U.S. election: With race down to the wire, Romney and Ryan swarm swing states as Obama shoots hoops

National Post Wire Services | Nov 6, 2012 5:26 PM ET -- Source

A combination photograph shows U.S. President Barack Obama making a phone call to a volunteer for his campaign during a visit to a campaign field office in Chicago, and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney (R) talking to the supervisor of a Wedny's Restaurant during an impromptu visit in Richmond Heights, Ohio respectively on election day, November 6, 2012.

With the race down to the wire Tuesday, Mitt Romney and Ryan made several campaign stops Tuesday in Ohio and Pennsylvania, two swing states that the Republicans believe are close enough to swing their way. Both voted for President Barack Obama in 2008 and polls show both are slightly leaning towards the Democrat.

The last minute stops by the Republicans was countered by a surprise visit from Vice President Joe Biden. Biden arrived in Cleveland on Air Force Two, while Romney’s plane was on the tarmac not far away.

In a dramatic contrast of style, Obama returned to his hometown of Chicago Tuesday, to visit campaign offices, work the phones, and to take in his traditional election day game of basketball on a team including former Chicago Bulls players Scottie Pippen and Randy Brown.

Obama has played basketball on every election day during his presidential runs, with the exception of the 2008 primary in New Hampshire, which he lost to Hillary Clinton.

Capping a long and bitter presidential campaign — the most expensive in history — Americans have been casting their votes at polling stations across the country. At least 120 million people were expected to render judgment on whether to give Obama a second term or replace him with Romney.

Their decision will set the country’s course for the next four years on spending, taxes, healthcare and foreign policy challenges like the rise of China and Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

National opinion polls show Obama and Romney in a virtual dead heat, although the Democratic incumbent has a slight advantage in several vital swing states — most notably Ohio — that could give him the 270 electoral votes needed to win the state-by-state contest.

Romney, the multimillionaire former head of a private equity firm, would be the first Mormon president and one of the wealthiest Americans to occupy the White House.

Obama, the country’s first black president, seeks to avoid being relegated to a single term, something that has happened to only one of the previous three occupants of the White House.

Whichever candidate wins, a razor-thin margin might not bode well for the clear mandate needed to help break the partisan gridlock in Washington.

Romney voted at a community center near his home in a Boston suburb, before dashing off for a pair of last-minute stops, including Ohio. “I feel great about Ohio,” he said when asked about a state that is considered a must-win for him.

In a strange convergence of campaign planes that underscored the importance both sides have pinned on Ohio, Vice President Joe Biden made a surprise landing in Cleveland just minutes after Romney touched down, in what looked like an attempt to steal the Republican’s thunder.

Romney stayed onboard until the Biden motorcade cleared the tarmac, which soon became even more crowded when running mate Paul Ryan’s plane landed to join him on the Cleveland visit.

Settling into his hometown of Chicago, Obama made a final pitch to morning commuters in toss-up states that have been an almost obsessive focus of both campaigns, and made a surprise visit to a local field office staffed with volunteers.

“Four years ago, we had incredible turnout,” Obama told a Miami radio station in a pre-recorded interview. “I know people we’re excited and energized about the prospect of making history, but we have to preserve the gains we’ve made.”

He called a hip-hop music station in Tampa, Florida, in a final outreach to African-American supporters, telling listeners that voting was “central to moving our community forward.”

Fueled by record spending on negative ads, the battle between the two men was focused primarily on the lagging economic recovery and persistently high unemployment, but at times it also turned personal.

REUTERS/Brian SnyderRepublican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan (R) look at the menu while ordering at a Wendy's restaurant during the U.S. presidential election in Richmond Heights, Ohio November 6, 2012.

BOOSTING TURNOUT

As Americans headed to voting booths, campaign teams for both candidates worked the phones feverishly to mobilize supporters to cast their ballots.

Polls will begin to close in Indiana and Kentucky at 6 p.m. EST on Tuesday, with voting ending across the country over the next six hours. Ohio closes at 7:30 p.m. EST.

