After 17 months of campaign with a budget of more than $4
billion, it is decision time today for American voters in the race for the
White House between Democratic nominee, President Barack Obama and his
Republican challenger, Mitt Romney.
Obama, the 44th Commander-in-Chief, is seeking to make history for world's most-powerful office as the first Black President to be re-elected. He is also seeking to meet the records of 15 of his 43 predecessors who were re-elected, starting from the first American President, George Washington, re-elected in 1792.
One of the predecessors, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), was elected four times – 1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944. He worked with three Vice Presidents – Henry A. Wallace, John Nance Garner and Harry S. Truman. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945 at 63.
Romney wants to be in the good book of history as the 45th American President and as the first White challenger to defeat an incumbent Black President.
Voters are expected to troop out early today in most states to cast their votes in a very tight race.
There was a mild drama in the Miami-Dade County Elections Office on Sunday when it was overwhelmed with huge lines of early voters. When the office was closed because of the crowd, the electorate started protesting.
One of them said: “This is not Cuba, this is not China. We cannot allow this to happen. We must vote now”. The office was re-opened an hour later.
A Politico/George Washington University survey yesterday has the race tied at 48 per cent; an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll indicates Obama at 48 per cent and Romney 47 per cent; and the latest ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll puts Obama at 49 per cent and Romney at 48 per cent.
A Pew Research Centre survey puts Obama at 50 per cent and Romney at 47 per cent.
Today, women will play a crucial role in who wins because there are more than 10 million more women than men in the American electorate.
Much of Romney's female support comes from married, older women but Obama has more of younger female voters.
Since the 1980 election which brought the late President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, into office, women have outvoted men in every presidential election.
When Obama was elected on November 4, 2008, they cast 10 million more ballots than their male counterparts.
In the 2000, 2004 and 2008 elections, women favoured Democratic candidates.
Since the campaign started last year, Obama has focused on women more than Romney because of the extra 10 million votes.
In his campaign website, he lists 'women' as a singular issue, alongside healthcare, education and taxes.
A poll released by CNN indicates that 53 per cent of women plan to vote for Obama, compared to only 44 per cent men.
But Romney leads Obama 57 to 40 per cent among white voters while Obama tops Romney 56 to 40 per cent among voters making less than $50,000 yearly.
Romney holds a 52 to 47 per cent edge among those making more than $50,000 per year.
In geographical divides, Obama leads in the Northeast, Midwest and Urban areas while Romney is ahead in the South, West, Suburban and Rural areas.
Also, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 Senate seats are up for grabs today.
Obama's standing among women remains strong in the battleground states he will need to clinch electoral votes.
He leads among women by large margins in virtually all the swing states.
In Ohio, polls show Obama with a 12-point lead among likely women voters.
Obama's team has courted women with advertisement stressing his support for equal-pay legislation, abortion rights and contraceptive insurance coverage.
The Democratic National Convention featured high-profile women emphasising those issues.
It slammed Romney for shifting positions on abortion and contraceptive rights since his 2002 election as governor of Democratic-leaning Massachusetts and for failing to support Obama-backed legislation, easing the way for women to sue over workplace pay discrimination.
The RealClearPolitics average of polls gives Obama a lead of, at least, four percentage points in states that account for 237 electoral votes, while Romney enters the final stretch with an edge of that size in states that represent 206 electoral votes.
That leaves a reduced battlefield of eight states and 95 electoral votes, all won by Obama in the 2008 election - Colorado (nine electoral votes), Florida (29), Iowa (six), Nevada (six), New Hampshire (four), Ohio (18), Virginia (13) and Wisconsin (10).
In late October, Romney moved into a small lead or a virtual tie with Obama in Florida, Colorado, New Hampshire and Virginia, which together account for 55 electoral votes.
A sweep of all four still would leave Romney nine electoral votes short of victory.
That is why Ohio is the deciding factor for the winner.
But the tightening race has created many scenarios, including the possibility that the Electoral College winner will not capture the most votes nationwide - similar to what happened in 2000, when Republican George W. Bush (jnr) got more electoral votes than Democrat Al Gore, who received more of the popular vote.
The prominence of Ohio has also invoked memories of 2004, when Bush won re-election over Democrat John Kerry in the early hours of the morning after Election Day by a margin of less than 120,000 votes in the Midwestern state.
That is why Obama and Romney are putting time and resources into Ohio, where the incumbent has held a steady lead for months and now has an average poll advantage of more than two per cent points
If Obama wins the states where he currently has comfortable leads and adds three Midwestern states, he would have 271 electoral votes, enough to be re-elected.
Even as voters in some Hurricane Sandy-ravaged New York counties are expected to come out early today, there is the likelihood that voting may be extended till tomorrow.
County election officials could ask the New York State Board of Elections to allow polls to reopen tomorrow if today's turnout is less than 25 per cent.
The state board would consider the request and, if approved, a second day of voting would be scheduled.
Polls would be open for 11 hours on the second day, with only those who were eligible to vote yesterday allowed to cast ballots.
The state board has also temporarily combined some polling locations across all five boroughs serving 143,000 voters because of damage from Sandy.
