Finally, it's worth recalling the last major election in which Mr. Obama wasn't on the ballot: last November's midterms, in which Democrats lost 63 seats in the House.
But they could not find a single major election in which Rahul Gandhi was, on the back of his own effort, granted anything resembling a face-saving success.
My friend turned 18 this year, so this election is the first major election in which she is eligible to cast a ballot.
"If, for example, voter impersonation is a frequent occurrence, then we should find more than two unexplained cases per major election in which a voter arrives at the polls only to discover that someone has already cast a ballot in his or her name".
Propositions such as Prop 8, as it is known in California, are in effect carried by referendums - normally at the time of major elections - which allow laws or constitutional amendments to be passed by the direct vote of the people rather than through the legislature.
Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the Taliban carried out several major attacks before the election, which it has condemned as a U.S.-sponsored plot.
Given the deadly aftermath of Kenya's last major election in 2007, which was marred by vote rigging and then erupted in bloodshed, any electoral breakdowns or disputes could tear at the public's confidence in the vote, an outcome many people fear could set off violence again.
The timing of this campaign was clearly chosen as it was in the middle of major election campaigns, for which I was then responsible.
We are in a major election year, in which voters will literally cast ballots for thousands of candidates for office, from the mayor in the smallest municipality, to county sheriff, to state legislator and state judge and state governor, to US senator and US representative.
Since the 2012 election, which was a major setback for the Republican Party, two developments have resulted in an intensification of intraparty conflict.
