Tomorrow’s the big day – Election 2012. Everyone thinks this is going to be a close one (although there’s plenty of debate regarding just how close), and we know that, like many years, the outcome will be decided by a handful of swing states. Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Colorado, New Hampshire – these are a few of the states that will likely shape the trajectory of the next four years. And with uncertainty comes possibilites.
The political junkie and the casually-informed voter will both enjoy this interactive map from the New York Times. It outlines every single path to 270 electoral votes – all 512 of them. From the start, the Times gives President Obama 431 paths to victory, Romney 76, and 5 state-by-state outcomes that could cause an electoral college tie – the “nightmare scenario.”
Users can give each state to the Democrats to the Republicans – starting with Florida and moving on to eight more states. With each pick, the odds change and you can see exactly what has to happen for each candidate to win.
The most compelling visual from this map comes after the very first selection. If you give Florida to Obama, he has 255 ways to win from that point on. On the other hand, Romney would have only one. He would have to win Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada, and New Hampshire.
Check it out here.