# Will COVID fatalities have an impact on near-future elections? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 9, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-covid-fatalities-have-an-impact-on-near-future-elections/948335 "2021-08-09T20:13:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-covid-fatalities-have-an-impact-on-near-future-elections/948335/1 "2021-08-09T20:13:01Z")
This question has come up a couple of times in other threads, but usually stopped with a snarky dismissal (“nah, voter suppression will take care of it”), so I thought I’d ask directly. “Common sense” tells us at this point, most COVID fatalities will be Republican voters, leaving fewer Republican voters next year and in 2024. But is this so? Is it at all significant? Hell, if you feel brave, would knock-on effects (e.g. angry family) have any significant impact? ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-covid-fatalities-have-an-impact-on-near-future-elections/948335/2 "2021-08-09T20:18:21Z")
I’m not sure losing people in very deep red areas will have much of an effect. But, I’d be interested to see if Republicans being tied to the anti vaccination crowd hurts them even more in the suburbs going forward. I know some R’s have tried to walk that back, but it doesn’t help when the loudest voices are people like DeSantis and MTG. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-covid-fatalities-have-an-impact-on-near-future-elections/948335/3 "2021-08-09T20:33:24Z")
**A Report From Middle Tennessee** Nobody is learning anything. Mask-less people trot in & out of the grocery store, while our hospitals approach critical levels. Local politicians hold unwavering to Trumpo’s every word. There will be a big smash-up, very soon. And no lessons will be learned. Tennessee stays Red. God help us. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-covid-fatalities-have-an-impact-on-near-future-elections/948335/4 "2021-08-09T20:34:15Z")
Fatalities? I don’t know. The rona doesn’t seem to be fatal enough for that. My hope is that those who believed the virus to be a hoax or just like the flu will recognize just how much they’ve been lied to when they watch themselves or their families struggle to breathe after they catch it. So less of a weed them out and more of an open their eyes. ---
**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:** [August 9, 2021, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-covid-fatalities-have-an-impact-on-near-future-elections/948335/5 "2021-08-09T23:14:32Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > My hope is that those who believed the virus to be a hoax or just like the flu will recognize just how much they’ve been lied to when they watch themselves or their families struggle to breathe after they catch it. This is hoping against hope. The few cases of this happening in the news are news because that response is unlikely. Usually, the dedicated trumper blames the Dems and continues to hail the orange. At least the ones I know who have contracted C19 do. ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-covid-fatalities-have-an-impact-on-near-future-elections/948335/6 "2021-08-09T23:20:55Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > “Common sense” tells us at this point, most COVID fatalities will be Republican voters, leaving fewer Republican voters next year and in 2024. But is this so? Is it at all significant? Hell, if you feel brave, would knock-on effects (e.g. angry family) have any significant impact? Is that actually the case? There’s at least one group that tends to vote Democratic that also isn’t being vaccinated at a high rate. I suspect both groups are concentrated in highly partisan areas, so a reduction in numbers won’t make a big difference. Tennessee is still going to vote Republican, and New York City is still going to vote Democratic. I don’t think enough people will die to make any change in electoral districts. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-covid-fatalities-have-an-impact-on-near-future-elections/948335/7 "2021-08-09T23:36:14Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > > [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > > > My hope is that those who believed the virus to be a hoax or just like the flu will recognize just how much they’ve been lied to when they watch themselves or their families struggle to breathe after they catch it. > > This is hoping against hope. The few cases of this happening in the news are news because that response is unlikely. Usually, the dedicated trumper blames the Dems and continues to hail the orange. At least the ones I know who have contracted C19 do.  Yeah, I know. But plan for the worst and hope for the best. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-covid-fatalities-have-an-impact-on-near-future-elections/948335/8 "2021-08-10T00:36:25Z")
People don’t always react to bad news the way we expect them to. I would think that, yes, the impact of COVID might make some people question their commitment to Trumpism, but it doesn’t necessarily work out that way. The human brain can do a lot of gymnastics to hold on to a worldview. And by the way, there’s vote suppression - that’s one part of their plan. But gerrymandering is the other part. Repubs can make their own districts. ---
**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:** [August 10, 2021, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-covid-fatalities-have-an-impact-on-near-future-elections/948335/9 "2021-08-10T01:17:00Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > “Common sense” This right here is the problem. There is no such thing as “common sense”. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2021, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-covid-fatalities-have-an-impact-on-near-future-elections/948335/10 "2021-08-10T22:09:28Z")
If rural areas of Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, etc., lose significant chunks of their population as compared to urban areas, relatively speaking, that could make a difference in the electoral college. Maybe a few Senate seats too.