Two predictions coming out of New Hampshire

The record-breaking turnouts in Iowa and New Hampshire show extreme excitement about this year's primaries and elections. I predict two things:

1. This will lead to the highest turnout in most states in 50 years. People feel engaged and finally feel like one vote can make a difference.

2. This will lead to more conspiracy theories than in any modern election since Kennedy. People will be scrutinizing every tally, and any irregularities will immediately raise shouts of fraud, voter intimidation, and ballot stuffing. Few to none will be true, but they will dominate much of the news cycle.

If you are a local election official, take note now. Your people must be above reproach in their procedures, and you should still have a P.R. person standing at the ready in case the accusations begin to fly. Because it is not a matter of "if" but "when".

Still, this is shows democracy is alive and well in America. The more people involved and engaged, the better. If the only legacy of Barack Obama, Ron Paul, and Mike Huckabee is increased turnout in future elections, then that will be a legacy they can be proud of.

Update 12:30 PM EST: an excellent analysis of some of the conspiracies so far is up and worth a read. It shows pretty well that the initial analysis is lacking in credibility.