There are a lot of people out there who would just like to ignore politics and be left alone. Who knew? From Tho Bishop at mises.org:
The 2020 campaign is down to its final week, with each party and pundit preparing the ammo they need to either take a victory lap or explain away their defeat. In the age of covid, the Democratic Party has pushed heavily a vote-by-mail campaign that places their successes in the hands of the ability of voters to successfully negotiate the postal system, while Trump’s team is relying on MAGA rallies to motivate in-person early voting. The combination of the two has the race projected to be the largest projected voter turnout in over a century.
According to conventional wisdom, this is a major win for Joe Biden’s team. In fact, strong voter turnout in states like Texas and Georgia has anxious pundits questioning whether this is finally the year these red state stalwarts flip blue. But is conventional wisdom correct?
If we do in fact see a major surge of voter behavior, it’s useful to consider the sort of voter who may be turning out to cast a vote for the first time. Both sides have their own preferred narrative here: Democrats see a nation of politically oppressed groups that can be activated by tapping into their sense of injustice, while Republicans see a “silent majority” that wants, to quote @realDonaldtrump, “LAW AND ORDER!”
Pictured: U.S. Attorney General William Barr (left) and FBI Director Christopher Wray on December 18, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
