs featuring bright fields of sun frourz, the state flower. the problem is that those pictures are also stock images of a field in ukraine. the illinois governor's race between democratic incumbent pat quinn and bruce ronner, african-american voters are being remounding of his employment practices. >> do you know how many professionals work at billionaire republican bruce rounder's investment you didn't remember 51 people. do you want to guess how many of those employees are african-american? none. zero. not a single african-american. why do you suppose that is?

>> why is that? he told local television stations, he couldn't find african-americans who were qualified. yes. >> really was his response. finally, in iowa, film maker scott sieker has done it again, his humorous iowa nice guy character who de-budd online in 2012 and went viral has just weighed in on the mid-terms. watch. >> i am the iowa nice guy. i have a message for eye wans. cue the flag. our state along with all others has a misunderstanding of the importance of non-presidential elections. turns out said elections are vastly more important to your everyday life than electing a president. the number of important races going on iowa at this moment is hard to count when you don't even know there are races going on. nascar has had this problem for years. >> i with a nice guy stepped outside in fronts of the state capitol building and declared

his candidacy for governor. >> i would issue an order to an exomaha because a town that exciting shouldn't be in a state that boring. you can't vote for me or anyone else unless you are registered to vote. so register to vote. visit iowaniceguy.com on more information on how to strernling and get involved in these elections until next time, which will be very soon, i am out. >> a group of nebraska residents offended by the quip about omaha and the rest of the state are running a negative guy featuring his swearing in some sports videos and standard of care standing next to a naked statute of david in another. >> the iowa nice guy, not so nice. nebraska is responsible for the content of this ad. >> you have to love that midwestern sense of humor. that is our show for today. a reminder to all of our viewers, early and mail-in voting has begun in 36 states

across the country. check with your locally board for details. on behalf of everybody at pori politics, i am david shuster. thanks for watching. this is "al jazeera america" live from new york city. here are today's top stories. three states impose mandatory quarantines to stop thespread of ebola while drug companies race to get vaccines into testing. international outrage after the execution of an iranian woman who killed a man attempting to rape her. on the elections around the globe, what's at stake for voters in ukraine, brazil and tunisia and the power beener drivers have over passengers who misbehave.