President-elect Barack Obama will take the presidential oath at the Capitol on Jan. 20, but with thousands of requests pouring in for the limited free tickets to the inauguration, some would-be attendees might end up watching it on television.
Rusty Roberts, chief of staff for U.S. Rep. John Mica of the 7th District, which encompasses St. Augustine and Daytona Beach, said the office has received close to 2,000 requests but will only be able to distribute 198 tickets.
To get on the list for tickets, citizens need to contact their senator or representative.
Roberts said such a demand for tickets never happened during his years at the office, which date back to former President Bill Clinton's first inauguration.
"This is an unusual situation," he said. "It wasn't ever a situation where it was an overwhelming request."
In past years, the office has always been able to accommodate those who requested tickets, but Roberts said it will be impossible this year.
About 86,000 tickets will be distributed by members of the U.S. House of Representatives for the ceremony, which is about the same amount that was available for the last inauguration ceremony in 2005, he said. He did not know how many tickets senators would obtain.
Sixth District Rep. Cliff Stearns, who represents western Alachua County, said in an e-mail statement he did not know how many tickets his office would receive to distribute, but he had more than 200 ticket requests so far.
Zach Moller, president of the UF College Democrats, said he will soon tell members of the group how to get tickets if they're interested in going to the inauguration, the theme of which is "A Birth of Freedom."
Moller said he won't be heading north, but he said he's excited to hear Obama's first speech addressed to the country as the president of the United States.
"It's going to be one hell of an event," he said.
