The Beat Goes On

More people have now early voted in TX than the number of people who voted for Donald Trump in TX in 2016.

— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) October 20, 2020

That was yesterday. Today:

In five states, more early votes have been cast than Trump received in 2016 https://t.co/XfzqwjC60Q

— Catherine Rampell (@crampell) October 21, 2020

On average, the number of ballots returned by Democrats is more than double the number returned by the same point in 2016, while the number of Republican ballots returned is up only about 40 percent. Democrats have returned ballots (or voted early) in these five states equal to about a third of the total votes Hillary Clinton got in the states in 2016, while Republicans have returned ballots equivalent to a fifth of Trump’s totals.

Conventional wisdom holds that Democrats benefit from a heavy turnout, not Republicans.  Which, of course, is why Republicans are so big on voter suppression measures.

“As Texas goes, so too will the rest of the country. As Harris County goes, so too will Texas,” one GOP lawsuit read. “If President Trump loses Texas, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for him to be reelected.” https://t.co/uhwrRBRxPD

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) October 17, 2020

They say that like it's a bad thing.  And they said that to the court, as a reason why Harris County should NOT make it easier for people to vote.  Republicans have been running Texas for almost thirty years now (I date it from the failure of the Governor Miz Ann Richards to get re-elected.) Which explains why it is so hard to vote in Texas (harder than any other state in the union, I'm told):

.@RossRamsey: If state law made voting as easy as Texas grocers have made filling the pantry, the analogy “If you’re comfortable going to the grocery store, you should be comfortable voting in person” wouldn’t be a point of contention this year. https://t.co/XhMmhdsrh0

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) October 16, 2020

I'm old enough to remember when it was much easier to vote than it is now. Maybe that will change, too.

With ten days of early voting left to go in Texas, El Paso County has already surpassed its total early voting turnout from 2012.

There is an extra week of early voting this year due to the pandemic. https://t.co/AT8TliqQuy pic.twitter.com/2sixM9xvtw

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) October 21, 2020

The other reason people need to vote, regularly:

Some Republican lawmakers who have held the Texas House majority since the 2003 session are facing the first truly competitive general elections of their lives — and being forced to answer for votes in a way they have never had to before.#txlege https://t.co/mRxZMBRhZO

— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) October 21, 2020

Hopefully we learn that lesson this year and start to develop a new habit.  One thing is sure:  the state GOP will start imitating Beto's registration/GOTV effort, or they will go extinct.