In states across the country, early voting is well underway — and so far, we have seen blockbuster turnout. As of Friday, more than 52 million people have already cast their ballot, according to the U.S. Elections Project. To put that in context, that number exceeds the figure of all the early votes cast in 2016. 

But with the election still 11 days away, there is plenty of time for the campaigns to woo undecided voters or impact the decision of people who either plan to vote on November 3 or live in states where that’s their only option. On Thursday night, at the final presidential debate, President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden attempted to do just that. The exchange was notably less caustic than the first debate a few weeks back, in part because the debate commission enacted new rules that muted both candidates in order to allow their opponent to give two-minute responses to questions uninterrupted.

The style allowed for more nuance. As The 19th’s Errin Haines wrote, “Thursday’s debate was a more muted, substantive exchange, with a focus on many of the issues disproportionately impacting the majority of the electorate: women.” 

“There were specific questions about women and people of color, though the candidates spoke obliquely about education and families without directly addressing women on the debate stage amid the country’s first female recession,” Haines wrote. “There was again no mention of LGBTQ+ issues — something voters care about, as evidenced by the topic surfacing during last week’s town halls. But the issue of immigration, and specifically family separations, made its debate stage debut on Thursday. The topic is one that resonates strongly with women voters.”

The family separation policy — which is back in the news this week after a new report showed that the parents of 545 children cannot be found — has some voters rethinking what it means to be “pro-life.” A woman from Madison, Wisconsin, told The 19th’s Shefali Luthra, “A lot of heart-to-hearts with people I love has helped me understand there is a difference between pro-birth and pro-life. ... Separating children and putting them in cages is not pro-life. Refusing to wear a mask is not pro-life. I really view that stance as really hypocritical — you can’t say you respect life only for unborn children and disregard other life.”

Of course, there is a lot on voters’ minds, like the makeup of a Supreme Court that includes Amy Coney Barrett, a double-digit unemployment rate for Black and Latina women, child care and education, and health care protections, to name just a few issues. And there’s still plenty of time to figure out a voting plan, if you haven’t already.


Andrea Valdez
Editor in chief, The 19th