More On Non-Traditional Voting

In our last article, we suggested that continued increases in non-traditional voting (early and mail-in voting) helped explain the unexpected success enjoyed by Democrats in the 2022 midterms. Democrats do a far better job of mobilizing their constituencies to vote non-traditionally—and it showed on election day.

Now, NBC News has offered some additional evidence to support our thesis. According to the network's research, the states with the biggest increases in turnout between the 2018 and 2022 midterms were: New Hampshire (+8.3%); Arizona (+7.9%); and Pennsylvania (+6.9%). All three states saw Democrats eke out close wins in Senate and/or Gubernatorial races. All three states saw massive efforts by the Democratic Party to get their vote out—including heavy emphasis on non-traditional voting. 

Exit polling in these states showed that Democrats won among better-educated voters by a wide margin—just the demographic most likely to easily adapt to non-traditional modes of voting. In Pennsylvania, Democrats won the races for senate and governor—even though inner city turnout (traditionally a strong Democratic base) was down from 2018. Non-traditional voting in the suburbs made the difference.

The new reality in American politics is that non-traditional voting is here to stay. And, until Republicans accept that fact—and aggressively adapt their strategy to engage in it—the clear advantage will fall to Democrats.