In Florida, Democrats close absentee ballot gap (over 2008)

[Mutiny In Heaven]

http://www.pnj.com/viewart/20121011/NEWS01/310110004/76-000-absentee-ballots-cast-far-Florida

So far, Romney’s campaign has a slight edge in absentee voting. Republicans have requested 894,544 absentee ballots and returned 33,143, compared to 820,865 requested and 31,305 returned by Democrats, according to the Romney campaign. Independent and minor party voters have requested 374,551 ballots and returned 12,083. The state Democratic Party has numbers that reflect the same ratio of requested and returned ballots. The state only releases the information to political parties, elections officials and candidates until the election is over.

At the same point before the 2008 election, Democrats lagged even further in absentee ballot requests, with Republicans requesting nearly 730,000 ballots compared to just more than 517,000 for Democrats, according to figures provided by the Obama campaign. Traditionally, Republicans have voted absentee in larger numbers than Democrats, but Obama still won the majority of votes cast before Election Day in 2008.

[kstewart33]

1. Looking better this time around. Thanks for the info! nt

[alcibiades_mystery]

2. Ground organization, doors knocked, real street level politics

almost never makes good news copy, or fodder for political forums. It looks too nebulous; it's boring. It's not as exciting as poll watching, but it is the real work of political action.

The Obama team has spent tens of millions, and maybe more, on ground-level organizing. From a 210,000 gap to a 74,000 gap in four years? That's very good organizing, it what it is. But it's not visible. It's not an interesting news story to see ordinary volunteers going door to door or through the call list, informing people about absentee ballots. That's boring to the news media. That's boring to the poll junkies. Until after election day, of course, when some genius realizes that it was the story all along.