FAQ for
Swing Vote (2008) More at IMDb Pro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags are used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Swing Vote can be found at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1027862/parentalguide.

No. Swing Vote is based on a script by screenwriters Jason Richman and Joshua Michael Stern, who also directed this film.

The electoral votes for every other state were deadlocked. The election all came down to New Mexico's five electoral votes. But when they counted the votes in New Mexico, they were also deadlocked, except Texico where an error message had caused one man's vote to not be counted. Moreover, aside from his vote, Texico was also deadlocked in a tie. So this one vote would swing the entire state's five electoral votes, in effect, deciding the presidency. On the other hand, though, no general electorate vote can ever be cast and counted once the polls close on Election Day. If a vote is 'unreadable' or 'defective', it simply is not counted. It (along with many thousands of late or unreadable votes) is ignored. If New Mexico ended up tied and that count were certified, the election would be thrown to the incoming House of Representatives.

The movie does not say. The point of the story wasn't who won the election. It was about Bud (Kevin Costner)'s relationship with his daughter (and how proud she was of him by the film's end) and about a man who is finally awakened to the issues around him.

Bud looks back at Molly (Madeline Carroll) and cracks a smile just before he closes the curtain on his polling booth. Then the credits start rolling.