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Subscribe to RSSPaul Beck, Ohio State University professor, describes the importance of winning Ohio, a battleground with a large number of electoral votes. It's a diverse state with liberals and conservatives matching a cross section of the nation.
Hurricane Sandy is barreling toward the East Coast and could deliver the presidential campaign an unpredictable, but impactful, October surprise.
It remains too early to determine precisely where Sandy will make landfall or just how severe the storm might be, but the projections for its path have it aimed toward the mid-Atlantic region, likely impacting hotly-contested battleground states.
Sandy was briefly downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm by the NHC early Saturday, but it returned to hurricane strength within a few hours.
Extensive damage, power outages, and the resulting news coverage could push the election into the background, at least in that region, and could wreak havoc on campaign plans for the final week of the race between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
Travel schedules, television advertising buys, and voter outreach could all be impacted … and in some cases, already have been.
A Romney official said Friday that the campaign is keeping a very close eye on the storm and had already decided to cancel a planned rally on Sunday night in Virginia Beach. Vice President Joe Biden also cancelled a Virginia Beach event on Saturday, and a rally for First Lady Michelle Obama planned for Tuesday at the University of New Hampshire in Durham was also canceled, officials said Friday.
Said the Obama campaign of the change in the vice president's schedule, "This ... is being taken out of an abundance of caution to ensure that all local law enforcement and emergency management resources can stay focused on ensuring the safety of people who might be impacted by the storm."
After strong winds and heavy rain washed out bridges and damaged homes in multiple countries, the hurricane looks toward the northeastern U.S.
It isn't yet clear whether Sandy will affect Obama’s scheduled events with former president Bill Clinton in Florida and Virginia on Monday.
Since March, the two presidential campaigns and outside groups have invested $144 million in radio and TV ads in Virginia, with $27 million spent just in the past two weeks. Virginia ranks third in the amount of presidential campaign advertising, after Ohio and Florida.
If local TV stations in Virginia interrupt their regularly scheduled programming in order to broadcast bulletins and live coverage of the storm’s impact, then a campaign ad which had been booked for a specific time on a specific station would not air.
The station would refund the money paid for the ad, but at this point in the election season, campaigns don’t want their money back -- they want their ads to run.
RELATED: Ad spending on presidential race surpasses $900 million
Of course, even if stations do run those already-booked campaign ads, thousands of Virginia homes might be without power … and millions of dollars in ad buys could be still wasted.
After the intense “derecho” storm swept through the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic region with 70-mile-per-hour winds on June 29, electricity for millions of customers was effectively knocked out.
In some areas around Washington, D.C., power was out for a week. And outages in Virginia due to Sandy could conceivably last into Election Day itself.
Voting requires polling locations which have the lights on and aren't under water, so this storm also raises the question of how election officials are preparing to ensure that balloting isn’t disrupted on Election Day.
Mitt Romney has just wrapped up what his campaign billed a major economic speech, at the heart of his closing arguments. Democratic strategist Elmendorf, Romney campaign economic adviser Vin Weber and The Economist's Greg Ip break it down.
According to Virginia State Board of Elections spokeswoman Nikki Sheridan, the board has been coordinating with the state Department of Emergency Management, the Virginia State Police, the state Department of Transportation, major utility companies, and the 134 voting registrars who administer the election across the state “to monitor the weather situation and, if necessary … act accordingly.”
The board has told local election officials that “unless conditions render the voting process unsafe” for employees and voters, registrars should keep their offices “open and to continue the in-person voting process” already underway in the state.
The final decision whether to close a general registrar’s office “will be made by local authorities or first responders after consultation with your office and electoral board,” the board said.
RELATED: Focusing on Ohio and Colorado
In a press conference Friday afternoon, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Romney supporter, said, “There are obviously concerns about making sure we’re ready for Election Day which will only be a week after the departure of this storm.”
He said that the president of Dominion Power, the state’s major power provider, has told him that the utility would add election locations “as a top priority for power restoration in addition to hospitals and schools and so forth, so I think that is prudent as well, but we don’t anticipate adverse election issues at this time.”
The candidates crisscross the country hitting the battleground states trying to lock up key electoral votes and Domenico demonstrates the electronic map to 270.
He said the electric utility had a “well-thought out set of priorities for what to restore” and “at this point I don’t see anything happening that would interfere with the election.”
