On Tuesday, The Washington Postreported that Republican strategists are worried by preliminary numbers suggesting Democrats are blowing Republicans out of the water in mail-in voting — a sign that President Donald Trump's attacks on the process are endangering his own election, and the GOP Senate majority.
"Of the more than 9 million voters who requested mail ballots through Monday in Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Maine and Iowa, the five battleground states where such data is publicly available, 52 percent were Democrats. Twenty-eight percent were Republicans, and 20 percent were unaffiliated," reported Amy Gardner and Josh Dawsey. "Additional internal Democratic and Republican Party data obtained by The Washington Post shows a similar trend in Ohio, Minnesota, New Hampshire and Wisconsin."
"Even more alarming to some Republicans, Democrats are also returning their ballots at higher rates than GOP voters in two of those states where that information is available: Florida and North Carolina," continued the report, adding that "GOP voter distrust in mail ballots now appears to be translating into an advantage in early voting for former vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee, and for Democratic challengers in close Senate races in Maine, Iowa and North Carolina."
Historically, there has not been a partisan bias in use of mail-in voting. However, this year, the president has repeatedly and baselessly claimed that the process is corrupt, and will lead to widespread fraud and forgery of ballots. Some GOP strategists reportedly fear that the trend could erode their traditional turnout advantage, as Election Day turnout could also be depressed among older GOP voters who fear exposure to COVID-19.
"It’s astronomical," said one strategist in GOP Senate races. “You see these numbers in a state like North Carolina, and how can you not be concerned?”
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