Contest: Vote Early, Vote Often - Update

October 26, 2012

Wreck-It-Ralph is the only film opening truly wide next week and it might open in more theaters than the combined theater counts of Flight and The Man with the Iron Fists. So it is obviously the film in this week's Box Office Prediction Contest, right? Not so fast. This week we don't have a Box Office Prediction Contest. We have a Presidential Election Prediction Contest. In order to win, one must predict the Electoral College results for the 2012 Presidential Election as reported by CNN on their official site at noon, Pacific Time, on Wednesday, November 7th. As a tie-breaker, we will be using the percentage of the vote earned by the two main candidates, again as reported by CNN on their official site at noon on Wednesday November 7th. While you are researching your predictions, it is very important to keep in mind that the chances all 50 states and D.C. will be called by noon on Wednesday is roughly 0%. To emphasize, last time around, it took three weeks for Missouri to be called. This time around one of two things are guaranteed to happen. Either one candidate will win with a surprisingly strong margin, in which case the news networks will not be in a rush to call a state that is close. Or the candidates will be so close that at least one close state could tip the balance, in which case no network will want to get the call wrong and have another Florida 2000 on our hands. So read your favorite political sites, head over to 270towin.com, or another similar site, to play with the map to figure out how many Electoral College votes Obama and Romney will have, as well as the number of states that will remain undecided by the next day. And don't forget the popular vote tie-breaker.

Whoever comes the closest to predicting the actual results, without going over Obama's total, will win a copies of The American President on Blu-ray and Dave on Blu-ray. Meanwhile, whoever comes the closest to predicting the actual results, without going over Romney's total, will win a copies of The American President on Blu-ray and Dave on Blu-ray.

Update We've had a question regarding exactly what you need to send in for the contest. Here's a good sample entry based on 2008's election results:

Barack Obama Electoral Votes = 350
TIEBREAKER: Popular Vote = 53.7%

John McCain Electoral Votes = 162
TIEBREAKER: Popular Vote = 46.7%

The Electoral Votes do not add up to 538, because two states were uncalled by noon on Wednesday. If you've already sent in your prediction and it doesn't follow this format, send it in again and we will use your original date in case we need to go to the double tie-breaker. (First entry wins.)

Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Monday November 5th to be eligible, so don't delay!

To enter, send your prediction for the presidential election result, along with your name, address and phone number to contests@the-numbers.com. The winner will be determined on November 7th, 2012 at noon.


Official Rules:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. CONTEST IS OPEN ONLY TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES WHO ARE 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER. Your participation in The Numbers Vote Early, Vote Often (the "Contest") constitutes your full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules. The Contest begins at 7:00:01 a.m. Pacific Standard Time ("PST"), October 26th, 2012 and ends at 9:59:59 a.m. PST, November 5th, 2012. The Contest is sponsored by The Numbers.

Eligibility: The Contest is open only to natural persons who are legal residents of the 50 United States (including the District of Columbia) ("US") for the duration of the Contest Period. You must also be at least 18 years old in order to participate. Employees and agents of The Numbers, its affiliates, advertising, promotion, and fulfillment agencies, prize providers, and their immediate family members and persons living in their same household and employees, are not eligible to participate in the Contest. Void where prohibited. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply.

Privacy: The Numbers collects personal data from you when you enter this Contest. Please review The Numbers' privacy policy at www.the-numbers.com/legal/privacy.html. The Numbers will place the name of winner on the publicly available website at www.the-numbers.com. By submitting an entry, you grant The Numbers the right to place your name or designated pseudonym and your city and state of residence on this website in the event that you are a winner.

How to Enter:
Online: Send email to contests@the-numbers.com containing your name, mailing address, phone number, and predictions for the 2012 Presidential election.

Entries must be received by 9:59:59 a.m. PST, November 5th, 2012. All entries become the exclusive property of The Numbers and will not be acknowledged or returned. Any submission of robotic, automatic, or programmed entries, or any entries submitted by agencies, other third parties, or through other unapproved methods are void. One entry per mailing address. If there are multiple entries for a mailing address, then only the first entry will be accepted. In the event of a dispute over the identity of the entrant, the entry will be deemed submitted by the holder of the e-mail account.

