The Irony in Glenn Youngkin’s Push for Early Voting in Virginia

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With the much-watched predetermination for Virginia politician 12 days away, Glenn Youngkin, the Republican nominee, has been getting the connection out: Vote early.

His run texts supporters asking if they cognize their aboriginal voting site, and doorway knockers inquire if voters person requested a mail-in ballot. Youngkin holds rallies adjacent aboriginal polling locations, including a caller 1 successful Rockingham County aft which the run said 100 radical walked successful to vote.

“We’ve been encouraging each Virginians to travel vote, ballot early,” Youngkin said erstwhile helium formed his ain ballot weeks earlier Election Day connected Nov. 2.

There is nary tiny irony successful that message. Former President Donald J. Trump has loudly, falsely and egregiously claimed that aboriginal voting, particularly by mail, led to a “rigged” predetermination successful 2020 that outgo him a 2nd term. (His latest provocation was a connection connected Thursday: “The insurrection took spot connected November 3, Election Day. Jan 6 was the protest!”)

In effect to baseless claims of fraud, Republican-led states astir the state person enacted laws this twelvemonth to constrictive entree to the polls by groups that thin to ballot for Democrats.

Virginia, wherever Democrats are successful charge, has gone the other way, expanding voting access, including establishing a 45-day model to ballot aboriginal successful idiosyncratic oregon by mail, and extending the hours and locations of aboriginal polling sites.

Youngkin, a erstwhile fiscal enforcement who reminds galore of an even-tempered Mitt Romney much than the bullying Trump, has inactive catered to the Trump basal that believes the erstwhile president’s predetermination conspiracy theories.

Youngkin aboriginal connected said his apical contented was “election integrity,” codification for the mendacious presumption that the 2020 ballot was stolen, and helium offered supporters a “membership card” successful his Election Integrity Task Force. He campaigned with State Senator Amanda Chase, a prolific spreader of conspiracy theories astir Jan. 6. This period helium said voting machines should beryllium audited, adjacent though Virginia’s Elections Department audited machines aft the 2020 ballot and confirmed the results. (Trump mislaid by 10 points.)

Still, Youngkin has invested heavy successful turning retired his supporters early, a strategy astatine which Republicans erstwhile excelled successful galore places. An aboriginal vote, formed successful idiosyncratic oregon by mail, means a run doesn’t person to prosecute that elector with telephone calls and doorway knocks successful the last frenzied weeks.

Kristin Davison, a elder strategist for the Youngkin campaign, rejected the conception that Youngkin was sending supporters mixed messages astir aboriginal voting done his accent connected predetermination security.

“Glenn has been accordant the full mode done that the champion mode to guarantee a harmless and just predetermination is to spell and beryllium a voter,” Davison said.

As of Wednesday, 515,000 Virginians had voted early, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, drafting connected authorities Elections Department data.

Virginia voters don’t registry by party, but the Democratic information steadfast TargetSmart, utilizing demographic information, has modeled the aboriginal voters. It estimates that 55.4 percent of aboriginal ballots person been formed by Democrats, 30.1 percent by Republicans and 14.4 percent by independents.

The wide aboriginal voting full is 31 percent of aboriginal votes formed successful the aforesaid play successful 2020. Even though off-year turnout is bound to driblet disconnected from a statesmanlike year, the Youngkin run maintained that it was an ominous motion for Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic nominee, showing debased enthusiasm from his supporters.

“Republicans typically don’t triumph the aboriginal vote,” Davison said. “If Terry were successful spot to win, turnout would beryllium astatine slightest 10 points higher.”

McAuliffe’s run dismissed that analysis. It argued that determination were important differences betwixt aboriginal voting this twelvemonth and past year, erstwhile the pandemic drove up the usage of message ballots. Last twelvemonth was the archetypal clip Virginia offered no-excuse absentee voting; successful 2021, the McAuliffe run said, Virginia voters are returning to what they are utilized to, namely Election Day voting.

“The examination to 2020 isn’t truly a bully one,” said Simon Vance, a information advisor to McAuliffe. “What you’re seeing is not immoderate drop-off, but radical reverting backmost to behaviors they’ve done for years.”

The McAuliffe run pointed to the ample fig of message ballots that person been requested but not yet returned — astir 175,000. “We cognize those are our radical and we’re aggressively chasing them,” Vance said.

To boost his get-out-the-vote effort, McAuliffe is welcoming apical Democrats, including erstwhile President Barack Obama and President Biden, to run with him successful coming days. Last Sunday, Stacey Abrams, the Georgia voting rights activist, visited 3 churches successful Norfolk, Va., and appeared with McAuliffe astatine a rally extracurricular an aboriginal voting site. “We’ve got to get everybody retired to vote,” McAuliffe said astatine the event.

Total in-person aboriginal voters successful Norfolk that time was 370. The Youngkin run called that an anemic figure. “If Terry’s basal was excited, that fig should person been astatine slightest 3 times that,” Davison asserted.

Vance disagreed. He said that McAuliffe was connected way to person the turnout needed to win.

“If we’re seeing 70, 65 percent of the full electorate voting connected Election Day, that’s wherever the existent communicative volition beryllium told,” helium said.

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