Many states in the North East are without power .PSEG in NJ has said that it would take substantially longer than 7 days to restore all the power . Many States have adopted electronic voting machines .

States may make provisions to change the election date for Senator ,House of Reps ;or any local race they choose. There are absolutely NO provisions in the Constitution to change the date of the election of the President that Congress has set.

So on top of all the massive cleanup that has to happen here ,local election boards are going to have to make provisions to move polling locations as needed ,and to provide alternate paper ballots as needed.
What a mess !

Yes that's the mess relying on technology will get you into, but then it isn't as though you didn't have warning of the possibility. It seems there might be good reasons for pre-polling

And some people think Texas having its own power grid is a bad idea. Glad you're safe, tom.

Got some house damage (peeled away siding and soffits ) and dodged a bullet when a 75 ft. oak crashed down between my neighbor's and my house.


It seems there might be good reasons for pre-polling
Nah .election day is election day.

Glad to hear no serious damage at your place Tom, I understand what a mess these storms can make but as you appear to have power you must be very lucky. The storm will allow you to focus on the real issues and may even put some climate issues in play

I can propose some discussion points but I don't have any answers nor can I pretend to be able to predict the cumulative effect,
Most of the disruption is in Obama states or Obama leaning states and anything limiting voting in those states would seem to hurt Obama.
But maybe not enough to keep Obama from getting the electoral votes of those states which increases the chance that Obama would win by electoral count but not by popular vote.
On the other hand, if Obama gets enough accolades from Guvs and others (such as the one from Christie) for his and FEMA handling of the problems caused by Sandy- maybe overall actually helps Obama and other Dems.
There are also a few close senate races in some of those affected states so maybe some will look back at some future date and say that Sandy threw control of the senate one way or the other.

Glad you and yours are safe and dry Tom. I don't think this will have much effect on how people vote, but it is a break from the high octane of the campaign and a chance to work together like we should be doing.

I have never seen a storm track like this one did.

This is a time when the incumbent can appear very Presidential and pick up a few brownie points

Yeah and crisis makes strange bed partners if you listen to Guv Christie . He's been singing the praises of the President and Nanny Bloomy told the President to stay out of NYC. But I don't think the President doing his job will sway any voters ;although if he weren't it could potentially weigh against him.

It doesn't appear that as of now that there is any serious effort to postpone the election. By my reading of the Constitution ,it would take an act of Congress . But Congress is out of Washington tending to their own campaigns.

So although it is arguably justifiable to postpone the election in this region ,I'd be surprised if anything is done .

smearcase; this storm is so massive that it does affect some critical swing states including Va , Ohio and Pa,(close enough to be considered at least a battle ground state ) . As for the Senate races ;those are state issues to decide ;only the Presidential contest's date is Constitutional specific.

Yes. I based my comments mostly on the effects on turnout, assuming that voting would be done on schedule. And any positives or negatives that come from the handling of the crisis. All those incumbent senators and representatives who tag along with the president and local officials get more exposure. I haven't seen much of Romney today. If TV time this close to elections is a critical as it has been described in the past, all this free exposure must be worth something. But folks without power can't watch it too easily.
There will be effects on the election from Sandy but other than turnout, I think it will be difficult to look back and determine what caused what.
Let's say that Congress did take action (imagine that). Would that have to be handled by normal process? Could Obama veto it?

Great question . I'll look into that . I believe so since election day is established by an act of Congress.

Tom, has Bloomberg lost his mind?


Mayor Bloomberg has snubbed Borough President Markowitz’s impassioned plea to bring the National Guard to Hurricane Sandy-scarred Brooklyn — arguing that approving the Beep’s request would be a waste of federal manpower and turn the borough into a police state (http://nation.foxnews.com/bloomberg/2012/11/03/report-bloomberg-denied-national-guard-assistance-brooklyn-because-their-possession-guns?intcmp=fly#ixzz2BDXk6ys8).

“We don’t need it,” Mayor Bloomberg said on Wednesday during a press update on the city’s ongoing Hurricane Sandy cleanup. “The NYPD is the only people we want on the street with guns.”

Um, really?

The short answer is that Bloomy has indeed lost his mind. We saw hints of it during the sloopy response to the blizzard a couple years ago. Then it began to manifest itself in his pet crusades ;of which the soft drink ban is but one of many. Then it was on full display with him insisting, until the last minute when he finally backed down,that the Marathon be held this weekend. Then instead of using the generators and supplies that were going to be used in the Marathon to take care of the people who needed it (water food supplies etc) ;he sent the generators back to NJ .
So yeah ,nothing suprises me with the nut-job running NYC .

He sent the generators back to NJ? Oh my soul.

Giuliani on Obama response to Hurricane Sandy: ‘Disgraceful … Where the hell are the generators?’
(http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/05/giuliani-on-obama-response-to-hurricane-sandy-disgraceful-where-the-hell-are-the-generators-video/#ixzz2BMqziqTa)

“It's disgraceful what he's done. It's disgraceful what his FEMA has done,” Giuliani said.


Heck of a job Craigy !


He sent the generators back to NJ? Oh my soul.

NYC Marathon generators needed by Hurricane Sandy survivors wasted in NJ lot - NYPOST.com (http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/couldn_take_it_one_lousy_mile_rbF98fD5z4Rnqj0qzDjm vK)


By the way... 2 hopelessly lib papers ,The NY Daily News ,and Newsday both switched and endorsed Romney this weekend .

Newspapers flipping seems to be happening quite a bit (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/05/swing-state-papers-flip-to-romney-ahead-election-day/).

I guess he's a shoe-in now.

Let's say that Congress did take action (imagine that). Would that have to be handled by normal process? Could Obama veto it?
The answer to that is no. The President does not have veto power over the Congress decision on an election date. Anyway ,it is not going to happen. Many voting locations here in NY /NJ are being changed . Other than that ;the vote proceeds .

