The enormous surge in mail-in voting and early voting is making a critical statement about the vibrancy of American democracy. American citizens want to participate in shaping their Government. In 2016, approximately 60% or 136.7 million people voted and in 2008, approximately 131.4 million people or 62 % voted. As of October 31, more than 94 million people have already voted absentee or early voting.
The outpouring of people rushing to cast their votes largely has been driven by the pain and suffering that Americans have endured due to the coronavirus. The fact that two days before the election—almost two-thirds of the number of voters who participated in the 2016 presidential election have voted—underscores the extent to which Americans are determined to make their choice known as to who they want to govern the country for the next four years.
Given the extent to which President Trump has attacked the legitimacy of mail-in voting and has sought to suppress voting—even before election day—suggests that the preponderance of these early and mail-in votes are anti-Trump votes. Rather than being afraid to vote, however, Americans are turning out to vote in unprecedented numbers. People are determined that they will be permitted to vote, and that their votes will be counted.
Reporters and poll watchers have noted that the turnout is high throughout the country. It is not only in so-called “blue” states, but in the “red” ones as well. Ironically, the massive turnout has been driven by precisely the reasons that Trump has been denying and attacking. In fact, his entire campaign focus has turned large segments of the American electorate against him for the very reasons he has been calling upon them to support his bid for a second term.
While the actual analysis will not be available until after the election, it appears that a significant percentage of the mail-in voters are doing so because they are afraid to vote in person because they recognize—unlike the President—that Covid-19 is deadly. They do not want to go to crowded polling stations and expose themselves to possible contagion. Filing absentee ballots enables them to stay home and stay healthy.
Mail-in voting was facilitated this year by numerous states opting to send out ballots to all citizens or to simplify the absentee ballot application process. Many of these are states where President Trump had placed mitigation of the contagion in their laps in the spring and summer, just when they were seeking additional federal aid to fight the virus. Now many of these same governors are facilitating people’s ability to vote absentee or to vote early. Many of these are Americans who lost family and friends to Covid-19 or who suffered with the virus while President Trump ignored pleas for help from the federal government.
The dramatic increase in early voting has enabled so many Americans to have choices as to when to vote and not be forced to turn-out on Election Day or not be counted. In addition, due to the dramatically high numbers of Americans who are out of work, people have time to wait online for hours to cast their early votes. Spreading out the vote period with an extended early voting phase, has also expedited voting, even if the number of polling facilities are considerably fewer than are generally available.
While millions of Americans will still vote on Tuesday, early voting and absentee voting has significantly reduced the number of Americans who might still be undecided and will only make up their mind at the last minute. The crowds that have appeared over the last two weeks especially at the sizeable Trump rallies largely represent his base and are not undecided voters. Those at the rallies are his voting base most of whom will vote for him on Election Day.
If the pandemic has a silver lining at all, perhaps it will be a commitment to voting. Over the years participation in elections has declined dramatically. Perhaps a positive fallout from the 2020 election will be that Americans will recognize how important voting is and that their votes count.
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