Guide To Watching Tonight's Election Returns

Wednesday, 5 November 2008, 1:38 pm
Column: Scoop Link

For full story see…
t r u t h o u t | Guide to Watching Tonight's Election Returns

Washington - Just a few hours now, and we'll know who will be the country's 44th president. To help you know the real score as it happens, here's a quick guide of what to watch for Tuesday night starting at 7 p.m. EST.

Keeping Score: The best way to keep score is to start with the 2004 result, when the Republicans won 286 electoral college votes and the Democrats won 252.

Then, any time McCain wins a state his party did not win in 2004, add the state's total electoral college votes to the 286 and subtract it from the Democrats' 252.

For example, if McCain wins Pennsylvania and its 21 votes, add that to his column for a running total of 307 and subtract it from the Obama column, for a running total of 231.

At the same time, any time Obama wins a state his party did not win last time, add that to the 252 and subtract it from the Republicans.

So, if Obama wins Virginia and its 13 votes, add it to Obama's starting base of 252 for a running total of 265, and reduce McCain's running total to 273.

States to Watch: Most states are solidly in one column or the other and can be ignored. New York will vote Democratic, for example. So watch the states that are close and might switch from the 2004 result.

The watch list, from East to West as polls are scheduled to close:

7 p.m. EST: Georgia, Indiana, and Virginia.
7:30 p.m. EST: Ohio, North Carolina.
8 p.m. EST: Florida, New Hampshire, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.
9 p.m. EST: Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Mexico.
10 p.m. EST: Iowa, Nevada.
11 p.m. EST: North Dakota.

Lines to Watch: Many states could keep polls open late if people are still in line.

Tripwires: If Indiana is too close to call, it suggests problems for McCain. It's the most Republican of the early states Tuesday night, and he should win it comfortably if he's doing OK.

For full story see…
t r u t h o u t | Guide to Watching Tonight's Election Returns

© Scoop Media

Scoop

Scoop Independent News

Scoop is NZ's largest independent news source; respected widely in media, political, business and academic circles for being the place on the internet for publishing "what was really said", and for the quality of its analysis of issues.

Contact Scoop

• Editorial - editor@scoop.co.nz
• Twitter - @ScoopNZ
• Facebook
• YouTube
• Services - services@scoop.co.nz
• Phone - 04 910 1844