The The Times is highlighting the fact that the caucus method of selecting candidates necessarily excludes large swaths of the population who can't make it to their caucus on Thursday evening: people who work the night shift, people stationed overseas, the disabled, parents who can't find babysitters. There's no way to send in an absentee ballot in the caucuses. It's a problem, of course, and another good reason why we should rethink this entire system. But while we're on the topic of absentee voters, here's something that's gone under the radar for the most part: voters in several other states are already sending in their absentee ballots, allowing them to bypass the ironclad grasp Iowa maintains over the primary process.
Absentee ballots have already gone out in Florida, Missouri, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey and New York. They're probably most influential in Florida, where about 7,000 absentee ballots went out last week – a significant figure that may decide who claims the state. Citizens there can also vote in person as early as January 14, though the primary won't be held until the 29th. Realizing this, Giuliani has been making a strong push with the absentee voters there. His campaign is targeting mailers to those voters who have requested absentee ballots, and following up with phone calls to those voters as well. With Florida standing as the first big, diverse primary state, these early voters are sure to be key determinants of the winner there -- and they aren't going to be as swayed by what happens in the earliest primary states.
--Kate Sheppard