He also said “I expect both candidates and both parties to monitor the situation and if they think they’re going to be interfering with first responder operations” to cancel their Virginia campaign events. “They’re not going to get coverage and they’re not going to get people coming out (to events) because they’re not going to stand out in the rain so they’d be smart to make alternative plans.”
Ross Goldstein, deputy administrator of the Maryland Board of Elections, said Friday, “We’re in contact with state emergency management. We’ve given utility companies a list of polling locations so that they know where our needs are.”
He added that “all of our voting equipment has battery backup,” but noted that, obviously, electricity would be needed to keep the lights on at polling locations.
As in Virginia, Maryland voters have the option of early voting, beginning in the state on Saturday, with one-to-five polling places per county.
In a conference call on Friday, elections officials in Maryland and eight other East Coast states conferred with Louisiana Commissioner of Elections Angie Rogers to find out what officials in her state have learned from coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and other subsequent storms.
Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler said Friday that contingency plans must be made for both before and after Election Day.
Obama campaign co-chair Kal Penn joins Andrea Mitchell Reports to discuss the youth vote in the 2012 election.
“Number one, before the storm, secure the (voting) equipment, move it if necessary, get it out of harm’s way,” he said.
“Number two, get good information on where your poll workers are going to be, make sure you have their cell numbers and evacuation plans so you can get in touch with them if you’ve moved a precinct," he said.
"Then after the storm, determine if your locations are still viable and usable and if they’re not, make sure you move and consolidate precincts. We did that here in Louisiana with the big mayoral election after Katrina. As long as you have locations, power and equipment or paper ballots -- you can still have the election and go forward," he added.
Schedler said another tip for elections officials in storm-affected areas: “Make sure you have a good relationship with the National Guard in your state. Here in Louisiana we used the National Guard to set up large tents for ‘mega-sites.’ They provided us generators. And think about public restrooms, you may need to bring in some Portalets (portable toilets) when setting up as site like that. You need to anticipate just like you do in any emergency.”
He also suggested that state officials in Sandy's path urge people to vote early.
NBC News’ Garrett Haake contributed to this report.
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I guess we will have to take the Country back by Storm......LOL
Romney/Ryan2012
Clever
IRESPOND-2315268, It's not that we "don't know Mitt Romney", it's that we DO know OB. You clowns actually want four more years of wandering around in the desert? Another of you idiots says "vote for Romney and you will be unemployed". Look around you, Einstein. OB promised 5.2% unemployment. Uh, was that an Obama lie? He promised to halve the deficit. Did he actually mean that he would double it when he said that, or was that another lie? Running short of Kool-Aid yet?
Are you a little angry "In search of common sense", you want to see a clown look in the mirror, oh and double check it, you probably will see Romney and Ryan right behind you in the same mirror. Best stop drinking that stale tea that Romney is passing out that he imported from Chinese slave labor. LMAO
You mention us idiots but as far as I know we don't have a President with the initials OB?
Spot-1951183
You'll probably be the only one showing up in the mirror though :)
I never read or listen to anything from NBC.
Why? It's not news. No one there has the guts to report what's really happening out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But here you are anyway.
Odd.
Interesting that many of you posting here are calling people names for calling people names...
Its the American way :)
Are you calling them hypocrites, old poop ?
O left 4 Americans to die in Libya...that should be the clincher right there if you are true Americans.
GB left thousands to die in Afghanistan.
You wouldn't know a true American if she bit you in the ass.
When did he do that klone? GB Senior left thousands of Iranians to die at the hands of Saddam Hussein after Desert Storm, Who did JR Leave?
More have died in Afghanistan under o's watch and I know what an American is I served and did my time...more then you can say no doubt
Why isn't NBC covering the Libya story??? I understand that there is a storm getting ready to hit the Northeast but really, not a single story on the homepage about Libya??
They'd rather feel pity for the Muslims in Myanmar. It upsets Obama to see his fellow Muslims treated that way.
According to NBCNEWS,NBC,ABC,CBS,CNN,PBS,NPR,MSNBC,HLN and the NY Times The Benghazi attack that killed our Ambassador and 3 other Americans was just a BUMP IN THE ROAD! So it's a NON ISSUE!
Same reason they had Very few News? reports about The Fast & Furious Debacle, It puts their guy in the White House in a very bad light.
