Though we can't be entirely certain, it seems that, thankfully, tonight Barack Obama will be elected President of the United States.But how will my state vote?
When I lived in Rhode Island, national election day news coverage of the votes there was virtually non-existent. It was like we didn't exist. And that was for a few reasons. First of all, it was never a question of how RI would vote. It was always Democratic. I think we had gone for Reagan in '84, but so did every other state (except Minnesota, Mondale's home state). Secondly, RI, the smallest state in the country, has only 4 electoral votes. And lastly, there was never any technical problem with the mechanics of voting. RI used, and I would guess still does use, those old-fashioned lever-operated booths. They may be old, but they work perfectly fine. Why each state and county couldn't invest in these or a more updated version of them is beyond me.
Here in Florida though, it's quite a different scene.
Though it's considered pretty much a red state, big sections of the state are getting more and more blue; like Miami-Dade and environs, and, here in the Orlando area. The dynamics are a' changing.
Next, the population of Florida is around 18 million, making it the 4th most populous state and holding 27 electoral votes. And with the election so close, especially here in Florida, the jury is definitely out as to how the state will swing.
So do you think we citizens of Florida have been inundated by TV, radio and print ads of late from both parties? Um, lets just say I'm a consumer that has no idea anymore what to shop for since all merchandise advertising has pretty much been displaced by campaign ads!
Who would have thought I'd be wishing for commercials to come back? I miss my GEICO cavemen, Raisin Nut Bran fanatics and bathtub-soaking Levitra lovers! :)
And as far as voting technical issues...
Um, remember 2000? Hanging chads, non-felons with similar names told they were ineligible, absentee ballots being counted without verification they were received before election day, Kathleen "I never met make-up I didn't like" Harris, Supreme Court awarding the win to someone who didn't win the national popular vote! And it all came down to Florida swinging by court order to Bush, with a margin of victory of just 0.0092%!
Not this year we can only hope.
You can be assured that when I filled-in the oval with my marker ink next to the Obama/Biden slot I made sure it was well filled-in.
We won't have "partially filled oval" as the new controversy!
At least not with my vote.