Should we be worried about Philadelphia, NJ, and NYC NOT voting due to Sandy?

[underpants]

I saw should WE be worried because they have bigger things to worry about and voting is probably not very high on their list even IF they can vote.

I just want to pose the question.

[bigdarryl]

1. Stop being a Debbie Downer people will vote

If people make excuses to not vote because of some damn storm they wasn't going to vote in the first place

[WooWooWoo]

11. really?

so you're saying if you're home is destroyed/damaged and you haven't had power for a week and it finally turns back on the first thing you're thinking about is voting and not fixing up your place?

[Chichiri]

27. Fixing up takes a long time. Voting comes once. Besides, our leads there are insurmountable. eom

[treestar]

38. +1

And it is very important to someone in that situation - so they would risk R$ getting into office? it might be easier to get out to vote too. May not be at work, more likely to be out walking around. Polling places are usually close.

It's even more in one's self interest than ever to make sure R$ does not win!

[MrSlayer]

2. Not Philly.

We walked away unscathed as usual. We will be running on all cylinders next week.

[BlueDemKev]

28. What about public transit?

Will it be up and running 100%? (I've never been to Philadelphia, so I don't know too much about your city's infrastructure).

[MrSlayer]

42. Yep, everything is operating.

Literally nothing happened here. Just rained and was windy.

[BlueDemKev]

48. Okay, that's good. Please help get every liberal voter to the polls next Tuesday

[MrSlayer]

49. My union always does a massive GOTV.

We'll be on the street all day.

[limpyhobbler]

3. it's a legit concern

especially because of state and local races. But it's kind of hard to talk to raise the issue because of what happened with the hurricane, nobody wants to bring up politics.

[Drunken Irishman]

4. Philly seems to be okay...and NJ is going Obama no matter what.

[Kolesar]

6. Could affect some down ticket congressional races

We need to expel the tea baggers from the "contestable" districts.

[kalli007]

52. Hell at this point Christ Christie may be voting for Obama.....

nt

[polichick]

5. New York City will be an issue, sure - the power is still off...

How can there be voting if there is no power?

[WI_DEM]

17. If by next week, they may need to convert to paper ballots.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

23. NYC will be up in four days

Their power is mostly below ground.

[NYC Liberal]

34. Voting is done with paper ballots with optical scanners.

Ballots can be counted by hand if necessary.

[SharonAnn]

36. If electronic voting machines batteries are charges, many can last for at least 12 hoursl.

Also, generators at the sites could be used.

[treestar]

39. Surely NYC has some plan for what to do in that event.

Election Boards exist and have rules and procedures.

[Liberalynn]

44. +1

We need the NYC vote to offset the votes of the Redneck Pukes out in the more rural areas of WNY & Upstate. The County where I live included.

I am happy NYC controls the majority of NY State votes in Presidental and Senatorial elections. Keeps us Blue.

Safety of people is of course paramount, but I hope as many people as possible from NYC vote.

[JustAnotherGen]

7. Here's where we

Ended up in NJ in 2008:

http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/results/states/new-jersey.html

This is going to "read" as ghoulish and heartless for my neighbors down the shore . . . But I don't think it will. I "think" Jersey City and Newark will be able to full court press get back up and running by Tuesday. Those red areas - that are still red in South NJ? I don't think they will.

Prediction - Menendez holds onto his seat in the Senate - NJ stays blue on the map.

Now - I was going to walk door to door in Somerville this weekend for Chivukula - I don't think that's going to happen. They aren't flooded, but lots of trees down, live wires, and hazards. But I think the hazardous conditions will be resolved in time to vote.

Was really hoping we could oust Leonard Lance - but in order for that to happen we need to be able to make people aware of WHO he (Chivukula) face to face. I'm not even sure phone calls will get through . . .

[JustAnotherGen]

12. Somerville Today

Hasn't updated yet - but here's where the town I want to canvass in is at as of last night:

http://somervilletoday.com/

We need a Democratic House with Representatives that will give the Senate and President liberal legislation. So frustrated.

