Election Day in America should be a celebration of freedom. But because of the increasing nastiness of political campaigns, many only look forward to it so they don't have to hear and see all of the sleaze any more.

This year is no different. While many South Carolina campaigns seem to be forthright battles over issues, the exceptions stick in people's minds, turn their stomachs and fuel more apathy about the political process.

So far, the most egregious slimy example we've seen is in a heated battle in Sumter that pits incumbent Sen. Phil Leventis, a Democrat, against GOP lawyer Dickie Jones.

An oversized postcard sent by the S.C. Republican Party screams in large letters that it's a fact Leventis "does not support America's war against terrorism."

But in reality, nothing could be further from the truth, Leventis says in a statement denouncing the mailer: "Everything in the mailer is absolutely dishonest and they know it!"

Leventis, a retired brigadier general with the S.C. Air National Guard, flew 21 combat missions in the 1991 Gulf War in Iraq. His valor won him the Distinguished Flying Cross.

This isn't the only example. Others show neither Republicans nor Democrats are squeaky clean:

In Senate President Pro Tempore Glenn McConnell's race in Charleston, someone has mailed a nasty flyer to McConnell that shows a picture of him positioned to look at a picture of Jesus. A caption questions why McConnell doesn't "confess his sins" in issues related to the Hunley. No one, including McConnell's Democratic opponent Justin Kahn, has taken credit for the flyer and its distribution may be limited, McConnell says.

In a recent GOP House primary race in Lexington County, an e-mail campaign falsely claimed that candidate Nikki Haley was a Buddhist and urged voters to support incumbent Larry Koon, a Christian. Haley attends a Methodist church and a Sikh temple with her family, according to The State newspaper in Columbia.

Religion-baiting also cropped up in neighboring Richland County when some voters received "push poll" calls that asked whether they realized Republican Ken Wingate was a "born-again Christian." A push poll is a questionable political tactic in which telephone "pollsters" ask loaded questions to shape voters' opinions. Wingate, who is running for an open Senate seat against Rep. Joel Lourie, has denied any connection to push polls, according to The State. Lourie, a Democrat, is Jewish.

In August, thousands of South Carolinians received a voter registration mail piece from the S.C. Democratic Party that was made to look like a draft notice. The piece, which Democrats said was meant to shock people enough to encourage them to register to vote, was designed to scare voters into thinking that the draft was coming back, S.C. GOP Chair Katon Dawson said.

Don't look for things to cool down in the race toward Election Day. But starting November 3, new campaign and ethics rules may provide incentives that curb the amount of the sleaze.

The new rules will limit political party and legislative political action committee contributions to House, Senate and municipal candidates to $5,000 per election. Parties also will face tougher disclosure requirements. The new law also seeks to curb abuses of outside efforts by requiring any group that spends more than $500 to influence an election to disclose what they did.

The new law won't prohibit parties and groups from sending and funding sleazy political pieces, but they will have to disclose what they're doing. And because such pieces would count against the $5,000 total contribution limits, candidates might want the money instead of the slimy help.

Dishonest, misleading campaign tactics will never go away in the system. The best way to thwart them is to vote against the slime merchant. Unfortunately, if both candidates are pandering with unsavory methods, about the best you can do is vote for the lesser of two evils.