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Crowding the Voter Rolls

October 02, 2008 7:53 AM

ABC News’ John Berman, Sunlen Miller, and Ursula Fahy Report: Over the last few weeks, Barack Obama has been playing before big crowds at big rallies delivering scripted speeches by teleprompter, eschewing small policy events or town meetings where he would take questions from the crowd.

Why?

The answer is timing. Obama spokesperson Jen Psaki says, “It is an important time to excite voters.”  Many states have approaching voter registration deadlines, or have already opened the doors to early voting.  In Michigan, where Obama was on Thursday, the deadline to register is October 6th.  Voter rolls have reportedly increased by 100,000 in Michigan since January 1st.   And the Obama campaign is making a big push for more; “the big rally events are a key organizing tool for the campaign,” says Psaki, a time to sign up volunteers, rally the base, and reach out to people who have not voted before.

Crowd-size estimates are notoriously unreliable, but according to official accounts provided by the Obama campaign, he spoke before nearly 16,000 people in Grand Rapids, MI today, and 35,000 in Detroit on Sunday.

The Obama team is bringing out the big guns to sign-up voters in Michigan, with hip-hop star Jay Z holding a concert in Detroit on Saturday, and Bruce Springsteen in Ypsilanti on Monday.

Other big recent crowds include 12,000 in Reno, NV on Tuesday where early voting begins on October 18th, and more than 25,000 in Virginia last Saturday, where early voting has already begun.

The early votes are particularly precious to both campaigns, “They are people you don't have to worry about on election day during that crunch period of 16 hours or so,” says Larry Sabato, a professor of political science at the University of Virginia. “You know that they've already voted and you can focus on the ones who haven't shown up,” he says.
   
The Obama campaign claims that smaller, intimate events will still be part of the campaign approaching election day.

October 2, 2008 in Political Radar | Permalink | Share | User Comments (100)

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The answer is Uh,uh,uh,uh,uh, I gotta bracelet too, it's Sgt. uh, his mother, uh,uh uh

Posted by: geevill | Oct 2, 2008 7:56:37 AM

The soldier's mother was overjoyed that Obama said her son's name during the debate, But then a slug like "geevill" would have a clue about honoring the fallen.

Posted by: algwriter | Oct 2, 2008 8:09:50 AM

great obush will be elected and will have another 4 years of ego over expereience, another four years of education over knowledge, another 4 years of corruption.
And we'll add in obama's sexism and race baiting.

this is gonna be great..
for no one

Posted by: trettione | Oct 2, 2008 8:09:58 AM

Obama was doing "celebrity" big crowds throughout the primaries but was goaded into these boring tiny townhalls in front of a few hundred people giving a boring policy speech.

After Palin was drawing her big crowds when Obama was doing dinky crowds, Obama said to himself, hey I was the orginal celebrity in this race so let's go back to the big crowds of 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 and beyond.

Posted by: Sandra | Oct 2, 2008 8:11:17 AM

You can always look forward to geevills well thought out and knowledgable comments. Guess who she will be voting for?

Posted by: Truth Matters | Oct 2, 2008 8:12:00 AM

Obama should really focus on Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Nevada. These 5 red states have real potential of turning blue.

I think he has PA and MI in the bag.

Posted by: Vanessa | Oct 2, 2008 8:12:41 AM

Quite, simply, "Obama is an idiot!"

Posted by: Obama=Pelosi=Losers | Oct 2, 2008 8:13:14 AM

trettione: although your comments are about 95" false; at least 5 percent is true...You seem to have faced the reality that Obama will be elected...

Posted by: Obama08 | Oct 2, 2008 8:13:14 AM

VOTER FRAUD ALREADY IN OHIO, BY OBAMA THUGS..http://www.michellemalkin.com

Posted by: Seig Heil Obama | Oct 2, 2008 8:13:21 AM

GEE EVIL Has no respect for dead soliders how pathetic!

Posted by: angie | Oct 2, 2008 8:15:10 AM

It's because when he goes off the telepromptor, he sounds like the empty suit that he is. Uhh, umm, let me think, etc., etc., etc. He really is the manchurian candidate.

Posted by: Lynne | Oct 2, 2008 8:17:17 AM

WriteHillaryIn.com

Posted by: chris | Oct 2, 2008 8:18:10 AM

I thought about Obama this morning, and then I flushed!

LOL!

Posted by: ObammyMama | Oct 2, 2008 8:19:51 AM

given the pathetic quality of the major party nominees, it is no wonder Americans have been stupid enough to give dubya two terms - we really do deserve the leaders we elect

Posted by: chris | Oct 2, 2008 8:20:01 AM

McCain/Palin 08!
"COUNTRY FIRST!"

Posted by: Obama=Pelosi=Losers | Oct 2, 2008 8:21:19 AM

HA HA HA HA HA, A Republican accusing a Democrat of voter fraud! HA HA HA HA HA HA

Posted by: jim | Oct 2, 2008 8:26:48 AM

WHERE ARE OBAMA'S EX-GIRLFRIENDS??

DID HE HAVE ANY??

ANY AT ALL?

Posted by: carpenter.nyc | Oct 2, 2008 8:31:33 AM

OBAMA IS KICKING BUTT.

BYE-BYE REPUBS. YOUR 'PARTY' IS OVER.

Posted by: Ed from MA | Oct 2, 2008 8:35:42 AM

Obama does tend to struggle for words during unscripted moments but what he says is always thoughtful.

Palin rarely struggles for words but "sentences to nowhere" (following Bill Maher) are all that come out of her mouth. Oh yes, she doesn't blink, either.

I am all ready to watch her deliver "glittering generalities" (in one of her previous opponents' words) tonight.

Posted by: chris | Oct 2, 2008 8:39:13 AM

Hey geevil--get a brain you moron.! Its people like you in this country with no intelligent capacity that scare the hell out of the rest of us normal stable men and women !!!

Posted by: Dan A | Oct 2, 2008 8:47:48 AM

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