The first results, by tradition, were tallied in Dixville Notch and Hart’s Location, both in New Hampshire, shortly after midnight. Obama and Romney each received five votes in Dixville Notch. In Hart’s Location, Obama had 23 votes to nine for Romney and two for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.

The close race raises the prospect of a disputed outcome similar to the 2000 election, which ended with a U.S. Supreme Court decision favoring George W. Bush over Al Gore after legal challenges to the close vote in Florida. Both the Romney and Obama campaigns have assembled legal teams to deal with possible voting problems, challenges or recounts.

REUTERS/Jason Reed U.S. President Barack Obama hugs a volunteer from his campaign during a visit to his campaign field office in Chicago, on election day November 6, 2012.

The balance of power in the U.S. Congress also will be at stake in Senate and House of Representatives races that could impact the outcome of “fiscal cliff” negotiations on spending cuts and tax increases, which kick in at the end of the year unless a deal is reached.

Obama’s Democrats are now expected to narrowly hold their Senate majority, while Romney’s Republicans are favoured to retain House control.

Despite uncertainty about the presidential outcome, U.S. stocks climbed on speculation the election would produce a clear winner. World stock exchanges also rose but the election kept trading subdued. “It’s a relief that hopefully the election will be over,” said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co. in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Despite the weak economy, Obama appeared in September to be cruising to a relatively easy win after a strong party convention and a series of stumbles by Romney, including a secretly recorded video showing the Republican writing off 47% of the electorate as government-dependent victims.

But Romney rebounded in the first debate on October 3 in Denver, where his sure-footed criticism of the president and Obama’s listless response started a slow rise for Romney in polls. Obama seemed to regain his footing in recent days at the head of federal relief efforts for victims of superstorm Sandy in the New York-New Jersey area.

The presidential contest is now likely to be determined by voter turnout.

Weather could be a factor. Much of the nation was dry and mild, though rain was forecast later on Tuesday in the Southeast, including Florida, an important swing state.

In the closing act of the 2012 election drama, both men expressed confidence in winning. But Obama hedged slightly, saying, after the Chicago campaign office visit, that “it’s going to depend ultimately on whether those votes turn out.”

Kathryn Blaze Carlson/National PostThe “Romney-Ryan Dozer” makes its last campaign stop, pulling up to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center after a three-week crosscountry blitz.

FINAL SPRINT

Like the divided electorate itself, Eoin O’Shea and his wife, Ann Marie, a South Philadelphia couple, split their vote. Both are 39 years old. He went for Obama. She supported Romney.

“We still love and respect each other,” he said.

But some voters saw the choice in starker terms.

“It’s about worrying about what is going to happen if our country is led by the wrong person,” said Obama supporter Sylvia Zaal, 38, after voting in Milwaukee.

Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesMike Wigart (2nd L), 30, secures his surfboard against a ballot box during U.S. presidential elections at a polling station in the garage of the Los Angeles County lifeguard headquarters on November 6, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. Californians will cast ballots in dozens of tight races including Gov. Jerry Brown's tax plan, abolishing the death penalty, easing the state's strict "three strikes" sentencing law and also in the Presidential race between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

Voting appeared to go smoothly in most places.

But thousands of voters in storm-struck New York and New Jersey encountered frustration, confusion and long lines as they tried to cast ballots. Election officials face unprecedented challenges because polling stations were among the thousands of buildings damaged by superstorm Sandy eight days ago.

Obama and Romney raced through seven battleground states on Monday courting the last remaining undecided voters.

Obama focused on Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa, swing states that, barring surprises elsewhere, would ensure he reaches the 270 electoral votes needed to win. Romney visited Florida, Virginia and Ohio before finishing in New Hampshire.

He wrapped up his tour in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday with a speech that hearkened back to how the state helped launch him toward victory in his 2008 “hope and change” campaign. He wiped away tears as he reflected on his political journey.

