History Favors Obama in New Jersey

State has given its electoral votes to a Democrat in the last five elections.

If history is any indication, Barack Obama should have no problem winning New Jersey's 14 electoral votes in his quest for re-election on Tuesday.  In the past four presidential elections, the Republican candidate has never been within 240,000 votes, and only once did a candidate get within 500,000 of his Democratic opponent.   A look at statistics kept by the state shows that in the last four elections, incumbent president George W. Bush was the closest at picking up the NJ's nod, still losing to John Kerry by more than 240,000 votes. The biggest winner among the Democratic candidates in that span was incumbent Barack Obama, who won the state by more than 600,000 votes in 2008. The closest vote in 20 years came in 1992, when Bill Clinton …

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GOP Will Benefit From Down Voter Turnout, NJ Insiders Say

Both parties also approve of governor's level of support for those more affected by Sandy.

Republicans will be mostly likely to benefit from a down voter turnout Tuesday in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, New Jersey political insiders believe. According to a Patch poll of state elected officials and party insiders, 15 of 22 Republican respondents believe voter turnout will be down slightly from where it would have been otherwise. Of 27 Democratic respondents, 26 expect there will be either a slight or sharp decline in turnout.  "The areas likely to remain without power by Tuesday are predominantly smaller, suburban and rural communities that are typically Republican bases," one Republican respondent said. "Power restoration to urban areas, with higher Democratic concentration, seems to have been prioritized," the respondent …

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Rick

1:27 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013

Tells me that observer is about three months late with that remark.   more ›

Hurricane Sandy

State Eases Voting Restrictions to Accommodate Storm-Battered Residents

A New Jersey governor's office directive issued Thursday makes it easier for voters to cast last-minute ballots this year.

In an effort to accommodate NJ voters affected by Hurricane Sandy, the governor's office issued a directive Thursday evening easing voting restrictions and ordering election offices to remain open through the weekend. Per Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno's directive, the state has extended the deadline for mail-in ballot applications -- normally due no later than one week before election day -- to close of business Friday, to make voting more accessible. Additionally, the state has ordered that county clerks and all election offices remain open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from Friday, Nov. 2 until Monday, Nov. 5 to accommodate early in-person voting. By law, voters may apply for and submit in person a mail-in ballot at their county clerk's office …

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