"A
Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday showed just 14 percent of Republicans planned to vote by mail or absentee ballot, compared with 34 percent of Democrats. And surveys from
NBC News and
YouGov this month each showed 17 percent of Republicans planned to vote by mail, compared with 34 percent and 43 percent of Democrats, respectively.
The YouGov poll showed Vice President
Kamala Harris winning 57-36 among early and mail voters, while the NBC poll showed her winning them 61-35. In 2020, President
Joe Biden won about 6 in 10 votes that weren’t cast in person on Election Day.
And if you wonder why that is, you might want to check out what Trump said just two days ago. “Now we have this stupid stuff where you can vote 45 days early,” Trump said, adding: “I wonder what the hell happens during that 45?”
I know this is more for the national election but I think it'll be a damning blow to their chances. They have a ready-made contingent to take advantage of scenarios like this (e.g. the military, voters who live in very rural areas away from poll places) and rather than embracing it, the GOP & Trump's pushing back on it so hard has alienated the ability for moderate Republicans to push this as a legitimate practice to help. Same for just early voting where you'd think the GOP would stress stuff like, "We know you're concerned about the economy. If you have a day where you aren't working and your kids are in child care, go vote early and take advantage of that opening. Every vote matters and vote when the opportunity opens for you." Instead they're embracing fear mongering and miscounted votes and voting errors in general to scare their core into voting on Election Day. Good luck if the car breaks down or you are sick or you get scheduled to work a longer shift.