AFP PHOTO/Jim WATSONJIM WATSON/AFP/Getty ImagesThree Obama supporters walk around the south side of Chicago, IL, November 6, 2012 wearing Obama and Romney masks holding placards asking people to vote. Citizens around the United States head to the polls to vote on the country's next president including in Ohio, a state with 18 electoral votes, were the race between US President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney is very close.

Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, ended Monday in Manchester, New Hampshire, where he started his campaign last year. “We’re one day away from a fresh start,” he told a rally.

Obama ridiculed Romney’s claims to be the candidate of change and said the challenger would be a rubber stamp for a conservative Tea Party agenda. Romney argued that four more years of Obama could mean another economic recession.

The common denominator for both was Ohio. Without its 18 electoral votes, the path to victory is very narrow for Romney. No Republican has won the White House without winning the state.

Polls have shown Obama with a small but steady lead in Ohio, due in part by his support for a federal bailout of the auto industry, which accounts for one of every eight jobs there. That undercut Romney’s central argument that his business experience made him uniquely qualified to create jobs.

Romney’s aides also hoped an 11th-hour visit on Tuesday could boost his chances in Pennsylvania, a Democratic-leaning state that he has tried to put in play in recent weeks.

Obama fought back through the summer with ads criticizing Romney’s experience at the private equity firm Bain Capital and portraying him as out of touch with ordinary Americans.

AP Photo/Matt RourkeVice President Joe Biden, accompanied by his son Beau Biden, his wife, Hallie and their daughter Natalie, stands in line to cast his ballot at Alexis I. duPont High School, Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2012, in Greenville, Del.

That was part of a barrage of advertising from both candidates and their party allies, who raised a combined $2-billion. The rise of “Super PACs” — unaffiliated outside groups — also helped fuel the record spending on political ads.

Obama, following his Election Day ritual of playing basketball, already voted in October using early voting procedures — as have up to 35 to 40% of voters nationwide, either by mail-in ballots or in person.

Biden stood patiently to cast his ballot in his home state Delaware. Asked if this would be the last time he would vote for himself, Biden he said with a grin: “No, I don’t think so.” The 69-year-old former U.S. senator, who twice ran unsuccessfully for the White House, has not ruled out a 2016 run.

SPORADIC PROBLEMS AT THE POLLS

Sporadic problems were reported Tuesday at polling places around the country, including a confrontation in Pennsylvania involving Republican inspectors over access to some polls and a voting machine that lit up for Republican Mitt Romney even when a voter pressed the button for President Barack Obama.

One Florida elections office mistakenly told voters in robocalls the election was on Wednesday.

Although the majority of complaints were simply extremely long lines, the Election Protection coalition of civil rights and voting access groups said they had gotten some more serious calls among more than 40,000 received on a toll-free voter protection hotline.

“It’s already started and it’s busy,” said Barbara Arnwine, president of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about voter ID. Apparently the poll workers were not adequately trained

In Philadelphia, the Republican Party said 75 legally credentialed voting inspectors were blocked from polling places in the heavily Democratic city, prompting the GOP to obtain a court order providing them access. Local prosecutors were also looking into the reports. Democratic Party officials did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Also in central Pennsylvania, officials said the voting machine that switched a person’s vote from Obama to Romney has been recalibrated and is back in service.

Pennsylvania Department of State spokesman Ron Ruman says the Perry County voter notified elections officials of the problem after trying to cast his ballot Tuesday. Video of what Ruman called a “momentary glitch” was widely viewed on YouTube.

Pennsylvania was also the scene of what a state Common Cause official called “widespread” confusion over voter ID requirements. The state this year enacted a new photo ID requirement but it was put on hold for Tuesday’s election by a judge amid concern many voters would not be able to comply on time.

Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause in Pennsylvania, said election workers in many places were demanding IDs even though they are not required. It was unclear, however, just how many voters may have been turned away or discouraged.

“There seems to be a lot of confusion about voter ID. Apparently the poll workers were not adequately trained,” he said.

With files from Reuters, Associated Press and National Post Staff