These so-called News Agencies are nothing more than Propaganda Machines, In my eyes none of them have much Credibility, I mean all of them NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN and Fox, NYT, Wall Street journel, Etc.
You will get slivers of truth from them in their News Reports, But if it is a Commentator it is just more Propaganda.
The defining moment arrives , now we get to see who's side this storm is on. Is it '' THE BLESSED MORONI '' coming to keep part of those '' 47% REJECTS '' that BISHOP POLYGAMIST HATES from voting ??? or is it just TOUGH LOVE , coming with a powerful right hook to the jaw of those voting machines , with republican obstructionism written all over them ??? the delivering calamity shall define your fate !!!!!!!!! LOL
No bother that Obama lied to the American people about Libya on multiple occasions.
It was a video,,,,uh oh wait no got caught, no it was planned,,yes it was a planned attack, I Obama would never lie to you and I take the safety of Americans seriously,,,uh oh wait,,,what's that? I didn't help them even though they were pleading for help,,,,well just make up something until the election is over.
Or tell your propaganda machines, NBCNEWS,NBC,ABC,CBS,CNN,HLN,PBS,NPR and the NY Times,it was just a BUMP IN THE ROAD and is a NON ISSUE so don't report on it.
The main reason Obama has to go is to bring back stability and trust to the Government, Romney in his first months will create Millions of Jobs, Business is in fear of what Oblamer might do next, Fact is nobody will even touch his so called job plans Republican or Democrat.
For Instance take a look at the Stock Market incredible comeback after the 2010 elections when the Conservatives took over Congress, It brought stability to the Markets, Because they knew Congress could tie Obumbles hands.
The Dow increased 23% between Jan 2009 and November 2010.
Your entire theory is malarkey.
You people hurling insults at each other should be ashamed of yourselves (and I'm talking about my fellow Obamamians here as well as the Romneyians.) This storm could wreak havoc unlike any other, and here you are, calling each other nasty names. Grow up and get ready to roll up your sleeves. Vote early if you can. There's going to be work to be done. Sandy is but another reminder that we should respect Mother Nature, God, whatever you want to call the great forces at work; sometimes those things small in the much larger perspective of the story of our universe, like elections, might have to be put aside, or done differently. Let's learn from this and move on. Peace to all of you, and those of you in Sandy's path, hang on tight and know that the great American spirit is going to be there when it's all over. Let's hope we do better for everyone than we did with Katrina; I think we learned a lot from that one. See how that works?
If one shingle gets blown off, Obama will declare it a disaster area and send the states effected half the national budget in aid and relief so that he can buy votes.
I'm reading these comments more closely now and am just now realizing.... WHAT IS WRONG WITH EVERYONE?!?!!? Have the pods finally come down and captured all that is good with the human spirit and left behind only the nastiest, most base, part of the human brain? Would you say this kind of thing to your neighbor in the grocery store? Come on now!
welcome to the internet
That storm will be minuscule in Damage to the Damage that will be Caused by Obama if Re-Elected?
I know. It's sad. I guess it's better they vent here than with guns at a mall, or slamming their car into a highway divider or something. Still.
Slamming their cars into highway dividers is not good, might hurt someone else.
Hopefully they'll slam them into overpasses, much neater and better results.
If the bureaucrats knows that this will effect the elections then why don't these dips actually get the voting done EARLY. Oh yea the stupid bureaucrat don't want a real election...................................
First of all, I was expecting a somewhat more insightful article here projecting what "October surprise" Sandy is supposed to bring (besides extended power losses possibly impacting voting) -- i.e., which side would it benefit? Not surprisingly, we are left to come to our own conclusions, and here is mine: I predict this would help President Obama, since Dems are early-voting folk and Repubs are more likely to vote on Election Day. Also, any significant property or casualty loss affords the Prez an opportunity to be just that -- our leader in a time of crisis -- and that will be one of the last images in voters minds come Election Day.
Second -- and most importantly, though -- is that none of this will matter anyway since the real storm threat is probably WAY overblown, and it's simply another headline-grabbing, sensationalistic attempt to make this election more of a nail biter than it's going to be. The media needs readers and viewers, so they've gone ape-@!$%#-crazy with all the polling and spinning in an effort to keep us all tuned in. I don't know about you all, but I'm ready for the election to be over with, and let the chips fall where they may.
