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ItsjustMe

(11,166 posts)
Sat Oct 24, 2020, 07:06 PM Oct 2020

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 America’s 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%. It’s 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.

“We’ve been tracking this kind of stuff for over a decade, and there’s just nothing that compares to how quickly voters have been returning their ballots this election cycle,” he said.

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California 'shattering prior election returns' with 6m ballots already cast (Original Post) ItsjustMe Oct 2020 OP
I just checked mine at Where's My Ballot? byronius Oct 2020 #1
Dropped mine off today at our city hall drop box kimbutgar Oct 2020 #2
Including me! Lifelong Protester Oct 2020 #3
I got an email from BallotTrax Notifications 2 days after I voted gristy Oct 2020 #4
My husband and I just took the pups on a long walk to our local ballot drop off box. MoonchildCA Oct 2020 #5

gristy

(10,667 posts)
4. I got an email from BallotTrax Notifications 2 days after I voted
Sat Oct 24, 2020, 07:58 PM
Oct 2020
Hello Gristy,
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)
5. My husband and I just took the pups on a long walk to our local ballot drop off box.
Sat Oct 24, 2020, 08:35 PM
Oct 2020

It made it feel a bit mire event like than putting it in the mailbox, or driving it over.

I don’t know why the article says, “October 22, almost 3 weeks before the election...” It’s actually less than two weeks.

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