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Today is All Saints' Day, the solemn Roman Catholic holy day celebrated to atone for Halloween bad behavior. (Did you go to mass this morning- )

Tomorrow's election promises to be a cackling cauldron, bubbling over with electoral mayhem in Chicago and nationwide.

As Democratic politicians exhort voters to turn out at the polls, they face plenty of perils.

President Obama is pulling out all the stops to save his congressional majorities and protect his future initiatives. Obama brought it back home, literally and figuratively, by reaching out to his most reliable constituency, African-American voters.

Democrats have been invoking the "Big O" through incessant robocalls, commercials and rallies. The calculation: A direct, high-volume appeal to the brothers and sisters might hold sway. The message: Only "you" can save my presidency and prestige.

So on Saturday, Obama landed on the Hyde Park Midway, just blocks from his Chicago digs. The rapper Common served as impresario for the last ditch-appeal. It's a risky move. In 2008, Obama was elected with the help of white progressives and independents by avoiding race-based appeals. This new pitch might doom his crossover appeal forever.

Recent history and a flock of poll results suggest we are in for a long election night.

In the Feb. 22 Illinois primary, several statewide offices brought it home with photo finishes. It took weeks for election officials to declare a winner in the seven-way Republican gubernatorial slugfest, which State Sen. Bill Brady finally captured by a mere 193 votes.

We may be headed for a replay. Illinois' governor and Senate contests are in a dead heat. So grab the popcorn and snuggle up with the TV to watch tomorrow night's returns. Jim Allen, spokesman for the Chicago Board of Elections, says his shop is fielding pre-election queries from myriad campaigns. The candidates' staffers are studiously boning up on polling paperwork and procedures, from checking voter signatures to scrutinizing voter rolls.

Allen suspects the campaigns are gearing up for a sleepless night. "I am sure that they think it's going to be close because of the types and frequency of the questions they are asking me," he told me Thursday. Campaigns are seeking information that would "normally be minutiae," he added. Look for a lot of lawyering up for possible election shenanigans.

Further down the ballot, Chicago's incipient mayoral melee has already sucked up so much media and voter attention that it has practically obliterated other competitive statewide races for comptroller and treasurer.

Even the battle royale for Cook County assessor has been kicked to the curb. County Commissioner Forrest Claypool must be missing the limelight in his independent challenge to Cook County Democratic Party Chairman Joe Berrios. Most party ward bosses are behind Berrios.

A Claypool victory would throw a major wrench in the Democratic Party "machine." If Claypool loses, he's political roadkill.

Tomorrow's voter turnout will be a harbinger for the Feb. 22 citywide elections. Chicago is ground zero for Illinois Democrats. If the city's Machine-ites can't deliver for party stalwarts such as Gov. Quinn and state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, can they get voters out in the winter's deep freeze-

If African-American voters fail to respond en masse to Obama's Election Day call, can they coalesce around a consensus candidate- Unlikely since their "leaders" can't even get it together.

When Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff, slid out the White House back door to return to Chicago for his powerhouse mayoral bid, he ducked a potential midterm debacle.

There's more bad behavior to come.