Also, the Election Protection Coalition has launched a public service campaign to help New York and New Jersey voters find their relocated precincts.
Obama, the 44th Commander-in-Chief, is seeking to make history for world's most-powerful office as the first Black President to be re-elected. He is also seeking to meet the records of 15 of his 43 predecessors who were re-elected, starting from the first American President, George Washington, re-elected in 1792.
One of the predecessors, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), was elected four times – 1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944. He worked with three Vice Presidents – Henry A. Wallace, John Nance Garner and Harry S. Truman. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945 at 63.
Romney wants to be in the good book of history as the 45th American President and as the first White challenger to defeat an incumbent Black President.
Voters are expected to troop out early today in most states to cast their votes in a very tight race.
There was a mild drama in the Miami-Dade County Elections Office on Sunday when it was overwhelmed with huge lines of early voters. When the office was closed because of the crowd, the electorate started protesting.
One of them said: “This is not Cuba, this is not China. We cannot allow this to happen. We must vote now”. The office was re-opened an hour later.
A Politico/George Washington University survey yesterday has the race tied at 48 per cent; an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll indicates Obama at 48 per cent and Romney 47 per cent; and the latest ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll puts Obama at 49 per cent and Romney at 48 per cent.
A Pew Research Centre survey puts Obama at 50 per cent and Romney at 47 per cent.
Today, women will play a crucial role in who wins because there are more than 10 million more women than men in the American electorate.
Much of Romney's female support comes from married, older women but Obama has more of younger female voters.
Since the 1980 election which brought the late President Ronald Reagan, a Republican, into office, women have outvoted men in every presidential election.
When Obama was elected on November 4, 2008, they cast 10 million more ballots than their male counterparts.
In the 2000, 2004 and 2008 elections, women favoured Democratic candidates.
Since the campaign started last year, Obama has focused on women more than Romney because of the extra 10 million votes.
In his campaign website, he lists 'women' as a singular issue, alongside healthcare, education and taxes.
A poll released by CNN indicates that 53 per cent of women plan to vote for Obama, compared to only 44 per cent men.
But Romney leads Obama 57 to 40 per cent among white voters while Obama tops Romney 56 to 40 per cent among voters making less than $50,000 yearly.
Romney holds a 52 to 47 per cent edge among those making more than $50,000 per year.
In geographical divides, Obama leads in the Northeast, Midwest and Urban areas while Romney is ahead in the South, West, Suburban and Rural areas.
Also, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33 Senate seats are up for grabs today.
Obama's standing among women remains strong in the battleground states he will need to clinch electoral votes.
He leads among women by large margins in virtually all the swing states.
In Ohio, polls show Obama with a 12-point lead among likely women voters.
Obama's team has courted women with advertisement stressing his support for equal-pay legislation, abortion rights and contraceptive insurance coverage.
The Democratic National Convention featured high-profile women emphasising those issues.
It slammed Romney for shifting positions on abortion and contraceptive rights since his 2002 election as governor of Democratic-leaning Massachusetts and for failing to support Obama-backed legislation, easing the way for women to sue over workplace pay discrimination.
The RealClearPolitics average of polls gives Obama a lead of, at least, four percentage points in states that account for 237 electoral votes, while Romney enters the final stretch with an edge of that size in states that represent 206 electoral votes.
That leaves a reduced battlefield of eight states and 95 electoral votes, all won by Obama in the 2008 election - Colorado (nine electoral votes), Florida (29), Iowa (six), Nevada (six), New Hampshire (four), Ohio (18), Virginia (13) and Wisconsin (10).
In late October, Romney moved into a small lead or a virtual tie with Obama in Florida, Colorado, New Hampshire and Virginia, which together account for 55 electoral votes.
A sweep of all four still would leave Romney nine electoral votes short of victory.
That is why Ohio is the deciding factor for the winner.
But the tightening race has created many scenarios, including the possibility that the Electoral College winner will not capture the most votes nationwide - similar to what happened in 2000, when Republican George W. Bush (jnr) got more electoral votes than Democrat Al Gore, who received more of the popular vote.
The prominence of Ohio has also invoked memories of 2004, when Bush won re-election over Democrat John Kerry in the early hours of the morning after Election Day by a margin of less than 120,000 votes in the Midwestern state.
That is why Obama and Romney are putting time and resources into Ohio, where the incumbent has held a steady lead for months and now has an average poll advantage of more than two per cent points
If Obama wins the states where he currently has comfortable leads and adds three Midwestern states, he would have 271 electoral votes, enough to be re-elected.
Even as voters in some Hurricane Sandy-ravaged New York counties are expected to come out early today, there is the likelihood that voting may be extended till tomorrow.
County election officials could ask the New York State Board of Elections to allow polls to reopen tomorrow if today's turnout is less than 25 per cent.
The state board would consider the request and, if approved, a second day of voting would be scheduled.
Polls would be open for 11 hours on the second day, with only those who were eligible to vote yesterday allowed to cast ballots.
The state board has also temporarily combined some polling locations across all five boroughs serving 143,000 voters because of damage from Sandy.
Also, the Election Protection Coalition has launched a public service campaign to help New York and New Jersey voters find their relocated precincts.
The Compass
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