Liveblogging "As the World Turns": Hold the stuffing

Today's a big day on As the World Turns, as the Dirtiest Little Student Campaign in Oakdale reaches its climax ... but not before Luke and the worst campaign manager in daytime history (Butters) make one more massive mistake.

Will Luke resort to ballot-stuffing to beat his hair and chin-dimple nemesis, Kevin? Will Noah become so swollen with righteous indignation that he pops all over the walls of Al's like an overfed tick? And will Butters have any more hair-brained ideas before this is all done? 

Click on through the jump and refresh often for up-to-the-minute poll results! 

And we're off to the polls...

2:57PM EDT: Austin From Days goes up to see Spencer Gifts .... and finds them laid out on the bed, apparently dead.

Preview Time!: No Nuke, but there is mention of "the murder or Spencer Gifts" ... is she really gone? 

So how are we feeling about all this? I have to admit part of me is actually kind of interested that Luke has actually done something bad for the first time in like 2 years (I'd have preferred it were bad with a capital B, but what can we do...). If nothing else it's a way to shake things up without having one of the boys marry anyone, right?

2:55PM EDT: Kevin decides to give an acceptance speech even though the results aren't in yet. He launches into one, but Mark interrupts with a laptop, which he shows to Kevin, freezing him in his tracks. I really wish they'd cut to that dramatic prairie dog video playing on the laptop, just as punctuation.

Over at the diner, Butters comes in and tells Luke and co. that the results are up and Luke won. Ali's all, "fair and square" and he's all "totes!" and they're all "wheeeeeee!" and there are balloons and confetti and a ticker-tape parade and a giant cake shaped like a Toaster Strudel .... and Noah sulking outside. Luke sees him and gets that "I just peed on the bed" look. 

Austin From Days just ordered a boilermaker. Heh. And is he wearing a blue velvet blazer? This is just getting weird.

2:49PM EDT: When Austin From Days tries to explain to Blonde Obstacle the whole Spencer Gifts situation, he says "I've got no proof" but I swear it sounds like he says "I've got no poof." Not true, Austin - you had me at "hello".

Whoops - Kim just fired him. I'm sure we can find a spot for you here at AfterElton!

Noah tells Luke not to lose what it is that he fell in love with. Luke says that he has to win so that they can stop all the laughing and ridicule. Noah says that that will never stop, and that they just have to control themselves.

Luke says that he has to win to prove to others that he and Noah are proud of who they are, and Noah stands up and says, "I'm proud of who we are, but if you cheat, I'm not." and storms off.

As if on cue, the Dungeonmaster scuttles in and tells Luke that they have to hurry. Outside, Ali tries to explain to Butters that encouraging Luke to cheat is going against everything Luke stands for. She runs off to vote. 

Luke and the DM walk into Yo's and see Kevin and his cronies celebrating their victory over "that wimp Snyder". Even though they haven't won yet. Luke gets his crazy-face and tells the DM to go ahead and stuff the ballot box. On his way out, DM runs into Butters, who is surprised to hear that Luke okayed the move but then asks that he let him do it.

2:39PM EDT: Luke and Noah are still deep in "Kevin makes you crazy!" and we get to the preview clip we posted this morning. Noah can't see why Luke lets Kevin get to him and tells him not to let him change who he is, and Luke admits that the old wounds go deeper than he thought. He can't let himself be made to feel the way Kevin made him feel in high school again, not ever. 

Temporary craziness aside, I feel for the kid. Especially when he makes those puppy-dog eyes!

2:31PM EDT: Okay, Luke got a bit crazy-pants in that last scene. And has Austin been watching old Welcome Back Kotter episodes? He's all Barbarino today. Regardless, he goes to Spencer Gifts' room and they get into a scuffle and he rips her sleeve, and she of course calls the cops the second he's gone.

2:25PM EDT: Over an admittedly very delicious-looking burger, Butters again tries to convince Luke and Ali that he and his new Dungeonmaster can pull off this ballot-stuffing thing. Ali drags Butters off, and when Noah arrives the DM skitters away, too.

Luke tells Noah about the plan and the two of them have a very intense discussion about the idea, with Luke saying ultimately that he deserves to win and Kevin doesn't, and that Captain Pervy always said that winning was the most important thing (aside from always having a box of Toaster Strudel at the ready).

Noah's all, "you did NOT just quote my dead homophobic hooker-mom-killing dad..." 

2:16PM EDT: Ali and Butters catch up with Luke and Noah and learn about the whole "free beer" giveaway, and Luke gets all huffed that half the people he's giving the beer to aren't even of age. Oh, details, details...

Luke goes into Java to confront Kevin, who retaliates that no one wants Luke's holier-than-thou behavior. Luke says he just might call the cops, and Kevin says that college is supposed to be fun. Luke is about to come up with a zingy comeback but Noah pulls out a huge hook and yanks him out the door before he has the chance.

Noah leaves and Luke fills Butters and Ali in on the confrontation and Butters immediately suggests stuffing the ballot box. From out of nowhere their new supporter (a nameless guy in a rugby jersey who looks like he plays a lot of D&D ... not that there's anything wrong with that!) says that he works in the student affairs office and he would be happy to stuff the box, Carrie-style, for him. Well how convenient!

Meanwhile, all I'm getting out of the whole Spencer Gifts storyline is that nothing good ever comes of traveling to Chicago.

2:09PM EDT: Austin from Days! Hey, where ya been, goodlookin'? Oh, being sexually harassed in a hotel room by your co-worker. Sorry about all that.

The Blonde Obstacle grills AFD on how Spencer presented her ... uh, "gifts" to him in their hotel room. And of course meanwhile Spencer is laying a sob story about how he came onto her to their boss, Kim. It's just like Disclosure, only without the creepy spectre of Michael Douglas hovering around.

Meanwhile, Butters comes home and tells Mama Clarice that he just voted for the first time. She's all, "yeah, good for you" and gets on him again about getting arrested for trying to protect a friend from being gang-raped by the cast of One Tree Hill. 

As soon as she's out the door, Butters rips off his sleeves and picks up a Guitar Hero controller. Ha!

Over in Maddie Alley, Luke is campaigning on his diversity platform when he realizes that Kevin is giving out free mini-kegs to people who vote for him. Ouch! 

Ali drops by the Guitar Hero party and tells Butters that they're gonna make sure that Luke wins.