ORLANDO, Fla. — On the first day of September there were just 62 days until the presidential election, however, voting in many states will begin in the next three weeks; including here in Florida.
Vote-by-mail ballots in Florida can be sent out as early as September 24th, about three weeks from now.
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“With my experience working on Florida campaigns it’s basically a sprint for the first 14 days out of the box after the August primary,” says Tallahassee-based GOP Consultant Jacob Perry. “You have two to three weeks to secure your votes because once that ballot is mailed, that vote is locked in.”
While the presidential race is expected to tighten down the homestretch, political experts also note that it has been incredibly stable throughout spring and summer. New polling, conducted after both conventions, shows virtually no movement in either direction following the conventions.
“There wasn’t any bounce for either party after the convention and that can be worrisome because a convention is usually your last chance for a four or five point swing,” says Perry.
“The real voting is going to be locked in very soon,” says former Republican aide Liam Donovan. “The top-line numbers for Joe Biden didn’t move, but they were good enough that it was diminishing returns anyway.”
Donovan notes that voters on both sides are now consolidating behind their candidates, leaving a limited number of low-turnout and undecided voters available.
“We’re sort of squinting and trying to see what might be on the horizon to bring this race back to where it is expected to be and right now it’s just not feeling that way,” says Donovan.