US presidentiables reach out to undecided Fil-Ams
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 11/01/2008 4:15 PM
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One in every seven voters in the upcoming US presidential elections remains unsure of whom to pick between Republican candidate Sen. John McCain and Democrat Sen. Barack Obama, an Associated Press-Yahoo! News poll has said.
The latest CNN poll of polls, an average of new state polls, meanwhile, showed that five percent of Pennsylvania voters are still undecided.
According to results of the National Asian American Survey (NAAS) released in October, approximately 34 percent of Asian Americans are undecided voters. These undecided voters comprise around eight percent of the electorate.
All these polls, albeit from different sources, show only one thing: that a significant number of people can still change the outcome of the US presidential elections.
On November 4, McCain will be battling it out with Obamay. Their vice-presidential candidates are Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, respectively.
With just four days before the elections, McCain and Obama crisscrossed Pennsylvania -- a battleground state with 21 electoral votes -- on Friday to make one last big push to attract the undecided voters, including the Filipino Americans.
"Honestly, I don’t even want to think about it. May the best man win. Right now, I don’t have any choice between the two," said Fil-Am resident Janice Ames.
Pennsylvania has not voted Republican in a presidential election since 1988, which serves as a challenge to McCain. Obama, however, lost to Sen. Hillary Clinton during the primary by 10 points in the state.
"I’m not sure I’m not alone on this. I saw on television that there’s a silent majority who supported Hillary [Clinton] and are still undecided like me…So I’m not alone and I’ll be undecided until November 4," said Fil-Am Ping de Haven.
Experts said that McCain will have to defeat Obama by a large margin Pennsylvania to have any chance of pulling an upset. And the Republican candidate is counting on the undecided, including the Fil-Ams, to make that happen for him.
Vote while you shop in Las Vegas
Meanwhile, residents of Clark County in Las Vegas, Nevada lined up Friday to cast their early ballots in their neighborhood. Even though long lines were expected at the stations, Fil-Ams said that voting was hassle-free.
"I’ve lived in this area for 14 years now. I’ve always voted at the schools, but now coming here is a lot easier. Although the wait is kind of long tonight, good thing we have a great weather," said early voter Rick Mission, who traveled a mile to cast his vote.
In Las Vegas, people can vote while they shop at grocery stores and shopping malls. Although early voters are expected to stand in line, at least they can shop a little as they wait. With reports from Lenn Almadin-Thornhill and Bev Llorente, ABS-CBN North America News Bureau
