Early Voting Numbers Explained

Echelon Insights predicts that we will see record turnout this election cycle. How might a ...

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Echelon Insights predicts that we will see record turnout this election cycle. How might a surge in, say, 2o million new voters this year affect the presidential race in battleground states? “If we’re talking the day after the election about why the polls were wrong,” Sarah warns on today’s episode, “it will be because of the extraordinary turnout, and [pollsters] were unable to figure out where those turnout increases were coming from.” Tune in to today’s episode to hear David and Sarah’s take on early voting in swing states, the importance of political rallies, and the DoJ’s antitrust lawsuit against Google.

Show Notes:

-Join The Dispatch for a post-election gathering featuring congressional leadership, top policy and political experts November 9-10: Sign up here!

–Most popular websites since 1993 ranked, Google’s statement against the DoJ lawsuit, and “For Trump Superfans, Huge Rallies Can’t Resume Soon Enough,” by Andrew Egger in The Dispatch.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  1. Jeff Goldberg

    David, congrats on the “closest to the pin” achievement. Mix of skill and luck. Skill for you hitting the ball close and luck for nobody else hitting it closer. As a person that plays 2x more in a week than you do in a year, i will attest to the skill part.

    On a more serious note, i want to thank you for your honesty, clarity of thought, and courage To share ideas on difficult topics. You and I are not in the same clubs, but i appreciate your points of view, especially on the evangelical community. That is not a place where I can easily access a trusted source of information. As I am not an attorney, i also appreciate the Advisory Opinions podcast as it is one of the few sources that discusses Supreme Court topics in a down to earth manner.

    Keep up the great work. If you are in tucson, bring your golf clubs and we can go out and play.

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  2. Meg Turner

    Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. Dave Matthews Band didn't assume the mantle from the Dead -- Phish did -- Long live Phishheads (aka Phish Phans)!

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    Brooke Sprenger

    RE: Sarah's tirade against golf. HERE HERE, SISTER! I had the *same* reaction to the *same* drivel about learning golf in law school. This is my feminist line.

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  4. Adam

    So I'd love to hear David and Sarah discuss a couple of things this election week...
    1. Ethics of polling - Is polling an essential part of our election system that ensures that the candidates and their policies are shaped to match the desires of the electorate as closely as possible? Does it provide us with some assurance that the elections are not being tampered with? Did the designers of the election process foresee polling? Or is polling a modern contrivance that has turned elections into an elaborate game played by campaigns on a Coliseum-like national stage for the amusement of political junkies?
    2. Way-down ballot - There's an awful lot of analysis on the presidential and legislative races but I'd really like to hear how you guys approach your own local, non-partisan races.

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    Emily

    For a future podcast, could you address Amy Coney Barrett’s remarks at her White House swearing in? I read somewhere (and now I can’t find it) that public remarks by the new justice are unusual at such an event. Is that so? Her words sound like she is drawing a very deliberate and firm line between herself and the man who publicly wanted her on the court to make sure election disputes break his way.

    She said, “A judge declares independence, not only from Congress and the president, but also from the private beliefs that might otherwise move her.” And there’s more in a similar vein.

    What she said gives me hope, but it has been weighing on my mind that she was less than firm when asked whether a president should commit to a peaceful transfer of power. I can’t stop thinking that she’ll end up parroting Trump talking points, like Kavanaugh in his opinion on Wisconsin, talking about announcing definitive results on election night.

    Actually if you could go into the Kavanaugh opinion too, I really want to hear another view than mine because reading his words made me quite sick to my stomach. It seemed unconscionable to me to reinforce the perception that any count not completed on election night is invalid, now, when more people are voting absentee and some states can’t even start counting until election day, AND when the postal service can’t find its butt with both hands.

    Trump tweets “Must have final total on November 3rd!” Kavanaugh internalizes that message and makes it part of the official record. Too bad for the voters whose valid ballots are already mailed and may not get delivered. (Someone please give me a convincing argument that there’s another way to see it!)

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    Daniel.Standage

    So David said he had a sports accomplishment to share. He talked a lot about golf, but I must have missed when he was talking about actual sports. 🤷‍♂️

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    Doug Palzer

    A thought about the Google Case and David’s reference to “consumer harm” and how “consumer” is defined in the case. With reference to Google, it’s consumers are not people who use its search function or web browser. They are businesses who purchase ad space or web analytics. Users of Google’s search or web browser are more akin to natural resources, producing data to be collected, analyzed, and sold B2B. So, arguing whether or not users are harmed by having Google search or Google Chrome set as the default fundamentally misunderstands the economic relationships within Google’s market and misplaces the search for “consumer harm” in the case. Do they treat users of Search and Chrome as consumers? If so, we may have a situation where, as you two say, “bad facts make bad law.”

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    1. PM

      If you use Google search, then you're putting money into Google's pocket. Google is an advertising hosting business.

      But on a completely different level than other advertising hosting businesses that say don't send a fleet of vehicles across the nation, and we won't even go into any great detail about what info is being provided to Google by using their smartphones.

      Google would argue that they're doing consumers a favor by providing targeted ads. The more Google knows about you then the more Google can profit by successful ads.

      What we had before Google was a search engine that was not tied to advertising.

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        Doug Palzer

        You’re right, Google is an ad hosting site which means their true consumers are other businesses who advertise with them, not the people who purchase items because of their ads. Those people may be general consumers in the market, but they’re users, not consumers of Google’s products which is an important distinction. This leads me to the question of whether the case focuses on harm to users (general market consumers advertised to thru Google) or harm to Google’s direct consumers (businesses purchasing ads on Google). It seems they are focusing on the former, which would be an error because users of Search or Chrome are not Google’s true consumers.

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        1. PM

          At this point who knows how this will proceed?

          On some level this should be blindingly obvious. Do you want one choice? And Google (more specifically Alphabet) isn't content to play in one arena.

          I would suggest that harm is being done all around to both those who are direct consumers and of course the general public.

          Google forces Android OEMs to adopt Google as the default search engine along with other Google friendly choices.

          Google pays Apple to be the default search engine.

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    Lori Giblin

    You need to do an emergency broadcast on Kavanagh's opinion on Wisconsin ballots yesterday.

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      Jason Gibson

      agreed

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    Everett Zabriskie

    Birthdays! 50 & 80. At 50 it suddenly occurred to me that I was at best half way through life. At 80, I crossed a border into a new country where they speak a different language and I am generally regarded as irrelevant

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    Jason Gibson

    what an awesome insightful discussion at the end you two! Sarah you could have been a counselor you have great insight into life. David nails it from a more spiritual every day life end. What a team!

    I'm a social worker so I find such discussions about life and relationships facinating.

    I hear you both though. My childhood friend and I are currently taking our movie discussions we've had all our lives and trying to cast it into a podcast. Like being a kids again......only part time lol

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