(Op-Ed) The day has finally arrived. Election Day 2016! I personally have a feeling of relief, fatigue and horror, but mostly fatigue, after this long and quite frankly, disgusting campaign. The question that many are asking is will we have a winner tonight, tomorrow or next month? There are many variables to consider. In order for there to be a winner projected before or shortly after midnight, Clinton will have to win two out of three states consisting of Pennsylvania, North Carolina or Florida. Since these are on the east coast there is a pretty good chance a winner can be called before midnight, if it is Clinton. If these states are too close to call or two of those states fall to Trump then we will have to start looking at Colorado and Arizona which close later in the evening. If Trump is competitive it could be a very long night. Recent polling shows Clinton having an 81% chance of winning. My unscientific analysis thinks this is closer to 60% based on Pennsylvania becoming a close toss-up with Clinton up by 1 point.
There is a very good chance we will know who won the election by Wednesday morning, but that does not mean it is over. It is very likely that Florida and North Carolina are going to be very close. Perhaps close enough that either candidate would contest it and demand a recount. If there is one thing we know about these two candidates it is they will not give up if there is even the slightest chance of victory. I really do hope there is a clear winner that leaves no doubts, so that we can move on from this once in a lifetime election. Again, in this election one never knows what to expect next.
If you have not voted please do so and vote for the platform that best represents your political philosophy.
Good luck!
Dave Van Zandt
MBFC News
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