Election Day Could Be Led By A Tarheel Blue Wave
Image: NC AFL-CIO
The Economist examines the chances of a tarheel blue wave based on an examination of the swing state of North Carolina. By the time Donald Trump and Joe Biden held their debate this week, around 50 million ballots were already cast—almost 40% of the total in 2016.
Union County, North Carolina cast 103,000 votes in 2016. By the publishing of this article, the County Commissioner will have expected a whopping 40,000 votes to already be cast. Trump does not have a lot of time left.
Voter Protection Is Ensuring The Tarheel Blue Wave
The early-vote surge has been driven by Democrats—as indicated by the fact that registered Democrats are over one-and-a-half times as likely to have voted as registered Republicans. Most are voting by post. In contrast, registered Republicans, who used to dominate mail-voting, are in most states likelier to vote early in person.
In North Carolina, black voters’ ballots are more than twice as likely to be rejected as the average postal vote. Yet they can be resubmitted. A worst-case projection—that 0.4% of Democratic votes could be rejected in the state—should be compared with the rejection of 2% of votes during the primaries.
Most states have expanded their time-frames and opened more sites for early voting. North Carolina and other states have facilitated curbside voting, enabling high-risk voters to cast ballots in person. A feared shortage of volunteers has; thus far, not transpired.
I’ll be apart of that blue wave by voting early here in Baltimore on Monday. I hope every American who is eligible to vote is able to exercise their right to vote by election day November 3rd.
