A Georgia voter identification law was banned, yet the State Election board mailed out letters to voters informing them that they may need to show either a free Georgia voter identification card or a form of photo ID to vote in person. State Election Board Vice Chair McIver was under the impression that the mailing went out to 20,000, while the contents of the letter remained to be false, he became more concerned after finding out that in fact 200,000 voters received the letter.

Based on statements from policymakers, we are getting first glimpses of what Congressional fiscal policy might look like, if the Democrats capture one or both chambers in next month’s midterm elections. Potential House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has made clear that her top fiscal priorities will be:

• passage of the minimum wage hike
• re-adoption of the pay-as-you-go budget rules of the 1990s
• a long-term solution to protect the middle-class from AMT creep
• an extension of middle-class, but not upper-class tax cuts expiring in 2010

The now-cooling housing market, which had been growing at rapid clip, priced a lot of housing outside the reach of many middle-class workers. Looking for affordable housing, a lot of families have opted to move further out into the suburbs looking for cheaper housing. This would seem like a solution to the problem of ever-increasing home prices. Maybe not (WSJ, $$): Moving to an area with lower housing costs often doesn't pay off for low-income Americans, according to a study to be released today by the Center for Housing Policy, a nonprofit research group based in Washington.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has a paper out on the lame-duck budget cuts that are nearly a foregone conclusion. In September, Congress shifted $5.3 billion that Senate appropriators planned to devote to domestic programs to the defense and homeland security appropriations bills. As a result, $5.3 billion will have to be cut from other appropriations bills the Senate Appropriations Committee has approved — bills that largely fund domestic programs — when Congress reconvenes after the election.