The Numbers is not responsible for any computer, online, telephone, or technical malfunctions that affect entry submission.

Description of Prize:
Prize for closest prediction without going over: The American President on Blu-ray and Dave on Blu-ray
Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of prize: U.S. $28 to $40
Prize for closest prediction without going under: The American President on Blu-ray and Dave on Blu-ray
Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of prize: U.S. $28 to $40

No alternative prize, cash, or other substitution is permitted except by The Numbers, which reserves the right to award a prize of equal or greater value if the advertised prize is unavailable. Prize will be shipped two (2) to four (4) weeks from stipulated validation of winner.

Odds: Odds of winning the Prize depends on the number of eligible entries received and the accuracy of your prediction.

Selection of Winner: Potential winner will be determined by comparing the prediction submitted with the declared Electoral College results, as announced by CNN at noon on November 7th, 2012. The participant who submits the prediction closest to Obama's results, without going over, will be the potential winner of The American President on Blu-ray and Dave on Blu-ray. The participant who submits the prediction closest to Romney's results, without going over, will be the potential winner of The American President on Blu-ray and Dave on Blu-ray. In the event of a tie, the participant whose ballot is received at the earliest date and time during the Contest Period shall be the potential winner of the relevant prize. The potential winner will be notified by e-mail or first class mail within fifteen (15) days of the announcement of the box office results. The potential winner will have ten (10) days from notification to accept the prize by e-mail or by U.S. mail by writing to the address specified in the notification.

Requirements of Winner: Potential winners of prizes may be required to sign and return a release of liability and declaration of eligibility within seven (7) days of acknowledged notification. By accepting and/or using a prize, the winner agrees to the use of his/her name or a designated pseudonym and state of residence on The Numbers website. If a selected potential winner cannot be contacted, is ineligible, fails to claim a prize, or fails to timely return the completed and executed declaration and releases as required, the prize may be forfeited and an alternate potential winner selected. In the event of a dispute regarding who submitted an online entry, the entry will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail account. The Numbers reserves the right to request proof that the potential winner is the authorized account holder of the email account.

General Terms and Conditions: By entering, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the decisions of The Numbers, which shall be final. The Numbers reserves the right to disqualify any person or e-mail address that The Numbers determines to be in violation of any term contained in these Official Rules. The Numbers and the employees, agents and representatives of The Numbers, its affiliates, advertising, promotion, and fulfillment agencies, and legal advisors are not responsible for and shall not be liable for: (i) late, lost, delayed, damaged, misdirected, stolen, incomplete, illegible, unintelligible entries, notices, releases, forms, affidavits, or other correspondence; (ii) telephone, electronic, hardware or software program, network, Internet, or computer malfunctions, failures, interruptions or difficulties of any kind; (iii) failed, incomplete, garbled, or delayed computer transmissions; (iv) any condition caused by events beyond the control of The Numbers that may cause the Contest to be disrupted or corrupted; (v) any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind arising in connection with or as a result of the prize, or acceptance, possession, or use of the prize, or from participation in the Contest or arising from the participant's access to and use of the Internet site to the extent permitted by law; or (vi) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Contest. The Numbers reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to suspend or cancel Contest at any time if a computer virus, bug, worms, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud or other technical problem corrupts the administration, security, or proper play of the Contest. In the event of such cancellation, The Numbers reserves the right to award prize in a random drawing from all entries received prior to the time of cancellation. This Contest is governed by the laws of the United States and the State of California.

Winners List and Official Rules: A winners list will be posted on The Numbers web site, www.the-numbers.com, at the conclusion of the Contest. To obtain the winner list (after conclusion of contest) or a copy of these Official Rules, you may print this page.



- C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: Contest, Dave, The American President, The Man with the Iron Fists, Flight