Inaugural Tickets Expected To Be Rare In North Carolina

WASHINGTON - Talk about political long shots.

Tens of thousands of North Carolinians are asking congressional offices for tickets to President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration Jan. 20.

But Monday, many of the nation's 100 senators officially learned from the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies that each will get 393 tickets to distribute.

And many of the 435 House members were told they will get 198 tickets.

If you do the math, that means one thing: Very few people who requested tickets to the swearing-in will get them.

Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., said his office has received nearly 5,000 requests asking for a total of about 15,000 tickets. Four years ago, Watt had leftover tickets that the office handed over to another congressional office.

“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Watt and his staff are trying to determine a way to equitably distribute their 198-ticket allotment. They are considering dividing the tickets by the counties he represents and then holding a lottery among the requests from those counties. He may also give some tickets to those in his district who are public officials or politically active.

But with few tickets and so many requests, he said, “this is not about whether I like you or not.”

The office of Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., has received requests for 8,000 tickets. Chris Walker, Burr’s spokesman, said the 393 tickets the office received will be doled out on a first-come, first-serve basis and the office is no longer taking ticket requests.

About 240,000 tickets are distributed to the swearing-in ceremony. About half will go to members of Congress.

The rest are to be distributed through the Presidential Inaugural Committee, not yet set up by the Obama transition team. Those tickets typically go to supporters, but details of how those will be distributed are not available.

The tickets mostly are standing-room-only locations near the Capitol, for spots as far away as one or two blocks down the National Mall. Large television screens are likely to be set up along the mall for gatherers to watch the swearing in, but they will be far from the Capitol.

Watt warns that not getting a ticket to the swearing-in ceremony is “not the end all, be all that people think it is.”

Those that do get tickets will have to brave the chilly January weather in Washington and they’ll likely be standing, he noted. And there are other events that people can attend, he said.

Tickets are not needed for the inaugural parade, but visibility will be limited because of large crowds and tight security along Pennsylvania Avenue. Tickets to inaugural balls are purchased through organizations hosting them.

The National Park Service is planning for an inaugural crowd of at least 1 million people. The interest in the Inauguration has lead congressional officials to warn against ticket scams. Web sites are advertising tickets to the parade and the swearing-in for thousands of dollars.

But the sites are selling tickets they don't have. The tickets are free and aren't handed out until a week before the inauguration.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced legislation Monday prohibiting the sale and counterfeiting of inaugural tickets.

"The chance to witness this event should not be bought and sold like tickets to a football game," she said in a statement.

Contact Amy Dominello at (202) 662-7671 or adominello@mediageneral.com

Contact Billy House at (202) 662-7673 or bhouse@tampatrib.com