Early Voting Early
Critical Analysis
In Pennsylvania how many voters have requested absentee ballots this year?
How does that number compare to the election in 2016?
What is the big story this chart tells about absentee ballot requests in the 2020 election?
Why do you think so many people are requesting absentee ballots?
Americans are voting early in record numbers, due to the pandemic, as almost 7.1 million have already sent in mail-in ballots or voted in person, according to the US Elections Project. The current total is almost 10 times the number of voters who had voted early by this point in 2016. More than 50 million people have requested mail-in ballots this year. According to the US Elections Assistance Commission, 57.2 million Americans voted early in person, by mail or via absentee ballot in 2016. How do you think this will impact the election?
In the 2016 US presidential election, nearly one quarter of votes were cast by mail, and that number is expected to rise in 2020. President Trump has criticized plans to expand absentee voting in November's presidential election, claiming there's widespread fraud involved. But Ellen Weintraub, commissioner of the Federal Election Commission, has said: "There's simply no basis for the conspiracy theory that voting by mail causes fraud." Extensive research reveals that voter fraud of any kind is very rare in the U.S. And President Trump himself, voted absentee this year. Why do you think Trump is alleging voter fraud before the election has even happened?
How do you think absentee ballot requests vary by political party affiliation?*
How do you think the variation of absentee ballot requests by party affiliation will impact the outcome of the election?
Most attention is focused on the election of the president. What other races will also be impacted by absentee ballots?
In some states, absentee ballots can be counted as soon as they are received. In most states, the counting cannot begin until election day.
How could this impact the speed by which we receive our election results?
Based on the number of absentee ballots and the political party affiliation of the voters of most of those ballots many experts speculate that election results may be different on election night and then after absentee ballots are counted. This is called the Blue Shift. How will this impact the legitimacy of the election results?
Based on everything you know about US politics, who do you think will win the election?
Based on everything you know about US politics, when do you think we will know the winner of the election?
How are most of the people you know who are eligible to vote planning to vote?
Visual Extension*
Learning Extension
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Action Extension
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