The 2020 Election Mega Thread

And you sound like you have an enlarged prostate.

 

So, there are three aspects here. The first is that it appears the infrastructure for the Black vote has kicked in. I heard multiple youngsters (late teens/early 20s) knowing they could register day of, and asking what they needed to do to get registered. I doubt that was present 4 years ago. The second is the motivation to get Individual One out of office. Couple that with Biden doing well, and the place had a very positive feel. But I can't dismiss that people were happy to be out doing something that was not a basic necessity - food, get gas, things like that. It was very positive. I will compare it to 2012 in Memphis. I was in a different type of precinct, and voting at the start of the day (I was there before the polls opened), and it was more of an obligation, almost a burdened (yet they were voting ), and all likely well educated. Today was a broader demographic, obviously, but across the board it felt like there was a level of excitement. It felt like people were thinking "We are risking this to make a difference." That is probably dramatized, but I would not be surprised if some of the people actually thought that.

Look at them making a strong effort coming up, specially if the elections in Milwaukee go they way of the Black vote - lots of Blacks candidates looking to take step up, or younger candidates looking to take over.

Agreed, though I think the local organization is making a bigger difference.

Thanks. I actually felt more protected today than I do at the grocery store. The workers went out and put down strips of blue tape 6 feet apart around the hallway, out the door, up the street, and around the corner to the next traffic light. It was probably approaching half a mile. And most people were observing safe distances as well as lots of other safety precautions. One of the workers came down the line offering pens so we didn't have to share.

I gotta say, compared to when I voted in November of 2008 and 2012, this was different.

I also sent the picture in to NPR Politics along with a time stamp. I'm hoping...

 

1247544355499491329 is not a valid tweet id

This is where I voted, and was taken this morning, sometime prior to 930 am (it was overcast up until about then). Not everybody is wearing a mask, but it is much more than when I go to the store. When you see that tree about 4/5 seconds in, that is where I took my picture.

 

I was thinking there might be a few here who need to see their urologist.

 

Yes, anecdotal, but the turn out a few weeks ago for the primary for some of these positions showed a large turnout, as well. That was for a primary of a primary. That is really encouraging. I really want to see how great the numbers are for this.

 

When you say "this election," are you talking about today or this cycle?

 

https://www.wispolitics.com/2020/voters-in-madison-milwaukee-face-lines-fears-about-coronavirus/

A few highlights:

The latest update from the state Elections Commission this morning showed more than 9,000 absentee ballots had yet to be mailed.​

The latest update from the Elections Commission showed 9,388 absentee ballots that had been requested by Wisconsin voters had yet to be mailed, though there’s often a lag in reporting to the agency. Overall, 864,750 — more than two-thirds of the nearly 1.3 million absentee ballots — had been returned.​

The Madison city clerk’s office said in a tweet late this afternoon that turnout as of 4 p.m. was 24.7 percent. That was down from 43.3 percent as of the same time in the April 2016 election, which also included a presidential primary.


Milwaukee, which has a mayoral race and county exec contest on today’s ballot, had a record 203,898 absentee ballots requested for the spring election. By comparison, Milwaukee County voters cast 150,246 votes in last year’s spring election.


At Washington High School in Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood, the line stretched for roughly 350 yards down the block adjacent to an athletic field and around the corner.


​

To give you all a concept of the line, at some point in the earlier morning, the line stretched the entire red line. When I arrived, where the slash through the line is, is where the line started for me. Apparently at Riverside High School it was longer. (And a correction form an earlier post - I siad I thought it may have been approaching 1/2 mile at the longest. Based on the map, that is obviously and over estimation.)

Hoeschen also said election workers usually expect roughly a 50 percent voter turnout for each ward, but with the current situation and all of its nuances, he said they are likely to get roughly 30 percent to 35 percent voter turnout for each ward.​

One thing I cannot find is the number of absentee ballots case in Milwaukee County in 2016 for the primary. For the general:

MILWAUKEE COUNTY 132655 (sent out) 130380 (returned)
https://elections.wi.gov/node/4414

That is substantially fewer than for today. I'd really have to dig into the numbers, but just at the surface, I would say this probably meets or exceeds a typical primary election (if 50% is the threshold).