Election 2008 Facts and Stats

After months of campaigning, hours of election speeches and debates, and hundreds of opinion polls tracking the ebb and flow of the 2008 U.S. presidential election, the decision time is finally near.

But how much do you actually know about the voting process? Do you know what happens if the electoral vote is tied, which state is home to the most presidents, and why voting traditionally takes place in early November?

Read more to find out...

Interesting Facts and Statistics  

The Reddest States

There are two competitive battleground states that haven’t voted for a Democratic president since 1964: Indiana and Virginia. They join rock-solid red states like Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. However, South Dakota and Nebraska’s Congressional District 2 are within the realm for Obama if he continues on this current trajectory.

Turnout For 2008

Turnout is estimated to possibly reach 140 million. That would be a 14.5% increase. Some estimate that turnout may jump as high as 20 percent. That would mean 146.7 million people turn out. But only twice since 1924 has voter turnout increased that much—in 1928 (when it jumped 21.1 percent) and 1952 (when it went up 20.7 percent).

Early Voting

Up to a third of all votes are expected to be cast early. The very first in-person vote cast in the 2008 general election was for John McCain in Louisville, Kentucky. The second went to Barack Obama. Votes were cast in some odd places and ways—by drive-through in Orange County, Calif., in airports in Sarah Palin's home state of Alaska and even in shopping malls in North Carolina.

What if There's a Tie?

“If the electoral vote is tied, the Constitution’s 12th Amendment requires that the election be thrown into the newly elected House. There, each state, regardless of population, would have one vote,” writes The Cook Political Report’s Charlie Cook. “The votes of 26 states would be required to elect a president. Otherwise, the Senate elected vice president would act as president until the House could agree.”

U.S. Senate

Democrats need nine pick-ups in Senate races to earn a “filibuster-proof” 60-seat majority. It’s possible. There are 10 targets in Democratic sights—three of them lean toward the Democrats, six are toss ups and one other, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s seat, leans toward the Republicans. The wildcard—will Joe Lieberman continue to caucus with the Democrats after the election? If not, Democrats will need to win all 10 targets.

U.S. House

Republicans will experience their second straight cycle of losses in the House. The only question is, “How many seats will they lose?” The Cook Political Report’s David Wasserman predicts a net loss of 23 to 28 seats for the GOP, with the best possible night for House Republicans being a net loss of 15 seats and at worst, 35. Turnout makes the outcomes in many of these districts unpredictable. For example, an influx of African-American voters in a district like AL-02, where the black population brushes 30 percent, could push a toss-up district towards the Democrats.

Biggest Pick-Ups

The largest House and Senate gains for a president’s party was in 1932, when Democrats picked up 97 House seats and 12 Senate seats. The largest House and Senate gains for the party opposing the president was 23 House seats in 1916 and 10 Senate seats in 1900.

Campaign Finance

Obama backed away from an earlier pledge to take public funds and raised a record $150 million ($5 million a day, or $1 million every five hours) in September. As a result of that record-breaking September, Obama was able to swamp the airwaves and spent $106 million in the first two weeks of October. That’s about $7.1 million a day, or $293,000 an hour.

CONTINUED : Did You Know: US Election Facts

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