Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:25 pm
In one day of early voting, Democrats virtually erased the Republican lead in ballots cast in Florida due to a surge of turnout in the state’s Democratic counties.
1.6 million Florida voters have already cast their ballots. Republicans had a 2% lead after 1.3 million mail-in ballots were casts, but Democrats dominated the first day of early voting and cut the Republican edge down to 7,000 votes. An additional 251,000 voters with no party affiliation have also voted.
Early voting turnout was up 6% over 2012, and it was especially high in Democratic counties:
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Turnout was especially high in Democratic counties compared to 2012. Miami-Dade +41%, Broward +13%, Orange +27%. (3/4)
— Lily Adams (@adamslily) October 25, 2016
24k more Democrats cast ballots than Republicans on the first day of in person early vote in FL (4/4)
— Lily Adams (@adamslily) October 25, 2016
The Democratic plan has always been to build up such a huge early voting advantage in North Carolina and Florida that the states will be won before November 8.
It is encouraging for Democrats that Hillary Clinton’s lead in the polls appears to be translating to early voting. After weeks of Trump scandals and strong Clinton debate performances, it looks like Democrats are more motivated to vote in this election than Republicans.
Hillary Clinton and the Democratic Party have invested time, money, and resources into getting out the Democratic vote. While Donald Trump holds big rallies, Hillary Clinton has been targeting voting and building the Democratic ground operation.
Trump’s rallies may have played well on television, but it Democrats who have been doing the work that is required to win an election.
So far, the Democratic ground game is crushing Trump’s yard signs, hats, and TV bluster.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
