In Church Bulletin, Some Voting Advice From Wisconsin Bishop

Sitting by the shores of a bay on Lake Michigan, Green Bay, Wis., has a substantial Catholic population and looms as a key electoral battleground. Its voters tend to be working class, and many are union members and socially conservative.

So it was no small matter when Green Bay's influential Bishop David A. Zubik issued a note in church bulletins this week urging Catholics to vote in the presidential election and to base their vote foremost on opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage.

Although he emphasized that he was not endorsing a candidate, Zubik dismissed the distinction that Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry -- and many other liberal Catholic leaders -- has drawn between his Catholic faith and his public life.

"Some political figures in this election have asserted that there is a natural divide between their religious beliefs and their political views," Zubik wrote in a column also published in the Compass, the diocesan newspaper. "I argue that [this] is patently false. [It] goes against the fabric of what it means to be a person of faith."

President Bush opposes abortion and favors a constitutional amendment to bar same-sex marriage.

"When you go to your local polls, don't leave God outside," Zubik wrote. "Remember that God created marriage. It's not a lifestyle choice that seeks to make marriage by law something God never intended marriage to be."

Antiabortion Catholic activists in Green Bay, such as banker Robert B. Atwell, say abortion eclipses the war in Iraq and poverty as an election issue. "They say all we care about is abortion. Well, it speaks volumes about Kerry's views," Atwell said.

Other Catholics in Green Bay, however, bridled at the intrusion of politics. "I really like the bishop, but I wish he'd keep politics out of the church literature," said Barbara Brandtner, a schoolteacher in Green Bay. A priest in a large church here who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to anger his bishop said he has declined to let presidential politics enter his church. "The community is divided enough," he said.

Favorable Weather Forecast for Election Day

The only big storms expected in the battleground states tomorrow will be the metaphorical kind.

The Weather Channel announced yesterday that it is expecting mostly clear skies and seasonal temperatures on Election Day in 13 closely contested states, from Colorado to New Hampshire. "Our long-range forecast says voters shouldn't be afraid to go to the polls," said Stu Ostro, its senior meteorologist. Bad weather deters some voters, although it is usually more of a factor during the winter presidential primaries.

But in Cleveland, voters will face a 60 percent chance of rain, while Milwaukee voters face a 30 percent chance of showers. The skies will be cloudy in Grand Rapids, Mich., with a 40 percent chance of rain. In Concord, N.H., the chance of rain is 70 percent.

Even in Miami, the forecast predicts a slight chance of showers but with highs in the upper 80s. Philadelphia will be mostly cloudy, with highs near 70. Sunny but cool weather is predicted for Albuquerque (a high of 48), Minneapolis (high near 47) and Des Moines (high around 51).

Maine Faces Prospect of Split Electoral Vote

Maine has almost always been an afterthought for presidential candidates, with just four electoral votes and an out-of-the-way location that made skipping over it an easy call.

This year it enjoyed a brief period as a battleground, before Kerry pulled into a lead most analysts there feel he will not relinquish.