Wondering when the greater media will wake up to the conditions of the Sandy refugees . Imagine if it was Bush in office and this was going on .

Bitter cold inside a disaster shelter | The Asbury Park Press NJ | app.com (http://www.app.com/viewart/20121109/NJNEWS/311090027/Oceanport-sandy-shelter)

FEMA now expects Homeland Security czar Janet Napolitano to appear before Congress and request a taxpayer bailout for FEMA flood-insurance.

wondering when the greater media will wake up to the conditions of the Sandy refugees . Imagine if it was Bush in office and this was going on .

Bitter cold inside a disaster shelter | The Asbury Park Press NJ | app.com (http://www.app.com/viewart/20121109/NJNEWS/311090027/Oceanport-sandy-shelter)

FEMA now expects Homeland Security czar Janet Napolitano to appear before Congress and request a taxpayer bailout for FEMA flood-insurance.

Been watching these people beg for help for weeks now and wondering that same thing. A photo-op (http://washingtonexaminer.com/sandy-victim-to-obama-where-have-you-been/article/2513568#.UKpK52f1bf3) doesn't get these people heat.


Potus visited a FEMA and SBA disaster tent as a loud crowds of about a 100 locals looked on and yelled for his attention, as well as a tent holding boxes of toiletries, as well cans of soup. (Campbell's was well represented) and boxed food to victims of Sandy.

Pooler got to talk with a girl who was getting some supplies. She said her house was on the beach but "it's gone." She laughed and said it's "still standing..." but they can't live in it. They're living [with] family.

She said of the president:

"We need help--he should of been here a long time ago."

A young hispanic man who just met the president said he "lost everything; I lost my job."

"Thanks so much," he said he wanted to say to the president.

I don't understand why this shouldn't be Obama's Katrina moment... you'd think Springsteen would come out and say he doesn't care about white people.

Heck of a Job !

You're doing a heck of a job Brownie.!!!!!

Angry New Yorkers say Obama pledge to cut red tape ignored by FEMA | Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/30/staten-island-residents-vent-frustration-at-fema-other-agencies-during-town/)

Yeau but Obama got his photo-op (http://www.northjersey.com/news/180472521_Photo_essay__A_hug_from_Obama__but_no_ot her_help.html).

30 days after Katrina... wasn't it still front page news ?

So what will help these refugees/survivors the most? What came out of that meeting? Do they need to rethink the trailer setup? Where can the homeless ones live for the next six months or more (especially if they want to keep their jobs)? Are clean up and rebuilding going on already? Are there plans to beef up the shoreline, or are homes just going to be rebuilt where they had been?

So what will help these refugees/survivors the most? What came out of that meeting? Do they need to rethink the trailer setup? Where can the homeless ones live for the next six months or more (especially if they want to keep their jobs)? Are clean up and rebuilding going on already? Are there plans to beef up the shoreline, or are homes just going to be rebuilt where they had been?

Can't answer all those questions . But it seems Nanny Bloomy is more concerned with taking Federal Relief money to expand the NYC subway system .

Bloomberg questions using fed disaster aid to protect New York's subways from future flooding - NY Daily News (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/bloomberg-questions-aid-protect-flooding-ny-subways-article-1.1210855)

Or musing about what construction material will be used to rebuild the Rockaway boardwalk.

Bloomberg Says No More Wooden Boardwalks in Rockaways - NYTimes.com (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/01/nyregion/bloomberg-says-no-more-wooden-boardwalks-in-rockaways.html?_r=0)

I know someone who lives in one of the NJ shore communities. The days he's permitted to go into his home are at best irregular . He was lucky in that a wall of water crashed into his house... but blew out a sliding door so the water had someplace to go once inside his house. He tells me that he got a contractor in to rip out the sheet rock... and all his furniture etc is ruined and already piled on the side of the road . He is lucky in that he owns a 2nd home so he is not homeless. He hasn't seen FEMA or even his insurance adjuster .

The answer to your question about the trailers is yes . The people at the meeting cheered at the suggestion. There are many people here living in tent cities on cots and still a few districts where kids have not been back to school. The idiot elected officials of Staten Island now say maybe it's a good idea to get some of them FEMA trailers . Not sure if they are insulated ,but if they are not it will be a long cold winter for any inhabitant .
Meanwhile here is a great Christmas tale .
'Secret Santa' hands out $100 bills to stunned Sandy survivors in Staten Island - Holiday Blog (http://holidayblog.today.com/_news/2012/11/30/15569055-secret-santa-hands-out-100-bills-to-stunned-sandy-survivors-in-staten-island?chromedomain=usnews)

He hasn't seen FEMA or even his insurance adjuster .
Has he made a call to them? The people I know had to call, otherwise FEMA doesn't don't know who you are and your adjuster has to get a report from you too.

LOL, the bigget regional logistical nightmare and we expect instant results. Sandy showed the holes in the grand plan that goes back decades as most disasters do. Think years not months. Katrina, BP, Exxon Valdez, and many more are still a long way from being solved.

Bush was a racist because of the response to Katrina... remember ?

Bush was incompetent and useless in a crisis, I don't follow the thinking that inaction is the result of racism rather than just incompetence. There are certain individuals who are just swamped by the alternatives they face and take unreasonable amounts of time to decide a course of action

And yet the government response to Katrina was at least as good as it's been for Sandy.

Response is what it is, but perhaps this time response was swifter

No it wasn't... in fact they have been slower beyond the President's promise to cut red tape and a couple photo op fly overs . The election took the public's mind off this sooner is one of the big difference... and of course the compliant media has not pressed the issue.

30 days after Katrina ....wasn't it still front page news ?

I think it's still news.