SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Virginia residents line up to vote in the pouring rain at Robious Middle School November 6, 2018 in Midlothian, Virginia. The U.S. holds its midterm elections today, the first time the nation has voted since a divisive 2016 presidential election. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
What High Turnout Looks Like: Unusually High Enthusiasm Reported at Polling Sites Nationwide
"We're seeing a lot more people that typically sit out midterm elections going and showing up because they believe these races are so important."
Nov 05, 2018
This is a developing story and this post may be updated.
One GOP candidate in New Jersey made the hopeful prediction that rainy "Republican weather" on Tuesday would make for the kind of low turnout that's helped to keep his party in power. But early reports indicate that the forecast in many cities and states isn't keeping voters away from the polls in the 2018 midterm elections.
As polls opened in states across the U.S., news outlets and voters themselves reported unusually long lines, potentially indicating turnout that's higher than average for midterms. With Election Day following several weeks of early voting in a number of key states--during which more than 30 million Americans voted and turnout records were broken in states including Georgia and Florida--political observers pointed to the lines as evidence of high levels of voter enthusiasm.
"If you look at the numbers, early voting is shattering records among young people, among people of color," Ari Berman of Mother Jones told Democracy Now! early Monday. "We're seeing a lot more people that typically sit out midterm elections going and showing up because they believe these races are so important."
Early reports out of states including Pennsylvania, Georgia, New York, Minnesota, and Rhode Island suggested unusually high turnout for a midterm election.
Google also reported that its most-searched for term on Tuesday morning was "Donde votar"--Spanish for "where to vote," suggesting high levels of interest in voting in Latino communities.
On social media, some cautioned against drawing firm conclusions about turnout from early on-the-ground reports, noting that closed polling places in states like Kansas, Arizona, and Texas may be causing congestion--and are no cause for celebration.
But others suggested that the long lines should not be discounted following a contentious election season that marked by mass mobilization among young people, a record number of women and women of color running for office, and widespread outrage over President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies and the Supreme Court confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Hope: Long lines mean high turnout.
Fear: Long lines mean voter suppression/infrastructure failure.
Reality: As always, both/and.-- Audra J. Wolfe (@ColdWarScience) November 6, 2018
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
This is a developing story and this post may be updated.
One GOP candidate in New Jersey made the hopeful prediction that rainy "Republican weather" on Tuesday would make for the kind of low turnout that's helped to keep his party in power. But early reports indicate that the forecast in many cities and states isn't keeping voters away from the polls in the 2018 midterm elections.
As polls opened in states across the U.S., news outlets and voters themselves reported unusually long lines, potentially indicating turnout that's higher than average for midterms. With Election Day following several weeks of early voting in a number of key states--during which more than 30 million Americans voted and turnout records were broken in states including Georgia and Florida--political observers pointed to the lines as evidence of high levels of voter enthusiasm.
"If you look at the numbers, early voting is shattering records among young people, among people of color," Ari Berman of Mother Jones told Democracy Now! early Monday. "We're seeing a lot more people that typically sit out midterm elections going and showing up because they believe these races are so important."
Early reports out of states including Pennsylvania, Georgia, New York, Minnesota, and Rhode Island suggested unusually high turnout for a midterm election.
Google also reported that its most-searched for term on Tuesday morning was "Donde votar"--Spanish for "where to vote," suggesting high levels of interest in voting in Latino communities.
On social media, some cautioned against drawing firm conclusions about turnout from early on-the-ground reports, noting that closed polling places in states like Kansas, Arizona, and Texas may be causing congestion--and are no cause for celebration.
But others suggested that the long lines should not be discounted following a contentious election season that marked by mass mobilization among young people, a record number of women and women of color running for office, and widespread outrage over President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies and the Supreme Court confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Hope: Long lines mean high turnout.
Fear: Long lines mean voter suppression/infrastructure failure.
Reality: As always, both/and.-- Audra J. Wolfe (@ColdWarScience) November 6, 2018
This is a developing story and this post may be updated.
One GOP candidate in New Jersey made the hopeful prediction that rainy "Republican weather" on Tuesday would make for the kind of low turnout that's helped to keep his party in power. But early reports indicate that the forecast in many cities and states isn't keeping voters away from the polls in the 2018 midterm elections.
As polls opened in states across the U.S., news outlets and voters themselves reported unusually long lines, potentially indicating turnout that's higher than average for midterms. With Election Day following several weeks of early voting in a number of key states--during which more than 30 million Americans voted and turnout records were broken in states including Georgia and Florida--political observers pointed to the lines as evidence of high levels of voter enthusiasm.
"If you look at the numbers, early voting is shattering records among young people, among people of color," Ari Berman of Mother Jones told Democracy Now! early Monday. "We're seeing a lot more people that typically sit out midterm elections going and showing up because they believe these races are so important."
Early reports out of states including Pennsylvania, Georgia, New York, Minnesota, and Rhode Island suggested unusually high turnout for a midterm election.
Google also reported that its most-searched for term on Tuesday morning was "Donde votar"--Spanish for "where to vote," suggesting high levels of interest in voting in Latino communities.
On social media, some cautioned against drawing firm conclusions about turnout from early on-the-ground reports, noting that closed polling places in states like Kansas, Arizona, and Texas may be causing congestion--and are no cause for celebration.
But others suggested that the long lines should not be discounted following a contentious election season that marked by mass mobilization among young people, a record number of women and women of color running for office, and widespread outrage over President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies and the Supreme Court confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Hope: Long lines mean high turnout.
Fear: Long lines mean voter suppression/infrastructure failure.
Reality: As always, both/and.-- Audra J. Wolfe (@ColdWarScience) November 6, 2018
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy