NASHVILLE,TN--Hurricane Sandy made landfall Monday evening but many still sit in
the dark tonight as the remnants
churn in the northeast. Power outages have affected as many as 8 million people
in 16 states with the power expected to be out for another week, many now wonder
what affect this may have on the election.

In tight political races every
detail counts, including the weather forecast. in a recent survey of undecided
voters more than a third say the weather could prevent them from voting on
election day, and this gives one party a big advantage. We've had our fair share
of wicked weather on election days. like the 2008 super tuesday tornado outbreak when 13
twisters tore across Middle Tennessee. Despite wild weather, Tennessee had high
voter turnout.

"Well if you're a Tennessean you get out and you vote no
matter what," said Linda Swafford. 91 year old Dorothy Sanders has voted in
every election since President Harry S. Truman! Getting an ID didn't stop her
this year and neither will a storm! "Why no, weather aint gonna stop me," said
Sanders.

When conditions get bad, the advantage goes to the Republicans
according to recent studies by the University of Georgia, University of
California and University of Pittsburgh.

Called "The Republicans Should
Pray for Rain" the study shows that dating back to 1948 rain keeps around 1% of
would be voters away from the polls.
and in snow and ice 1 in 10 voters
won't make it out.

Historically, if you had bad weather on election day,
more Republicans showed up than Democrats, said Joseph White. He's been
following politics for decades and says that with early voting , election day
isn't as vulnerable. "Both parties now have 2 full weeks to get their core
constituencies out, there's really no excuse," said White.

Yet, with many
still without power in potential swing states, early voting isn't a possibility
and here at home the congressional seat between Desjarlais and Stewart is
heating up. Electricity and clear weather on election day will be crucial in
getting undecided voters to the polls.

White says we'll likely see the
candidates focus turn to voter turnout in the remaining days, "the more folks
you have that who are convinced their vote is meaningless those are the people
who are easy to discourage," said White.

Researchers believe sunny
weather could have changed the 2000 presidential election, increasing the amount
of Democrats voting, possibly putting Al Gore in the White House.Which Party Benefits When the Weather is Bad on Election Day?