Requests for inauguration tickets flood lawmakers

Washington —- Georgians are deluging their congressional offices with thousands of requests for tickets to the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama on Jan. 20. Demand will far outstrip supply, congressional offices warned Friday.

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Republican, appeared to be receiving the most requests, topping 4,000 and still counting.

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) logged 1,500 requests for tickets to watch the first African-American president sworn into office.

The Senate-House committee that oversees the inaugural ceremonies has not announced how many tickets lawmakers will be allotted, but typically each receives only a few hundred —- including a handful in the seated section and slightly more for standing room on the Mall overlooking the U.S. Capitol.

“We are telling folks we will not be able to accommodate all of our requests,” Isakson spokeswoman Joan Kirchner said.

For the inaugural ceremony four years ago, Sen. Saxby Chambliss received fewer than 300 tickets, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Republican said. The office has already received more than 1,000 requests this year.

Carole Mumford, press secretary for Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), said phones had been “ringing off the hook” in her boss’ Washington and Georgia offices. “We might have to have a lottery,” she said.

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) had more than 850 requests as of Friday with “three or four phone lines ringing at once,” said press secretary Brian Robinson.

Robinson said the tickets would be distributed on a “first come, first served” basis.