BRADENTON, FLORIDA — You’d expect a state whose voters chose Bush over Kerry to reject an increase in the minimum wage, but a Florida ballot measure that raised it by a dollar an hour was made into law by a three-to-one margin despite opposition by both President Bush and Governor Bush. And we’ve seen many instances of “conservative” Floridians volunteering to pay extra taxes to get better schools and other services, not to mention a level of social tolerance that is amazing when you look at the huge number of megachurches around here.

In Manatee County, not far from the Bradenton city limits, you’ll find Palms of Manasota, which bills itself as “America’s 1st Gay and Lesbian Retirement Community.” It’s been here, happily unmolested, since 1997, growing a little bit each year, and among the amenites it advertises are the “small town charm” of nearby Palmetto and the local tradition of strong support for the arts.

I can’t speak for the whole state, but at Precinct 41 in Bradenton, Florida, where I was a Democratic Party pollwatcher, voting was smooth, the count was correct, and there were no attempts to intimidate minority voters. Precinct 41 was one of the “minority-majority” precincts where Republican shenanigans were considered likely. That’s why I was there, along with two lawyers, carefully observing every step of the voting process. There were Republican pollwatchers, too, but they basically sat around and did nothing. They were there because they got paid $45 for each 3-hour “shift” they put in, and did as little as possible for their money. The Democrats did not get paid, but were there as volunteers. And even though it may not matter in the larger scheme of things, Democrats won big in this precinct.

Here in the swing state of Florida, you can barely turn on your TV without being told over and over what jerks all the candidates are. No matter who wins which office tomorrow, I’ll be glad to see the nasty campaign ads stop.

My least-favorite campaigns are those being waged by Betty Castor and Mel Martinez for the Senate seat opened up by Bob Graham’s retirement. I can only recall one ad from each candidate that said why I should vote for him or her. All the others I have seen tell me why the opponent is a lousy person who supports terrorists.

A stranger coming to Florida and hearing about Castor and Martinez for the first time from TV ads during this election could easily conclude that both of them are deceitful Al Queda-lovers.