Election Express: Talking politics over coffee and sandwiches
By Catherine Poley
CNN
CONCORD, New Hampshire (CNN) -- Across from the New Hampshire Statehouse is a small sandwich shop called the Brown Bag Deli. Owners Betsy Fitts and Diane Nourse say that their location leads to a good deal of political debate inside their doors.
"We get a lot of people in here who are very political," Fitts says. "Being downtown, we have a lot of white collar folks who are very involved with the Statehouse across the street. We hear the bantering and we hear the concerns that people have."
Fitts says it does not surprise her that New Hampshire is a battleground state. "It is very few and far between that you hear people say, 'I'm not voting for Bush this time' or, 'I'm definitely voting for Kerry,' or that sort of thing," she says. "It's hard to tell which way New Hampshire voters will go this time."
Down the street, The Coffee Mill also has a politically minded clientele and has sandwiches with names like, "The Fil-a-Buster" and "The Lobbyist."
Justin Furrow who works at The Coffee Mill says many of his customers worry that voter turn out will be low. "Many of the people who come in here from the political parties are concerned about getting voters out to the polls, and convincing them to vote at all."
In New Hampshire, to register to vote, you need to go to City Hall. While in most states you can register by filling out a form and sending it in, New Hampshire voters have to make an extra effort to register in person.
There is one other option for citizens of New Hampshire though: They can register to vote on Election Day right before they vote.
So for the Bush and Kerry campaigns, convincing the people of New Hampshire to vote at all is almost as important as convincing the citizens of the Granite State to vote for them.
Tomorrow, the Election Express heads to the JFK library as we continue on the road to the Democratic Convention.
Boston officials are concerned about how labor disputes with police officers will affect the convention. Aside from security concerns, there is the possibility of picket lines at welcome events. Some delegates say the will not cross a picket line to go to the convention. We will continue to monitor this story.
'Crossfire' and 'IP' take a snapshot of New Hampshire
 CNN's Election Express bus is on location at the New Hampshire Statehouse on Monday. |  |
By Eileen McMenamin, senior Election Express producer:
Posted: 3:43 p.m. ET
Team Bus is back in place, and CNN is live at the New Hampshire Statehouse, where we'll be broadcasting "Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics" and "Crossfire."
New Hampshire is one of 18 battleground states in this year's presidential election.
The state is usually viewed as less influential in the general election because it has just four electoral votes. But we are in an era where "Every Vote Counts" has become a campaign mantra.
John Kerry, a senator from the state next door, is no stranger to New Hampshire voters, but that will not necessarily work in his favor. He trailed in pre-New Hampshire primary polls for weeks before the bounce from his showing in Iowa led to a victory.
President Bush knows it as a state where the political winds can change suddenly. In 2000 Bush lost the New Hampshire primary to Sen. John McCain, but won the state's electoral votes by one percent.
Those of us who were on the bus during the primary season were hoping to see New Hampshire in all of its summertime glory (we've only heard about it -- never seen it). It's been raining today but weather.com says it may clear up before the end of the day.
This afternoon, Judy Woodruff will talk with Kerry/Edwards campaign chairwoman Jeanne Shaheen, as the campaign begins its march into Boston next week for the Democratic National Convention. Also, joining Judy today will be political strategist and local celeb Tom Rath.
"Crossfire" hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala have arrived in the "Live Free or Die" state and are excited to be on the road again. They like the interaction with the live audience crowds back home at GW, and this gives them a chance to meet folks all across America -- from both parties of course!
Tune in this afternoon for "IP" and "Crossfire" -- and stay with us all week because we are on the campaign trail that will lead directly to Boston!
New England different this time around
|  Dale Fountain, CNN Election Express bus driver |
From Dale Fountain, CNN Election Express bus driver:
Posted: 12:07 p.m. ET
Crew call: 7 a.m. ET. Temperature: It's rainy and about 69 degrees. Today's Express location: The Statehouse in Concord, New Hampshire.
It is definitely a lot warmer than when the Election Express was here in January during primary season. The view is quite different. There are walls around the New Hampshire Statehouse I did not know were there the last time because they were covered in snow.
We made our way to the Statehouse this morning. When we got to the toll plazas, we gave some of the toll workers Election Express buttons. Some people are lucky enough to get plastic buses, depending on how we feel and how much the toll is.
We have plenty of CNN Election Express tchochkies. We are determined that everyone in New England will be sporting a button by the time we are done.
All of the satellites are up and working. We are able to get signals to and from CNN. We have televisions set up in the bus so we can see what is on CNN air. This allows me to get my cable TV news while driving 70 mph.
Word for the day: Lunchbox. This bus has its own generator feeding it power. The Lunchbox converts the power coming from the bus to power that the camera and lights can use.
Lunchbox ... is anyone else hungry?