[rox63]

8. I have a friend in Philly who says they came through just fine

Her job is in New Jersey, though. Not sure how that went.

[barbiegeek]

9. Yes, we should.

No power-no vote-lost ballots, lost Early Vote Ballots in PA? These are my worries.

Plus I want the electoral college win and the Popular Vote win because then the repugs can just shut up

[BlueDemKev]

24. The Repugs will NEVER shut up...

...even if they had a laryngectomy, they'd still carry their signs and bang their drums.

[OldDem2012]

10. Being able to restore systems well enough to allow people to vote is a definite priority....

...to be able to prove to the rest of the country and overseas that even a disaster can't keep the US from voting on Election Day.

Just my two cents.

[brooklynite]

13. NYC uses paper ballots.

Electricity only needed for light, and for quick tallying. Won't affect voting.

[Liberalynn]

46. Thank you for letting us know that

and as a Western NY Democrat, I thank all of you from NYC for keeping the State Blue.

Stay safe.

[justiceischeap]

14. I've been repeating this a lot since Sandy came on the radar

I can't see any POLITICIAN screwing up election day. Some of these same politicians are up for reelection. They are going to do what they can to get the polls working one way or another. I do think we'll see lower voter turnout than we normally would in these areas but I also think that it won't be one-sided. Some decisions will need to be made for displaced residents, particularly those 3 towns effected by the levee break in NJ. Christie says he doesn't care about Presidential elections but someone in his office needs to be and probably is caring.

I don't think Philly got a lot of damage (more loss of power than anything else, downed trees, etc.).

As far as NYC goes, I'm not sure how that will turn out but I would expect people will still want to vote.

[wishlist]

15. 6 days should allow most power to be restored in cities

Americans are extremely quick to respond and restore things to as close to normalcy and this is an important election. There should be close to zero power outages remaining in Pennsylvania well before next Tuesday. Total voter turnout will certainly fall in New York and New Jersey but Obama favorability is so high, the lower turnout shouldn't affect outcome.

[WI_DEM]

16. I think Philly is ok, NYC is a concern, but I think most people if they are ok

will vote. Obviously it's a concern, but not much we can do at this point.

[JiminyJominy]

18. The Way I See It

PHILLY was our biggest concern through all this and from what I understand they held up ok. As of right now I think most of the city has power and by the weekend the entire city should have power. (Someone from Philly please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). We need to win Philly by 300,000 votes (according to a Philly area Dem that posted here earlier in the week) in order to win PA. So our PA people PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure everyone gets out to vote in that city.

Secondly, I think in reality what the more likely risk here is the Blue State numbers affecting the popular vote margin. Blue states will still go Blue even if turnout is low because whether you're red or blue you all have to go to the same polling places and deal with the same conditions.

I think Obama was poised to win this race by just 2-3million this time and that might be affected with much less people voting in hard blue areas if they don't get out. So to put it simply..the chances of Romney winning the popular vote and losing the electoral have probably gone up slightly through all this.

[Sunlei]

19. I have family in Brick Township, NJ. Ocean county is ready to move vote areas if needed.

house didn't flood and linemen are working on power in the area today.

[kerouac2]

20. NYC area is important for NY totals.

It is a bit of a concern to me but I still think the state is safe. There was about a 1.7 million vote difference last election.

[LisaL]

21. Yes, I am worried.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

22. Yes.

Sandy's impact may affect voter registration, election outcome

By Emily Hutt | Oct 30

Devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy could affect the election outcome, particularly in swing states such as Virginia and New Hampshire, Center for Politics spokesperson Geoff Skelley said.

“If the storm really hits Virginia hard, there will probably be people who don’t vote because they are focused on repairing their homes or businesses, or dealing with some sort of problems related to storm damage,” Skelley said. “Public transportation could be hampered in urban areas, which would obviously be bad for Democrats.”

[BlueDemKev]

26. If Public Transit is Down...

...our campaign workers in those states will need to coordinate efforts to give people rides to the polls.

[JiminyJominy]

25. Great

I wasn't worried before, but now I kinda am.

