As much of America's East Coast braces for Hurricane Sandy, politicians and campaign officials are estimating that it could impact voter turnout for the election, now less than two weeks away. Though the exact trajectory of the storm is still unknown, the superstorm is likely to hit several swing states, including Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia, where the outcome is already hard to predict. Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, told TPM, "It depends on where it hits and how much, it’s just impossible to say in advance." Sabato added that "If Obama were directing the snowstorm it would be in the Shenandoah valley and Southwest Virginia as they want as low a turnout as possible in those rural areas. If Romney were directing the snowstorm, it would go right down the corridor from Northern Virginia into Richmond, which is where Obama’s votes come from.”
David Axelrod, senior strategist for President Barack Obama's re-election campaign, said this morning, “Obviously we want unfettered access to the polls because we believe the more people who come out, the better we’re going to do," but expressed that his primary concern was for safety, “The best thing we can do is to focus on how we can help people, and hope it all clears out by next weekend."
Shares