With what appears to be record votes by mail being cast for Florida’s general election, driven by a strong Democrat response, I thought it’d be a good time to reset the table. While the pandemic is certainty a new dynamic this year, the three ways in which one may vote are not. They are voting by mail, voting early, and Election Day voting.
Early voting had become the favorite way for Floridians to vote prior to the pandemic. In 2016, 40% of Floridians voted early. Voting by mail was the least used method of the three with 29%. Republicans have previously held an edge in voting by mail and on Election Day while Democrats have led in early voting. The net-net of it has been an overall slight edge for Republicans for much of the past two decades.
To give you an idea of how much has changed thus far in voting by mail consider that four years ago, by party, the votes were 41% for GOP, 38% for DEM, and NPA/Minor came in at 21%.
Democrats currently lead Republicans by 22% in ballots cast by mail. That’s a 24% swing over four years ago. This illustrates why Republicans will need to mount impressive early voting and Election Day turnout if they’re to counterbalance the vast improvement in turnout via ballots by mail which Democrats are currently pacing.
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