Polling and public research firm Gallup was knocked out of commission earlier this week when Sandy disrupted power along the East Coast.   We asked Frank Newport what this all could mean for the election.

For the most part, Newport says he doesn’t think the storm will affect the outcome of the election. Many of the states that suffered damage or outages were projected to vote blue — and he doesn’t expect that will change. What he says could change is the number of people who go to the polls —  and the percentage by which voters will choose either Romney or Obama.

Gallup and other pollsters have also had to take a break in conducting their research. Gallup headquarters were without power themselves, and power outages meant it was difficult for them to contact voters for their opinions in this last week before the election.