For all of you poll watchers and bean counters out there, the Hamburg Inn No. 2 in Iowa City released its first coffee-bean count, and it looks like the Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has taken a commanding 3 to 1 lead over his Republican rival John McCain of Arizona in this year’s presidential race.

After nine weeks of coffee bean ballot voting, Hamburg Inn diners have dropped 3,274 coffee beans in Obama’s Mason jar, compared to McCain’s 1,056 accumulated coffee beans.

Given the fact that the Hamburg Inn resides in the middle of Johnson County, which is known statewide for its politically left leanings, these numbers, like bad puns, should be taken with a grain of salt.

After dining, customers are given one bean to vote for the candidate of their choice, hence the “One Bean, One Vote” motto adopted by the Hamburg’s “Iowa Coffee Bean Ballot” initiative.

McCain leads in national independent diners’ poll

In the bigger picture, as a means of drawing attention to and promoting civic involvement in the 2008 presidential race, the Hamburg joined other independent restaurants across the country, signing on with the Fork Over Your Vote 2008 Election Poll.

At the national level, McCain is leading Obama among independent restaurant diners thus far in both electoral votes (McCain 213 – Obama 152 and the popular vote (McCain 54% — Obama 45%).

Despite concerns regarding the poll’s authenticity and the fact that the polls don’t mirror most national polls, FOTV stands by its results as an accurate predictor of who will win the election. “It’s going to be a true representation of the voting public’s opinion! Everyone can vote, there’s no age restriction or citizenship requirements,” FOTV states on its website.

What better way to conduct a poll than with America’s Independent Restaurants! According to the National Restaurant Association over 191,000,000 meals are served everyday in restaurants across the US. What a perfect way to find out how Americans of all ages are feeling about their candidates by letting them vote at their favorite local restaurants with jellybeans. Then we’ll find out who they really want to run this country!

FOTV is sponsored by the Best Independent Restaurants Association (BIRA,) which was formed to ensure small business restaurants have the essential tools they need to get more customers, operate their restaurants more efficiently and earn more money for their families. BIRA members implemented FOTV to help bring the three ‘Fs’ into the election process: fun, family and food.