# 58,000,000 Americans have voted so far! (10/25) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 25, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885 "2020-10-25T23:24:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/1 "2020-10-25T23:24:56Z")
I heard that on the news earlier today. That’s terrific! It’s about 1/4 of the eligible residents, and just a few million short of the number cast for both major-party candidates in 2016. Keep 'em coming! ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/2 "2020-10-25T23:30:57Z")
Voter suppression is about to be replaced with Vote Count Suppression. Republicans won’t take this blatant expression of freedom sitting down! ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/3 "2020-10-25T23:35:20Z")
I want to see 70 percent total voter turnout when all is said and done. Maybe even 80 percent. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/4 "2020-10-26T01:30:11Z")
I’m wondering what the electoral college map would look like with those who’ve voted and had their votes already counted. (Are there places that count the absentee ballots in advance?) ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/5 "2020-10-26T01:41:04Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > I’m wondering what the electoral college map would look like with those who’ve voted and had their votes already counted. (Are there places that count the absentee ballots in advance? [When states can begin processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots, 2020.](https://ballotpedia.org/When_states_can_begin_processing_and_counting_absentee/mail-in_ballots,_2020) > In 13 states, statutes or 2020-specific rules allow for absentee/mail-in counting to begin before Election Day: > > - Arizona > - Colorado > - Delaware > - Florida > - Hawaii > - Maryland > - Montana > - Nebraska > - Nevada > - New Jersey > - North Carolina > - Oregon > - Vermont > > In another six states, statutes either do not specify when ballot counting can begin or leave the decision to the discretion of local officials: > > - Kansas > - Kentucky > - Louisiana > - Ohio > - Oklahoma > - Utah > > The remaining states and the District of Columbia allow ballot counting to begin either during the day on Election Day or after polls close. See the table below for more detailed information. So far as I know, though, none will release _results_ before Election Day. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/6 "2020-10-26T01:42:44Z")
There are states that count mail-in/absentee ballots prior to Election Day, but we won’t know any vote totals until after the polls close for obvious reasons. I’d read somewhere that we were on track for about 2/3rds of all eligible voters to cast a vote this year. That might be better than usual, but I personally think it’s pretty sad that another 1/3 of the electorate either can’t be arsed, or find it too difficult. And normally there’s even more of those folks. That’s millions of people, and imo, it’s not OK. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/7 "2020-10-26T02:01:52Z")
IIRC the prediction is that this year’s turnout will be the highest since 1908. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/8 "2020-10-26T02:22:15Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I heard that on the news earlier today. That’s terrific! It’s about 1/4 of the eligible residents, and just a few million short of the number cast for both major-party candidates in 2016. I guess the good news is that if Trump’s minions were seriously going to sabotage the voting process, they’ve left it a bit late. Maybe not so surprising, given his long history of his mouth writing checks that his ass can’t cash. Yeah, I realize that the window to make mischief with the count is still open, but I’m a cockeyed optimist. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/9 "2020-10-26T05:14:24Z")
In the SoW, ballots are scanned into the system upon signature verification but are not tabulated until the polls close at 8:00. I would imagine that tabulation runs pretty quickly. (According to the county auditor, the ballot processing system has no network connection outside the elections office. After tabulation is complete, the results are copied to a flash drive supplied by the Secretary of State and that flash drive is used to transmit the results to the SoS. Confirmation data — presumably something on the order of a hash — is sent separately. And a new flash drive is used for each transmission.) ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/10 "2020-10-26T06:18:36Z")
In the…? State of Washington? Wisconsin? South of Wales…? ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/11 "2020-10-26T06:34:57Z")
If you click on his icon, it says he’s from “Soviet of Washington” - I presume that means Washington state. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/12 "2020-10-26T13:06:31Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > So far as I know, though, none will release _results_ before Election Day. At least in my county in FL they won’t release results. But they release something almost as good: the party affiliation of the votes they _have_ counted. Which in our very partisan era, is a decent proxy for the actual vote, at least for President. [https://www.browardsoe.org/](https://www.browardsoe.org/) Here’s the adjacent county: [https://www.pbcelections.org/](https://www.pbcelections.org/) And here’s all of Florida: [https://countyballotfiles.floridados.gov/VoteByMailEarlyVotingReports/PublicStats](https://countyballotfiles.floridados.gov/VoteByMailEarlyVotingReports/PublicStats) ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/13 "2020-10-26T13:21:11Z")
