Early And Absentee Voting Won Florida For Obama

[Hope And Change]

Early And Absentee Voting Won Florida For Obama

By http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/sargent">Greg Sargent - November 20, 2008, 4:19PM

This, from the Associated Press, is http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/11/early_absentee_voting_pushed_o.php">just fascinating:

More Floridians voted for John McCain than Barack Obama on Election Day, but the Democrat sealed his victory in the state by winning more early and absentee votes.

An Associated Press study of 94 percent of the state's total shows that the Republican beat Obama by almost 5 percentage points on Nov. 4, but Obama trumped McCain by 11 percentage points in early and absentee balloting. Overall, Obama beat McCain 51.4 percent to 48.6 percent in Florida, becoming only the third Democrat in 11 presidential elections to carry the state.

In other words, early and absentee voting put Obama over the top in this key Bush state. Keep in mind that the Obama campaign was very aggressive in pushing supporters to vote early, with Obama or his wife Michelle, or Joe Biden, or other surrogates pushing the message at virtually every rally.

Chalk this up as just another way that the Obama campaign revolutionized modern campaigns -- from now on, no serious presidential campaign will dare not attempt a sophisticated early-voting strategy. And it's yet another reminder, as if you needed one, of just how well-planned and executed the Obama campaign really was.


http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/11/early_and_absentee_voting_won.php">TPM ELECTIONCENTRAL

[villager]

1. In other words, going around the "voting" macnhines?

n/t

[ddeclue]

2. ABSOLUTELY!

I was saying this for a long time BEFORE election day that if we were to win we'd have to do it through EV and ABV. We need to focus MORE on ABV in Florida for that matter so as to get rid of the "long line" problems.

Doug D.

[Clio the Leo]

3. Yep, I knew it the moment I heard the local organizer pleading for folks to vote early..

.... "and then make sure all of your friends vote early!"

And when I saw that early vote start to actually happen!

It was a good day!

[Joe the Liberal]

4. I dont see why more people dont vote absentee....

It's more convenient, you don't have to wait in line for hours at a time, you can take your time and do some research. On top of all that its on paper so you don't have to use those voting machines that could easily be tampered with. I voted absentee and plan to keep doing so and I'll encourage others to do the same.

[Berry Cool]

5. Sarah Silverman will be disappointed.

She thought it was the Schlep.

[tblue]

7. So maybe the Bubbes early voted? Nu? Do me something.

[FLAprogressive]

6. A vote is a vote is a vote....99% of the time anyway.

[AtomicKitten]

8. Winning Florida was the frosting on the cake. Tasty.

:patriot:
:party:

[HockeyMom]

9. I waited on line for an hour and a half

the week before election day. What McCain supporter would do that? My republican husband voted ON election day and said there were no lines whatsoever.

I guess those statistics were right.

[1corona4u]

10. Yep, took me less than 3 minutes to vote on ED.

[Jack Sprat]

11. Good, I helped as an early-voter