Look at the bright side - no power = no television = no endless campaign commercials.
Just maybe the storm will wipe out companies you owe money to :)
You are a freakn moron.......Look at our history....Look at our tax rate changes throughout our history......The rich have it better now than ever in the US's history....ever.........Why are you so dumb?
Um income tax didn't start until 1913. It was tried in 1894 but ruled unconstitutional. 16th amendment ratified Feb 3 1913.
So what does this have to with a storm ?
Your taxes paid for this storm.
You built it.
MEANWHILE: Busloads of Muslim Somalians are brought to polling places in Ohio by pro-Obama Democrats and instructed how to vote: http://www.humanevents.com/2012/10/26/is-voter-fraud-being-committed-in-ohio/
I’ve gone to ABC, NBC and CBS’s websites and social media sites and all are on fire with requests that these networks to start covering the Libya story. I know people who have called the networks directly to voice this opinion and they were hung up on once the words Benghazi or Libya came out of their mouths. In addition to lighting up these sites we’ve got to take this straight to the advertisers…. go to their sites and let them know that you’ll vote with your pocketbook and not support companies who advertise on news broadcasts that refuse to cover these stories.
Don't you love how people can even turn the weather into politics?
I noticed in this story there is a news broadcast showing Obama ahead in early voting. if I am not mistaken the news is not allowed to predict or announce any candidate leading until the polls close on the west coast on election day. I believe this is a federal election law. I believe that the election is already tainted and we will have no chance for a true fair election. The news media and Obama has been breaking the rules and trying to fix the election for over a year now. I assume that if Obama is re-elected, they will figure out a way to back date the legality of what they are doing.
They can report early leads, but what it does say is Mitt Romney supporters need to get out and vote and make sure those leads aren't permanent.
There is no law that they can't report before the polls close. They don't report on their own accord.
Besides which, they don't have polling results until after the polls close, only exit surveys.
For a "true american", you're awfully uninformed.
Wait a minute, that is the definition of a true American.
That is no different than convincing people to vote for the leader since many Americans now are followers than leaders and want to vote for the winner. This can cause a candidate to unfairly be elected at the will of the news media. This needs to stop. They created the election law for reporting on election day and now we need a law to stop the early voting or at least stop the reporting on early voting until the election is completed on the west coast on election day. I don't care who they are reporting as being in the lead, it is just not right!
Hank,
Since I am a political science major and I know there IS a law against early reporting election results, I will take your comments as being ignorant to politics and political law.
SO from your comment about what a true American is and that being ignorant, I assume you either are not LUCKY enough to be an AMERICAN or you are just plain IGNORANT!
I guess you will be voting for Obama now.
Hey, I am no conspiracy nut, but the hurricane that arrived 'just in time for 2012 GOP convention' and barely missed its mark, and now this storm? Oh, please. There are not that many coincidences in the known universe. HAARP, phone home.
Oh yeah, the politicians have a direct fax line and email address with mother nature :)
Vote early in the east and avoid the storm.
ANNAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Martin O’Malley’s administration says weather developments will be monitored to determine whether changes will be needed to the state’s early voting schedule.
O’Malley declared a state of emergency on Friday, as the mid-Atlantic region braced for Hurricane
Sandy.
http://times-news.com/local/x699469123/Maryland-to-monitor-storm-impact-on-early-voting
The sky is falling, the sky is falling! Here's a newsflash the news media are alarmists and sensationalists. We don't know when the hurricane will make landfall but if we can turn this into a story and create the perception that it will happen on election day then we've done our job.
When obomus lose's the election, he will cite the weather, altitude, tsunami, George W., Biden, and a host of other lame reasons as to why the impossible happened.....Poor fellow....
Romney/Ryan 2012/2016
No matter what happens in the election someone or some side will always be complaining about something. I voted for President Obama but I'd be interested in know the idea's Mitt Romney has for the aftermath of the storm?
tucsand,
As far as I can tell, Romney has no power to do anything as of now.
What the phuck is your point?
Sy someone "axed" if a poor person had ever given someone a job.
Actually I heard about a welfare broad who had no money giving people jobs....
I haven't seen any jobs in our vagina's either but nature is about to deliver a stimulus to the east coast! Buy stock in Home depot-their revenues are about to beat estimates!
These east coast states should have a voting day plan b because there may not be power by voting day...