[LiberalEsto]

29. Absolutely!

That's a LOT of Democratic votes hanging in the balance.

[ancianita]

30. I think we should be worried, because Republican opportunists...

[LisaL]

31. If the state is not ready, it is possible for a state to postpone election.

"Although states may reschedule a canceled or suspended election at their discretion (or according to their individual election laws), they must choose their presidential electors by the "safe harbor" deadline, which is six days before the Electoral College votes. This year, the Electoral College convenes on Dec. 17, which means that even if states do postpone their elections because of Sandy, they must choose their electors by Dec. 11."

http://www.pressherald.com/news/nationworld/could-the-election-be-delayed__2012-10-31.html

[rayofreason]

32. NY, NJ will be blue regardless.

In PA there may be an impact if the city core of Philly does not vote because of Sandy, but I would expect the overall effect to small.

[Jennicut]

33. In NY, they can have another day of voting if enough votes are not in on election day.

"In New York, state election board spokesman John Conklin said local boards in counties affected by the storm are assessing their polling sites to determine whether they will have power and be accessible to the public for the election.

Electric utilities serving New York City and Long Island are “prioritizing those areas for restoring power,” he said.

In the event of a natural disaster, New York law provides for an additional day of voting if turnout in a jurisdiction is less than 25 percent, Conklin said. Such voting must occur within 20 days of the election, he said."http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-10-31/sandy-caused-power-outages-may-complicate-election-day

It would have to be after the election but if turnout is that low, NY law provides more time.

I will research more info on NJ.

I live in CT and our SOS said we will do paper ballots and hand count them if needed. We do paper to begin with and have optical scanner machines read the ballots. But hand counting will be done in areas that have no power if needed.

[cheezmaka]

47. 20 days would be a long wait...

Hopefully Obama will have 270+ on Nov. 6 with extra wins from the other battleground states...

[underpants]

51. Wow they are really good at what they do

great idea extending voting if there is not enough turnout

[dny121]

35. I am in New York City

Polling places are in folks neighborhoods, walking distance a block or two. They are situated in the public schools and folks walk to the polls. You do not have to take transport. The outer boroughs such as Staten Island, which was heavily affected may be an issue. Overall, no big issue and we use paper ballots since 2010. Hope this helps

[beac]

40. Welcome to DU, dny121!

And thanks for the insight into NYC voting. I used to be able to walk to vote b/c I lived near the middle school that was our precinct's polling place. I miss it.

[Liberalynn]

45. Welcome to DU and thanks for letting us know that

I am in the Finger Lakes and got a little worried. Some of us Dems in the rest of NY State kind of count on our down state neighbors to keep the state blue.

Sadly we have too many Redneck Pukes in WNY and Upstate. The cities go blue usually but a lot of the rural areas go red too often.

[underpants]

50. Thank you

I sort of figured that (didn't know about the paper ballots) due to the population density

[treestar]

37. Voting is important

People may see its importance even more in such a situation.

Geez.

[JRLeft]

41. I heard Pittsburgh may have a blizzard on the way.

[pstokely]

43. I think we need to be more worried about downballot candidates

nt

[FBaggins]

53. Yes... But probably only in PA.

Turnout will almost certainly be impacted... And the areas with the most problems right now lean pretty heavily left. We really need the Eastern side of the state if the race is closer than we expect.

NY/NJ will also have problems, but simply aren't close enough to matter much.

[zebe83]

54. PA will be fine thank you......

Update from the Philly Enquirer in this mornings paper.....

PECO ENERGY Co. expects to have power restored to 90 percent of its customers by Friday night, a Peco spokeswoman said Wednesday afternoon.

Spokeswoman Karen Muldoon Geus said that 350,000 Peco customers still were without power as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, with customers in Bucks and Montgomery counties accounting for 282,000 of those still in the dark. In Philadelphia, 35,000 Peco customers were still without power.

Geus said that 850,000 Peco customers lost power as a result of Hurricane Sandy.

And I live in Pittsburgh and we are not expecting any blizzard. And after the remants of Sandy leave today we are expecting sunny weather with temps in the high 40s throughout election day.

Happy?