Shortly after 7:30 a.m. this morning, Republican attorney general candidate David Freed could feel pretty confident that he had two votes in the bag. 

He, his wife, and their three children were at their polling place in Camp Hill, Cumberland County, where Freed cast his ballot before several brief vists to voting spots in Chester, Berks and Lancaster counties.

Speaking afterward outside the polling location -- which also used to be his children's elementary school -- Freed said he was pleased with the effort his team put into the now-ending campaign.

"The closing arguments are in, and we're waiting for the jury to come back," he said, shaking hands and thanking voters as he answered questions from reporters. "It's going to be a good day."

He said he learned a lot travelling the state and meeting people over the last 11 months, adding that he saw a lot of enthusiasm from voters during the final sprint.

"We last went for a Republican presidential candidate in 1988, which was my first election," Freed said, adding that he voted absentee from college that year.

"I've been pretty heavily involved in every [election] since, and it's an incredible amount of energy that's out there ... I think it's going to be close everywhere."

Democratic attorney general candidate Kathleen Kane also voted this morning near her Scranton area home, with her husband and two sons in tow, according to her Twitter feed.

She'll be holding an election night party in downtown Scranton, while Freed will be awaiting returns at a hotel in Camp Hill. We'll have updates from both locations this evening.

U.S. Rep. Mark Critz -- who wore a Steeler jersey through the day yesterday while campaigning in PA12 -- used some locker room talk during a speech to union supporters in Johnstown that's drawing a rebuke from GOP challenger Keith Rothfus.

The Tribune-Democrat has the full quote:

"We're in a fight," Critz said. "You hate to say it, 'us against them.' This is the middle class' stand, and because of you folks we're going to do this. We're going to put my size 101/2 shoe up Keith Rothfus' rear end. So, when he goes back to Grover Norquist, and (Rep. Pete) Sessions, and (House Speaker John) Boehner, and (Rep. Eric) Cantor and (Gov.) Mitt Romney, he can say, 'Can you read this? What size shoe is this?' because it's going to come out of his mouth I'm going to shove it so far up there."

The Rothfus camp called his words "vulgar" and a "disgrace":

Y"esterday's comments by Congressman Critz were unprofessional and a disgrace to the office he holds. As we enter Election Day today, the real Critz is coming forward, showing the desperation and vulgar tactics that have been a hallmark of his campaign for reelection. The people of southwestern Pennsylvania deserve a representative that rises above the immature behavior that has been pervasive in our political system. I'm proud to have their support and am confident that we will send a bold and direct message to Congressman Critz and his ally President Obama this evening."

Department of State officials say they're investigating why some Harrisburg residents received outdated voter ID flyers yesterday.

Democratic staffers emailed copies of the mailers late last night. The image they sent of flyers matches the postcards sent by state officials in September, prior to the judge's October injunction.

There had been reports previously of delayed postcards -- which indicate that a photo ID is required to vote, which is incorrect -- being received, but the ones in the Harrisburg area are a particular concern to Democrats because of the neck-to-neck state Senate race here.

The contest to succeed former GOP Sen. Jeffrey Piccola is one of the Senate Democrats' top opportunities to pick up a seat, along with districts in Erie and Pittsburgh's South Hills. 

Department of State spokesman Ron Ruman said this morning that the agency has heard reports of the belated mailers, and that all of its mailers were sent between Sept. 17 and 24.

"We are investigating--these were NOT sent by us at this time," Ruman wrote in an email.

Early Returns will get going in earnest late this afternoon as we dig in for a long election night. Please feel free to comment (below) through the day on your experiences at the polls. You can also email the Post-Gazette at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to alert us to election issues.

New this year: the P-G's sports editor and political junkie Jerry Micco will do an election night chat at 8:30 p.m., 30 minutes after the Pa polls close.

We're still waiting to see the best sites for tracking results but Google's politics & elections site is a good place to start, and here are the NY Times and WashPost sites.

Beware, though, that Twitter could be a nightmare tonight.