We are watching democracy unfold in front of our eyes, despite every effort to stop it. A record number of Americans have voted early, most of them Democrats, in an effort to safeguard their choice and their health. States such as Texas, where politicians have tried to make it as difficult to vote as possible, are seeing record turnout, with new voters casting ballots for the first time. Does this mean the people’s will has succeeded over voter suppression? Definitely not. But after months of scrutinising an election process that’s often taken for granted, it’s a sign that our country values the right to vote above all, and will fight to protect it.
Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at the Sunland Park Mall in El Paso on the first day of early voting.
Credit: Ivan Pierre Aguirre for The Texas Tribune“It’s a very different election this year because of COVID, concerns with vote-by-mail and other potential shenanigans,” said Michael Li, senior counsel at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice. “I think a lot of people are being encouraged to vote early, so it remains to be seen whether we’re just moving some votes from Election Day to the early voting period or whether it’s a huge overall turnout increase.”
Texans’ voting habits have been evolving over time. Since the 2008 election, more Texans have voted early than on Election Day.
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The turnout appears to be strong among supporters of both political parties. In his popular daily recap of early vote totals Thursday, Ryan reported that voters who in the past have voted in Republican primaries but not Democratic primaries make up 31.3% of the early vote, compared with 26.1% for Democratic primary voters. But because 39% of early voters have no primary voting history, it’s impossible to tell which party is leading in early vote turnout. Texans don’t have the option to align with a particular party when they register to vote.
Still, Democrats have been hailing the numbers as an optimistic sign for their party.
