I have pasted below a map from USA-Today showing the states and where they likely stand as of the last poll. Battleground states are in grey and they are mostly in the Eastern time zone, with most of the rest in the Midwest. Unfortunately, the results may be too close to call until far into the night.
The last poll I saw of the battleground states showed Pres. Obama with a 1% – 4% lead in nearly all. Romney really has to sweep FL, NC, VA and OH and those are still not enough. Of the other battleground states, I think PA, MI, IA, WI and MN are longshots for Romney, though they are supposedly close. AZ, the Denver-Boulder area of CO and Las Vegas (the only solidly Democratic section of NV) may decide the election.
What we don’t want is a disputed election and, surprisingly to many, there have actually been 5 contested presidential elections, one of which was decided by an 8-7 straight party-line vote by a commission appointed to solve the problem. They gave it to the popular vote loser, Rutherford B. Hayes, a president that turned out to be not very distinguished. The loser? – Andrew Jackson, who won the office in another election.
BTW, the national debt was totally paid off in 1835 under Andrew Jackson. He even consolidated all the states’ debts and paid that off by selling some federal land during a real estate bubble. Unfortunately, the national real bubble crashed and a six-year depression ensued. Hmmmm. History does rhyme, doesn’t it, Mark Twain? At least the debt was paid off.
Do your civic duty and privilege and vote today if you have not already. Don’t sit out because neither candidate is without serious flaws. Vote for the better of the two. Evanglical Christians, I am talking to you specifically, since many of you have said you are not going to vote this time. Don’t forget, your local ballot has probably a couple dozen races on which to vote and probably a resolution or bond issue. It’s not just about the presidency. Don’t throw away the influence God has given you by allowing you to live in a republic.