Off the I-15

The fact that the Pittsburgh Steelers won last night might have been a good omen for the Barack Obama camp, but today’s windy weather could even the score.

Historically, the Washington Redskins final game before the election determines the outcome of the election. According to www.nbcsports.com, if the Redskins win, the incumbent wins the election. If the Redskins lose, the challenger wins.

So Obama was most likely a Steelers fan on Monday night and was happy to see them pull out a 23-6 win.

However, weather also plays a factor in elections. According to www.accuweather.com, long lines are still forming in areas where rain is falling on election day. Bad weather has spelled doom for the Democrats and glee for the Republicans.

A team of political scientists studied the effect of weather on the voting and published their findings in a 2007 issue of The Journal of Politics. The study, The Republicans Should Pray for Rain: Weather, Turnout, and Voting in U.S. Presidential Election, found that Democrats are more likely to stay home if there is bad weather on Election Day.

There’s wind in Barstow and rain elsewhere in the country but that does seem to be detering voters this year. The Desert Dispatch reported that turnout was higher than ever early in the day. And www.cnn.com said there are long lines everywhere.

Aaron Aupperlee | city editor

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