--Matt Robb, Republican ward leader in South Philadelphia, on his last-minute request to move five Philly polling places in African-American neighborhoods.

Pennsylvania and its 21 electoral votes are the second-biggest "battleground" prize after Florida. John Kerry can't win here without a huge turnout in Philadelphia, especially in black neighborhoods that vote 90 percent Democratic. As a result, it's the first place you'd expect a GOP voter suppression effort.

And now it's here.

Chris Brennan (with a big assist from Dave Davies) has the scoop in today's Philadelphia Daily News. They learned that high-ranking state GOP and Bush operatives asked local Republicans to try to move 63 polling places at the last minute. Some 53 of the 63 polling places are in districts less than 10 percent white.(...)

Bob Lee, Philadelphia's voter registration administrator who's normally not given to partisan statements, said flatly: "They're trying to suppress the vote."

The move is almost certain to fail -- especially now that it's been exposed. Lee said it appears that the applications came into his office too late to allow for a hearing before Election Day.