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Democrats Posting Gains In Vote-By-Mail

The traditional Republican advantage in the number of ballots cast by mail appears to be slipping, according to a University of Florida political scientist.
The traditional Republican advantage in the number of ballots cast by mail appears to be slipping, according to a University of Florida political scientist.

Republicans have long dominated vote-by-mail in the Sunshine State.

The traditional Republican advantage in the number of ballots cast by mail appears to be slipping, according to a University of Florida political scientist.
The traditional Republican advantage in the number of ballots cast by mail appears to be slipping, according to a University of Florida political scientist.

But  a University of Florida political scientists says Democrats are whittling away at that advantage and could be poised to make history.

Nearly 2.7 million Floridians have requested ballots by mail, and in that department, Republicans are beating Democrats by 60,000 requests. But that lead is slimmer than it was four years ago.

And worse for Republicans, when it comes to the number of ballots mailed in, the Republican lead is just under 6,000. Associate professor Michael McDonald says at this rate, Democrats could conceivably take the lead for the first time.

“Unless there’s some change in the campaign dynamics, it’s possible that the Democrats sometime within the week or a week and a half or so, will actually take a lead in the mail ballots.”

It by no means guarantees a Democratic victory, McDonald says. But it’s significant, he says, because Republicans count on a mail-in ballot advantage to offset the Democrats’ stronger turnout for early voting.

Copyright 2020 WFSU. To see more, visit WFSU.

Jim Ash is a reporter at WFSU-FM. A Miami native, he is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience, most of it in print. He has been a member of the Florida Capital Press Corps since 1992.
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