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A2 UP FRONT
Saturday 17 OctOber 2020
Record avalanche of early votes transforms the 2020 election

Continued from Front were eligible.
The data also show vot-
That gives Democrats a tac- ers embracing mail voting,
tical advantage in the final which health officials say
stretch of the campaign. In is the safest way to avoid
many critical battleground coronavirus infection while
states, Democrats have voting. Of the early voters,
"banked" a chunk of their 82% cast ballots through
voters and can turn their the mail and 18% in person.
time and money toward Black voters cast 10% of
harder-to-find infrequent the ballots cast, about the
voters. same as their share of the
But it does not necessarily national electorate, ac-
mean Democrats will lead cording to the AP analysis
in votes by the time ballots of data from L2, a political
are counted. Both parties data firm. That's a sign that
anticipate a swell of Re- those voters, who have
publican votes on Election been less likely to vote by
Day that could, in a matter mail than white people
of hours, dramatically shift and Latinos, have warmed
the dynamic. to the method.
"The Republican numbers Mail ballots so far have
are going to pick up," said People wait in a long line to cast ballots for the general election at an early voting location at the skewed toward older vot-
John Couvillon, a GOP poll- Renaissance Austin Hotel on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020, in Austin, Texas. ers, with half coming from
ster who is tracking early Associated Press voters over age 64. Tradi-
voting. "The question is at tionally, younger and mi-
what velocity, and when?" Pennsylvania — a sharp re- "This is all encouraging, but fices had to abruptly shift to nority voters send their mail
Couvillon said Democrats versal from the usual pat- three weeks is a lifetime," deal with the influx of early ballots in closer to Election
cannot rest on their voting tern as a presidential elec- Democratic data strategist voting. Day or vote in person.
lead, but Republicans are tion looms. Tom Bonier said of the early But there have been ex- The mail ballots already
themselves making a big But it's had limited success vote numbers. "We may be traordinary lines and hours- returned in several states
gamble. A number of fac- in selling absentee voting. midway through the first long wait times in Georgia, dwarf the entire total in
tors, from rising virus infec- In key swing states, Repub- quarter and Democrats Texas and North Carolina prior elections. In Wiscon-
tions to the weather, can licans remain far less inter- have put a couple of points as they've opened in-per- sin, more than five times
impact in-person turnout ested in voting by mail. on the board." son early voting. The delays as many mail ballots have
on Election Day. "If you're In Pennsylvania, more than The massive amount of vot- were largely a result of in- been cast compared with
putting all your faith into three-quarters of the more ing has occurred without sufficient resources to han- the entire number in 2016.
one day of voting, that's than 437,000 ballots sent any of the violent skirmishes dle the surge, something North Carolina has seen
really high risk," Couvillon through the mail so far have at polling places that some advocates contend is a nearly triple the number
said. been from Democrats. In activists and law enforce- form of voter suppression. so far. In-person early vot-
That's why, despite Trump's Florida, half of all ballots ment officials feared. It has Republicans argue that ing began this week in sev-
rhetoric, his campaign sent through the mail so featured high-profile errors these signs of enthusiasm eral major states and also
and party are encourag- far have been from Demo- — 100,000 faulty mail ballots are meaningless — Demo- broke records, particularly
ing their own voters to cast crats and less than a third sent out in New York, 50,000 cratic early voters are peo- in crowded, Democratic-
ballots by mail or early and of them from Republicans. in Columbus, Ohio, and a ple who would have voted leaning metropolitan ar-
in-person. The campaign, Even in Colorado, a state vendor supplying that state anyway, they say. But an eas. In Texas, Houston's
which has been sending where every voter is mailed and Pennsylvania blaming AP analysis of the early Harris County saw a record
volunteers and staffers into a ballot and Republicans delays in sending ballots vote shows 8% of early vot- 125,000 ballots cast. In
the field for months despite usually dominate the first on overwhelming demand. ers had never cast a ballot Georgia, hourslong lines
the pandemic, touts a swell week of voting, only 19% of But there's little evidence before, and 13.8% had vot- threaded from election of-
in voter registration in key ballots returned have been of the mass disruption that ed in half or fewer of previ- fices through much of the
swing states like Florida and from Republicans. some feared as election of- ous elections for which they state's urban areas.q
Pfizer: Mid-November earliest it can seek virus vaccine OK

NEW YORK (AP) — Pfizer Inc. ber or December. the equation.
cannot request emergen- Another leading U.S. con- The vaccine also must be
cy authorization of its CO- tender, Moderna Inc., pre- proven safe. And to qualify
VID-19 vaccine before the viously announced the for an "emergency use au-
third week of November earliest it could seek autho- thorization," any COVID-19
-- and that's if everything rization of its own vaccine vaccine must track at least
goes well, the company's would be Nov. 25. half the participants in
CEO announced Friday. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla has large-scale studies for two
Despite President Donald long said it's possible testing months after their second
Trump's repeated promises might reveal by the end of dose, the time period in
of a vaccine before Elec- October if his company's which side effects are likely
tion Day, scientists have vaccine actually protects to appear.
been cautioning that it's against the coronavirus. Bourla estimated Pfizer's
In this Feb. 26, 2019 file photo, Albert Bourla, chief executive
officer of Pfizer, prepares to testify before the Senate Finance unlikely data showing a But in Friday's announce- 44,000-person study will
Committee hearing on drug prices, on Capitol Hill in Washington. leading shot actually works ment, he made clear that reach that milestone in the
Associated Press would come until Novem- effectiveness is only part of third week of November.q