How will Hurricane Sandy alter the Election Map..?

Ok, so, presuming the election is still on for next Tuesday - if people in the areas ravaged by the storm can't get out to vote (unlikely to be their highest priority with knee deep water everywhere), what then?

I would imagine that it will boil down to the issue of motivation and which side has the most.

On the face of it, one might presume that because the states of the NE are blue states that this will hit Obama the hardest. However, younger people are more likely to splash through water and get outside and take action than are an older electorate, which would bode well for Obama, as will the early voter turnout, which has been much higher on the blue side of the equation.

What are your thoughts as to how Sandy will impact the upcoming election on Tuesday November 6th, and does anyone think that the election might be posponed by some sort of mutual agreement between both parties?

Interesting times..

reply to post by NewAgeMan


I really don't think it will change anything. People who are determined to vote in this election will do so, and people who could care less will not. When you have been through a devastating natural disaster you seek normalcy. Exercising one's right to vote is one of those normal activities that people will look forward to, if for no other reason than to escape from the mess for a short while.

I hate going to Walmart, but after my town was torn to pieces doing normal, everyday things felt good. It was a chance to get away from the clean up and repairs for a short time and think about normal things like my shopping list.

Well, at least the west coast is still standing for now! Washington State is doing great, we are working on legislation to legalize marijuana (for anyone's use) and gay marriage this coming election.

With Japan hit hard from its tsunami and possible future radiation problems, Europe going through ridiculous financial trouble and the east coast getting hit by these super-storms that are probably caused by global warming, I think the west coast might become a great living choice

reply to post by NewAgeMan


So by that analysis, there'll be no change in the electoral map, with Florida and possibly Ohio up for graps. Clinton did a rally in Ohio the other day just before this happened, so if I was Obama, I'd organize, on the side, apart from disaster relief coordination - a big "Do" in the form of a massive rally in Florida, with Clinton there, Springsteen, and some other performers, with all donations going to disaster relief, and while everyone's "hunkered down" including the Romney compaign, you quietly, or very loudly take Florida, and thus remove any possibility of Romney finding a path through the Electoral College and there it is. As the storm recovery takes place, so too does the United States enter, at last the bright possibilities inherent in the 21st century, including globalization and significant technological advances combined with major efforts to reform and improve the Education system and access to higher education, the works. It's recover upon recovery you see. Maybe God works in mysterious ways and this hurricane is symbolic of a fresh start for America and the larger world. Here's hoping..

Not that I'm FOR Obama, although I suppose I am to a degree. No, I just see the same kind of future that he does, a future of prosperity and the return to economic well being and individual and collective persuits in favor of a more perfect union.

Then again I"m a Canadian from Vancouver, eh? so what do I know?! lol

I don't think Sandy will have much of an effect on the election. The weather on the day of the election, however, could have a small impact. People are more likely to vote for an incumbent if it's a nice day out.

But what are they going to have - polling barges instead of polling booths..?

We're talking here about a huge segment of the population across a whole swath of the country, you guys are assuming that it will even be possible for these millions upon millions of people to even get out to vote, and where do they go and how do they get there?

From the POV or frame of the President, in the midst and in the final mad steps of the election - what would be wrong with connecting your campaign with disaster relief funding via a massive rally and disaster relief concert - I mean how can you NOT politicize it? It's a bhit of a gamble sure, but not if it's led by Bill Clinton and headlined by Spingstein and others. That's what I'd do. First things first - relief coordination, for Obama and then over "there" down in Florida a massive rally for the weekend prior to the big day! Maybe we Canadians aren't so out of it after all.

A tentative approach, under the circumstances, is pathetic, as is fear of making a political "error" at this stage of the game.

Watch Florida for this weekend.. that's where the Obama campaign will pop back up again from so much water.

Sandy could very well be the BIG October surprise. With Romney being (at the very least) dismissive of FEMA during the early campaign, it will be a hard sell to all those hoping to receive disaster relief funding from that very organ of the federal government. If the NE was mostly in favour of the Democrats, they certainly will be more so in the coming months. Even Chris Christie was praising Obama recently.

We'll see what the eventual outcome will be.

Personally, as a Canadian, I am still hoping for a Romney win, if only to be able to see what the outcome would be a couple of years down the road. I'm nasty that way.

An impromptu disaster-relief fund raising concert, in Florida, that's what I'd do.

While making the main thrust - meeting the needa of the people in the effected regions of course.

Clinton would love to stand in for something like that, as a herioc effort both for his friend President Obama, and for the people effected, it would get a lot of airtime and coverage, free of charge!

Tnen Tuesday..

Tight Race in Florida

news.yahoo.com... pretty interesting read i guess the only way they could legally post pone elections would be to have congress do it as they are the only ones who can postpone the presidential election but as the article states most of them are on recess at the moment,i personally think that it wont have much of an impact but they might increase the voting hours in some of the disaster areas.


abcnews.go.com...

reply to post by NewAgeMan


Given Obama's performance so far -- and by performance I mean both doing his job and giving the appearance of being on top of things -- I think this natural disaster will help him. Heck, Chris Christie is saying good things abour Obama. The states hit are primarily blue and they will remain as such. Seems this even will more likely affect swing states, and I'd say Obama doing right by the hurricane-hit states will help him in the election with the swing voters in the swing states. And if the storm moves inland to Ohio and hits that state hard, and FEMA/Obama do a good job their too, then the election is in the bag for Obama.

Remember, Romney said he wanted to do away with FEMA and let state and local government AND PRIVATE BUSINESS take over disaster relief. The only time private business did a better job in this field was during Hurricane Katrina, when the Bush II/Republican-ran disaster relief did a terrible job. Now, of course, Romney has flip-flopped and says that maybe he won't do away with FEMA. Speaking of which, Chris Christie was asked if he will me with Romney should Romney come to NJ to survey the damage. Christie essentially said, "I don't care what Romney does, I'm busy taking care of my state, and not getting involved in presidential politics." [paraphrase alert]

reply to post by MrInquisitive

Still, I don't know why, the very moment that they knew what this storm was going to do and where it was going to land, approximately - the president didn't immediately order the deployment of National Guard Troops and equipment, along with FEMA, and the Army Corp of Engineers (water and drainage infrastructure repair) to the effected region. Why do they always wait first, then send only as requested? Why not get everything into position beforehand to facilitate a lightening-speed response? In Obama's case, such foresight would have immediately won him re-election for getting right on top of it, in anticipation.