Group Attend Really Vanish During president's Talk

President Barack Obama jumped onto the campaign trail over the weekend in Prince George's County for a get-out-the-vote rally with Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, but before he finished speaking, people began leaving.

According to one political analyst, there is heavy voter apathy. The problem is voters don't know who they are going to cast a ballot for, if they show up to the polls at all. A low turnout hurts the Brown campaign.

Perhaps a symptom of voter apathy, many headed for the exits early. Dan Francis had a VIP ticket and left early, too, but for a variety of reasons.

"The main thing was it was hot and I think people wanted to get out of there to get to their cars and avoid the rush," Francis said.



Francis had already gotten all the photos he wanted. He listened to Brown and the president for about 15 minutes before deciding he had just had it with the long day.

Francis said his leaving early had nothing to do with being disrespectful to the president or Brown. He blamed the Brown campaign for a poorly organized event, saying he believes it was way overbooked.

Francis said there were astronomical lines and that it took him two hours to get in. Francis said he spent idle hours listening to piped-in music waiting for the president with no word on whether he was even on his way. Leaving early to get to his car -- parked a mile and a half away -- became a hassle, too.

"Once you got outside, you really couldn't leave. Police wouldn't let you leave until the motorcade had left," Francis said.

Political analyst Barry Rascover said he believes the rally achieved its purpose to help Brown.

"A low turnout could cripple Brown on Nov. 4," Rascovar said. "(The rally) gave Anthony Brown the boost he needed to try to rev up support. He got the boost he needed. He got great publicity, the word has been spread that Obama was in Maryland, and this can only help."

Some of the people who left early were in an overflow room. They received a surprise visit from the president; some even got to shake his hand. They heard the president's message before he took the main stage that this will be a done deal if you vote.

Voter turnout was low in the June primary, when Maryland decided who would face off in this gubernatorial election. A little under 740,000 voters helped decide those primary races out of nearly 3.4 million eligible voters, which is just under 22 percent.
source