Secretary of State, as spelled out earlier in the sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/14 "2020-10-26T13:30:37Z")
I can guarantee you that any excess of votes cast over 2016 will be used by Trump and the GOP as evidence of fraudulent votes. Telling Republicans that voter turnout is high because voters really hate them isn’t going to convince them. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/15 "2020-10-26T13:58:03Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Voter suppression is about to be replaced with Vote Count Suppression. Republicans won’t take this blatant expression of freedom sitting down! This is my concern. My worry is Trump seems to not care that he is down in the polls or that he is at a massive financial disadvantage because Trump knows it doesn’t matter who you vote for, what truly matters is who counts the ballots. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/16 "2020-10-26T14:04:07Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > At least in my county in FL they won’t release results. But they release something almost as good: the party affiliation of the votes they _have_ counted. Which in our very partisan era, is a decent proxy for the actual vote, at least for President. If I put on my optimistic hat, those numbers look even better. My guess is that the percentage of Republicans not voting for Trump will be higher than the percentage of Democrats not voting for Biden. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/17 "2020-10-26T14:05:17Z")
I listened to this story on the commute last week. I’m not sure if the text article is edited, so you may want to listen to the whole 7:30 story. If not: After security and verification steps mentioned in the story, the votes are counted. BUT the results are not tabulated until after 8 PM on Election Day. (NB: I live in WA.) > **[What happens to my ballot after I drop it off? Behind the scenes as voting...](https://www.knkx.org/other-news/2020-10-22/what-happens-to-my-ballot-after-i-drop-it-off-behind-the-scenes-as-voting-pace-accelerates)** > > Donna Stath wears a blue mesh vest with the word “ELECTIONS” on it, as she stands next to a Pierce County ballot drop box. She’s helping voters as they… ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/18 "2020-10-26T14:05:47Z")
No state will reveal the actual count of any ballots until after the poll-closing time in their respective jurisdiction. As pointed out, at best you can trace those where registration is a matter of record, and even then it doesn’t guarantee anything. > [@romansperson](#): > > That might be better than usual, but I personally think it’s pretty sad that another 1/3 of the electorate either can’t be arsed, or find it too difficult. And normally there’s even more of those folks. That’s millions of people, and imo, it’s not OK. OTOH, do we really want to _make_ someone who “can’t be arsed” choose? Just going back to Gore/Bush, turnouts were: in 2000, 54%; in 2004, 60%; 2008, 62%; 2012, 58%; and 2016, 56%. This means that as a matter of _routine_, 2 out of every 5 eligible voters don’t cast a ballot, and sometimes virtually half. Now, that includes those who: 1. “Can’t be arsed” because they don’t care/don’t know what’s up, existing in a state of civic anomie – I really don’t want them deciding in such a state of ignorance 2. “Can’t be arsed” in that they are aware of what’s up BUT they’ve figured it’s all the same, it’s all rigged for the 1%, it makes no difference, or their state is too solid for them to make a difference – we’d need to **first** convince them otherwise. 3. “Find it too difficult” in the sense of inconveniences such as needing to actually register by a certain deadline. Not greatly sympathetic to that one. 4. “Find it too difficult” due to honest-to-goodness voter suppression measures - _ **these** _ are the ones I’d care to bring in, if they are not otherwise in category 1. So it should be a matter of creating engagement **and** easing access, not turnout for turnout’s own sake. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/19 "2020-10-26T14:09:11Z")
> [@galen\_ubal](#): > > If you click on his icon, it says he’s from “Soviet of Washington” - I presume that means Washington state. [Exactly](https://www.historylink.org/File/5451). And I should probably stop using the acronym since Discourse doesn’t show my location. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2020, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885/20 "2020-10-26T14:15:47Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > OTOH, do we really want to _make_ someone who “can’t be arsed” choose? No, and I didn’t say that, either. I think it’s incredibly sad that so many people just don’t care. I’m thinking there’s a lot of other people in the world who would love to trade places, since they don’t get a choice of being able to vote in a free and fair election and would very much like to be able to do so. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/58-000-000-americans-have-voted-so-far-10-25/923885.md?page=2)