Will Hurricane Sandy Wreak Havoc On Election Day?
By: Rachel Polansky
Updated: October 31, 2012
As Hurricane Sandy wreaks havoc along the East Coast, many are wondering
if the storm will affect the upcoming presidential race? Eyewitness
News spoke with political analysts and the Board of Elections.
As the storm plowed through the East Coast, election officials are faced with new challenges: Power outages, floods and snowstorms that could all hinder voting through election day.
"When we're talking about millions of people impacted and impacted in some very tight states. Anything that moves a few votes, a few thousand here, a few thousand there, have a huge impact. Remember George W. Bush became president apparantly by a few hundred votes," says John Zogby, political analyst and founder of the Zogby Poll.
John Zogby is a political analyst and founder of the Zogby Poll. He says sandy throws a curve-ball to an already tight election.
"New York is in bad shape, the city right now, and the suburbs. That could depress democratic voter turnout. You're talking about millions of people without power right now and then we don't know how long it will be," says Zogby.
President Obama has cancelled campaign tours in order to monitor the federal response to Sandy, but some think this may actually help in his campaign.
"He's the guy who the country is looking at right now to see if this is under control and what needs to be done in the aftermath of this hurricane," says Uptin Saiidi, MTV News, New York City.
"This may be the sort of thing where looking presidential, looking in charge, and managing a crisis is something that could help," says Zogby.
"The ball is really in his court and I think storm is more advantageous to him then it would be for Mitt Romney," says Saiidi.
Oneida County Board of Elections says many people came into the office worried if they'd make it to the polls when Sandy struck. Nearly 6,000 people registered for absentee ballots.
"That's a really significant number for the county. By the number of people that wanted to make sure they were registered to vote. By the number of inquires as to whether ballots had been mailed out to them, they want to know they can exercise. They're very interested in this race, they're really interested in this race and they want to participate, they really want to be able to participate," says Pam Mandryck, Republican Commissioner for Board of Elections Oneida County.
Although there's no evidence that all 6,000 Oneida County residents applied for absentee ballots because of the storm - Board of Elections says they've never seen the numbers so high.
As the storm plowed through the East Coast, election officials are faced with new challenges: Power outages, floods and snowstorms that could all hinder voting through election day.
"When we're talking about millions of people impacted and impacted in some very tight states. Anything that moves a few votes, a few thousand here, a few thousand there, have a huge impact. Remember George W. Bush became president apparantly by a few hundred votes," says John Zogby, political analyst and founder of the Zogby Poll.
John Zogby is a political analyst and founder of the Zogby Poll. He says sandy throws a curve-ball to an already tight election.
"New York is in bad shape, the city right now, and the suburbs. That could depress democratic voter turnout. You're talking about millions of people without power right now and then we don't know how long it will be," says Zogby.
President Obama has cancelled campaign tours in order to monitor the federal response to Sandy, but some think this may actually help in his campaign.
"He's the guy who the country is looking at right now to see if this is under control and what needs to be done in the aftermath of this hurricane," says Uptin Saiidi, MTV News, New York City.
"This may be the sort of thing where looking presidential, looking in charge, and managing a crisis is something that could help," says Zogby.
"The ball is really in his court and I think storm is more advantageous to him then it would be for Mitt Romney," says Saiidi.
Oneida County Board of Elections says many people came into the office worried if they'd make it to the polls when Sandy struck. Nearly 6,000 people registered for absentee ballots.
"That's a really significant number for the county. By the number of people that wanted to make sure they were registered to vote. By the number of inquires as to whether ballots had been mailed out to them, they want to know they can exercise. They're very interested in this race, they're really interested in this race and they want to participate, they really want to be able to participate," says Pam Mandryck, Republican Commissioner for Board of Elections Oneida County.
Although there's no evidence that all 6,000 Oneida County residents applied for absentee ballots because of the storm - Board of Elections says they've never seen the numbers so high.
