California 'shattering prior election returns' with 6m ballots already cast
With voters homebound and receiving ballots in the mail due to the pandemic, elections officials are seeing a surge in early returns
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/24/california-us-election-2020-early-turnout-vote
On 22 October, almost three weeks before one of the most consequential presidential election days in recent American history, more than 6 million Californians had already voted.
The number was several times that of people who had cast their ballot at the same point in 2016. The pandemic, the massive wildfires and the ongoing fight against police brutality have galvanized voters in Americas most populous state to cast their vote early.
We knew the Covid-19 pandemic would pose significant challenges, but elections officials have prepared and voters have responded, Alex Padilla, the secretary of state, said in a recent statement.
California has sent mail-in ballots to 22 million registered voters, and the flood of votes that have been returned so far make up about 25%. Its still unclear whether voter turnout in the state overall will be higher this year than in previous years. But the early turnout is shattering prior election returns, said Paul Mitchell of Political Data Inc, a bipartisan voter data firm based in California.
Weve been tracking this kind of stuff for over a decade, and theres just nothing that compares to how quickly voters have been returning their ballots this election cycle, he said.
byronius
(7,369 posts)What a great feeling. Accepted. "Your Vote Wil Be Counted."
C'mon, America. Let's do this thing.
kimbutgar
(20,874 posts)Felt so good.
Lifelong Protester
(8,421 posts)gristy
(10,667 posts)This is a message from Santa Barbara Elections. Your ballot for the 2020 General Election was received and will be counted. Thank you for voting!
Share that you voted!
MoonchildCA
(1,301 posts)It made it feel a bit mire event like than putting it in the mailbox, or driving it over.
I dont know why the article says, October 22, almost 3 weeks before the election... Its actually less than two weeks.