From: Senator Ben Cardin – Do not reply to this message
Subject: Update from Sen. Cardin on Inaugural Tickets
To: jbatec@yahoo.com
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2008, 3:32 PM

THE INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA WILL BE A HISTORIC EVENT

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— On Thu, 11/20/08, Senator Ben Cardin – Do not reply to this message wrote:

Dear Judy:

Thank you for contacting my office about tickets to the Inauguration. January 20, 2009 will be a historic event as millions of Marylanders – and Americans across the country – witness the Inauguration of Barack Obama as President and Joseph Biden as Vice President of the United States . Because of our close proximity to our Nation’s Capital, requests to Maryland Congressional offices for free tickets to the swearing-in ceremony have been astronomical. To date, my office has received nearly 55,000 individual requests for tickets.

As you can imagine, the requests for tickets far exceed the availability. It is expected that each Senate and House offices will have less than 400 tickets to distribute and those will be primarily for standing areas on the National Mall.

For those who have requested tickets from my office, your name will be entered into a random drawing. I will contact everyone who has requested tickets via e-mail sometime in January updating you about ticket availability. I also will continue to send updates about Inaugural events as information becomes available.

For those who do not receive congressional tickets to the Inauguration, sections of the National Mall and Inaugural Parade route will be open to the public and will not require tickets. We expect that large-screen televisions and audio speakers will be placed throughout the Mall so that as many people as possible can hear and see this historic event. Also, please keep in mind that if the weather is inclement, the outdoor Inaugural events may be cancelled and the swearing-in ceremony will take place inside the U.S. Capitol with only family members of the President-elect and Vice President-elect, members of Congress, members of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other officials in attendance.

A word of caution: We all have seen recent media reports about people selling tickets over the Internet. I want to remind everyone that tickets to the swearing-in ceremony are free and will primarily be distributed by congressional offices. No tickets to the swearing-in ceremony are available yet and they will not be distributed before mid-January. Anyone who claims to have tickets to the swearing-in for sale is not being truthful. In addition, eBay has banned the sale of swearing-in ceremony tickets on its websites, including eBay, StubHub and Kijiji.

The President-elect also will form a Presidential Inaugural Committee (PIC), which will be responsible for all balls, galas, receptions, parties and the official Inaugural Day parade. Ticket requests for these events should be directed to the PIC. Its website is: http://www.change.gov/learn/inauguration/ . Information on these events will be updated by the PIC as it becomes available.

Whether you are able to attend the swearing-in ceremony in person or whether you watch it on TV with family and friends, this will be a historic experience for all Americans and for our nation.

Sincerely,

Senator Benjamin L. Cardin

Please visit my website at http://cardin.senate.gov to sign up for my e-newsletter.

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Folks,

This is the forward information to understand the position of the Inauguration ticket, I have received a lot of inquiries. Again, tickets are not FOR SALE. To those who have received formal invitation or have their own connection to attend from out of the the State and Overseas must make sure they confirm their hotel bookings otherwise most hotels in DC and Maryland are already booked to the full.

People can also follow-up with their respective Senators at their respective States. I am still making consultations incase something comes up I will forward, keep you posted and pass on the information.

Please pass on information to friends and relatives.

Thanks,

Judy Miriga
USA

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Date: Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:02:10 -0800 [11/20/2008 04:02:10 PM CST]
From: Judy Miriga
Subject: Fw: Update from Sen. Cardin on Inaugural Tickets